JEELS
(Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studie.
P-ISSN: 2407-2575 E-ISSN: 2503-2194 https://jurnalfaktarbiyah.
id/index.
php/jeels MOTIVATION-REGULATION STRATEGIES OF FEMALE AND MALE INDONESIAN EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THESIS WRITING *Yonas Yona Anselma1.
Concilianus Laos Mbato2 1,2MasterAos Program in English Education.
Sanata Dharma University.
Yogyakarta.
Indonesia *yonasyonaa@gmail.
cons@usd.
(*) Corresponding Author Abstract: Self-regulation constitutes studentsAo ability to maintain and manage their efforts to attain specific goals, significantly influencing motivation for thesis writing.
Whereas motivation-regulation strategies are correlated with completion rates, a significant gap remains in measuring differences across gender in their use among undergraduate students.
Therefore, this study employed a mixed-method study to discover motivation-regulation strategies across gender perspectives and how they used strategies in writing their thesis.
The participants of this study were 30 male and 30 female undergraduate students of English Education at Sanata Dharma University.
Yogyakarta.
Indonesia.
This study utilized a closed-ended questionnaire on motivation-regulation strategies and a semi-structured interview to gather the data.
The first finding revealed that the undergraduate students were conscious of motivation-regulation strategies: self1 Citation in APA style:
Anselma.
and Mbato C.
Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
JEELS 12.
, 877-905
DOI: 10.
30762/jeels.
Submission: May 2025.
Revision: August 2025 .
Publication: October 2025 Anselma.
and Mbato C.
Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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, 877-905
consequences, avoidance goals, approach goals, situational interest, and environmental strategy.
Further, the second finding indicated a significant difference between female and male students using motivation-regulation strategies 000 with p < .
The results implied that gender perspectives affect the students using the motivationregulation strategies.
Keywords: female and male students, motivation-regulation strategies, thesis writing, undergraduate students INTRODUCTION Possessing writing skills to convey ideas, such as background knowledge, mastery of diction, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, is essential for writers (Mbato & Cendra, 2.
They must delve further into the problem to produce a more complex piece of writing.
writing, learners need to be trained to express their views critically and creatively to produce such work.
Furthermore, many learners worldwide, including those in Indonesia, face formidable challenges regarding academic writing.
The obstacles encompass insufficient materials, inadequate vocabulary, improper paragraph construction, poor topic selection, and weak conceptualization (Aini et al.
, 2.
One of the challenges the students face in writing a thesis is their lack of strong self-belief in completing their assignments.
Moreover.
Hallberg and Olsson .
mentioned that flexible submission deadlines cause students to postpone their writing or, at worst, fail their studies.
Students who graduate on time need less than or precisely four years to finish their studies and are considered successful in attaining their goals.
On the other hand, students who do not graduate on time need more than four years to finish their studies (Diasti & Mbato, 2.
According to Andriani and Mbato .
, gender differences become one factor affecting studentsAo language learning, as students have different linguistic styles.
For instance, females excel in learning, are more social, use more strategies, and prefer intuition and emotion over perception and reason, making them more effective in language acquisition than males (Ehrman & Oxford, 1989.
Kearney & Ellis, 1.
Furthermore, females are more motivated than males to learn a foreign Anselma.
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Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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On the other hand, males learn and perform better when they are enthusiastic and responsible.
Therefore, those differences can lead to different strategies for each gender and influence their attitude towards language learning (Paradewari & Mbato, 2.
As a result, educators must recognize that male and female EFL students may possess different learning characteristics.
hence, language learning methods should be adjusted to meet these differences by integrating more variations (Ningrum et al.
, 2.
Besides learning a language, learners must regulate their learning process, including gaining self-control to complete their thesis writing on time (Paradewari & Mbato, 2.
Self-control can be called selfregulation, which means trying to overcome a propensity to achieve particular goals (Kosanke, 2.
Moreover, self-regulation is studentsAo ability to monitor, evaluate, and engage their learning behaviors and process motivationally and metacognitively to attain learning outcomes (Oates, 2019.
Schraw et al.
, 2006.
Schunk, 1996.
