'Asian learners' re-examined: An empirical study of language learning attitudes, strategies and motivation among mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students

'Asian learners' re-examined: An empirical study of language learning attitudes, strategies and motivation among mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students

• Gan, Zhengdong Dept of English, Hong Kong Institute of Education

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 30(1), 41-58, 2009

Routledge

2009

• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GB English Language
• N Students & Student Services
  • NC Charactieristics & Conditions of Students; Opinion & Attitudes of Students, Problems of Adjustment

Language & Languages -- Study & Teaching Teaching Methods Social Context Educational Anthropology Students -- Attitudes Asian Students Empirical Research China Asian Learners Cultural Stereotypes Confucian Traditions Language Learning Attitudes Strategies and Motivation

• Hong Kong
• China

• 1997.7 onwards

• Post-Secondary Education

Although cultural stereotypes of Asian students as being prone to rote learning, passive and teacher-dependent have been under criticism, the issue of the extent to which Asian heritage culture impacts on Asian students' learning attitudes and behaviour warrants further investigation. This paper reports on an empirical study which compares self-directed language learning attitudes, strategies and motivation among university students in mainland China and Hong Kong. In doing so, the author aims to investigate: (1) whether there are any differences/similarities in learning attitudes, strategies and motivation between these two groups of Asian students; (2) how these differences/similarities could be explained in terms of the cultural (i.e. Confucian) traditions or situational factors such as institutional contexts and social environments. Data were collected through both questionnaire and interviews. The findings of this study suggest that institutional contexts and social environments rather than cultural traditions tend to determine students' attitudes towards, strategies in and motivation for learning English. Implications for illuminating the validity of Littlewood's (1999) 10 predictions about the forms of learner autonomy in East Asian traditions are then discussed.
[Copyright of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434630802307890]

• English

Journal Articles

• 01434632

• 10.1080/01434630802307890

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/4a1db12a

2011-01-21