On the Development of a Model of Political and Socio-Economic Factors Impacting Iranian EFL Learners’ Motivation to Learn English

The present study was an attempt to identify a model of the political and socio-economic factors influencing Iranian EFL learners’ motivation to learn English. To achieve this, 20 EFL learners were interviewed about their motivation of learning English and based on these interviews, a questionnaire was designed and piloted among 221 EFL learners. Exploratory factor analysis was then run to identify the underlying factors, and as a result, eight factors proved to have high loadings. Then, the final 26-item questionnaire was distributed among 375 EFL learners, and they were asked to rate the items on a Likert scale. Analyzing responses revealed the most influencing factor as ‘emigration’ and the least important one as ‘attitudes toward English and its utilitarian values’. To confirm the factor structure of the instrument, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. The goodness of fit measures was utilized to see whether the proposed model fitted the data. The obtained fit indices sustained the initial structure of the EFA with eight factors and 26 items. Consequently, this model can act as a reliable source for future localized motivation research in Iran making up for the lack of such a specific view in this politically unique EFL context.