Schunk & Zimmerman.
In addition, the self-regulation cycle has three stages: planning, action, and evaluation by putting together their self-generated thoughts, feelings, and emotions to accomplish goals such as text analysis, test preparation, and paper writing (Zimmerman et al.
, 1.
Self-regulation improves studentsAo writing performance.
for instance, students can enjoy writing, review their writing, and recall prior knowledge (Mbato & Cendra, 2.
Therefore, learners can recognize their strengths and limitations, which can assist them in controlling their learning to attain their academic goals (Mbato, 2.
Within social cognitive theories of self-regulated learning, motivation has been characterized as a process in which students actively self-regulate (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1.
Motivation is essential for students because it determines whether they will succeed and helps them stay on the right track in attaining their goal (Dornyei, 1994.
Gaimali.
Most students who graduate on time need more motivation to complete their thesis.
Indeed, the university has determined the goal, but the students still need the motivation to engage them in attaining their goal (Diasti & Mbato, 2.
Moreover, two factors affect studentsAo motivation to learn: Internal and External (Nabila, 2.
Internal factors Anselma.
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relate to studentsAo motivation to finish their writing quickly, including students' attitudes, desires, pleasures, interests, individual factors, emotions, and feelings (Hadriana et al.
, 2.
At the same time, external factors involving grades, prizes, praise, surroundings, family, parents, friends, and lecturers can affect studentsAo motivation (Diasti & Mbato.
Hadrina et al.
, 2.
Hence, students must maintain and regulate their internal and external motivation to accomplish their goals (Allen et al.
, 1.
Further, those can be characterized as motivation-regulation strategies when students actively preserve or enhance their motivation (Wolters, 2003.
Wolters & Benzon, 2.
Motivation-regulation can be defined as the conscious thoughts and actions employed by learners to enhance, maintain, or regulate their motivation when they perceive it to be insufficient for achieving their goals (Miele & Scholer, 2018.
Zhang & Dong, 2.
Trautner et al.
, .
stated that the term Aomotivation regulationAo refers to learnersAo observation and understanding of their motivational states and requirements for enhanced or qualitatively different motivation, where they are willing to commence, engage in, or complete a specific goal by addressing the psychological framework that determines motivation.
Wolters .
introduced five strategies of motivation-regulation.
First, self-consequences are the strategy where the students appreciate their learning by giving rewards after finishing their work, and thinking about the consequences when they postpone their plan to work on the project directly.
When the students motivate themselves to avoid doing worse than others to get high grades, they utilize the avoidance goals Next is the approach goals, where the students aim to learn more and perform better than others.
Another strategy is situational It is used when students communicate with themselves to focus more on intrinsic motivation in concrete ways.
Finally, environmental structuring is a strategy for students to construct their surroundings as comfortable workplaces.
As Synchez-Rosas et al.
stated, students who employ motivation regulation strategies frequently hold more adaptive beliefs, such as procrastinating less, putting in more effort, having better self- Anselma.
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Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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efficacy, and prioritizing accomplishment.
Thus, students may be aware of and employ various motivational regulation techniques as one essential component of self-regulating learning.
This research focuses on five specific adapted strategies and investigates the strategies used by female and male students.
The strategies are self-consequences, avoidance goals, approach goals, situational interest, and environmental structuring (Synchez-Rosas et al.
, 2.
These theories will be used as the basis for this research to examine strategies used by male and female Indonesian EFL undergraduate students at Sanata Dharma University.
Yogyakarta, in writing their theses.
Some studies have been conducted to explore the motivationregulation strategies used when writing a thesis (Diasti & Mbato, 2.
Their research on undergraduate students indicates they use only some motivation-regulation strategies to write their theses.
As a result, the researchers found that students need more motivation to finish their thesis writing because of procrastination, even though they have used motivation regulation.
On the contrary, another study indicates that most participants can organize, track, and evaluate their learning process, especially in thesis writing.
Moreover, the students show positive intentions regarding external motivation, such as getting help from friends, lecturers, or thesis advisors (Mbato & Cendra, 2.
