The paper titled "Demotivating Factors Affecting EFL Learning of Saudi Undergraduate Students" by Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh focuses on identifying the factors that demotivate Saudi undergraduate students in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at King Khalid University. The study aims to address the gap in research concerning the negative influences on EFL learning among Saudi students, specifically exploring which factors are most demotivating and how they vary across different faculties.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the specific demotivating factors that affect EFL learning among Saudi undergraduate students and to understand the implications of these factors for improving English language teaching and learning in Saudi Arabia. The research encompasses various aspects, including classroom characteristics, teacher behavior, course content and materials, test scores, classroom environment, and students' self-confidence and interest.
The methodology employed in this study is a descriptive research design. The research utilized a questionnaire adapted from Sakai and Kikuchi (2009), consisting of 35 close-ended items on a 5-point Likert scale, covering six main demotivating factors. The sample comprised 101 male undergraduate students aged 18-24, randomly selected from three faculties: Languages and Translation, Sharia, and Humanities at King Khalid University. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and T-tests to identify and compare demotivating factors across the different faculties.
The key findings reveal that the most prominent demotivating factor was the characteristics of the classes, particularly the lack of opportunities to communicate in English and the requirement to repeat sentences after the teacher. The second most significant factor was the course content and materials, with issues such as the necessity to memorize and translate sentences and the difficulty of understanding English sentences in lessons. Other notable factors included the impact of low test scores, the classroom environment, lack of interest, and teacher behavior. The study also found that students from the Faculty of Languages and Translation were less demotivated compared to their peers from the Sharia and Humanities faculties.
The study concludes that understanding these demotivating factors is crucial for English language teachers in Saudi Arabia to develop effective strategies to enhance student motivation and improve English language learning outcomes. The findings have significant implications for further research in this area and suggest the need for more studies to gain a deeper understanding of the demotivation factors in EFL learning in Saudi Arabia.