The Interplay Between Academic Resilience and Demotivation Among English Language Learners

RESEARCH DIALOGUE REAL-WORLD IMPACT

Contributors

  • Dr. Zahid Hussain Pathan Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.
  • Irum Fatima Assistant Professor, Department of English, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women’s University, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Imran Bhatti Assistant Professor, Department of linguistics and Philology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan
Keywords
Academic Resilience Perseverance English Learning Demotivation

Abstract

English learning demotivation is a salient phenomenon that debilitates students’ learning motivation. Although a plethora of research has tried to discover possible factors leading to students’ ESL/EFL demotivation, few research studies have attempted to investigate the interaction of academic resilience with English learners’ demotivation. To close this lacuna, the present quantitative research studied 234 college students' academic resilience and its interaction with their English learning. To collect the data, two closed-ended questionnaires on English learning demotivation and academic resilience were adopted from studies by Kikuchi (2011), and Wagnild (2009), respectively. All participants' responses were analyzed in SPSS through correlation and a series of simple linear regressions. The results showed that academic resilience had a significant and negative interaction with English language learning demotivation. These results support the stance that fostering students' resilience can enable them to bounce back in the face of academic setbacks. These findings imply that EFL/ESL teachers should help their students focus on building resilience against the forces that diminish their L2 learning interest. English language teachers can enhance learners' persistence (i.e., perseverance) by encouraging them to set clear learning objectives and engage in self-regulated learning. English language learners should also be assisted in enhancing their problem-solving skills, which can promote their self-reliance. Besides, learners' own awareness of the practical importance of English in the context of Pakistan can also provide them with a reason to study the English language.

References

Abolmaali, K., & Mahmudi, R. (2013). The prediction of academic achievement based on resilience and perception of the classroom environment. Open Science Journal of Education, 1(1), 7-12.

Clark, M., & Schroth, C. A. (2010). Examining relationships between academic motivation and personality among college students. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(1), 19-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2009.10.002

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Dörnyei, Z. & Skehan, P. (2003). Individual differences in second language learning. In: C. J. Doughty and M.H. Long (Eds.), The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 589– 630). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Dörnyei. Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Erfani, S. S., & Mardan, H. (2017). The relationship between big-five personality traits, English language proficiency scores on IELTS, and academic success of Iranian foreign students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(11), 1046-1058. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0711.13

Gay, L. R., & Mills, G. E. (2015). Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Applications, Global Edition: Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Ghonsooly, B., Hassanzadeh, T., Samavarchi, L., & Hamedi, S. M. (2017). A mixed-methods approach to demotivating factors among Iranian EFL learners. Issues in Educational Research, 27(3), 417- 434. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.008004935676488

Hassaskhah, J., Zafarghandi, A. M., & Fazeli, M. (2015). Reasons for demotivation across years of study: Voices from Iranian English major students. Educational Psychology, 35(5), 557-577. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.893557

Howard, S., & Johnson, B. (2000). Resilient and non-resilient behavior in adolescents. In A. Graycar (Ed.), Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice series (pp. 1–6). Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

Jahedizadeh, S., Ghanizadeh, A., & Ghonsooly, B. (2016). The role of EFL learners’ demotivation, perceptions of classroom activities, and mastery goal in predicting their language achievement and burnout. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 1(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-016-0021-8

Kaivanpanah, S., & Ghasemi, Z. (2011). An investigation into sources of demotivation in second language learning. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL), 14(2), 89-110.

Kikuchi, K. (2011). Learner perceptions of demotivators in Japanese high school English classrooms (Doctoral dissertation, Temple University). Available at ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Kikuchi, K. (2015). Demotivation in second language acquisition: Insights from Japan. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Kim, K. J. (2009). Demotivating factors in secondary English education. English Teaching, 64(4), 249-267. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.64.4.200912.249

Kim, S. (2015). Demotivation and L2 motivational self of Korean college students. English Teaching, 70(1), 29-55. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.70.1.201503.29

Kim, T. Y. (2011). Korean elementary school students’ English learning demotivation: A comparative survey study. Asia Pacific Education Review, 12(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-010-9113-1

Kim, T. Y., & Kim, Y. K. (2017). The impact of resilience on L2 learners’ motivated behaviour and proficiency in L2 learning. Educational Studies, 43(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2016.1237866

Kim, T. Y., Kim, Y., & Kim, J. Y. (2018). A qualitative inquiry on EFL learning demotivation and resilience: A study of primary and secondary EFL students in South Korea. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27(1), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0365-y

Kim, T. Y., Kim, Y., & Kim, J. Y. (2019). Role of resilience in (de) motivation and second language proficiency: Cases of Korean elementary school students. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 48(2), 371-389.

Kwek, A., Bui, H. T., Rynne, J., & So, K. K. (2013). The impacts of self-esteem and resilience on academic performance: An investigation of domestic and international hospitality and tourism undergraduate students. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 25(3), 110-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2013.826946

Martin, A. (2002). Motivation and academic resilience: Developing a model for student enhancement. Australian Journal of Education, 46(1), 34-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/000494410204600104

Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2006). Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach. Psychology in the Schools, 43(3), 267-281. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20149

Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.56.3.227

Narayanan, S. S., & Alexius Weng Onn, C. (2016). The influence of perceived social support and self-efficacy on resilience among first-year Malaysian students. Kajian Malaysia, 34(2), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.21315/km2016.34.2.1

Neill, J. T., & Dias, K. L. (2001). Adventure education and resilience: The double-edged sword. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 1(2), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729670185200061

Pathan, Z. H., Ismail, S. A., & Fatima, I. (2021). English language learning demotivation among Pakistani university students: Do resilience and personality matter? Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 1024-1042. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-04-2020-0087

Rastegar, M., Akbarzadeh, M., & Heidari, N. (2012). The darker side of motivation: Demotivation and its relation with two variables of anxiety among Iranian EFL learners. ISRN Education, 2012, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/215605

Sakai, H., & Kikuchi, K. (2009). An analysis of demotivators in the EFL classroom. System, 37(1), 57-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2008.09.005

Shin, J., & Kim, T. Y. (2017). South Korean elementary school students’ English learning resilience, motivation, and demotivation. Linguistic Research, 34(null), 69-96. https://doi.org/10.17250/khisli.34..201709.004

Song, B., & Kim, T. (2017). The dynamics of demotivation and remotivation among Korean high school EFL students. System, 65, 90-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.12.010

Tabachnick Barbara G., Fidell, Linda S. (2007). Experimental Designs using ANOVA. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press.

Wagnild, G. M. (2009). The resilience scale user's guide: for the US English version of the resilience scale TM and the 14-Item resilience scale TM (RS-14 TM). Resilience center.

Wagnild, G. M., & Young, H. M. (1993). Development and psychometric. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1(2), 165-17847.

Waxman, H. C., Rivera, H., & Powers, R. (2012). English Language Learners' Educational Resilience and Classroom Learning Environment. Educational Research Quarterly, 35(4), 53.

Wildermuth, D. L. B. (2014). Exploring resilience and academic achievement: A comparision between mexican american students and mexican students (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

Xaypanya, V., Mohamed Ismail, S. A., & Low, H. M. (2017). Demotivation experienced by English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in the Lao PDR. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 26(6), 361-368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0355-0

Corresponding Author

Dr. Zahid Hussain Pathan

Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.

Corresponding Author: [email protected]     

How to Cite

Pathan, Z. H., Fatima, I., & Bhatti, M. I. (2026). The Interplay Between Academic Resilience and Demotivation Among English Language Learners. The Regional Tribune, 5(8), 310-320. https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/v-viii.415