IMPACT OF DEMOTIVATING FACTORS ON THE READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT OF IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of motivating and demotivating factors affecting Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learnersʹ reading comprehension proficiency studying English at Khorasgan Islamic Azad (Isfahan, Iran) university. For this purpose, from the student population studying English translation at this university, a sample of one hundred senior students, both male and female, were randomly selected. To specify the motivating and demotivating factors influencing the reading comprehension of the participants in the sample, modified versions of two questionnaires designed by Guthrie and Wigfield (1997) and Warrington (2005) were utilized respectively. Based on the analysis of the responses provided by the respondents, two samples, 50 each, were identified and labeled as motivating (M) and demotivating (D) groups. Then a TOEFL reading comprehension test was administered. The findings revealed that the average reading comprehension profile of the M- group was meaningfully higher than that of the D- group. In fact, there was a noticeable positive correlation between the motivating /demotivating factors and learnersʹ reading comprehension achievement. The findings suggest English teachers that they should have a good idea of the motivational beliefs that their students bring into the classroom. Knowledge about students’ motivational beliefs will allow teachers to plan learning activities that make good use of studentsʹ favorable motivational beliefs and prompt them to reconsider unfavorable beliefs.