ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
English proficiency has become increasingly crucial for vocational education students, particularly in specialized fields like urban transportation where international collaboration and technical documentation require strong language skills. However, limited research has examined motivation patterns among vocational students in specialized majors using comprehensive theoretical frameworks. This study investigates motivation for learning to speak English among Chinese urban transportation major students using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as the theoretical framework. A structured questionnaire based on validated SDT instruments was administered to 277 urban transportation major students at a Chinese vocational college in Sichuan, China, with data analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation analysis. The results revealed that external regulation was the most prominent motivational orientation (Per-item M = 3.79), followed by identified regulation (Per-item M = 3.67) and intrinsic motivation (Per-item M = 3.21), while introjected regulation showed the lowest levels (Per-item M = 2.76). Regarding basic psychological needs, relatedness demonstrated the highest satisfaction (Per-item M = 4.08), followed by autonomy (Per-item M = 3.79), with competence showing the lowest satisfaction (Per-item M = 3.48). Females scored higher than males across the four motivation types, and higher self-rated speaking proficiency aligned with stronger autonomous motivation and greater need satisfaction. The findings provide empirical insights into motivational patterns in Chinese vocational education contexts and suggest implications for English speaking instruction design.
Alamer, A. (2022). Basic psychological needs, motivational orientations, effort, and vocabulary knowledge: A comprehensive model. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(1), 164–181. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226312100005X
Alkan, H., & Bümen, N. T. (2020). An action research on developing English speaking skills through asynchronous online learning. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 12(2), 127–148.
Amoah, S., & Yeboah, J. (2021). The speaking difficulties of Chinese EFL learners and their motivation towards speaking the English language. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(1), 56–69. https://doi.org/10.52462/jlls.4
Attoh, K. (2015). Public transportation and the idiocy of urban life. Urban Studies, 54(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098015622759
Bovermann, K., Weidlich, J., & Bastiaens, T. (2018). Online learning readiness and attitudes towards gaming in gamified online learning—A mixed methods case study. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0107-0
Chern, C., & Dooley, K. (2014). Learning English by walking down the street. ELT Journal, 68(2), 113–123. https://doi.org/10.1093/ELT/CCT067
Chien, S.-Y., Hwang, G.-J., & Jong, M. S.-Y. (2020). Effects of peer assessment within the context of spherical video-based virtual reality on EFL students’ English-Speaking performance and learning perceptions. Computers & Education, 146, 103751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103751
Cho, S.-B., & Kim, J. Y. (2021). Clustered embedding using deep learning to analyze urban mobility based on complex transportation data. PLOS ONE, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0249318
Danna, G., Randall, J. G., & Mahabir, B. (2022). Commute based learning: Integrating literature across transportation, education, and i-o psychology. Organizational Psychology Review, 13(2), 125–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866221132060
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum Press. https://eduq.info/xmlui/handle/11515/34618
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801
Du, H., & Guan, H. (2016). Hindrances to the new teaching goals of college English in China: Being contextually blind and linguistically groundless, current tertiary ELT policy needs to be redefined. English Today, 32(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078415000462
Foung, D., Ching, S. Y., Zhang, W., Guan, Y., & Cheung, K. (2022). English development sustainability for English as Second Language college transfer students: A case study from a university in Hong Kong. Sustainability, 14(19). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912692
He, J.-J., & Chiang, S.-Y. (2016). Challenges to English-medium instruction (EMI) for international students in China: A learners’ perspective: English-medium education aims to accommodate international students into Chinese universities, but how well is it working? English Today, 32(4), 63–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078416000390
Hodge, D. C. (1990). Geography and the political economy of urban transportation (pp. 87–100). Taylor & Francis Group. https://typeset.io/papers/geography-and-the-political-economy-of-urban-transportation-4mki5ugs41
Ilardi, B. C., Leone, D., Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). Employee and supervisor ratings of motivation: Main effects and discrepancies associated with job satisfaction and adjustment in a factory setting. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23(21), 1789–1805. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1993.tb01066.x
Kallioniemi, P., Sharma, S., & Turunen, M. (2016). CityCompass: A collaborative online language learning application. Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing Companion, 94–97. https://doi.org/10.1145/2818052.2874334
Li, M., & Pei, L. (2024). Exploring challenges in academic language-related skills of EFL learners in Chinese EMI settings. Acta Psychologica, 247(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104309
Mao, F., & Zhou, J. (2024). A needs analysis of ESP courses in colleges of art and design: Consensus and divergence. PLOS ONE, 19(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305210
Mohamed, R. B. M. (2023). Awakening Youngsters to Foreign Languages and their Motivational Disposition. The Journal of Asia TEFL. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2023.20.3.3.545
Noels, K. A., Clément, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (1999). Perceptions of teachers’ communicative style and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Modern Language Journal, 83(1), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00003
Noels, K. A., Clément, R., & Pelletier, L. G. (2001). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and integrative orientations of French Canadian learners of English. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 57(3), 424–442. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.57.3.424
Pun, J., & Jin. (2021). Student challenges and learning strategies at Hong Kong EMI universities. PLOS ONE, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0251564
Rao, P. S. (2019). The importance of speaking skills in English classrooms. Alford Council of International English & Literature Journal(ACIELJ), 2(2), 6–18.
Rath, S., & Chow, J. Y. J. (2022). Worldwide city transport typology prediction with sentence-BERT based supervised learning via Wikipedia. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2022.103661
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press.
Salmani Nodoushan, M. A. (2021). Washback or backwash? Revisiting the status quo of washback and test impact in EFL contexts. Studies in English Language and Education, 8(3), 869–884. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v8i3.21406
Tabatabaie, M., He, S., & Shin, K. G. (2023). Cross-modality graph-based language and sensor data co-learning of human-mobility interaction. Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, 7, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3610904
Wu, J. G., & Miller, L. (2021). Raising native cultural awareness through WeChat: A case study with Chinese EFL students. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 34(4), 552–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1629962
Xie, Q. (2021). Applying vocational education and training pedagogy in business English courses for China’s English major undergraduates. Journal of Education and Training, 63(2), 292–312. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-07-2020-0183
Xing, D., & Bolden, B. (2019). Exploring oral English learning motivation in Chinese International students with low oral English proficiency. Journal of International Students, 9(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v9i3.749
Xuhong, H., & Sazalli, N. (2025). Motivation for Learning to Speak English among Chinese Vocational Urban Transportation Students: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 14(3), 1966–1984.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode