Abstract
Nowadays, the term “motivation” is mentioned in many learning contexts, Chinese language learning is no exception. It is important to explore it further and relate it to the context of universities. This research was conducted at Zhejiang Normal University. It investigated international students’ motivations to learn Chinese as a foreign language. The research is based on fact that previous literature lack of emphasis on International Students language learning motivations at foreign Universities. Zhejiang Normal University’s international student enrollment became the opportunity for each of them to learn Chinese language. To some students, it is for the first time to learn Chinese whereas others are familiar with it. This research aimed at discovering what motivate International Students to Learn Chinese. Chinese expansion and its fast growing economy was noted as the key finding. Not only did participants mention they are test oriented, but also there is a need to attain required HSK level required by university which is a must do before graduation for those whose majors are taught in Chinese. Recommendations were given to the university and international students. They also apply to home countries of international students in general. As a result, on one hand, the research opened new horizons to next researchers investigating on the similar topic. On the other hand, it will maintain the positive progress of the University. Additively, international students would benefit from the given recommendations based on findings.
Keywords: Chinese language, motivation, international students, ZNU.
1. Introduction and background
With the rapid growth of Chinese economic power and increasing demand for foreigners to communicate with Chinese people, the learning of Chinese language as a foreign language among non-Chinese speakers has gained popularity in many countries around the globe (Scrimgeour, 2014, cited in Chen & Yeung, A.S.2015).
Although Linnell, (2001; cited in Shum, Ki & Leong, 2014) noted that outside of China, Chinese is taught as a second (L2) or foreign language (FL) for general purposes in schools such as public, private schools and universities; it is currently being taught as a second language in China, and it is compulsory for all international students regardless of their majors. Nevertheless, the time allocated for each Chinese language class depends upon the major. Therefore, international students’ motivations to learn Chinese differ according to their reasons to choose a given major. Motivation has been one of the major issues in all the fields of human and social sciences since long time ago due to the fact that heightened and sustained motivation may not come across in the particular educational contexts such as foreign language classrooms. Consequently, research into motivation in foreign and second language learning has been researchers’ focus in recent years. It is regarded as a basic and essential part of learning. Hence, it is believed that the learner whose intention is to be motivated, will obviously necessitate, require and need to come up with something to anticipate and learners’ expectations are linked with their aim or target. Various researches were conducted on students’ motivation in language learning. This field has been extensively explored with the major emphasis on the learners. Various factors that were linked to students’ motivation in language learning were considered during these researches. For instance, individual differences, self-confidence and intelligence are among them. Learner’s characteristics such as attitude, language anxiety. Apart from learners background including academic grade, language examination grades, gender and home language; field-independence and many other personal variables play a prominent role.
Zhejiang Normal University, as an institution of higher education, makes remarkable efforts to promote cooperation with other countries (Zhejiang Normal University, 2017) . Thus, the diversity of learner’s backgrounds is likely to be linked to their motivation to learn Chinese. According to the official website of Zhejiang Normal University’s International Student Office, it was founded in 1956. The main focus is teacher education and the university got multiple branches of learning. The diversity at the university can be noted while referring to colleges the university has got. There are nineteen colleges including China-Africa International Business School, College of Foreign Languages, that of International Education and there are around a thousand and five hundreds international students.
Moreover, in recent years, the university tried to strengthen ties of academic exchange and cooperation with over a hundred and forty universities from different continents. It also partners with research institutes from more than fifty countries. Student exchange programs have been established with more than forty foreign partner universities. Within this diversified learning environment, in which international students come from countries where students ‘first language is not Chinese , it is important to investigate their motivations to learn Chinese as far as their language background are concerned.
With the need to understand key words, the following words are defined: Chinese language, Chinese language as the second language, foreign language, second language acquisition and International student. Collins dictionary defines “Chinese as any of the languages of China belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family, sometimes regarded as dialects of one language. Such language got a common writing system that is not phonetic but ideographic.”According to Shum, Ki, & Leong, (2014) , Chinese language, being the lingua franca for many people around the world; was noted by Daniels & Bright (1996); Leong & Tamaoka, (1998) as the language with the basis for some features of Japanese and Korean language systems.
