High school students' Japanese learning motivations in Weifang in Mainland China

Abstract

The number of Japanese test takers in the NCEE has increased dramatically in mainland China. Despite the fact that there has been a rapid growth in the number of JFL students in different high schools, empirical studies into their learning motivation are relatively rare. The present study focuses on Chinese high school students’ Japanese learning motivation in terms of perceived attributions for English proficiency, their ideal selves, linguistic self-confidence and language anxiety in Japanese learning. Through a questionnaire survey and follow-up semi-structured individual interviews, the findings reveal that high school students who were satisfied with their English proficiency levels established maladaptive attributional styles and reported to have lower ideal selves, lower levels of linguistic self-confidence but higher language anxiety in Japanese learning process. On the contrary, students who perceived themselves as unsuccessful EFL learners developed adaptive attributional styles and had higher scores on the ideal L2 self, higher levels of self-confidence and lower levels of language anxiety in learning Japanese. This research result illuminated the correlations between attributions for English proficiency and the three elements that motivate students to learn Japanese (i.e., students’ ideal selves, linguistic self-confidence, and language anxiety). For teachers and educators, the importance of promoting adaptive attributional style was emphasized.