Study On The WTC In Chinese Of Foreign Students And The Impact Factors

The article is a empirical study on the WTC in Chinese among foreign students in the colleges from Shanghai and Nanjing areas. Through investigating current situations, characteristics and influential factors of WTC in Chinese among the aforesaid students, we propose that three elements, psychology, situation, and particularity, would directly or indirectly affect their bilingual WTC inside and outside class. Based on such presumption, the study aims at discussing the following three questions:1. Current situations and characteristics of foreign students’WTC inside and outside class;2. Influences of background variables on the WTC of foreign students in Chinese inside and outside class; and3. Main factors on affecting the WTC in Chinese inside and outside class those foreign students can be aware of.In order to validate the aforesaid presumption and answer the questions above, we have adopted a method combining qualitative with quantitative.210foreign students from7colleges in Shanghai and Nanjing areas participated in the quantitative research. The questionnaire designed in the research for investigating the WTC in Chinese inside and outside class comprises the following five parts:(1) background questionnaire;(2) survey sheet of WTC in Chinese outside class;(3) survey sheet of WTC in Chinese inside class;(4) questionnaire on language studying orientation; and (5) questionnaire on social support. Qualitative research has used open and closed questions, half-structure interview outline and focus writing.Main findings of this research are concluded as follows:First of all,210questionnaires have reflected the current situation of WTC in Chinese among foreign students inside and outside class in Shanghai and Nanjing areas:the WTC in Chinese of the foreign students in colleges in the two cities is quite high, between "probably will" and "definitely will"; the WTC in Chinese of the foreign students in Shanghai is slightly higher than Nanjing; the WTC in Chinese outside class is higher than inside class, but the difference is tiny. The two factors including oral Chinese level and anxiety or fear are the most important factors that affect the WTC of foreign students in Chinese inside and outside class.Secondly, the relatively high WTC of foreign students in Chinese reflected on the questionnaires is quite different from what we observed in reality. We found that it did not occur often that foreign students actively talk in Chinese with others in reality; most of the foreign students do not possess the WTC with others. This kind of objective and subjective conflict exactly shows that the WTC is only psychological willingness instead of real communication activity. Changing such virtue willingness to actual communication activity depends on intervention,this kind of intervention is to adopt the task-based teaching method in teaching Chinese as a foreign langrage.Thirdly, the quantitative and the qualitative research results have provided that psychology, situation and particularity factors generate direct or indirect influences on the foreign students’WTC in Chinese inside and outside class. Through regression analysis, we have checked the internal relationship between the objective background variable, subjective sentiment variable, situation variable and the WTC in Chinese. The studies have proved:1. Objective background variable is the external factor that influences the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese. In such six objective background variables, gender, nationality, profession and education background have no prominent influences in the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese; Grade prominently affects the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese, and appears a negative correlation. Senior foreign students show quite large difference in WTC in Chinese internally. We think that such phenomenon is related with the students of medium and high level being in a "plateau period" of studying.2. Sentiment variable is the internal factor that influences the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese. Through investigating the dependency between the five sentiment variables including motivation, self-assessment of communication ability, anxiety, language attitude, self-assessment of oral Chinese level and the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese, we have found:all the five sentiment variables are prominently related with the foreign student’s WTC in Chinese, in which motivation, language attitude and self-assessment of Chinese level have positive correlation with WTC in Chinese inside and outside class, and this three variables have positive predictive power to the WTC on certain extent. Influences of sentiment factors inside and outside class are basically the same to the WTC. Therefore, the key to improve the WTC in Chinese is to help the student establish correct sentiment inclination.3. The foreign students’ WTC is also affected by the inhabitation, comments on language studying and progress monitor. The recognition methods of foreign students in colleges in Shanghai and Nanjing areas appear obvious passivity and excessive monitoring, leading to their low consciousness and poor ability of actively communicating in Chinese.Fourthly, we have assessed the influences of language studying orientation and social support on the WTC of foreign students in Chinese. Research has shown:1. Among working, studying scores, knowledge, traveling and friendship, working and studying scores are the two subjects that have the closest relation with the foreign students’ WTC in Chinese, and appear positive correlation with the WTC.2. In the analysis on WTC and social support, supports from parents, siblings and teachers appear positive correlation with the foreign students’ WTC in Chinese, and have positive predictive function on the WTC. In other words, support from family and teacher is the strong power to promote WTC in Chinese of the foreign students. As a result, in order to transfer the foreign students’ high and potential WTC to more opportunities of practicing Chinese and to simplify the progress of Chinese studying, social support shall be obtained as much as possible.On the basis of qualitative and quantitative researches, the article has put forward that the cultivation on the foreign students’ WTC is the primary target of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. According to the task-oriented characteristics of foreign students, the article suggests that in order to transfer relatively high and potential WTC in Chinese of the foreign students to activities in reality, we need to carry on task-based teaching method and take the learners as our focus.