From English for general purposes to English for specific purposes: the role of motivation in Higher Education in Spain

Abstract

Motivation has been understudied in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), as opposed to English for General Purposes (EGP) courses, especially in countries like Spain, where students still struggle in achieving full mastery of the L2. This study aims to compare undergraduates’ motivation when learning ESP and EGP courses by ranking several motivational variables for 120 university students from a public university in Madrid in the academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23 using a validated questionnaire (Brady, 2019). Group 1 includes first-year Economics students who only took EGP in pre-university education. Group 2 consists of second-year Commerce learners who also took EGP courses in primary and secondary education and in their first year of studies at university. Group 3 comprises third-year Tourism students who have taken EGP courses at pre-university levels and in their first year of university studies but have also done an ESP course in their second year. The results indicate that Group 2 was the most motivated toward English, probably due to their upcoming first-time exposure to ESP, which directly aligned with their main interest. Regarding variables, the ideal self was rated the highest in all three groups, whereas attitudes toward past L2 learning experiences were ranked the lowest.