A study by Cahyono and Rahayu .
regarding studentsAo motivation in writing and writing proficiency across genders revealed differences between male and female students in both motivation and skill levels.
This indicated that students with a higher level of motivation showed greater writing proficiency.
In the EFL context, the data indicated that female students were more likely to achieve writing proficiency due to their higher motivation in writing.
This research shows that students must improve and maintain their writing motivation to attain proficiency in writing.
The second study conducted by Limone et al.
revealed that there are gender differences in terms of studentsAo self-regulated and strategic learning, which is related to personality traits, academic satisfaction, self-efficacy, and self-esteem.
Moreover, it showed that the means of male students were lower than those of females, specifically Anselma.
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regarding time management strategy.
Additionally, the result of this study was related to Wolters and Benzon .
, where time management can be considered one of the key determinants of academic By contrast, compared to males, females showed a low tendency to regulate cognitive and metacognitive processes, thus determining academic procrastination.
As for the construct of time management, it did not turn out to be significant in postponing academic Therefore, these findings were consistent prior investigations showing that males procrastinate more than females.
The reviewed studies above have researched motivation regulation in terms of writing and their academic learning in general.
However, previous studies, including Diasti and Mbato .
, have not specifically investigated the use of motivation-regulation strategies across gender in thesis writing.
Thus, this study addresses the gap by providing a detailed comparison, explicitly focusing on motivation-regulation utilization through the gender perspectives.
Further, motivation-regulation includes studentsAo behavior in maintaining their persistence and efforts to complete the task.
The current research investigated the motivationregulation strategies that Wolters .
used across genders.
It focused on answering two research questions: .
To what extent do female and male undergraduate students use motivation-regulation strategies in thesis writing? .
Is there any significant difference between female and male undergraduate students using motivation-regulation strategies in thesis writing? The second research question was developed based on the following hypothesis:
H0: There is no significant difference between female and male undergraduate students in using motivation-regulation strategies.
H1: There is a significant difference between female and male undergraduate students in using motivation-regulation strategies.
METHOD
Research design The researchers employed a mixed-methods approach to combine quantitative and qualitative methods in response to the research questions (Cresswell, 2.
Quantitative research determined female and male undergraduate studentsAo motivation-regulation strategies Anselma.
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Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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across gender.
Meanwhile, qualitative research was employed to identify which female and male students utilized motivation-regulation Moreover, the combination of these two methods aligns with the principle of compatibility by employing different methods to elaborate, enrich, and logically understand the findings.
Therefore, the mixed-methods design is not only an option but a necessity for this It enables researchers to record the statistical landscape of motivation regulation, but also humanizing the data, providing an indepth understanding of how undergraduate students tackle the motivation challenges related to thesis writing (Creswell & Creswell.
Participants The participants were thirty female and thirty male undergraduate students from the English Language Education Study Program.
Sanata Dharma University.
Yogyakarta, batch 2021, who were still writing their thesis as their final report to graduate from the Table 1.
ParticipantsAo Demographic Data
Items Sex
Age
Academic Year
Category Frequency Percentage (%) Female Male
<18
>18
The participants were chosen by using a purposive sample (Ary et , 2.
, focusing on those eager to share more in-depth details about the study and their motivation-regulation level .
igh, moderate, lo.
, resulting from the quantitative data analysis.
Purposive sampling is a Anselma.
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nonrandom technique that chooses participants based on specific characteristics such as availability, willingness, and communication abilities to collect relevant information and meet the research objectives (Etikan, 2.
They were chosen based on some categories: first, the participants were EFL undergraduate students at Sanata Dharma University who were still writing their theses.
Second, the participants had high, moderate, and low degrees of the motivation-regulation strategies score.
Therefore, the criteria assured that their perspectives and experiences would help achieve the research goals.
Instruments and data collection techniques This study employed two instruments to gather the data: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview.
The questionnaire on motivation-regulation strategies was adapted from Wolters and Benzon .
The original questionnaire consisted of 31 items in six categories.
However, this study used 22 items in five categories of motivation regulation strategies because they were connected to thesis writing and used a Likert scale from 1 to 5 .
trongly disagree to strongly agre.
