An investigation into the language learning motivation of adult ESOL learners in England during the Covid-19 pandemic

英国的ESOL课程面向来自世界各地的寻求庇护者、难民、移民工人和持配偶或受抚养人签证的移民。尽管对课程的需求很高，但政府的资助每年都在波动，这往往导致等待课程的名单越来越长。在英国脱欧和阿拉伯之春之后，学习ESOL课程的人数并没有减少。然而，他们学习英语的动机可能会受到他们来到这个国家的原因和他们所处的政治环境的影响。一份议会报告刚刚建议移民应该学习英语（Peck, 2017），但正是这届政府在2015年夏天削减了4500万英镑的ESOL资金，导致数百名合格的教师被解雇，课程被关闭。我的博士学习将部分延续我在2016年的硕士论文中完成的研究。在那个项目中，我收集了考文垂一所FE学院非常兼职课程的41名中级成人ESOL学生的数据。我用Deci和Ryan（1985）设计的量表追踪了他们六个月的动机，在课程开始时使用问卷调查，在写作考试后使用焦点小组访谈，以确定考试的反作用，并最终确定对他们动机的影响（Sidaway, 2018）。2020年3月，英国进入封锁状态，所有ESOL课程都转移到网上，考试被取消。在我的博士研究中，我曾希望扩展我在反拨、观察课堂互动、考试准备和教师决策在这种情况下的影响方面的工作。然而，这些计划不得不改变，因为我不被允许访问社交距离较远的教室，那里的学生都在泡泡里，而且在2020年9月，在我开始收集数据时，还不清楚是否会恢复ESOL考试。在大流行期间的新条件下工作，为了我自己和任何潜在参与者的安全，我的研究必须转移到网上。以中等水平成人的语言学习动机为主题，我在此背景下对学生和教师进行了两项独立但相互关联的访谈研究。我的目标是确定：*是什么促使成人中级学习者加入这个水平的ESOL课程*在这种背景下，在ESOL课程中有什么因素激励和抑制学习者的动机*在2020/21学年，Covid-19大流行对这些学习者的动机有什么影响。这项研究旨在为当前围绕英国移民英语教学的政治辩论提供信息。同时也填补了成人ESOL学生动机研究的空白（Boo et al., 2015）。它还将提供切实可行的建议，不仅为教与学提供信息，而且也为更宏观的政府决策提供信息。我将采用混合方法，通过问卷调查、访谈和短信数据来整合学生和老师的观点。数据收集工作历时一学年（9月至6月），调查问卷和访谈模板在研究开始前一年在类似背景下对教师和学习者进行了试点，以确保有效性和道德稳健性。在主要数据收集后的一年里，我将写下结果，并咨询ESOL教师和考试委员会，了解如何利用我的数据来提高学生的满意度和积极性。

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in the UK are accessed by Asylum Seekers, Refugees, Migrant Workers and immigrants on Spousal or Dependant Visas from all over the world. Despite demand for classes being high, government funding fluctuates on a yearly basis, often resulting in waiting lists for classes growing longer. In the wake of Brexit and the Arab Spring, the number of people requiring ESOL classes is not diminishing. However, their motivation to learn English may be affected by their reasons for coming to this country and the political situation they find themselves living in. A parliamentary report has just advised that migrants should learn English (Peck, 2017) but this is the same government who cut £45 million from ESOL funding in summer 2015 resulting in hundreds of qualified teachers being made redundant and courses being closed.My PhD study will partly continue the research I completed in my MA dissertation in 2016. In that project, I collected data from 41 intermediate level adult ESOL students on very part-time courses in an FE college in Coventry. I tracked their motivation for six months, using the scale designed by Deci and Ryan (1985) using a questionnaire at the start of the course and focus group interviews after the writing exam to identify exam washback and ultimately any effect on their motivation (Sidaway, 2018).In March 2020, England went into lockdown and all ESOL courses were transferred online with the exams being cancelled. For my PhD research I had hoped to extend my work on washback, observing classroom interactions, exam preparation and the impact of teacher decisions in this context. However, these plans had to be changed as I was not allowed to visit socially distanced classrooms where students were in bubbles and in September 2020, at the start of my data collection, it was unclear whether the ESOL exams would be reinstated.Working under new conditions during the pandemic, my research had to be moved online for the safety of both myself and any potential participants. Staying with the topic of language learning motivation of adults at the intermediate level, I conducted two separate yet connected interview studies with students and teachers in this context.My objectives are to identify:* what motivates adult intermediate learners to join an ESOL course at this level* what factors motivate and demotivate learners during an ESOL course in this context* what impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on these learners' motivation during the 2020/21 academic yearThis research will aim to inform the current political debates around English Language teaching to migrants in Britain, whilst also filling the gap in motivation research regarding adult ESOL students (Boo et al., 2015). It will also provide practical recommendations not only to inform teaching and learning but also at the more macro level of government decision making. I will incorporate the views of both students and teachers through questionnaires, interviews and text message data, taking a mixed methods approach. Data collection occurred over an academic year (September to June), with the questionnaires and interview templates having been piloted with teachers and learners in a similar context in the year before the research began to ensure validity and ethical robustness.In the year following the main data collection I will write up the results and consult ESOL teachers and exam boards regarding how my data can be utilised to improve student satisfaction and motivation.