Influence of Attitude and Motivation on English Learning and Teaching in China

Abstract: With the development of globalization， English learners in China have reached nearly a quarter of its total population. Since attitude and motivation serves an important role in language learning and teaching， this paper attempts to explore how multifarious factors of motivation， integrative or instrumental， brings about positive and negative influence in students’ English acquiring process， as well as the impact of teachers’ attitude and strategies in motivating students to learn English.

Key words: English learning; Chinese students; attitude; integrative/ instrumental motivation

中圖分類號：G424 文獻標識碼：A

As a significant role in international society， China has attached great importance to English competence in education. According to Yang (2006)， English learners in China have reached 250 million to 300 million people， nearly a quarter of its total 1.3 billion population (p. 3). Whereas， the proficient users of English only account for a small number of the total and it is acknowledged that most learners are comparatively stronger in reading and writing than in speaking and listening. Besides the factor of individual intelligent differences， one of the major reasons resulting in this situation is the influence of attitude and motivation of English learners and teachers.

As the saying goes， \"Attitude is everything\". Gardner (1968) indicates in the paper “Attitudes and Motivation” that the students with better attitude to language learning have better language achievements (p. 142). A positive and active attitude not only helps learners to achieve more progress， but also eases the hard and boring part in learning English. More important， a positive attitude can also create increased motivation. From my teaching experience， students with a scrupulous attitude tend to perform better in learning. Apart from students’ self-restriction on learning attitude， teachers’ discipline may also influence students’ attitude.

Besides， motivation is another main factor that affects English acquisition. Gardner (1968) and Lambert (1974) introduced two kinds of motivation in their theories: “integrative motivation” (Gardner， 1968， p. 143) and “instrumental motivation” (Lambert， 1974， p. 98). Gardner (1968) considered integrative motivation as the desire to integrate into the target language community， know more about their life and culture， and get accepted by the community (p. 143)， while the instrumental motivation emphasizes “the practical value and advantages of learning a new language” (Lambert， 1974， p. 98)， a more utilitarian value including gaining some social or economic reward through second language learning. A good example of integrative motivation for Chinese students is that they are more motivated in a foreign teacher’s class， and learning English for better educational or career opportunities can be explained by instrumental motivation.

Varied elements related to the motivation， integrative or instrumental， have had a deep influence on English learners in contemporary China， including curriculum， certificates， personal interest， and social environment.

English curriculum requirement by the educational system reinforces Chinese ESL learners’ instrumental motivation. English as a mandatory subject and a significant academic criterion from primary school to university， students have to confront themselves with this barrier and overcome it. Another instrumental motivation is the craze for certificates. In order to be more competitive in the job market， a large number of students attend instructive classes (the prosperous expansion of New Orientation English Institutions as one typical representative) to get various certificates， such as College English Test (CET)， Business English Certificate (BEC)， etc.

However， in many cases such instrumental motivation doesn’t really motivate English learners to acquire English proficiency， but instead they learn more tactics and skills to pass the exam or get the certificate， neglecting developing all-around abilities. Traditional teacher-centered lectures are still dominant， and exams for the curriculum are mostly reading-oriented， so many students only acquire “dumb English”. For this reason， the “Crazy English” got popular over China， which encourages learners to hurdle the psychological obstacle of pudency and nervousness， and bravely speak English aloud.

Furthermore， as an integrative motivation， personal interest is a favorable motivation for English learning. Attracted by US or Britain cultures， some students are self-driven to learn English. Such inherent motivation is the most long-lasting activator. However， interest-motivated students only make up a small portion of total English learners. According to a research report targeting the college students in Jilin University， only 10% students regarded their interests as motivation for English learning (Lu Zhang， 2008).

In addition， the social environment also provides English learners in China with various motivations. In recent years the globalization has swept the world， and China has naturally become a part of the wave. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games brought a chance for the world to take a close look at China， and “English heat” emerged all over the country. Besides， both international and local companies prefer to employ candidates with high English proficiency. With the upsurge of studying abroad， more and more Chinese students have both the instrumental and integrative motivations to pass TOEFL and GRE tests and prepare themselves to merge into cultures of English-speaking countries. However， the social context also creates spreading stress for many， for learning English might help one be “recognized” by the society which defines “winners” and “losers” by one’s academic achievements (Gu， 2009， p. 307).

Generally speaking， many aspects of attitude and motivation have a great impact， either positive or negative， on English learners in China. On the other hand， the influence of teachers’ attitude in motivating students to learn English should not be neglected as well.

Gardner (1968) presented that teachers’ attitude plays a role in motivating students to learn a second language (p. 146). From my point of view， teachers could play a stimulating and facilitating role to motivate students to better learn English in many ways， for instance， the use of multi-media and diversified activities in the class to cultivate students’ interests， the appropriate manner of praise and criticism， and adopting various forms of assessment to evaluate students’ academic performance.

In conclusion， attitude and motivation serves an important role in language learning and teaching. The English learning context in China entails multifarious factors of motivation that brings about both positive and negative influence in students’ English acquiring process， and teachers’ attitude and strategies could also be a crucial factor that motivates and facilitates students to obtain comprehensive abilities in English learning process.

Reference

[1] Gardner， R. C. (1968). Attitudes and Motivation: Their Role in Second-Language Acquisition. TESOL Quarterly， 2 (3)， 141-150.

[2] Gu， Mingyue. (2009). College English Learners’ Discursive Motivation Construction in China. System， 37 (2)， 300-312. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2008.11.006

[3] Lambert， W. E. (1974). Culture and Language as Factors in Learning and Education. In F.E. Aboud R.D. Meade (Eds.). Cultural Factors in Learning and Education， 91-122. Bellingham， Washington: Fifth Western Washington Symposium on Learning.

[4] Lu， Shuai.， Zhang， Zhaonan. (2008). Students of English Learning Attitudes of the Survey and Analysis. Jilin: Class 640807 of Institute of Environment and Resources of Jilin University. Retrieved November 11， 2010， from http://wenku.baidu.com/view/5c4b42eeaeaad1f346933f9d.html

[5] Yang， J. (2006). Learners and Users of English in China: Just How Many Millions Are There? English Today， 22(2)， 3-10.