English Language Learner Motivation in the Digital Technology Classroom

Abstract

This chapter investigates learner motivation in an English as a foreign language writing classroom in an Indonesian university. Its originality arises from the fact that no substantive studies have explored learner motivation in the digital classroom in Indonesian higher education. A mixed methods data collection process was conducted involving 144 students from three-year groups who responded to an online questionnaire. Two classes from Year 1 (47 students) were taken as a sample to observe the learning process between an existing group that was introduced to the learning of English writing through Edmodo. The other group used traditional materials for their writing tasks. The findings are significant in that the high levels of motivation reported by the students were not reflected in the way they completed their writing tasks as the use of technology affected their motivation in complex ways. In conclusion, the study encourages future research in Indonesia that measures English students' motivation and technology-mediated writing task performance through longitudinal studies.