A study about the lack of motivation among Secondary School EFL students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare EFL and other subjects´ teachers´ beliefs towards unmotivational factors and to analyze whether EFL teachers’ beliefs correspond to those of students. This study has been carried out in order to observe and contrast these unmotivational and limiting factors in a Spanish Secondary School context. The findings have revealed that differences exist between students´ and EFL teachers´ beliefs in terms of preferences and that EFL teachers and other subjects´ teachers also differ at the time of feeling influential and taking responsibility for motivating students. Moreover, some unmotivating factors such as the teacher-student relationship, the social pressure, the importance of the methodologies used and the need for an autonomous learning method have appeared as important. Finally, students´ suggestions were linked to Dörnyei´s ¨Model of Components of Foreign Language Learning Motivation¨ for pedagogical implications related to communication, methodologies and the role of institutions