From Freshman to Senior: Tracking Motivation in English Learning among ELT Students

This study investigates the differences in motivation towards English language learning among 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students in the English Language Teaching (ELT) program at a state university. The participants comprised 167 ELT students: 50 first-year students (41 females and 9 males), 50 second-year students (45 females and 5 males), 43 third-year students (35 females and 8 males), and 25 fourth-year students (17 females and 8 males). To examine the students’ integrative, instrumental, resultative, and intrinsic motivation, a questionnaire adapted from Tsai and Chang (2013) was administered. The findings indicate that students across all academic years exhibit resultative, instrumental, and intrinsic motivation. However, 1st and 2nd year students demonstrated lower levels of integrative motivation, while 3rd and 4th year students showed higher levels of integrative motivation. In terms of gender, no statistically significant differences were found between male and female participants. Nevertheless, female students displayed higher levels of resultative, instrumental, and intrinsic motivation, whereas male students exhibited higher levels of integrative motivation.