The Influence Of International Posture And Ethnocentrism On Non-english Majors' Motivation To Learn English

This study explored the relationships of motivation to learn English with international posture and ethnocentrism among a group of students in China using a mixed methods approach. Motivation research has always been in the forefront in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) for its pervasive influence on second language (L2) achievements. Attitudes have been considered significant in influencing motivational behaviors. Given the increasing intercultural communication in this era of fast globalization, this study drew on perspectives from second language acquisition (SLA) and intercultural communication to investigate the relations between L2 motivation and two attitudinal factors: international posture and ethnocentrism. Specifically, the study addressed the following three questions: 1) To what extent are international posture, ethnocentrism, and motivation to learn English correlated with each other? 2) To what extent do international posture and ethnocentrism predict the participants'motivation to learn English? 3) How do the participants perceive their international posture and ethnocentric or non-ethnocentric attitudes in relation to their motivation to learn English?This study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires administered to 300 students in a Chinese university to answer the first and second question. Qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews with four students addressed the third question. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 13.0 was applied to analyze the quantitative data. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that international posture, especially its two components intergroup approach-avoidance tendency (IAAT) and interest in international vocation/activities (IIVA) were significantly correlated with L2 motivation. Ethnocentrism was negatively correlated with motivational intensity and international posture. Multiple regression analysis indicated that IAAT, IIVA, and ethnocentrism were significant predictors of motivation. The qualitative data were carefully categorized and analyzed. The results indicated that IAAT, IIVA, and ethnocentrism affected students'L2 motivation in different degrees, which triangulated the quantitative results.This study is among the first attempts to investigate motivation to learn English in response to increasing intercultural communication situations opening up to Chinese students. It has contributed empirical evidence that attitudinal factors in intercultural communication account for motivation to learn English, which provided significant and new insights into L2 motivation research and English language teaching in China.