The close-ended questionnaire consisted of five types of motivationregulation strategies, including four items for self-consequences, five for avoidance goals, five for approach goals, five for situational interest, and three for environmental structuring.
Finally, some specific sentences were revised to maintain their original meaning while ensuring they align with motivation-regulation strategies specific to thesis writing.
Furthermore, the questionnaire was constructed by considering the validity and reliability of the items.
The five aspects of the questionnaire are shown in Table 2.
Table 2.
Validity of the questionnaire items Motivationregulation strategies Category Self-consequences Avoidance goals Approach goals Situational interest
Number of Items Valid
Invalid
2,3,4,5
6,7,8,9,10
11,12,13,14,15
16,17,18,19,20
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Environmental structuring 22,23,24 21,25 Table 2 shows that three items on motivation-regulation strategies were invalid.
The researchers conducted a validity test three times by using SPSS 25.
Furthermore, the reliability of the questionnaire was verified by measuring the correlation between individual items and the total score.
Reliability was assessed by assessing the internal consistency of the questionnaire.
Heale and Twycross .
mentioned the categories of the coefficient as weak reliability .
<0.
, moderate reliability .
=0.
, and excellent reliability .
>0.
The reliability of the questionnaire can be seen in Table 3.
Table 3.
CronbachAos alpha coefficient for the Motivation-Regulation Strategies questionnaire Variable Motivation-regulation strategies N of items CronbachAos Alpha Status Reliable After removing the invalid statements.
CronbachAos Alpha for the motivation-regulation strategies was .
based on the coefficient, it was defined that the items were strongly and slightly highly reliable.
Thus, this questionnaire had excellent internal consistency.
According to the test results, the motivation-regulation questionnaire used in this research was valid and reliable for measuring the respective variable.
Furthermore, in gathering the qualitative data, a semi-structured interview was employed in the form of open-ended questions to examine the sampleAos beliefs, opinions, and feelings about how motivationregulation strategies influenced their ability to maintain motivation during thesis completion, as well as to gain more data supporting the quantitative findings.
It was conducted online via WhatsApp call, where each participant was interviewed for about 40 minutes due to the difficulties of meeting the participants physically.
Further, the interviewed participants were selected based on the three categories of motivation-regulation strategies to capture varied answers and Therefore, the interview results were recorded and transcribed into a readable form.
Anselma.
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Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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Data analysis An independent sample t-test was used to analyze and compare the mean scores of the variables with SPSS 25.
The closed-ended questionnaire results were presented in three categories: high .
, and low .
, as found in Astriningsih and Mbato .
A table was used to compare the mean and t-test scores.
The data results were presented in a table showing each itemAos mean and standard deviation.
However, in analyzing the qualitative data, the interviewed participants were coded by applying the Vivo coding technique proposed by Saldaya .
This study emphasized active participation in coding and employed five steps of Vivo Coding to improve understanding and reveal relevant interpretations in qualitative Furthermore, the following steps of Vivo coding proposed by Saldaya .
were employed.
the first step was an early understanding of the data.
The researchers read and processed the qualitative data to obtain an initial knowledge of the topic.
Second, labelling or coding to the appropriate data units, where patterns and themes from labelled data were looked for.
The following strategy was used to ponder and evaluate the data by considering the significance of the detected patterns and This level required a thorough comprehension of the informationAos message or relevance.
Finally, a rich and descriptive narrative framework was created by interviewing two female and two male participants from each level to capture varied answers and The semi-structured interview data were tabulated based on five motivation-regulation strategies: self-consequences, avoidance goals, approach goals, situational interest, and environmental FINDINGS This research aimed to investigate female and male undergraduate studentsAo motivation-regulation strategies across gender perspectives and how they applied those strategies in writing their This section presents the findings for the self-consequences.
Anselma.
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Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
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avoidance goals, approach goals, situational interest, and environmental structuring themes.
It was found that males and females used the strategies in different ways.
The results of the semi-structured interview interpretation were formulated to support the data.
Further, the researchers divided the findings into two sections to represent the answers to each question.