There are instances of speakers who got different native languages. So, they adopt a common language to facilitate the efficient communication between them. That language is known as Lingua Franca. As the hybrid language, it contains different elements from original speakers’ different languages. It is also regarded as any system of communication that provides common understanding or language used as a means of mutual intelligibility among people speaking vernaculars languages (Merriam Webster Dictionary, Collins Dictionary, Britannica.com)
Chinese language is originated from Sino-Tibetan languages family tree. This family is also referred to as Trans-Himalayan. Sino Tibetan languages, according to The KryssTall Website, (2017) is one of important Asian languages family. This is due to the fact that it contains Chinese language (Mandarin ) which is the world's most spoken language. It is the family of above four hundred languages spoken in Asia and apart from it; there are also Burmese and Tibetic languages that both cover the total speakers of around 41millions. James A. MATISOFF of The Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus, (2017) noted that by any criterion such as number of speakers, antiquity of documented written history, cultural implication, and impact on other languages) Chinese language remains one of the crucial languages.
Chinese writing system is non-alphabetic in its nature. This unique nature has brought about challenges for the historical linguists who have been interested in reconstructing the phonological features of earlier stages of the language. Additively, it has raised issues in establishing a genetic connection between mandarin and others languages. Bernhard Karlgren, is a Swedish Sinologist, who faced the similar challenges when he spent thirty five years to reconstruct the phonological aspect of thousands of Chinese language characters pronunciation (Karlgren 1923, 1954, 1957).
Consequently, the above mentioned researcher recognized ancient Chinese that is also referred to as “Middle Chinese” and that it was spoken during the second half of the first millennium A.D. Secondly, the archaic Chinese also referred to as Old Chinese was identified as Chinese language spoken during the early Zhou dynasty at around the beginning of the first millennium B.C. Collins dictionary mentions that a phonetic system of Chinese language using the Roman alphabet was officially adopted by the Chinese government in 1966. Both old and middle Chinese were noted as the two earlier stages of Chinese language.
Second language (L2) refers to any language learnt by individuals and that language is not his/her first language or her mother tongue. Nevertheless, it is of use in the area of the individual learning that particular language. The dissimilarity between the second language and foreign language is that the latter is learned but it not generally spoken in the individual’s area. In research on motivation, the former is considered to be an internal process that gives behavior strength, purpose, and sustainability. As a process, learning a new language requires learners to invest time in learning. In this respect, Chinese as second language refers to Mandarin leant by anyone in addition to their first language. Within the context of the current research, Chinese language works as second language to international students who are speakers of first languages other than Mandarin.
Second language acquisition: Second-language acquisition is the terminology used in the field of linguistics to refer to what learners do. Teaching can affect second language acquisition even if that acquisition does not refer to practices in language teaching. The term acquisition was initially used to highlight the fact that the learning process is non-conscious in its nature. Nonetheless, learning and acquisition have been largely used synonymously in recent years. Despite the fact that the concept is named second-language acquisition, it can also include the unconscious learning of third, fourth, or other subsequent different languages.
Foreign language motivation: For the purpose of this study, motivation in foreign language learning can be defined as a specific type of motivation that can be manifested in foreign language learning as far the university learning context is concerned. Through the use of different forms of motivational mechanisms such as interests, self-concept and goals, this motivation boosts the process of foreign language learning so that it triggers and emboldens it and leads it to the completion of the existing learning activities. Students perceive motivational incentives during the learning process. Such stimulations can be perceived from the learning environment and may be expressed either in psychological or in different didactical forms. They will affect the orientation of the foreign language learning motivation such as motivational goals formed by a particular student in time. Research findings are frequently pointing to two motivational orientations: they can be either internal or external and they are commonly represented in the motivational structure of any student.
International students: According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics’ (UIS) Global Education Digest (2006), internationally mobile students are those who have left their countries of origin and moved to other countries with the major objective is to study. The OECD’s Education at a Glance (2006) supports this definition and gives the main difference between “international students” and “foreign students”. As adopted in 2006, the OECD and UIS convention is to use the term “international student” while referring to students crossing borders of their home countries for the specific purpose of studying whereas “foreign student” refers to any non-citizen enrolled at an educational institution abroad.
The difference with international student is that foreign student has not necessarily crossed a border to study. Both UIS and OECD consent and organize data from regions that count international students based on citizenship. Since 2006, these organs collaborated with Eurostat and consented that international students are defined according to their respective permanent residences apart from their previous Education. Thus, students who are considered internationally mobile are those without permanent residence status of their respective host countries where they currently pursue their studies.
Additively, they are so-called provided that their entry qualification to their current level of study was obtained in another country (Clark, 2009) . As of February 2018, ICEF Monitor (2018) argues that such students are approximately four hundred forty two thousands and seven hundred seventy three in China.
