A study of Chinese Adults’ motivation to learn a third or more languages

Résumé 0

The level and nuances of motivation when learning third or more languages has not yet been widely researchd despite China having a large population of English language learners. This paper constitutes a quantitative study, involving a questionnaires designed to validate the scale of the third language (L3) motivation, and to compare the motivation of male and female adults (the first language (L1) is Chinese) when learning three or more languages. The data were collected and analysed using the R software online via a questionnaires (N = 398). Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and full structural equation modelling were undertaken to answer the research questions raised, as well as analyses of variance (ANOVA) with likelihood ratio tests, chi-squared different tests, Shapiro-Wilk test and Wilcoxon test with a bonferroni correction. The findings suggest that the scale of the second language (L2) motivational characteristics have been validated and can be applied to the L3 motivation. The results show there to be no obvious difference between the languages other than the English (LOTEs) motivation between Chinese males and Chinese females. The difference in motivation between studying a third language, and a fourth or more language, is not evident except in relation to the factors about the ideal L3 self. In light of the research findings, the methodological and pedagogical implications have been further put forward.