Demotivating Factors among Undergraduate Distance English Learners: A Chinese Case Study

This study explores demotivating factors for undergraduate English majors in a Chinese university in the context of distance courses during the COVID-19 lockdown. Delving into students' reflection in this unusual period through in-depth interviews, a qualitative analysis of what demotivates students is provided, as well as a comparison of the findings with those obtained in earlier studies conducted in traditional classrooms. In all, ten students participated in the study and provided their insights. The interviews were transcribed and coded following established qualitative research methods. It is shown that in the context of distance education, the lack of learning strategies demotivated students the most, followed by teacher-related factors, learning environment, technical problems, and peer influences. The lack of self-regulation was pinpointed as the largest demotivator, trailed by teacher-student interactions in class, inappropriate institutional management, long screen time, and negative peer influences. Supporting previous results, this study found that self-related and teacher-related factors impacted demotivation, but in this research they had different weightings, such as the lack of self-regulation which was more powerful than previously documented. Technical problems, such as the long screen time, were related to inappropriate institutional arrangements, and this also diverged from previous findings. These findings may prove a springboard to future discussion on blends of traditional and nontraditional language education, with possible effects on student demotivation at the forefront.