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Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars

Received: 16 April 2021     Accepted: 30 April 2021     Published: 14 May 2021
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Abstract

Self Determination Theory (SDT) offers a multifaceted perspective of human motivation to foresee specific behavioral outcomes. It affords an understanding of human motivation. However, most researches on motivation have been applied to educational contexts of school-aged groups and graduate students in tertiary education. Little motivational research has explored Chinese visiting scholars in the context of adult education. In the study reported here, a questionnaire is designed to measure the relationship between different demographic variables and motivation types and the reasons behind those motivations in the context of the target language, English. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical foundation concerning Chinese visiting scholars’ various study motivations after they obtained language qualification and a solid language base in China. The results indicate that respondents are motivated by an autonomous level of self-determination due to a desire to communicate in English with their colleagues and within their field of study. Some respondents are also motivated by social and cultural considerations.

Published in International Journal of Education, Culture and Society (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11
Page(s) 71-78
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Self-determination Theory, Chinese Visiting Scholars, Extra-curricular Oral English Study

References
[1] Xue, M., Chao, X., & Kuntz, A. M. (2015). Chinese visiting scholars’ academic socialization in US institutions of higher education: A qualitative study. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 35: 2, 290-307.
[2] Altbach, P. G. (1989). The new internationalism: Foreign students and scholars. Studies in Higher Education, 14: 2, 125-136.
[3] Age-related differences in motivation in learning English among mainland Chinese students. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 25, No. 1, 67-81.
[4] Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67.
[5] Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985a). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, Plenum.
[6] Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985b). The General causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109-134.
[7] Gulbinskienė, D., & Dubovičienė, T. (2015). Language learning motivation of EFL students at LEU. Foreign Languages, Vol. 17, No. 3, 137–145.
[8] Kember, D. (2008). Characterizing the motivational orientation of students in higher education: A naturalistic study in three Hong Kong universities. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 313-329.
[9] A. H. (2017). Sixty years of language motivation research: Looking back and looking forward. Sage Open, January-March, 1–11.
[10] Semaan, G., & Yamazaki, K. (2015). The relationship between global competence and language learning motivation: An empirical study in critical language classrooms. Foreign Language Annals, 511-520.
[11] Weger, H. D. (2013). Examining English language learning motivation of adult international learners studying abroad in the US. RELC Journal, 44 (1), 87-101.
[12] Yuan, W. (2011). Academic and cultural experiences of Chinese students at an American university: A qualitative study. Intercultural Communication Studies, 2 0(1), 141-157.
[13] Wang, C., & Zuo, H. (2014). Understanding Chinese international students’ difficulties and strategies in learning English for academic purposes. In W. Ma & C. Wang (Eds.), Learner’ privilege and responsibility: A critical examination of the experiences and perspectives of learners from Chinese backgrounds in the United States. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 67–82.
[14] Larrota, C. (2009). Final thoughts on community in adult ESL. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 121, 75-77.
[15] Zhao, X. (2015, June 27). Visiting scholars now come from many fields. China Daily.
[16] Kormos, K., & Csizér, J. (2008). Age-related differences in the motivation of learning English as a foreign language: Attitudes, selves, and motivated learning behavior. Language Learning, 58.2: 327-55.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Lucy K. Spence, Haiying Wang, Xumei Fan. (2021). Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars. International Journal of Education, Culture and Society, 6(3), 71-78. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11

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    ACS Style

    Lucy K. Spence; Haiying Wang; Xumei Fan. Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars. Int. J. Educ. Cult. Soc. 2021, 6(3), 71-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11

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    AMA Style

    Lucy K. Spence, Haiying Wang, Xumei Fan. Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars. Int J Educ Cult Soc. 2021;6(3):71-78. doi: 10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11,
      author = {Lucy K. Spence and Haiying Wang and Xumei Fan},
      title = {Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars},
      journal = {International Journal of Education, Culture and Society},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {71-78},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijecs.20210603.11},
      abstract = {Self Determination Theory (SDT) offers a multifaceted perspective of human motivation to foresee specific behavioral outcomes. It affords an understanding of human motivation. However, most researches on motivation have been applied to educational contexts of school-aged groups and graduate students in tertiary education. Little motivational research has explored Chinese visiting scholars in the context of adult education. In the study reported here, a questionnaire is designed to measure the relationship between different demographic variables and motivation types and the reasons behind those motivations in the context of the target language, English. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical foundation concerning Chinese visiting scholars’ various study motivations after they obtained language qualification and a solid language base in China. The results indicate that respondents are motivated by an autonomous level of self-determination due to a desire to communicate in English with their colleagues and within their field of study. Some respondents are also motivated by social and cultural considerations.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    T1  - Motivation to Study English Among Chinese Visiting Scholars
    AU  - Lucy K. Spence
    AU  - Haiying Wang
    AU  - Xumei Fan
    Y1  - 2021/05/14
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11
    T2  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JF  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    JO  - International Journal of Education, Culture and Society
    SP  - 71
    EP  - 78
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3363
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijecs.20210603.11
    AB  - Self Determination Theory (SDT) offers a multifaceted perspective of human motivation to foresee specific behavioral outcomes. It affords an understanding of human motivation. However, most researches on motivation have been applied to educational contexts of school-aged groups and graduate students in tertiary education. Little motivational research has explored Chinese visiting scholars in the context of adult education. In the study reported here, a questionnaire is designed to measure the relationship between different demographic variables and motivation types and the reasons behind those motivations in the context of the target language, English. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical foundation concerning Chinese visiting scholars’ various study motivations after they obtained language qualification and a solid language base in China. The results indicate that respondents are motivated by an autonomous level of self-determination due to a desire to communicate in English with their colleagues and within their field of study. Some respondents are also motivated by social and cultural considerations.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

  • Ideological and Political Department, Shanxi Polytechnic College, Taiyuan City, China

  • College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

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