A Study Of Chinese College English Learners' Motivation In Reading

The study of motivation and the study of reading have been prevailing in the second / foreign language teaching and research field. Gardner and Lambert's concept of instrumental and integrative motivation was among the earliest studies of motivation in foreign language learning. Gardner's assertion is that learners with integrative motivations are sure to acquire greater achievement while those with instrumental motivation are not likely to achieve a great success because their motivation is on a short-term basis.Skehan summarized the already existed theories on motivation and asserted four hypotheses, which comprise many aspects concerning motivation.Motivation is also divided by many scholars into intrinsic and extrinsic. It has been discovered that language learners' intrinsic motivation is vital in the final success of learning a foreign/second language. In the meantime, extrinsic factors like teachers' encouragement or praises as well as learners' previous successes are almost equally important in learning a foreign language.The study of motivation in China focused, in the beginning, on the introduction of foreign theories or researches, and then transferred to case studies and investigations in our Chinese academic situation. Prof. Gui Shichun, Prof. Wang Churning and Prof. Wen Qiufang are among the most popular scholars in this field of China.10The study of both LI and L2 reading started much earlier than the study of motivation in the foreign language learning and teaching field since it is one of the fundamental abilities concerning L2 learning. Much research has been done by foreign experts and Chinese scholars on the aspect of reading in both LI and L2 reading. As to LI reading, Gibson and Levin provide several conclusions based on a series of case studies. William D. Page and Gay Su Pinnell regard reading as an activity to solve problems. But as far as L2 is concerned, Rod Ellis and Brian Tomlinson present three types of motivation in reading: for pleasure, for close understanding and for required information.Chinese scholars have done less research in the respect of reading motivation than in reading techniques. Prof. Xu Yulong and Prof. Wen Qiufang as well as many other teachers and scholars supplied us with a large collection of research findings. However, their study of motivation has been among other learner factors. Consequently, there has been no thorough study in the respect of reading motivation.Based on both Chinese and foreign scholars, this thesis centers on the Chinese college students' reading motivation. The objectives of the study are:(1) to investigate Chinese college students' general motivation in reading;(2) to find out whether they are more instrumental oriented or enjoymental oriented;11(3) to analyze the correlation between the students' reading motivation and the reading proficiency;(4) to see which of the two motivations is more significant in the success of students' reading proficiency.The investigations contained in this study are among sophomores of Non-English and English majors.The thesis consists of four parts: the first chapter is a brief introduction of the whole study. It explains how the study was accomplished. Chapter Two is a literary review. The author examines both foreign and Chinese scholars' researches and theories concerning L2 motivation and reading. The third chapter contains a series of investigations concerning reading motivation and reading proficiency.Based on the results of the investigations, the fourth chapter discusses the correlation between college learners' motivation and the reading proficiency. Finally, the thesis comes to the following conclusions:(1) The majority of the college students demonstrate a strong motivation towards English reading;(2) They show a stronger instrumental motivation which indicates that college students reading motivation is of more practical basis;(3) The correlation between general motivation and reading proficiency is s...