An investigation of Chinese university students’ motivation and psychological needs in learning languages other than English

Whilst motivation to learn English is relatively well-understood, globalisation and national policies to enhance internationalisation from China have indicated a need for learning a language other than English (LOTE). This thesis draws on self-determination theory (SDT), which is well-established in Western contexts, and the L2 Motivational Self-system (L2MSS) to investigate motivation and need satisfaction amongst learners of LOTE in university students in China. A psychometric approach was adopted to develop a new survey instrument, aiming to explore the factor structure of motivation in LOTE learners. An extensive pilot study (N=76) demonstrated the suitability of the tool.

The questionnaire was then administered to university learners in China (N=455), with the aim of: 1) confirming the factor structure as explored in the pilot study, 2) comparing the key features of motivation across LOTE, English, and non-language subject learners, and 3) evaluating whether SDT or LSMSS were suitable in accounting for the motivation of LOTE learners in China. Data were collected online via Qualtrics, with respondents from various Chinese universities.

1: Exploratory factor analysis produced a robust eight factor models, comprising autonomous motivation, learning experience, the ideal L2 self; anxiety, instrumentality-promotion, learning attitude, controlled motivation and amotivation.

2: ANOVA results indicated that LOTE learners exhibited lower motivation, less enjoyable learning experiences, and less clear future self-guides compared to both English and non-language subject learners.

3: The basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness each play a different role in predicting motivational factors, with competence and relatedness positively predicting autonomous motivation, learning experiences, the ideal L2 self, and LOTE learning attitudes.

This thesis presents a case that combining SDT and the L2MSS offers a more comprehensive framework for evaluating the motivation of Chinese university students in LOTE learning. Furthermore, LOTE subject learners require additional attention, as they face motivational challenges compared to English and non-language subject learners.