The Effect Of “Prestige” Shapes on Efl Student Motivation in Learning English

This study investigated the effect of prestige on EFL student motivation in learning English among fourth-semester students of the English Language Education Study Program at UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. Guided by Gardner’s Socio-Educational Model and Linguistic Prestige Theory, the study adopted a quantitative correlational design. A total of 62 students were selected as respondents through purposive sampling from a population of 160 fourth-semester students, completing a closed- ended Likert-scale questionnaire measuring two prestige dimensions, social prestige and academic prestige, and four motivation dimensions: integrative orientation, instrumental orientation, ideal L2 self, and learning experience. Data were analyzed using simple linear regression and multiple linear regression. Results revealed that prestige significantly predicted motivation (b = 1.268, R² = 0.727, p < 0.001), indicating that 72.7% of the variance in motivation was explained by prestige perception. Multiple regression further showed that both social prestige (β = 0.470, p = 0.000) and academic prestige (β = 0.424, p = 0.001) were significant predictors, with social prestige exhibiting the stronger influence. These findings confirm that prestige operates as a meaningful sociocultural motivator for EFL learners and suggest that educators and curriculum designers should acknowledge and leverage the symbolic value of English to foster sustained learning motivation.