Abstract:

Although the Japanese Ministry of Education has recently directed that communication skills be emphasised, English education in high schools is still largely focused on the teaching and testing of grammar and vocabulary. This situation can adversely affect students’ attitude towards the language, and by the time they complete their university entrance exams some students believe that they no longer have a need for it. In order to foster an international outlook among students, the authors’ university requires students to take a series of courses in which English is used as a medium of instruction and communication. It is therefore desirable for students to have at least basic English communication skills at the time of enrolment.

Japanese universities have a system which offers early acceptance to those who can demonstrate suitable experience and aptitudes. This creates a period of up to several months in which successful students ostensibly have no need to study, during which important knowledge and skills can decline. In order to ameliorate this situation at their university, the authors provide their students with an online pre-enrolment English course. The course aims to help them prepare for university, and there is an emphasis on using English as a tool for communication. Given that it is a non-credit-bearing course, and most students have no experience with e-learning, an understanding of their motivations is essential to guide its design. In this paper, the authors will describe their students’ motivations towards learning English, some of the practical impediments to engagement with the course, and how these have influenced the course design.

Keywords:

Motivation, e-learning, Moodle, Japan, university, English.