Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 4(4), pp. 704 - 715
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2016.040407
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Korean University Students' Attitudes and Motivation towards Studying English

Aaron J. Geddes ^*
Department of Liberal Arts, Hongik University, South Korea

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study was to identify the attitudes of Korean university students towards studying English and to determine if attending after-school English academies has had a negative impact on their attitudes towards studying English. The study also sought to determine if studying English leads to anxiety, and more importantly if important examinations, such as the TOEIC and TOEFL tests were responsible for increasing anxiety. An attempt was also made to see if students were more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated and what the most important reasons for studying English were. Fifty-two university students from a single university were chosen using cluster sampling. Each student was given a survey consisting of twenty-seven Likert-scale and one Likert-type questions, and was also responsible for ranking reasons for studying English. The study found that students had a general positive attitude towards studying English and those who had previously attended private English academies for short periods of time had the most positive attitude towards studying English. It was also found that studying English, as well as studying for TOEIC and TOEFL tests, did not lead to anxiety. As well, it was suggested that while an extrinsically motivated reason, getting a better job, was the most important reason for studying English, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were found to be about equal.

KEYWORDS
Korean Education, English Language Education, Motivation for Learning English, Attitude towards English

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Aaron J. Geddes , "Korean University Students' Attitudes and Motivation towards Studying English," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 704 - 715, 2016. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2016.040407.

(b). APA Format:
Aaron J. Geddes (2016). Korean University Students' Attitudes and Motivation towards Studying English. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(4), 704 - 715. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2016.040407.