Learners’ Motivation and Engagement in Learning

This descriptive correlation research investigates the levels of motivation and engagement among students in learning English and examines how these factors vary across different demographic categories. The study also aimed in determining the relationship between the two variables. The 227 conveniently chosen Grade 7 students in the District of San Enrique, Iloilo served as the respondents of the study. Data were gathered using the duly validated and reliability tested researcher-made questionnaire and were analyzed using the mean, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U and Spearman’s rho set at .05 alpha level. The findings reveal that the overall motivation of students in learning English is "high," consistent across classifications such as sex, mothers’ educational attainment, fathers’ occupation, distance from home to school, and school location. Similarly, the extent of engagement in learning English is also "high" across the same demographic categories. Analysis shows no significant differences in motivation levels based on sex, mothers’ educational attainment, distance from home to school, and school location; however, a significant difference is observed when students are categorized by fathers’ occupation. Additionally, significant differences in engagement levels are found based on distance from home to school and fathers’ occupation, while other variables show no significant differences. The study also identifies a significant positive relationship between students' motivation and their engagement in learning English, indicating that higher motivation correlates with greater engagement. These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to maintain and enhance student motivation and engagement, particularly considering the influence of fathers' occupation and distance from school.