The Role of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning: Case of EFL Students at Ain Temouchent University

Abstract

Learning a foreign language and especially English is of a paramount importance in the professional and academic tracks of learners as it is a significant instrument in many fields embracing scientific communications, business and cultural interchanges, however learning a foreign language depends on various characteristics among which motivation; that is highlighted in this study as it is considered a prominent and most determining factor which influences success and efficiency of the learners in foreign language classes. Therefore, the actual purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation in foreign language learning along with its correlation to learners’ attitude. Further, it dealt with the different views of motivation and how it works for language learning besides explaining its influence on students’ performance as well as examining the factors affecting it, also this research shed the light on the effective role of teachers in maintaining and promoting their learners’ motivation.This research was conducted in the department of English at Belhadj Bouchaib University, the data was collected through two questionnaires: the first one was administrated to seventy-four students at the English department, and the second one to twenty teachers at the same department. After an attentive analysis and discussion, the findings validated and confirmed the correlation between motivation and the learners’ attitude, in addition to some suggestions and recommendations proposed as an outcome of the findings.