Motivation, Learner strategies and social networks in second language acquisition in Chinese research students
Daguo Li (co-supervised with Professor Brian Richards)
One of the problems with Chinese postgraduate students in the UK is inadequacy in their English, which potentially affects both their academic study and other aspects of their life in their residence abroad. However, little is understood about the psychological and social mechanisms involved in their acquisition of English in the target language country.
This study aims to understand motivation, learner strategies, and social networks in second language acquisition in an informal setting. It consists of four case studies and data are collected, using semi-structured interviews, from four Chinese research students at two points during their first year in the UK. Their oral/aural proficiency in English is assessed with both self-assessment and external measures.
Findings from this study suggest that an in-depth understanding of motivation in these learners could be gained from several different angles within both social psychological and cognitive perspectives. In addition, learners’ perceived support in learning the language seems to emerge as an important dimension of motivation, especially among less proficient learners. Results for learner strategies indicate that these learners use a wide range of strategies, including metacognitive, cognitive, social/affective, and compensation strategies. Metacognitive strategies constitute the category used most commonly by all four learners, suggesting that these learners exercise considerable metacognitive control over learning. One of the major findings of this study concerns social networks, which suggests social influences on second language learning. Relationships between motivation, learner strategies, social networks, and proficiency in English are discussed and a tentative model is proposed.