IRANIAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ENGLISH ACADEMIC PROFICIENCY AND ITS RELATION TO DEMOTIVATIONAL FACTORS

The aim of the present study was to explore the following three questions: (1) At what of language proficiency, do Iranian high school students stand considering Asian countries standards? (2) Is there any relationship between demotivation and level of language proficiency in Iranian students of senior high school? (3) Considering Iranian high school proficiency level, is there any relationship between demotivation and gender? The participants were 198 high school learners in grade 2 and 3 both male and female. An oxford placement test in admonished to check student level of proficiency and to examine demotivation, a 48-item questionnaire was used in order to find the relationship between demotivation and English language proficiency. Through this principal factor analysis we have, seven demotivating factors were extracted: (a) Lack of Self-confidence, (b) Teachers’ Competence and Teaching Styles, (c) Lack of Interest in English, (d) Lack of School Facilities, (e) Learning Contents and Context, (f) Focus on English Usage, and (g) The Focus of Teaching regarding English language proficiency ,the result demonstrated that there is no significant difference among Iranian student of high school and also there is no significant deference between male and female regarding demotivation . And the Lack of Self-confidence and negative attitude was a demotivating factor for many Iranian high school students.