Science Students' EFL Reading Motivation at a Thai secondary school: a self determination theory-based study

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore motivational orientations of science students in EFL reading at an upper secondary school level and to investigate relevant perceived experiences contributing to self-determination in EFL reading. Based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), there exists five different regulatory styles, including intrinsic motivation (IM), identified regulation (ID), introjected regulation (IJ), external regulation (ER), and amotivation (AM) observed though the mixed-method approach. The primary data collection method was a questionnaire survey conducted on 169 eleventh grade students from science study programs. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten students from the same group. Findings showed that EFL reading motivation remains the multidimensional nature at a moderate level (M = 3.18). Each of the dimension was ranked as follows: ID (M = 3.87), IM (M = 3.33), ER (M = 3.13), IJ(M = 3.12), and AM (M = 2.43). It is quite apparent that students regarded autonomous motivation (i.e., IM and ID), which seemed to correspond with perceived personal relevance and value attached to the written texts and inherent satisfaction, as relatively important to their self-determination. However, controlled motivation (i.e., IJ and ER) was also endorsed in such a way as to meet internal and external demands. The author discussed factors affecting the students’ motivation, which may correspond to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and also how pedagogical implications provide insights into the instructional practices enhancing self-determination in reading of EFL.