THE ROLE OF ESP IN MOTIVATING ADULT LEARNERS OF ENGLISH: A QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY IN HUNGARIAN CORPORATE CONTEXTS

Abstract

While second language (L2) motivation has been widely researched in the field of applied linguistics, the role of English for specific purposes (ESP) in L2 motivation has received considerably less attention. If we narrow down the scope of enquiry to adult L2 learners in a corporate context, empirical research is even more scarce. This paper contributes to the growing body of research by presenting the results of a quantitative questionnaire study on the role of ESP in motivating adult learners of English in Hungarian corporate contexts. The study conducted with 232 adult learners compared the strength of ESP exerting its influence on L2 motivation with that of nine other dimensions related to the language teacher. The relationships between ESP and the other teacher-related dimensions, as well as the connection between ESP and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were also investigated. Results show that ESP plays a significant role in motivating adult learners of English in Hungarian corporate contexts. Furthermore, in the environment investigated, there were significant correlations between ESP and all the teacher-related dimensions and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Finally, the regression analyses conducted attested that ESP contributed to the extrinsic motivation of the participants.