How Academic Motivation and Self-efficacy Predict Learning Burnout: An Empirical Study of Senior English Majors in Higher Education

With the escalating demands on English major education, senior students in independent colleges face immense pressures from graduation requirements and career transitions, making the issue of learning burnout increasingly prominent. This study aims to examine the current status of their academic motivation, self-efficacy, and learning burnout, and to explore the predictive effects of the former two variables on the latter, with implications for refining targeted interventions to alleviate burnout and enhance learning sustainability among this specific student group. A sample of 64 senior English majors from Z College participated in the research. Data were collected via standardized scales and semi-structured interviews, with quantitative analyses conducted using SPSS 27.0. Results indicate that intrinsic motivation and partial extrinsic motivation dimensions negatively predict learning burnout, while amotivation positively predicts it. Self-efficacy, though negatively correlated with burnout, exerts no significant independent predictive effect during the graduation stage, being overshadowed by the dominant influence of academic motivation.