Motivation in University Students: Gender Aspects

Some features of motivational sphere depend on the gender. This research featured the correlation between gender and motivation in university students in relation to ESL classes: 100 first-year students of two different non-linguistic majors (psychology and medicine) filled in V. Molchanovsky and L. Shipelevich’s questionnaire. The criteria of specific motivational features included: 1) quantitative correlation of motives; 2) correlation between the dominating motives and the gender; 3) equal mean values; 4) correlation between the motivational orientation and the future profession; 5) correlation between difficulties in learning English and the future profession. The female students of medicine and psychology demonstrated the following criteria: 1) the medical students had more motives in the motivational sphere; 2) the two groups had different dominant motives; 3) both were oriented to the process of language learning; 4) the medical students showed more coercion and obligation in the motivational sphere; 5) both groups had the same difficulties in English writing, listening, speaking, and reading. The male students demonstrated the following criteria: 1) the medical students had a priority in the choice of motives in the motivational sphere; 2) the two groups had different dominant motives; 3) the medical students were more prone to coercion and obligation; 4) both groups were oriented to the result, process, and teacher’s evaluation; 5) they had different difficulties in language learning. The results might help professors to adjust ESL classes to the specifics of motivational sphere.