The L2 motivational trajectories, academic choices, and possible future selves of local and international English majors in mainland China

Abstract

The enrollment of international degree-seeking students is growing rapidly at Mainland Chinese universities, and many of these undergraduates—primarily from adjacent East Asian countries—choose English as their major. This is an unstudied population of English learner, and due to the importance of motivation in second language (L2) learning, it is vital that teachers and course administrators understand how these students’ English-related choice, effort, and persistence differ from their local counterparts. This thesis reports on a study that compared the motivational development and academic decision-making of international undergraduate English majors and their Chinese classmates at two universities in Mainland China. To address the dynamic and temporal nature of students’ motivation, the study adopted a mixed-methods research design that combined a cross-sectional questionnaire survey (N = 536) and a longitudinal interview-based panel study (N = 59). Using an enlarged version of Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System as a theoretical framework, the study explored the formation of students’ English-related aspirational identity—their L2 Self—and the relationship between this emerging self, English learning motivation, the decision to major in English, and (for international students) the decision to attend a Chinese university. These objectives were accomplished by expanding Dörnyei’s model to include two new self-types: the L2 English Major Self and the International Student in a Chinese University Self. The findings reveal that both Chinese and international students often experienced demotivation in the first two years of university due to the diminished importance or adverse influence of their L2 learning experience. Dissatisfaction with course content was the most common cause. In addition, because of doubts about an English major’s career prospects, many students in both groups had not freely chosen to major in English but rather had made the decision because of university admission policies. This inhibited the development of their L2 Self and contributed to demotivation during the early undergraduate years. After this initial period of motivational struggle, the majority of Chinese students eventually formed a clearly focused L2 Self that was composed of using English for academic purposes in graduate schools overseas—a Postgraduate L2 Self. This targeted vision was reinforced by contextual cues on campus and energized by proximal sub-goals, and it gave direction and drive to their English learning. In contrast, the non-local students envisioned using English to connect with the international community and to work in multinational companies upon graduation—a Global Workplace L2 Self. However, this self-type was not cued by learners’ campus context and tended to be visualized without specific details and attainment strategies. Consequently, it often lacked the specificity, structure, and support needed to sustain motivation. These results point to significant motivational differences between international English majors and their Chinese classmates. They also emphasize the teleological and experiential components of L2 motivation and affirm the importance of a clearly visualized and contextually supported L2 Self. The findings additionally demonstrate that expanding the L2 Motivational Self System to account for the impact of choice can yield meaningful insights into learners’ motivational development.