The paper explores the nature of learning, focusing particularly on the theories of Biggs and Teffler (1989) and their research finding that the quality of learning is the result of the motivation for learning, and that this affects the learners' performance. An alternative theory of learning is offered and ideas for improving the teachers' role…

From the results of questionnaires, it was found that students in a Japanese English-as-a-Second-Language course tended to be highly motivated to learn. At the same time, however, they did not seem ready for autonomous learning. It is speculated that because of their past learning experiences, where the students were excessively…