Chinese University EFL Students' Attitudes towards English, Interest in Foreign Languages and perceptions of Social Norms in Foreign Language Learning

Abstract

The present study explored the general patterns of Chinese university EFL students’ attitudes towards English, interest in foreign languages, and their perceptions of social norms in foreign language learning, and the relationships among these measured variables and their performance in English. Analyses of 1697 questionnaires revealed the following findings: (1) more than half of the participants held moderately or strongly positive attitudes towards English, were moderately or even strongly interested in foreign languages, and moderately believed that the Chinese social norms supported foreign language learning, (2) male and female students significantly differed from each other in the three measured variables, and (3) the measured variables were significantly positively related to one another and the students’ performance in English.