Article published In:
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International EducationVol. 1:1 (2016) ► pp.4–33
Vol. 1:1 (2016) ► pp.4–33
The language use, attitudes, and motivation of Chinese students prior to a semester-long sojourn in an English-speaking environment
Second language acquisition scholars have long recognized that language attitudes and motivation can play a critical role in second language (L2) learning, leading to variations in willingness to communicate (WTC) and initiate interactions in that language. This paper reports on the pre-sojourn phase of a mixed-method study that investigated the language and intercultural learning of 149 Chinese students from a Hong Kong university who participated in a semester-long exchange program in an English-speaking country. By way of a questionnaire survey, document analysis (e.g., study plans), and in-depth interviews, the first phase examined their pre-sojourn language use, attitudes, and motivation, as well as their aims, expectations, and concerns about their impending study and residence in the host environment. Studies of this nature are essential to provide direction for pre-sojourn orientations and other interventions that can support and optimize the language enhancement and intercultural engagement of outgoing L2 international exchange students.
References
Allen, H.W
(2013) Self-regulatory strategies of foreign language learners: From the classroom to study abroad and beyond. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad (pp. 47–72). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 
Armour, R
(2015, March). Hong Kong: New initiatives in internationalisation: An impact assessment. Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific International Education (APAIE) conference, Beijing, China.
Baker, C
(1992) Attitudes and languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Bandura, A
(1994) Self-efficacy. In V.S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 41, pp. 71–81). New York: Academic Press.
Bazeley, P., & Jackson, K
(2013) Qualitative data analysis with NVivo (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chen, J.F., Warden, C.A., & Chang, H.T
(2005) Motivators that do not motivate: The case of Chinese EFL learners and the influence of culture on motivation. TESOL Quarterly, 39(4), 609–633.
Coleman, J
(2013) Researching whole people and whole lives. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad (pp. 17–44). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Dörnyei, Z
(2005) The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
(2009) The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9–42). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., Alastair, H., & MacIntrye, P
(2015) Introduction: Applying complex dynamic systems principles to empirical research on L2 motivation. In Z. Dörnyei, H. Alastair, & P. MacIntyre (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 1–10). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Du, H
(2015) American college students studying abroad in China: Language, identity, and self-presentation. Foreign Language Annals, 48(2), 91–107.
Ehrman, M.E
(1996) Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R
(1997) The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gardner, R.C
(1985) Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
(2010) Motivation and second language acquisition: The socio-educational model. New York: Peter Lang.
Garrett, P
(2010) Attitudes to language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Graham, S., & Weiner, B
(1995) Theories and principles of motivation. In D. Berliner & R. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 63–84). New York: MacMillan.
Grbich, C
(2013) Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Gregersen, T., & MacIntyre, P.D
(2014) Capitalizing on language learners’ individuality: From premise to practice. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Higgins, E.T
(1987) Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 941, 319–340.
Iwasaki, N
(2013) Getting over the hedge: Acquisition of mitigating language in L2 Japanese. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad (pp. 239–268). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Jackson, J
(2015) Preparing students for the global workplace: The impact of a semester abroad. Language and Intercultural Communication, 15(1), 76–91.
(2016). Encountering unfamiliar educational practices abroad: Opportunities or obstacles, In D. Velliaris & D. Coleman-George (Eds.), Handbook of research on study abroad programs and outbound mobility. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
to appear). The personal, linguistic, and intercultural development of Chinese sojourners in an English-speaking country: The impact of language attitudes, motivation, and agency. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education.
Jochum, C.J
(2014) Measuring the effects of a semester abroad on students’ oral proficiency gains: A comparison of at-home and study abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 241, 93–104.
Kinginger, C
(2008) Language learning in study abroad: Case studies of Americans in France. The Modern Language Journal, 921, 1–124.
(2009) Language learning and study abroad: A critical reading of research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
(2013) Introduction: Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad. In C. Kinginger (Ed.), Social and cultural aspects of language learning in study abroad (pp. 3–15). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
MacIntyre, P.D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K.A
(1998) Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a second language: A situational model of second language confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562.
MacIntyre, P.D., & Gardner, R
(1994) The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283–305.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P
(1986) Possible selves. American Psychologist, 411, 954–969.
