Abstract
This paper reports on a mixed method study that examined the motivation of 121 students in a 1-year intensive language course in German or French at a Chinese university. Drawing on Dörnyei’s (2009) theory of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), a survey was conducted to explore their motivation to learn German or French. Regression analyses revealed that learning experience and promotion-focused instrumentality were the predictors for the German learners’ intended learning effort, while ideal L2 self was the predictor for the French learners’ motivation. Furthermore, ought-to self, culture/community interest and prevention-focused instrumentality were excluded in both regression models. In addition, 17 participants’ qualitative data in the interviews suggested that most of them had lower expectations for the value of German or French than for the value of English in improving one’s employability. Instead, they were much more oriented to learn and appreciate the cultural values of these languages. The results provided insight into the complexity of motivation to learn Languages Other than English (LOTEs) in the university context in China, and suggested future direction for research on LOTE learning motivation
Highlights
IntroductionL2 learning motivation has always attracted significant attention in language learning and acquisition research (Riemer, 2016)
Employing Dörnyei’s (2005; 2009) L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) as an analytical framework, we have identified that the motivation for students to learn languages other than English (LOTEs) in a Chinese university context is contingent upon a number of factors
The present study explores the motivational patterns of LOTE learners at a major Chinese university
Summary
L2 learning motivation has always attracted significant attention in language learning and acquisition research (Riemer, 2016). The majority (73%) of recent studies have focussed on English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL), and almost all in Asian settings aimed at English learning (Boo et al, 2015: 151). The dominance of English as a preferred L2 has resulted in a severe imbalance of research into student motivations to learn a second language other than English. The discrepancy between investigations of L2 motivations for English and other languages may partly explain the leading role English has taken as a global lingua franca, since the proper motivations to encourage the learning of languages other than English (LOTEs) in Mainland China are vastly underexplored. The insufficient data available at present emphasises the pressing need for empirical research on LOTE motivation.
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