Adult Chinese as a Second Language Learners' Willingness to Communicate in Chinese: Effects of Cultural, Affective, and Linguistic Variables

Abstract

The present research explored the effects of cultural, affective, and linguistic variables on adult Chinese as a second language learners' willingness to communicate in Chinese. One hundred and sixty-two Chinese as a second language learners from a Chinese university answered the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scale, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, Use of Chinese Profile, as well as the Background Questionnaire. The major findings were as follows: (1) the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales were significantly negatively correlated with Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale but positively correlated with length of stay in China and (2) Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale was a powerful negative predictor for the overall willingness to communicate in Chinese and the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales, followed by length of stay in China, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, interaction attentiveness, and Chinese proficiency level. Apparently, students' willingness to communicate in Chinese is largely determined by their Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale level and length of stay in China, mediated by other variables such as Chinese proficiency level and intercultural communication sensitivity level.

Predicting Effects of Demographic, Linguistic and Psychological Variables on University International Students’ Intercultural Communication Sensitivity

“…The analyses also revealed that the participants were generally (fairly) sensitive, confident, attentive and enjoyable in intercultural interactions and respected cultural differences when communicating with people in the Chinese culture, consistent with the findings in many existing studies (Anderson et al, 2006, Chen & Starosta, 2000Christmas & Barker, 2014;Liu, 2017Liu, , 2018bLiu & Liu, 2015;Lukesová, 2015;Martinsen, 2011;Sarwari & Wahab, 2017;Straffon, 2003;Tabatadze & Gorgadze, 2014). Meanwhile, the participants reported to be (highly) willing to communicate with others in Chinese, as found in Liu (2017Liu ( , 2018b and Yousef, Jamil & Razak (2013).…”

Understanding Motivation for Learning German among Chinese College Students: Comparing In-China and Study-Abroad Contexts

“…To explore the relationship between motivation for learning German and test performance, correlation analyses were run between the MLGQ scales and German test scores (see Table 2). The results showed that MGLL3 was significantly positively correlated with in-China learners' German test performance, and that the MLGQ, MLGQ1 and MLGQ2 were significantly positively related to SA learners' German test performance, consistent with that in other studies in SA contexts (Hernández, 2010;Hsieh, 2009;Liu, 2017b;Liu & Li, 2018), with a medium effect size. This means that the more motivated in-China students were to study German for miscellaneous purposes, the better they performed in German, and that the more instrumentally and/or integratively motivated SA students were to study German, the better they performed in German.…”

“…A generally similar pattern is observed in motivation studies in SA contexts, which has become an issue of interest in recent decades (Allen, 2010;Hernández, 2010;Hsieh, 2009;Liu, 2017aLiu, , 2017bMeredith, 2010 Hsieh's (2009) interview of two Taiwanese students studying in an American university indicated that the SA context had a great impact on the development of the participants' L2 motivational self system.…”

“…Learners of not-so-important SLs/FLs often report learning the languages largely for personal interests and reasons (Csizér & Kormos, 2008;Humphreys & Spratt, 2008;Liu, 2017aLiu, , 2017bLiu & Li, 2018). For example, Liu and Li (2018) collected both quantitative and qualitative data to study patterns of and changes in Chinese college students' motivation to study German in China.…”

“…As demonstrated above, research on motivation often focuses on ESL/EFL learners, orientations voiced by learners of not-so-important foreign languages vary from those of ESL/EFL learners in certain aspects. Although there is research on motivation targeting languages other than English such as French (Gardner, 2001;Gardner & MacIntyre, 1992), German (Csizér & Kormos, 2008;Humphreys & Spratt, 2008;Liu & Li, 2018), and Mandarin Chinese (Humphreys & Spratt, 2008;Liu, 2017aLiu, , 2017b English which is the major FL, German is only a minor FL in China, for which there is little requirement in any stage of schooling or in the job market in the country. Accordingly, most students study German in college generally not to pass examinations and/or obtain certificates (Liu & Li, 2018).…”