The development of achievement motivation while learning Chinese as a foreign language : the role of adult learners' ability beliefs and perception of task values in shaping their achievement behaviours

Abstract

There has been a burgeoning interest of motivational constructs in predicting students’ achievement behaviours – choice, performance and persistence. Under the instruction of expectancy-value theory and achievement goal theory, this study exams how student’s ability beliefs and perception of task values develop within a Chinese language course, and how those developmental perceptions shape their behaviours while learning Chinese as a foreign language in Hong Kong. A multiple-case study has been adopted, with the diverse instruments of semi-structured interviews, class observations, stimulated recalls as well as document analysis. Participants’ achievement attitudes (particularly their ability beliefs and perception of task values) as well as their achievement behaviours (choice, performance and persistence) were tracked over time within the duration of a language course. 24 individual interviews, 36 hours’ class observations, 126 stimulated recall and 42 document analysis were conducted throughout this language course, aiming at investigating the influences of changing contexts upon students’ achievement attitudes and achievement behaviours. Results indicated that the developmental perception of peer comparison was the dominant role in shaping students’ achievement attitudes and behaviours at different learning stages, especially the weak students. Initially, peer comparison was not fully established, so utility value was salient, and students’ major focus was to master useful skills in Chinese class. As students were more informed of each other’s abilities, attainment value was emerging, so certain students’ focus shifted to classroom performance. This sense of peer competition was strengthened later after the mid-term exam, particularly among the weak students whose major focus was to demonstrate their abilities and avoid weaknesses in class activities. Interestingly, with the final exam approaching, the weak students switched their focus from classroom performance to skills development, although for the sake of exam preparations. The more proficient students, including the average and strong students, on the other hand, had relatively more stable and higher ability beliefs. Therefore, no obvious changes were observed in their achievement attitudes or behaviours across time. This decrease in the weak students’ active participation in class was either due to their inclining ability beliefs or their changing perception of task values depending on the different contexts at various stages. Therefore, this could give insights to the teacher, regarding how to deliver useful feedback (to promote their ability beliefs) and design effective activities (to satisfy their changing perception of task values) and at corresponding learning stage, in order to enhance their active participation in class. The present study took contextual factors into consideration, and contributed to the theories of achievement motivation by specifying different roles of achievement attitudes in shaping achievement behaviours under particular contexts across a language course. It also extended the research scope of achievement behaviours from the subject-specific level to the task-specific level within Chinese as a foreign language subject, which provided a holistic picture of teaching and learning in the classroom setting. In addition, it developed the research of achievement motivation among adult learners, under the context of Hong Kong.