The Impact of Social Support on EFL Learners’ Motivation at Iraqi Kurdistan Universities

Abstract

There are many reasons standing behind the fact why non-native speakers study English as a foreign language. For some, the aspiration to be a foreign language teacher or the ability to use English at work is the main reasons and driving factors, while for others the reason is simply to pass the course requirement at schools and universities. The present study aims to evaluate student motivation level and the factors influencing motivation. This paper will also highlight the influence of the factor of social support on the other factors of motivation. Data were gathered through likert scale questionnaires distributed to EFL learners of English in two different universities in Kurdistan region of Iraq and semi-structured interviews conducted with a number of students who have been selected randomly. The results indicated that the motivation to learn English is not dominated by one factor; however, the factors of goals, intention, and outside social support appear as the most influenced factors. Also, there was a statistically significant parallel correlation between the outside social support and goals factors. Consequently, the outside social factor appears as a significant contributor to the motivation of EFL Kurdish learners.