The first section discovers the level of undergraduate studentsAo motivation-regulation strategies and how they use those strategies in writing their theses.
The second section discusses the motivation-regulation strategies across gender perspectives.
How male and female undergraduates used Motivation-regulation Strategies Self-consequence strategies and their influence on studentsAo motivation Table 4.
Self-consequence mean scores and standard deviation Mean Statement Making a deal to do something fun Telling myself to do my favorite thing Setting a goal of study and promising Promising to do something I want after finishing writing chapters Std.
Deviation Female Male Female Male As shown in Table 4, in the self-consequences strategies, item number 1 was the highest mean among others (F=4.
M=4.
The data reveal that both students frequently utilize self-consequence strategies in managing their motivation during thesis completion.
This response aligns with the interview results from female and male students, which can be seen in the excerpts below:
AuI always reward myself every time I have done my writing.
A such as buying clothes or food or watching movies to reduce the stressAy (F.
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Similarly, a male student noted that rewards gave him something to look for, even breaking up the writing monotony, as can be seen in the following excerpt.
AuI would reward myself with something fun, such as an enjoyable dinner, a movie I have wanted to see .
This helped break up the writing monotony and gave me something to look forward toAy (M.
AuAfter finishing each section of my thesis.
I treated myself to a favorite dessert or a quick outing with friends.
This gave me a sense of achievement and motivated me AAy (M.
These excerpts highlighted the emotional regulation aspect of selfconsequence strategies, where rewards are not merely incentives but also tools for psychological well-being.
Beyond simple rewards, some students integrate breaks to maintain focus and sustained productivity, as seen in the following excerpt.
AuI have frequently taken a moment for a recharge.
These breaks included going for a stroll, having coffee with a buddy, or doing a hobby A (F.
It implies a deeper use of motivation-regulation, in which breaks are an intentional, planned aspect of the writing process intended to manage cognitive load and avoid burnout.
This suggests that students are using these strategies to manage their work, not only as external Further, participants in the statements use self-reward strategies to minimize stress while writing their thesis.
Both genders underline the significance of taking breaks and rewarding oneself after finishing writing assignments, including paragraphs or chapters.
Rewards vary from enjoying favorite meals or activities to interacting with friends.
These actions break the monotony and provide a sense of accomplishment and relaxation, boosting motivation and productivity.
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Avoidance-goals strategies and their influence on studentsAo motivation Table 5.
Avoidance goals mean scores and standard deviation Mean Female Male Statement I remind myself that I aim to avoid doing worse than other students.
I think about completing what I am assigned as soon as possible because I am trying to avoid worse than others My goal is to avoid doing worse than others on exam I make an effort to avoid having worse performance than others I must continue writing to avoid others doing better than me Std.
Deviation Female Male Table 5 shows the mean score in avoidance-goals strategies.
revealed that female and male students used different strategies.
shown in Table 5, item number 9 was the highest mean used by female students among others (F=3.
Meanwhile, male students used strategies in items 5 and 8 in moderate use (M=3.
Item number 9 stated that the students must continue writing to prevent others from doing better than them.
Further, it implied that female students continue to write and work on their thesis to prevent their colleagues from exceeding them.
They see othersAo growth or success as a danger to their achievements, and they work hard to keep up with or even outperform their peers.
The female student's response can be seen in the following excerpt:
AuThe progress of my friendsAo thesis work reminded me of the competitiveness in our academic circle, which motivated me to work harder .
Ay (F.
AuI felt compelled to match their accomplishments and avoid being seen as falling behind.
This motivated me to prioritize my writing assignments and devote my full attention to finishing my thesis AAy (F.
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Meanwhile, male students used different strategies from female Male students used the strategies in items 5 and 8 in moderate use .
Item number 5 stated that male students remind themselves that they aim to avoid doing worse than other students.
implied that male students are motivated to maintain their performance levels compared to their classmates.
They are encouraged to work hard for perfection in their thesis because they fear falling behind their peers.
This statement aligns with the interview results with male students AuThe competitive environment among classmates encouraged me to perform well .
Ay (M.
