Motivation to Speak English Language among Arab EFL Students at Jerash University, Jordan

Abstract

The current study seeks to investigate students’ level of motivation to speak in English among Jordanian EFL undergraduate in Jerash University, Jordan. The paper is important in finding out students’ level of motivation to speak English and finding ways to enhance their speaking. Study sample consists of 351 students and five lecturers. The questionnaire adopted from Gardner (1985) with 32 items to determine students’ level of motivation. 35 students and 5 lecturers sat for interviews. The results show that 86.1% of respondents have low level of motivation to speak English and do not perceive themselves to be motivated to speak. Qualitative results suggested having collaboration between lecturers, students and their parents as all of them share the responsibility to change the approach of teaching from teacher-centered to student-centered approaches. Future researchers are encouraged to use methods in investigating students’ level of motivation such as learning diary in order to gather more accurate data.