A Preliminary Study on the Influence of a Literature Online Support System (LitOSS) on Malaysian Learners’ Motivation

This paper is based on a preliminary study designed to explore the influence of a Literature Online Support System (LitOSS) on motivation to learn English literature. LitOSS was introduced to a group of Form 4 students from a secondary school in Malaysia in the hope of enhancing their motivation to learn English literature which many of them perceived as difficult and uninteresting. 25 students were selected to undertake a questionnaire (i.e. an adapted version of WebMac Sr. 4.0) designed to assess the effectiveness of the motivational design of the system. This was supported by a focus group interview conducted on five randomly selected students to explore the influence of this online support system on students’ motivation. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) of language learning and Keller's (1987) ARCS Model were used to frame the study. In general, this study revealed that LitOSS had enhanced students’ motivation in learning literature. More in-depth findings from the study will be shared in this paper to enable a better understanding of the effects of this system on the students.