| The present study compares and contrasts the motivational beliefs of learning Chinese language as a foreign language between Asian heritage and non-Asian heritage students at the college level. 150 students enrolling in Chinese language classes in the summer and fall semesters in the year of 2002 participated in this study. The participants included four-year public and private university students and two-year community college students. The data were collected through a survey method. The research instruments used for this investigation consisted of the questionnaire of motivation information and the information on learning outcomes. The statistical techniques adopted to analyze the data included descriptive statistics, independent t-test, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The seven factors found in the motivation questionnaire were motivation of instrumentality, intrinsic motivation, passivity toward requirements, task value, belief of effort, self-efficacy, and effort devoted to Chinese language learning. The results of this study indicated that Chinese language learners of Asian heritage and non-Asian heritage differed in types of motivational beliefs affecting their learning of Chinese as a foreign language. It was also found that the three subgroups of Asian heritage students, Chinese American, non-Chinese Asian American, and Asian, differed in types of motivational beliefs leading to their Chinese language learning behavior. |
