Abstract:

Lecturers of English sometimes bemoan the lack of student motivation to read texts in English and ask what they can do to improve it. Although mature age students are usually highly motivated learners, they think of themselves as incompetent in English classes. We wanted to get deeper insight into their study motivation and improve the role of teacher as motivator.

We identified what the primary motivating factors are for mature age students to attend university (extrinsic or intrinsic motives) and then questioned teachers on what their practices were for professional development in order to improve mature age learner performance.

We asked students to indicate their main reason for study and we divided their answers into 3 main categories: "means to an end", "personal development", and "external inspiration".Our sample of 184 mature university students aged 29-45 was divided into categories as follow:
- Those classed as “means-to-an-end” students wanted to achieve something through their degree (a better job, higher salary). This was the most common category: a degree is required for entry into many jobs (126 students).
- Those who sought "personal development" (46 students) were those interested in the subject itself or who wanted to use their degree to realise their own potential (intrinsic motive).
- The smallest proportion, classified as "students with external inspiration" (8 answers), simply followed their friends´ or partner´s decision to study.

The second part of our research was based on data gathered from 11 English teachers working with mature age students. We used the interview as our data collection instrument. Our aim was to find the way how to improve the student readiness to improve their English.
Analysis of the responses pointed to 3 domains: personality of students, personality of teacher and methods used in teaching.

Personality of students:
Adults come into the English class with a rich range of experiences, regarding not only learning, but also life in general. Teachers should take advantage of it.

Personality of teachers:
A teacher who is open, respectful, honest, and authentic will always play an essential role in creating a positive learning environment. Since adults frequently feel rather insecure in their position as students, teachers should provide support when asking them to try new skills.

Methods used in teaching:
The learning tasks must be practical, with clear purpose, and must be relevant to important issues in the adults’ lives. Since adults associate their language knowledge and skills with the ability to function in the world, they need application of what they are learning. Didactic characteristics are related to the fact that adults prefer to be presented with an analytical, formal type of grammar and need to have a lot of controlled practice.

Conclusion:
We have gained no ready panacea for solving the problems of mature age student motivation to learn English, but it seems reasonable to suggest that the learning context and, specifically, the provision of high-quality feedback as well as the adoption of appropriate assessment systems are at least part of the answer. Mature age students may experience difficulties adjusting to various elements of the learning context, from the general instructional setting, to the teaching methods or the study skills.

Keywords:

Motivation, Mature age students, English language.