2. Purpose of the study
In any context of learning a foreign language, learners bring positive or negative emotions about several aspects of the target language to the class, and eventually develop attitudes toward the language itself, the teacher, the course in general, one’s classmates, the course materials, and extra-curricular activities associated with the course. As far as different contexts of foreign languages learning are concerned, students bring different emotions (positive or negative) about several aspects of the target language. When such emotions are brought into the classroom, learners eventually develop attitudes toward the language itself, or towards theirs instructors. Such attitudes or emotions can be developed in connection with the course in general, one’s classmates, the course materials, and even for extra-curricular activities that are linked to the course. This research is dedicated to discovering the underlying motivations of the subject by analyzing data that were collected. The current reserahcer investigated motivations to learn Chinese at Zhejiang Normal University among international students.
This study aims to investigate the current factors of motivation experienced by international students’ participant by taking into account their educational backgrounds, their choices to apply for the enrollment in their respective majors and the countries they come from.
3. Initial guiding questions
This research sought to investigate the international students’ motivation to learn Chinese language by exploring international students learning background, experiences and expectations either back home or abroad in China. Generally, it went deeper into the overall motives driving the participants’ efforts to learn Chinese. The study can thus be said to have addressed issues involved in both motivation to learn Chinese abroad and it what motivation kind of motivation. This is so because, it set out to capture the learners’ reasons for learning Chinese as it was viewed into the perspective of learning theories and theories of motivations. Specifically, the study was designed to address the following research questions:
What are the factors motivating or demotivating international students to learn Chinese?
What barriers are they facing during the learning and what are their reasons?
What teaching approach works best for them?
How does the learning environment and different teaching practices affect student Chinese learning motivation and preferences?
3. Significance of the study
There are many students failing in preparatory language courses offered at the beginning of undergraduate programs at universities (Çolak, 2008, cited in Genc & Aydin, 2017). It is inevitable that other undergraduate or postgraduates students are failing, but it is certain true that some others succeed. Since different people including educators, parents and students pay much attention to the importance of motivation in school because of significant contributions it has been shown to have on student academic learning, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and school readiness (Fatih, 2016) ; it is important to explore motivation to learn Chinese at Zhejiang Normal University. There is a rich literature on motivations to learn Chinese in others countries, and at other different Universities in China. However, there is not an emphasis on international students. Conducting such research at Zhejiang Normal University contributes to the literature in the context of international students abroad in Chinese Universities. As far as the significance of Chinese language learning motivation is concerned, there is a need to understand the situation of the University in 2018. This implies that the research provided the deeper understanding of what was happening at that time in the school environment and classroom situation.
4. Literature review
This chapter is about what other researchers and different authors wrote about the motivation and language learning.
4.1. Motivation
Different scholars defined the motivation. Dörnyei & Ottó (1998, p. 65, as cited in Kruk (2016) defined motivation in the general sense, as the dynamically changing growing stimulation in a person that starts, leads, organizes, amplifies, terminates, and finally evaluates both the cognitive and motor processes through which initial wishes and desires are acted out after their selection, prioritization and successful or unsuccessful operationalization. According to Gardner (2010, p. 16; cited in Alico.C.Jerryk., 2016) , motivation is "the overall aim, purpose, direction, and/or goal of the activity" and it is not static since it keeps changing over time as long as the foreign language (L2) learning takes place (Li Q. , 2017) . Motivation is viewed as the initial point for any types of learning. It supports the process of foreign language acquisition and this importance proves that its lack will hinder learners’ potentials of achieving language proficiency. This is so since Cheng & Dörnyei, (2007) proved that highly motivated learners will attain proper second language proficiency disregarding of the inappropriateness of their aptitude or learning conditions. A number of researches related to motivation in L2 have progressed over years through several different stages that demonstrated gradual integration with advances in the psychology of motivation, while having a clear emphasis on aspects of language learning and its motivation (Ushioda & Dörnyei, 2012) .The etymological meaning of “motivation” is “movere”. Originating from Latin, motivation explains what prompts the desire of human beings, their needs and actions (Jianfeng, 2015). It is defined as the degree of the choices made and the respective effort they apply (Keller, 1983, cited in Zhao & Mei, 2016) .
Even if it an abstract concept, it is measured. As cited in Selin & Adiviye, (2016) , Keller (2006) had noted that motivation can be measured in terms of the amount of effort made by students so as to achieve the instructional goal. It is essential factor to put into consideration while trying to define success in most fields of learning.
4.2. Learning Motivation
Even if there are enormous difficulties in studying Chinese (Min & Kangdi, 2016) , there are still reasons to learn it. Learning motivation is regarded as a kind of driving force that got the potential to motivate students’ learning and actually, it is a very important need for learning process since the objective requirements for both learning institutions and society for students’ learning in the minds of the learners are reflected. (Jianfeng, 2015).