AuI frequently compared my success to that of my classmates, which encouraged me to keep going forward AAy (M.
The responses above indicate gender-specific differences in avoidance-goal strategies used during thesis writing.
Female students, driven by a fear of being outperformed by their peers, seek to match or exceed their achievements.
This fear-driven competitiveness fosters a sense of urgency, motivating individuals to work hard to avoid falling Meanwhile, male students are motivated by the competitive academic environment to avoid underperforming their colleagues.
This urge motivates individuals to work hard to maintain their academic These findings highlight the varied gender dynamics influencing motivation and performance in contexts of thesis writing.
Approach goals strategies and their influence on studentsAo motivation Table 6.
Approach goals mean scores and standard deviation Mean Female Male Statement I remind myself about how important it is to get good grades I wonder how my grade will be affected if I do not finish writing my thesis I remind myself that my goal is to perform Std.
Deviation Female Male Anselma.
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better than others I make an effort to get good grades I tell myself that thesis writing grades affect my future The approach goal strategies showed that most female and male students wonder how their grades will be affected if they do not finish writing their thesis.
It can be seen in item number 11, which reached the highest mean among others (F=3.
M=3.
Moreover, it implied that students are concerned about the academic consequences of failing to finish their thesis.
Both male and female students are motivated by the possibility of losing grades if they do not complete their thesis on time or to the required standard.
This concern underlines the importance of academic success and the knowledge that thesis completion is crucial in determining final grades.
Further, this statement was supported by F04.
F05.
M05, and M09, who stated:
AuI worried about my grades if I did not finish on time A that could affect my overall GPA.
That fear motivated me to stay committed and focusedAy (F.
AuA the significance of thesis completion in determining my final grades since my grades are essential to me.
So, the thought of losing grades if I do not finish my thesis on time is always in my Ay (F.
AuI know the academic consequences of not finishing my thesis, particularly the effect on my grade.
First, my major concern is the possibility of getting a lower gradeAAy (M.
AuThe concern about how my grades would be affected if I did not finish my thesis always becomes a reminder for me .
Ay (M.
The statements emphasize the common concern among female and male students, regardless of gender, concerning the potential consequences for their grades if they fail to submit their thesis on time.
The fear is a powerful motivation, highlighting the importance of thesis completion in maintaining their academic status and obtaining the Anselma.
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highest possible grades.
Students demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the impact on their overall GPA and educational aspirations, encouraging them to be motivated and focused on completing their thesis successfully to ensure their academic success.
His concern demonstrates the value placed on academic accomplishment and the knowledge that thesis completion is essential to their academic Situational interest strategies use and their influence on studentsAo Table 7.
Situational interest mean scores and standard deviation Mean Female Male Statement Learning through games is more Attempting to turn material or completing the assignment into a game Focusing on a subject that is interesting to appreciate writing Attempting to persuade that writing can be fun Consider a strategy to make the task seem pleasant to complete Std.
Deviation Female Male Table 7 shows that female and male students used different situational interest strategies.
Female students consider a strategy to make the task seem pleasant to complete, as the highest mean score indicated in item 19 (F=4.
Otherwise, male students focus on an exciting subject to appreciate their writing, as seen in item 17 (M=4.
The results implied that female students focused on enhancing satisfaction and enjoyment of completing the thesis by making the task more pleasant to complete.
Meanwhile, male students maintain their interest and enthusiasm for the subject they are interested in throughout the process.
Moreover, in the results of the interview session.
F05 shared her opinion about her strategy to make the task seem pleasant to complete in the situational interest section.
Her answer can be seen Anselma.
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AuI discovered that adding aspects of my interests to my thesis topic made the writing process more enjoyable .
Ay(F.
AuI prefer to discuss my thesis topic with classmates or professors with similar research fields .
who have similar interests gave me insightful perspectives.
Ay (F.
Meanwhile, male students used different strategies from female Male students focus on an interesting subject so that they can appreciate their writing, as seen in item number 17.
It revealed that male students emphasize finding an interesting subject for their thesis to appreciate and enjoy the writing process.
