An Empirical Study On The Dynamic Changes Of International Students’ Chinese Learning Motivation

Based on the "L2 Motivation Self System" theory, this study conducts a research on the changeable Chinese learning motivation of 21 elementary international students who was learning Chinese in a university from a qualitative perspective. With the data collected through interviews, language learning autobiographies, learning diaries and CSL classroom observation, this study focused on the changeable process of both motivation types and motivation intensity of the students. By dividing the students into 4 types according to their initial motivation, this study described the specific process of the development and change of the four kinds of learners’ motivation.Through the research, we found that the type of learning motivation and motivation intensity of learners are in a constant changing process. The specific contents of learners’ "Ideal L2 Self" and "Ought-to L2 Self" may change from time to time during the whole study process and they may inter convert into each other. Meanwhile, "L2 Learning Experience" has an impact on the formation of learners’ "Ideal L2 Self" and "Ought-to L2 Self". All of the factors including teacher, study goal, the difficulty of learning content, curriculum, language learning environment, language confidence, the attitude towards L2 community and L2 culture and the pressure from parents and companies may all affect the change of learners’ learning motivation. At the end, this study established a model of Chinese learning motivation for international students, and put forward some suggestions for further research.