The Language of the Future: The Motivation of Adults in Malta to Study Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62695/TDIE4900

Keywords:

Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, non-native teachers of Chinese, Adult education, Foreign language teaching

Abstract

China’s economic growth and opening up to the western world have led many people in the West to study Mandarin Chinese as a second or as an additional foreign language. Due to the rise of China, many people in the West are seeking to learn Mandarin Chinese in order to be able to communicate better with the endless opportunities that such a great culture and economy bring with it. As Hu Jintao said in his address to the Australian Parliament on the 24th of October 2003: ‘The Chinese culture belongs not only to the Chinese but also to the whole world’, suggesting that the Chinese actually welcome foreigners to learn their language and culture. In fact, many adults in the Western world are choosing to learn Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language for a number of different reasons, among which to improve their future career prospects. The current study aims to find out what motivates adult learners to choose to attend courses in basic Mandarin Chinese language and culture in Malta.

Author Biography

Christiana Sciberras, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology

Christiana Sciberras teaches Chinese (Mandarin) to Year 7 students at St. Margaret College (Cospicua) and to adult learners at the Directorate for Lifelong Learning. She has also taught study units in Chinese culture at the University of Malta. Christiana is a Ph.D. candidate in the area of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language at the University of Southampton (UK). Her main research interests are Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, teacher identity, development of teaching resources, multilingual education, and modern Chinese language and cultural studies.

References

Borg, C., Mayo, P. and Raykov, M. (2016) ‘Adult Learning in Malta. Insights into current participation, content and forms of adult learning’, Faculty of Education, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.

Cook, V. (1999) ‘Going Beyond the Native Speaker in Language Teaching’, TESOL Quarterly, Volume 33.

Crystal, D. (second ed.) (2003) English as a Global Language, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Csiz´er, K. and Dornyei, Z. (2005) ‘Language Learners’ Motivational Profiles and Their Motivated Learning Behavior’, Language Learning 55:4, 613-659.

Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (2000) ‘Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being’, American Psychologist 55:1, 68-78.

Detaramani, C. and Shuk Im Chan, I. (1999) ‘Learners’ Needs, Attitudes and Motivation Towards the Self-Access Mode of Language Learning’, RELC Journal 30:1, 124-150.

Dornyei, Z. and Csiz’er, K. (2005) ‘The Internal Structure of Language Learning Motivation and Its Relationship with Language Choice and Learning Effort’, The Modern Language Journal 89:1, 19-36.

Dornyei, Z. (1998) ‘Motivation in second and foreign language learning’, Language Teaching 31:3, 117-135.

Fu, X. (2013) ‘Motivational Strategies in Teaching English as a Foreign Language – Applying Motivation plan’, TEFL in International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 3:18, 257-262.

Gardner, R.C. (1968) Attitudes and motivation: Their role in second-language Acquisition’, TESOL Quarterly, 2: 141-149.

Gardner, R.C. and Lambert, W.E. (1959) ‘Motivational variables in second language acquisition’, Canadian Journal of Psychology 13: 266-272.

Gardner, R.C. and Lambert, W.E. (1972) Attitudes and motivation in second language Learning, Massachusetts, MA: Newbury House Publishers Inc.

Horwitz, E.K. (1988) ‘The Beliefs about Language Learning of beginning university foreign language students’, Modern Language Journal, 72/3, 283:294.

Jurisevic, M. and Pizorn, K. (2013) ‘Young Foreign Language Learners’ Motivation – A Slovenian Experience’, Porta Linguarum 19: 179-198.

Khalid, A. (2016) ‘A Study of the Attitudes and Motivational Orientations of Pakistani Learners Toward the Learning of English as a Second Language’, SAGE Open July-September 2016: 1-19.

NSO – National Statistics Office (2018) Adult Education Survey 2016, NSO, Valletta, Malta. https://nso.gov.mt/en/publicatons/Publications_by_Unit/Documents/C4_Education_and_Information_Society_Statistics/AES_publication.pdf

Orton, J. (2008) Report on Chinese Education in Australian Schools, University of Melbourne.

Sciriha, L. and Vassallo, M. (2006) Living Languages in Malta. Malta, Print It Printing Services.

Schmidt, R., Boraie, D. and Kassabgy, O. (1996) ‘Foreign Language Motivation: Internal Structure and External Connections', in Oxford, R. (ed.). Language Learning Motivation: Pathways to the New Century. (Technical Report No.11), Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, pp. 9–70.

Trent, J., Gao XueSong, Gu MingYue (2014) Language Teacher Education in a Multilingual Context; Experiences from Hong Kong, London, New York: Springer.

Wlodkowski R.J. (1986) Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn, London: Jossey-bass Limited.

Xiaohong, W. (1997) ‘Motivation and Language Learning with Students of Chinese’, in Foreign Language Annals, 30(2): 235-251.

Zhengming, D. (2015) The Chinese Language Demystified, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Zhou, M. (2019) Language Ideology and Order in Rising China, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ziqun Xing, J. (2006) Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language; A Pedagogical Grammar. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Downloads

Published

16-09-2020

How to Cite

Sciberras, C. (2020). The Language of the Future: The Motivation of Adults in Malta to Study Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language. Malta Journal of Education, 1(1), 158–173. https://doi.org/10.62695/TDIE4900

Similar Articles

<< < 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.