English language students and their motivation to learn the language

Abstract

The following study analyzes different students of English and their motivation to learn the language in a public school in Ecuador. Its purpose is to learn about the motivation of students to learn English in the classroom. To reach the goal of this study, a questionnaire and an observation sheet were used to find out if students were motivated to learn English. The sample included twenty students from five different English classrooms of a public school located in the city of Loja. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Interestingly, the results revealed that most students are motivated to learn English, as they want to learn English in order to be able to study abroad once they finish school. On the other hand, one of the aspects that prevents students from learning English is the size of the class, arguing that they do not feel comfortable learning English in a class with more than thirty students.