Students’ Motivation and Teachers’ Motivational Strategies in English Language Classrooms in Unstable Socio-political Contexts

Abstract

This study investigated students’ motivation, teachers’ use of motivational strategies in English classrooms in an unstable socio-political state in Myanmar. In addition, how the situation affected the use of motivational strategies was also explored. Since previous studies have shown how students and teachers in such areas may be affected by the situation, this study will provide insights into how teacher education institutions can prepare and support the teachers in such areas. Sequential explanatory mix-method was employed and the data were collected from 172 students and 5 teachers in eleventh grade English classrooms from five upper secondary schools. Questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The quantitative data were analyzed using a statistical package and the qualitative data were analyzed using the coding method with an emphasis on themes and patterns.

Three major findings were revealed. First, the data from all sources suggested that most students recognized the importance of learning English and internally interested in English. In the classes, they were observed to participate in the learning activities actively. However, some of the students were found to lack motivation—not paying close attention to the lesson. The interviews also showed how the students’ motivation in learning in general was affected by the unstable socio-political situation in the state. The students reported feeling insecure about their future and that had affected their interests in learning. Second, the five teachers were observed to employ controlling strategies to motivate the students. Last, this use of controlling strategies was not found to be influenced directly by the unstable socio-political situation however. All teachers, regardless of their awareness of the effects the war had on students’ learning and motivation, relied heavily on controlling motivational strategies such as giving commands, using punishment, and so on. These findings suggest teachers’ lack of understanding of how to nurture students’ intrinsic motivation in vulnerable situations; therefore, further investigation on teacher knowledge and teacher beliefs about motivational strategies is recommended.