Thai Students’ Demotivation and Remotivation in an Advanced EFL Writing Class: A Case Study of English Major Students at Ramkhamhaeng University

Abstract

Abstract

This study explores internal and external factors that demotivate Thai EFL university students and the ways in which they remotivate themselves to engage in an advanced EFL writing class. Participants were 40 English major students at Ramkhamhaeng University. The data were collected by a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. Results of the thematic analysis revealed that the theme of learner-related issues related to the internal factors that demotivated the students. As for the external factors, the themes concerning teaching methods, teaching materials, and learning environments emerged from the analysis. With respect to the students’ remotivation, the study found the following themes: Goal attainment, perceived benefits of the subject, prospects of a good future, and social support. Overall, the ways the students remotivated themselves reflect the students’ self-reliance, their determination                  to improve their writing ability, and their positive thinking toward their future. However,                  this study indicates that internal factors related to the students are more influential than the external ones, particularly in the context of teaching and learning at Ramkhamhaeng University, an open-admission university, where class attendance is not required, so the students need more self-reliance than normal to carry out their studies.