L2 Motivation, Demographic Variables, and Chinese Proficiency among Adult Learners of Chinese

To validate Dornyei'sL2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) with data from learners of foreign languages other than English, the present quantitative study used the L2MSS framework to explore L2 motivation, demographic variables, and Chinese proficiency among adult learners of Chinese as a second language. A total of 83 international students studying in a Chinese university in Beijing answered the 54-item L2MSS questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. Analyses of the data revealed the following main findings: a) the L2MSS scales were significantly related to one another and highly reliable, b) the ideal L2 self was significantly correlated with gender and the number of foreign languages learned (NFLL); integrativeness was significantly positively related to NFLL, c) the whole sample, as well as male and female participants, scored high on all L2MSS scales and had (great) motivation to study Chinese, d) female respondents held significantly more favorable perceptions of their ideal selves than their male peers, and e) the L2MSS had no predictive effect or interactive effect with demographic variables on students' Chinese proficiency. Nevertheless, length of stay in China and gender proved to be powerful positive predictors for students' Chinese proficiency. Evidently, the L2MSS scales are important dimensions of L2 motivation and closely related to second/foreign language learning. Understandably, it is necessary to continuously explore, understand, and enhance students' L2 motivation.