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Age‐related differences in motivation in learning E nglish among M ainland C hinese students
Author(s) -
Xu Wei,
Case Rod E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/ijal.12050
Subject(s) - psychology , mainland , developmental psychology , mathematics education , linguistics , philosophy
Despite the fact that the majority of E nglish learners in C hina are children, much of what is known about E nglish learners in C hina is restricted to studies of high school and adult populations. Learning E nglish is an experience that spans many years for C hinese students, yet little is known about how or if motivations change across age groups. The limited amount of research which does explore age‐related differences has been restricted to E uropean populations. This study provides findings from a survey of 1,213 school‐age students, grades 1 to 11 in M ainland C hina. Findings demonstrated significant differences in motivation separating middle school from their elementary and high school peers. Suggestions for future research and classroom instruction are given.