DEMOTIVATION LEVEL AND DEMOTIVATORS AMONG EFL STUDENTS IN HOME ONLINE ENGLISH LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC

Abstract: Although recognizing students’ demotivating factors (or demotivators) is as important as acknowledging motivating factors in language learning, only few studies are focused in this area especially in the Indonesian context. More specifically, there are limited studies investigating demotivators in home online English learning as response of social distancing order amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This research employed two kinds of data, quantitative and qualitative. Questionnaire with 27 items was the main instrument used to obtain data about learners’ level of demotivation and demotivators as well as to identify the frequency of each demotivator. An open-ended question was attached at the end of the questionnaire to dig other additional demotivators. An interview was also conducted to gain supporting data for in-depth analysis. The results showed that the level of the 198 students’ demotivation was 2.9, categorized as lowly demotivated. The most-frequently rated demotivators in home online English learning were lack of interaction with 78.9% responses followed by 66.2% for increasing assignments and 62.1% for slow Internet connection. In terms of content and material, expectation to use grammatically correct English was the most demotivating factor with 59.6% responses. The study also revealed additional demotivators namely unsupportive parents, doing house chores, and Wi-fi absence.Keywords: demotivator, home online English learning, level of demotivatio