Author(s)

Meihua Liu

Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

To understand motivation for learning German among Chinese college students in in-China and study-abroad (SA) contexts, the present study employed a mixed method to study 229 Chinese college students located in Beijing (N = 138) and Germany (N = 91). Quantitative data was collected through a 34-item questionnaire, and qualitative data was collected through 25 semi-structured interviews. The major findings were: 1) students in both contexts were largely integratively or instrumentally motivated to learn German, and 2) differences existed between the two groups in specific motivations, motivation level, and effects of motivation. These findings in return justify the need for research on motivation for learning not-so-important foreign languages like German.

Motivation, In-China Context, Study-Abroad Context, German as a Foreign Language, Mixed Method, Effect

Liu, M. (2019) Understanding Motivation for Learning German among Chinese College Students: Comparing In-China and Study-Abroad Contexts. Creative Education, 10, 163-177. doi: 10.4236/ce.2019.101013.