The Relationship Between Iranian EFL Learners’ Motivation and Their English Proficiency Level

Abstract. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between motivation in learning and English proficiency level in a sample of 100 Iranian EFL intermedite learners. The instruments used to collect the data included Gardner’s (2004) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and a shortened version of a paper-based TOEFL test. The collected data were codified and entered into SPSS Software (Version 19) and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficient. The results suggested that the highly motivated language learners in this study scored slightly higher on the English proficiency test than did the lower motivated participants and there was a positive significant relationship between the participants’ motivation and their English proficiency. It was noted that the female participants were slightly more motivated to learn English as compared to the male peers. However, there was no significant difference found between the motivation level of male and female participants in the present study. In sum, the findings indicated that there was no significant difference between the male and female participants concerning their motivation in English learning and their proficiency level, suggesting that gender did not act as a determining moderator in the relationship of the two main variables of the study. The results would contribute to methodology and syllabus design in particular.