A Correlational Analysis of Classroom Enjoyment and Learning Motivation among Iranian EFL Learners

Zahedi Khoshkbijari, Zahra; Ebadi, Solmaz; Dowlatabadi, Hamid Reza; Mohammadi Sarab, Maryam

doi:10.22034/jespp.2024.559455.1031

A Correlational Analysis of Classroom Enjoyment and Learning Motivation among Iranian EFL Learners

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Zahra Zahedi Khoshkbijari ¹

Solmaz Ebadi ²

Hamid Reza Dowlatabadi ³

Maryam Mohammadi Sarab ⁴

¹ Department of English Language, Ra.C., Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

² Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

³ Assistant Professor in TEFL, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Languages, Arak University, Arak, Iran

⁴ Department of English, Shams Gonbad Institute of Higher Education, Gonbadkavus, Iran

10.22034/jespp.2024.559455.1031

Abstract

With the growth of more humanistic approaches towards teaching foreign languages, more emphasis has been put on learners’ feelings and emotions. One of the issues in teaching and learning English as a foreign language is demotivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between classroom enjoyment and learning motivation of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, two online questionnaires, Motivational questionnaire (Roohani, 2001) and enjoyment questionnaire (Stevens et al., 2000) were provided through On-line messengers. The participants of the study were 135 intermediate EFL learners selected from private foreign language institutes in Tehran, Iran through convenience sampling. The data gathered by means of questionnaires were subjected to correlation coefficient through SPSS Version 24. Spearman correlation revealed that there is a significant relationship (r(135) = .25, p = .004) between classroom enjoyment and learning motivation of Iranian EFL learners. Further suggestion should look into the role of the friends in the degree of EFL learners’ motivation. Finally, the study provides implications for language educators, material developers, EFL teachers, parents, and students.

Keywords

Motivation

Demotivation

Enjoyment

Emotion

EFL learners