Exploring Indonesian EFL Writing Students’ Differences in Motivation: A Language Learning Journey to Success

Abstract

Every language learner has various dreams and purposes in learning a language. Different motivations are also commonly found among EFL learners. This study reveals the motivations of 33 English language learners from Indonesia. They were all writing students of an English Language Education Program (ELEP) in a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. The classes they attended were Procedural Writing (14 students from the 2020 class year), Research Report Writing (10 students from the 2017 class year), and Research Proposal (9 students from the 2018 class year). Data were derived through questionnaires and interviews. The first finding was that 87.88% of the respondents were intrinsically motivated. However, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation might be a big drive leading to students’ success. The second discovery was that 81.82% of the students were instrumentally rather than integratively motivated. Instrumental motivation could also be a big initiative for students to learn a language. Next, students’ ideals or dreams became the motivating factor that most students had. The last outcome was that students’ habit of delaying doing assignments, having too many assignments, and being lazy were the three major demotivating factors. This study will hopefully be useful for writing lecturers to give them more insights into and a better understanding of their students’ motivational backgrounds.