Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

Attitudes and Motivation of Non-Native Chinese Language Learners towards Learning Chinese Language

Buai Chin Heng, Julia Yin Yin Tan, Yee Feng Neo, Sian Hoon Teoh

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i12/15596

Open access

Learning attitudes and motivation are among the most important factors that affect students' second language learning outcomes. Many previous studies also revealed that learning attitudes and motivation have a positive relationship with students’ learning outcomes. However, non-native Chinese Language (CL) learners may require more attention. Hence, the objectives of this study are (1) to identify the Malaysian former SJKC non-native CL learners’ proficiency levels; (2) to examine the non-native CL learners’ language learning attitude and motivation levels; (3) to determine the relationship between the learners’ CL proficiency and motivation levels. This study is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The data collection methods used are mainly surveys and focused interviews. A total of 79 former SJKC non-native CL learners were chosen through the snowball sampling technique to answer the online questionnaires. In addition, focused interview sessions were conducted with six survey participants. The results showed there was a mild relationship (r=0.269) between motivation and CL proficiency level, even though the respondents showed a positive attitude and were highly motivated to learn the language. This result may be affected by factors other than attitude and motivation. The respondent’s self-report data showed that 80% of the participants are low proficiency CL learners. Furthermore, interview data also revealed that parental involvement positively affects high-performing learners’ learning motivation. Therefore, it is expected that all these factors might have affected the correlation analysis result. It is recommended that further research could delve into how these factors affect CL acquisition among non-native CL learners.

Abidin, A. Z. (2009). Faktor-faktor yang mendorong ibu bapa berketurunan Melayu menghantar anak mereka ke Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) di Daerah Johor Bahru [Bachelor’s Dissertation, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia].
Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational Research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Council of Europe. (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/table-1-cefr-3.3-common-reference-levels-global-scale
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education. New York: McGrawHill.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: Technical Report (1985). Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario. https://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/AMTBmanual.pdf
Gardner, R. C. (2001). Integrative Motivation: Past, present, and future. Temple University Japan, Distinguished Lecturer Series, Tokyo, February 17, 2001, February 224, 2001.
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Integrative-Motivation%3A-Past%2C-Present-and-Future-Gardner/cbc8854e492679579afda010c8cef67f94909244
Gardner, R. C. (2004). Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: International AMTB Research Project (English version).
http://hyxy.nankai.edu.cn/jingpinke/buchongyuedu/Motivation%20measurement-AMTB.pdf
Gardner, R. C. (2005). Integrative motivation and second language acquisition. [Paper presentation]. Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Canadian Linguistics Association Joint Plenary Talk, London, Canada. https://www.academia.edu/7391201
Heng, B. C., Neo, Y. F., & Chan, J. Y. (2021). Investigating the attributes of Chinese primary school adoption among the Malay community in Malaysia. ESTEEM Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(2), 153-166.
Heng, B. C., & Neo, K. S. (2005, December 14–December 15). Pendidikan Cina di kalangan pelajar Melayu Kelantan. [Paper presentation]. 3rd Academic Conference of UiTM Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
Klappenbach, A. (2022). The 12 most spoken languages in the world, January 7, 2022, Busuu. https://blog.busuu.com/most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/
Leeuwen, T. V., & Jewitt, C. (Eds.). (2001). Handbook of visual analysis. London: Sage.
Marimun, S. W., & Ahmad, A. (2019). Tahap Kesediaan Pelajar Melayu Mempelajari Sejarah di Sekolah Aliran Cina (SRJKC) Menggunakan Bahasa Mandarin dan Hubungannya Dengan Pencapaian. International Journal of Humanities, Philosophy and Language, 2(7), 93-106. https://doi.org/10.35631/ijhpl.27008
More Malaysian Malays studying in Chinese primary schools today versus a decade ago (2020, November 11). The New Strait Times, Asia News Network. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/more-malaysian-malays-study-in-chinese-primary-schools-today-versus-a-decade-ago
Muftah, M., & Rafik-Galea, S. (2013). Language Learning Motivation among Malaysian Pre-University Students. English Language Teaching, 6(3), 92-103. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n3p92
Norddin, M. F. (2017). Amalan penghayatan pendidikan Islam terhadap murid beragama Islam di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina [Master’s Dissertation, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia].
Ngien, M. M., & Ching, T. H. (2016). Pembelajaran Bahasa Cina di SJK(C): Kajian kes pelajar Bumiputera di negeri Sarawak. Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture ???????????, 4(1), 63-84.
Yahaya, N. H., & Abd Hamid, H. (2003) Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi masyarakat Melayu menghantar anak mereka ke Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJK(C)) Di Johor Bahru- Satu tinjauan [Bahcelor’s Dissertation, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia].
Peng, R., & Fu, R. (2021). The effect of Chinese EFL students’ learning motivation on learning outcomes within a blended learning environment. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 37(6), 61-74. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.6235
Rock, D., Danaee, M., & Coluzzi, P. (2021). Integrativeness in Malaysia: The socio-educational model in a modern Asian context. System, 103(1), 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102623
Tan, J. Y. Y. (2015). Malay parents’ perspective on admission of their children to Chinese primary school in Kelantan, Malaysia. Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, 6(1), 26-30.
Tan, T. G. (2010). Language learning motivation among Malay students learning Mandarin as a foreign language [Doctoral Dissertation, Universiti Sains Malaysia].
Thang, S. M., Ting, S. L., & Jaafar, N. M. (2011). Attitudes and motivation of Malaysian secondary students towards learning English as a second language: A case study. The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 17(1), 40-54.
Zeng, B. H. (2017). The Impacts of the non ethnic Chinese in Chinese Primary Schools (SJK(C)Ping Min) [Bachelor’s Dissertation, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman].

In-Text Citation: (Heng et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Heng, B. C., Tan, J. Y. Y., Neo, Y. F., & Teoh, S. H. (2022). Attitudes and Motivation of Non-Native Chinese Language Learners towards Learning Chinese Language. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(12), 943 – 962.