Exploring Differences in Motivation between Students Who Excelled and Underperformed in Learning the English Language

Abstract

This paper seeks to shed light on the concept of motivation among students and its corresponding effects on their academic performances. It reports a study that aims to investigate the motivation levels of excellent and underperforming students among Junior Middle 3 (Form 3) students in a Chinese Independent Secondary School and offers suggestions to improve waning motivation. A mixed methods approach was chosen with the questionnaire and interview as research instruments. Overall excellent students exhibited higher motivation level than the underperformers.