This method implies that male students find motivation and enjoyment in investigating issues that engage their interest and curiosity.
This statement can be seen through the interview results below:
AuThe key to maintaining focus while writing my thesis was choosing a topic that interested me.
Ay (M.
AuSelecting an engaging subject for my thesis was important for keeping my enthusiasm and interest throughout the writing processAAy(M.
The statements indicate that female and male students use different situational interest strategies when writing their thesis.
Females prioritize increasing happiness by incorporating personal interests into their topics, which promotes enjoyment in their writing process.
Males, on the other hand, focus on choosing exciting subjects that will keep their interest and enthusiasm throughout.
Moreover, these strategies represent individual preferences for maintaining interest and motivation during thesis writing, emphasizing the significance of the approach based on specific interests and motivations.
Environmental structuring and its influence on StudentsAo motivation Table 8.
Environmental structuring mean scores and standard deviation Statement Avoiding distractions in writing Changing the environment to focus on work Preferring to listen to the music Mean Female Male Std.
Deviation Female Male Anselma.
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As shown in Table 8, most female and male students avoid distractions while writing their thesis.
It can be seen in item number 20, which reached the highest mean among others (F= 4.
M=4.
addition, it implied both male and female students prioritize avoiding distractions when writing their thesis.
This suggests intentionally establishing a concentrated work environment that promotes Students attempt to improve their attention and progress toward writing their thesis by reducing disruptions, such as turning off notifications or finding quiet areas.
Moreover, female and male students shared their opinion in the interview session as followed:
AuI avoid distractions by turning off my phone and finding a quiet workspaceAAy (F.
AuI minimize distractions by dedicating specific writing times and finding a quiet spaceAAy (F.
AuI make sure to eliminate distractions by finding a quiet spot in the library or using apps to block distracting websitesAAy (M.
AuI'll often schedule my writing sessions during times when I know I won't be interrupted, like early in the morning or late at nightAAy (M.
Both male and female students prioritize avoiding distractions while writing their thesis, as seen by their high mean scores on item 20.
This conscious effort to create a concentrated work environment includes turning off notifications, seeking out quiet workplaces, and organizing focused writing time.
Students expect to improve their attention by reducing distractions and consistently progress toward completing their thesis successfully.
Motivation-Regulation Strategies across gender The second research question examined whether or not there is a difference between female and male studentsAo motivation-regulation strategies used in thesis writing.
Table 9 shows the descriptive statistics of the EFL studentsAo motivation-regulation strategies in thesis writing Anselma.
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based on gender .
ale and female student.
At the same time.
Table 10 presents the result of the comparison of the means.
Table 9.
Descriptive Statistics of the EFL Students in terms of Motivation-Regulation Strategies Variable MotivationRegulation Strategies Gender Female Male Mean Std.
Deviation Std.
Error Mean Table 9 shows the motivation-regulation strategies of male and female undergraduate students.
The mean score of male students was 57, while that of female students was 82.
Thus, the mean score of male students was higher than that of female students.
This is an initial trend showing that male students, on average, showed higher levels of involvement with the assessed motivation-regulation Furthermore, the results of the mean comparison of motivation-regulation strategies based on gender perspectives can be seen in Table 10.
Table 10.
Mean comparison of Motivation-Regulation Strategies across gender LeveneAos test for equality of t-test for Equality of Means Motivation-regulation strategies in Equal Equal variances are not assumed.
Sig.
Sig.
Mean Difference Std.
Error Difference Lower Anselma.
and Mbato C.
Motivation-regulation strategies of female and male Indonesian EFL undergraduate students in thesis writing.
JEELS 12.
, 877-905
Confidence interval of Upper An independent sample t-test was conducted to determine the statistical significance of the observed difference.
The comparison of the two means, as shown in Table 10, indicates that there is a significant difference between male and female mean scores of motivationregulation strategies.
The mean difference between the two gender groups was significant at .
000 with p <.
05, which means the null hypothesis of no significant difference between undergraduate male and female students in thesis writing is rejected.
Moreover, this indicates that male students used motivation-regulation strategies in thesis writing compared to females.
DISCUSSION