Mercer, S., & Williams, M
(2014) Concluding reflections. In S. Mercer & M. Williams (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA (pp. 177–185). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M., & Saldana, J
(2013) Qualitative data analysis (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mills, N
(2014) Self-efficacy in second language acquisition. In S. Mercer & M. Williams (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA (pp. 6–22). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Pavlenko, A
(2007) Autobiographic narratives as data in applied linguistics. Applied Linguistics, 28(2), 163–188.
Ryan, R.M., & ;Deci, E.L
(2002) Overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective. In E.L. Deci & R.M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–33). Rochester: The University of Rochester Press.
Sampasivam, S., & Clément, R
(2014) The dynamics of second language confidence: Contact and interaction. In S. Mercer & M. Williams (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA (pp. 23–40). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Trentman, E
(2013) Imagined communities and language learning during study abroad: Arabic learners in Egypt. Foreign Language Annals, 461, 545–564.
Ushioda, E
(2009) A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215–28). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
(2014) Motivational perspectives on the self in SLA: A developmental view. In S. Mercer & M. Williams (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA (pp. 127–141). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Wanner, D
(2009) Study abroad and language: From maximal to realistic models. In R. Lewin (Ed.), The handbook of practice and research in study abroad: Higher education and the quest for global citizenship (pp. 81–98). New York and London: Routledge.
Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K
(2004) The influence of attitudes and effect on willingness to communicate and second language communication. Language Learning, 541, 119–152.
Cited by
Cited by 15 other publications
Barkhuizen, Gary
2017. Investigating multilingual identity in study abroad contexts: A short story analysis approach. System 71 ► pp. 102 ff. 
Benson, Phil
2017. Sleeping with strangers. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 2:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Chen, Tiancheng & Jing Chen
2021. Effects of Study-Abroad Experiences on Chinese Students ’ L2 Learning Activities and Study-Abroad Motivations. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 44:1 ► pp. 21 ff.
De Costa, Peter I., Hima Rawal & Irina Zaykovskaya
2017. Introduction: Methodological diversity and innovation in study abroad research. System 71 ► pp. 1 ff.
Isabelli-García, Christina, Jennifer Bown, John L. Plews & Dan P. Dewey
2018. Language learning and study abroad. Language Teaching 51:4 ► pp. 439 ff.
Jackson, Jane
2017. The personal, linguistic, and intercultural development of Chinese sojourners in an English-speaking country. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 2:1 ► pp. 80 ff.
Jackson, Jane
2018. Intervening in the intercultural learning of L2 study abroad students: From research to practice. Language Teaching 51:3 ► pp. 365 ff.
Jackson, Jane & Xinren Chen
2018. Discussion-based pedagogy through the eyes of Chinese international exchange students. Pedagogies: An International Journal 13:4 ► pp. 289 ff.
Jackson, Jane & John W. Schwieter
2019. Study Abroad and Immersion. In The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning, ► pp. 727 ff.
Lee, Jeongyi & Kathryn Negrelli
2022. Two Countries, One Goal: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Development of Study Abroad Sojourners’ Cultural Identification in Japan and Korea. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 34:1 ► pp. 131 ff.
Ma, Junqian
2020. Supporting Practices to Break Chinese International Students’ Language Barriers. Journal of International Students 10:1 ► pp. 84 ff.
Machul, Michał, Monika Bieniak, Justyna Chałdaś-Majdańska, Jadwiga Bąk, Agnieszka Chrzan-Rodak, Paulina Mazurek, Piotr Pawłowski, Daria Makuch-Kuśmierz, Anna Obuchowska, Adrianna Bartoszek, Katarzyna Karska, Krzysztof Jurek, Claudia Cardenas & Beata Dobrowolska
2020. Lifestyle Practices, Satisfaction with Life and the Level of Perceived Stress of Polish and Foreign Medical Students Studying in Poland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17:12 ► pp. 4445 ff.
Pérez-Vidal, Carmen & Cristina Sanz
2023. Chapter 1. Research methods in study abroad. In Methods in Study Abroad Research [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 4], ► pp. 9 ff.
Schwieter, John W. & Aline Ferreira
2020. Learning a language abroad and the implications for social participation and positioning. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 17:1 ► pp. 64 ff.
Weng, Tzu-Ling, Feng-Yuan Chu, Chiao-Lin Li & Tzeng-Ji Chen
2022. Choices of Specialties and Training Sites among Taiwanese Physicians Graduating from Polish Medical Schools. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19:6 ► pp. 3727 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.