English language students and their motivation to learn the language, estudio realizado en la Unidad Educativa Nuestra Señora de Pompeya, del cantón Pastaza, provincia de Pastaza en el año lectivo 2014 – 2015

Abstract

The topic of this study is English Language students and their motivation to learn the language. It aims to identify the factors that promote and influence students´ motivation toward English language learning. The students´ perceptions in relation to their motivation inside the English classroom were explored. The general approach of this study is quantitative and qualitative. Class observations and surveys were considered as instruments to perform this study. In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the selected participants were five teachers and twenty students from different classes from a high school in an urban area of Pastaza province in the Amazon Region of Ecuador. The results from the surveys were analyzed, tabulated and presented in eight graphs in the section of description, analysis and interpretation of results. Qualitative data from descriptive surveys is also included to enhance and support understanding of the findings. The results obtained revealed that numerous factors such as: the type of textbooks, the size of classes, the type of teacher-student relationships and the quality of strategies influence students' motivation to learn English.