Mohammad Salehi

Motivation and Language Learning Strategies: a Study of Persian Learners of English Mohammad Salehi

This study investigated the relationship between motivation and the use of language learning strategies by university students. Furthermore, variables such as sex, the level of proficiency were also investigated. The instruments used in the study consisted of: (a) a questionnaire on motivation which was developed by Vallerand et al. (1992), (b) a questionnaire on language learning strategies developed by Oxford (1990), and (c) a TOEFL developed by ETS (Educational Testing service). The results of this study revealed that extrinsic motivation did not correlate meaningfully with the choice of language learning strategies. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation correlated meaningfully with the choice of language learning strategies. Also, there was no difference between males and females in terms of strategy choice and strategy use. Furthermore, the level of proficiency did not make any difference in the type of strategies students used.