Associations between psychosocial aspects of English classroom environments and motivation types of Chinese tertiary-level English majors

Abstract

This study involved whether psychosocial aspects of English classroom environments had associations with the English learning motivation types of Chinese tertiary-level English majors based on a case study of approximate 1,000 English majors in their first 2 years at one of the key universities located in South China. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that students’ perceptions of their English classroom psychosocial environments and their motivation types were associated through two pairs of canonical variables. Among these, environment dimensions of Involvement and Task Orientation were found to be predictors of the motivation types of Intrinsic Interest, Social Responsibility and Individual Development, while the environmental dimensions of Teacher Support was found to have positive associations with the motivation types of Immediate Achievement and Information Medium.