MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS OF THE MAJOR AND NON-MAJOR UNDERGRADUATE FEMALE LEARNERS IN ESL CLASSROOMS, AT KOHAT UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, KOHAT, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the Female learners' motivational orientations in ESL classrooms, which are basic components of L2 motivation. For this purpose, this study targeted the female learners of Kohat University of Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The principle objective of this study was to understand the difference between the motivational orientations of female English learners from the Department of English named the major female English learners and female English learners from other departments of the university named non-major female English learners. The methodology used for this study was qualitative method and semi-structured interviews were used for the qualitative research design. A total of 10 female participants were selected for a semi-structured interview and the data was analysed through thematic analysis. The present study found learners' motivational orientations for learning L2.  The study found a significant difference between the major and non-major English learners’ motivational orientations. The major female English learners were found to be more motivated towards learning English than the non-major female English learners, in this case from the Department of Biotechnology. Learning English as a lingua-franca is suggested to lead ESL learners to support their families for socioeconomic reasons, to be able to propagate Islam efficiently and to fight for their rights in their society. This study suggests that educators, researchers, and practitioners of ESL should focus on the English language system across various universities, particularly in Pakistan, with an emphasis on L2 motivation and second language acquisition (SLA).

Key Words: English as a Second Language (ESL), Motivation, L2 motivation, Female learner’s Motivational Orientations, Major and Non-Major learners, Second Language Acquisition (SLA).