A Survey On The Learning Beliefs Of Nigerian Chinese Learners

Language learning beliefs have a very important influence on language learners' attitudes,behaviors and learning effects.The purpose of this study is to use questionnaires and interviews to explore the language learning beliefs and the influencing factors of Nigerian Chinese learners.The subjects of this research study were 200 Chinese learners randomly selected from Nigerian beginner,intermediate and advanced levels,and 18 Chinese learners were interviewed.Based on Horwiz's BALLI,the questionnaire in this study has slightly been modified from five dimensions,namely;language learning difficulty,foreign language ability tendency,nature of language learning,learning style and communication strategies,language learning motivation and expectations,to investigate different students' language learning beliefs at different Chinese proficiency levels.During the interview,students expressed their opinion based on the type of questions they were asked in regards to their learning beliefs.This paper uses SPSS 25 for the analysis of data.reliability statistical data test was done to determine the reliability of the questionnaire before going further for the descriptive statistical analysis method which was used to analyze the frequency of data and chi-square test.The major findings were as follows:First,beginner,intermediate and advanced Chinese learner have formed their own beliefs about Chinese learning.However,some of them hold positive belief but some hold negative belief on Chinese language learning.Second,in terms of gender factor,the overall learning belief are higher in female than male students.moreover male students and female students only has significant differences in Chinese learning difficulty.For example,female students consider that Chinese is a very difficult language to learn and it takes more time to learn Chinese well.Furthermore,there is no significant difference in gender in other types of Chinese learning belief which means thatboth male and female students has the same learning aptitude,learning motivation and expectation,Learning style and communication strategy and nature of learning beliefs.Third,in terms of age factor,there are significant different in between the age groups of the students' Language learning difficulty,Foreign language aptitude,Nature of learning,Learning style and communication strategy and learning motivation and expectation belief,which means that picking random students from different age groups,as they get older older,the type of learning language beliefs they has also changes.Fourth,the result also shows that there is no association between gender and HSK level,this indicates that gender does not have an effect on the type of learning belief student may have on different HSK level,it can also be said that male and female student can not be influenced in different HSK level,while age has an association with HSK level,this indicates that as the student goes higher in HSK level,they also get older which may affect the type of learning belief they may possess in different HSK level.Therefore,gender doesn't influence the type of learning belief student may possess on different HSK level,while age affects the type of learning belief they may have in different HSK level.Fifth,there exist some differences in Nigerians' Chinese learner's learning belief between beginner,intermediate and advanced levels.Beginner and intermediary level almost have the same Chinese learning belief,they have less confidence and motivation in their ability and thinks they are not talented to learn Chinese language,they are reluctant to learn Chinese culture,and also reluctant about the study environment,while advance level students feels shy when speaking Chinese before people and are not willing to communicate in Chinese if they are not sure if what they want to say is wrong or correct.Beginner,intermediate and advanced level students all thinks that writing is the most difficult part in learning Chinese.Regarding the time for learning Chinese,whether it is a beginner,intermediate or advanced Chinese learner,they all think that if they spend an hour learning Chinese every day,they can learn it within one to two years,but beginner and intermediary level are yet to understand the importance of;communication with people that can speak Chinese,constant practicing and guessing strategy for learning Chinese language.Finally,to some extent all the different proficiency level students have the same learning motivation and expectation belief,for example“if I learn Chinese well,i will have a chance to get a good job”.From the analysis of Chinese language learning beliefs of Nigerian students in different HSK levels,it can be seen that as the student go higher in level,they have a more profound understanding about Chinese learning.Therefore,at this time,the teachers correct guidanceis very important for them to set up positive Chinese learning beliefs.From the above results,the author suggests that: teachers should first of all understand the students' Chinese learning beliefs through a variety of mean,secondly,the teacher should create some useful training programs to help the students establish a positive language learning beliefs,and as well should try to design different kinds of activities to make different ages work together so that they can learn from each other.Lastly,the teacher should encourage and pay more attention to beginners and intermediary level student so that they can be able to strengthen their confidence and regain their interest in learning Chinese language.