An investigation into the motivations of learners of Chinese as a foreign language

In Modern Foreign Languages (MFLs) at A-level in the UK, French, Spanish and German were the three most popular languages until 2017. However, according to the 2018 A-level results, Mandarin Chinese has taken over third place by an 8.6 per cent increase from the previous year. Likewise, in GCSE entries, Mandarin Chinese has become the fifth most popular language in 2018. This increased popularity of Chinese at the both exam levels is, thus, worth an investigation; the rapid growth of China as a new economic power could be one easily predictable motivation for adult learners. However, it is intriguing to see whether young learners whose exposure to political and economic issues is deemed to be limited possess similar motivations or not.
This mixed methods study investigated the motivation of secondary school students aged 11 to 16 to choose Mandarin Chinese as their MFL. The data were gathered through motivation questionnaires (N=509) consisting of three domains named ‘Personal motivation,’ ‘Community motivation’ and ‘Global motivation’ and subsequent semi-structured interviews (N=10).
The statistical analysis of quantitative data has revealed that the duration of learning (up to 12 months, up to 24 months and longer than 24 months) significantly affected the students’ motivational orientation. The qualitative data contributed to gaining further insight into the factors which affected the participants’ change in their motivation. The findings from both types of data will be discussed.