Motivation and E-Learning English as a foreign language: A qualitative study.

Area of Science:

• * Educational Psychology
• * Second Language Acquisition

Background:

• * Foreign language learning motivation is multifaceted.
• * The Ministry of National Education of Colombia (MEN) mandates English proficiency across educational levels.
• * Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides a framework for understanding motivation.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To identify and analyze factors influencing English learning motivation in undergraduate students.
• * To explore motivation within the context of Virtual and Distance Learning (E-Learning) modalities.
• * To apply Self-Determination Theory to understand student engagement in foreign language learning.

Main Methods:

• * Qualitative phenomenological study design.
• * Data collected through semi-structured individual interviews with 19 undergraduate students (16 women, 3 men).
• * Data analysis employed semantic categorizations using NVivo 11 software.

Main Results:

• * Motivation for learning English is significantly influenced by external factors.
• * Identified key external motivators impacting student engagement in e-learning.
• * Findings suggest a need to address external influences on language learning motivation.

Conclusions:

• * External factors play a crucial role in the motivation of e-learning students to learn English.
• * Understanding these external influences is vital for developing effective language pedagogy in distance education.
• * Further research can explore the interplay between internal and external motivation in foreign language acquisition.