EFL Teachers’ Perception of University Students’ Motivation and ESP Learning Achievement

Abstract

This research aimed at examining Indonesian EFL Teachers’ perception of students’ motivation and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learning achievement. It also explored the strategies applied by teachers based on their perception of students’ motivation and ESP learning achievement. This research involved 204 students who took English for Economics and Business (EEB) course. They were distributed into six classes and three majors in the Faculty of Economic of Universitas Negeri Malang, one of the leading universities in Indonesia. The Perception of Student Motivation (PSM) questionnaire and an achievement test were utilized to assess students’ motivation and ESP learning achievement, respectively. The students’ scores provided by the teachers were used as the basis of students’ motivation level: High, Moderate, and Low motivation. In this study, only the high and low motivation students were involved. The results of the research showed that the Indonesian EFL teachers perceived that university students’ motivation was generally high. The students’ motivation is moderately related to ESP learning achievement for both groups of students. However, it was revealed that the students’ motivation and achievement in reading and writing aspects of ESP between the students of low and high motivation were considerably different. Based on the findings, we recommend teachers apply motivational strategies in ESP classrooms as the strategies bring benefits to the improvement of students’ ESP learning achievement.

Keywords: Teachers’ perception, Motivation, ESP Learning achievement