Motivational Intensity, Desire, and Attitudes: An Analysis of Pakistani Undergraduates’ Motivation to Learn English

This study examined the motivation of Pakistani undergraduates in learning English as a Second Language (ESL) through Gardner's Socio-Educational Model (SEM), focusing on three components: motivational intensity, desire to learn, and attitudes toward learning English.A total of 381 undergraduates from three universities participated in the study by completing a 14-item questionnaire.Responses were rated on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics.The findings revealed a high overall level of motivation (M = 3.88, SD = 0.96).Learners demonstrated strong motivational intensity (M = 3.89), particularly in their intention to maximize English learning (M = 4.15).The desire to learn was the highest-scoring subdomain (M = 3.92), with a strong preference for speaking (M = 4.53) and writing (M = 4.44) over listening (M = 3.35) and reading (M = 3.34).Learners' attitudes toward English were also positive (M = 3.83), especially in terms of enjoyment of English (M = 4.33), but lower for classroom materials (M = 3.30) and future study (M = 3.47).These results suggest that Pakistani undergraduates are highly motivated, especially toward productive skills, yet their motivation may be constrained by weaker attitudes toward resources and long-term engagement.The study contributes to the literature by applying SEM's triadic structure in the Pakistani context and offers pedagogical recommendations for balancing skill development, updating learning materials, and supporting sustainable motivation in ESL learning.