Attitudes to English and Motivation to Continue Learning English in a Tertiary Education Setting

This study investigates attitudes toward English, the primary language of international communication, and motivation of intermediate and advanced learners to pursue Business English in a university setting. Moreover, the study aims to establish the correlations between attitudes to English, different types of motivation and invested effort as a criterion related to motivated behaviour. Approximately 700 Croatian students of business and economics responded to a questionnaire based on earlier sociolinguistic and L2 motivation research in the socio-psychological tradition. Descriptive and inferential analyses (factor, correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses) of the collected data revealed a positive attitude to English as a lingua franca alongside a preference for native English varieties. The perception of English as a threat was weak among our respondents. As regards motivational dimensions, the sample was characterised by integrative and two types of instrumental motivation, one deriving from expected benefits and the other from experienced benefits. Although a positive attitude to English as a lingua franca positively correlated with invested effort, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that effort could only be predicted on the basis of integrative motivation and positive experiences with English to date. Despite its high score, the motivation dimension deriving from expected benefits was not a predictor of invested effort. Moreover, its composition (focus on future goals, milieu and vitality of L2 community items) suggested that it reflects extrinsic motivation and resembles Ought-to L2 Self. Our findings provide insights into attitudes and motivation of ESP learners in educational contexts where English is not regularly used for academic and professional purposes.