THE STRUGGLE OF AN ESL LEARNER: DELVING INTO LEARNING ORIENTATION, MOTIVATION, AND STRATEGIES.

This paper provides a detailed account of how a non-Tagalog ESL graduating Education student struggled to learn English in Tagalog region. It can be of great significance especially to teachers who complain about their low-achieving students who on the other edge are actually not helped to learn and process information. It tried to determine the subject?s intrinsic and extrinsic language learning motivation, her language learning orientation based on language learning theories with Nunan?s (2009) orientation model, and the learning strategies that she utilized while learning English courses. The data were gathered through attitudinal questionnaires and series of interviews conducted by the researcher. Analysis revealed that the participant was intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn English; nevertheless, she manifested very limited learning strategies for disposal and possessed surface approach to learning, so she would perform badly inside and outside the language classroom. Teachers might have overlooked the student-centeredness of the modern classrooms, hence, forget to look into the reasons of the students? failure. Thus, all content area teachers are reminded to delve into their students? motivation and approaches to learning so as to adjust their motivational strategies as well as their teaching methodologies and strategies for students? improved academic performance.