Self-Determination, Motivation, and the Learning of Chinese as a Heritage Language

The motivation of 145 learners of Chinese was examined in light of self-determination theory through a questionnaire survey. The results showed that the more learners felt they were learning Chinese because it was personally meaningful and fun, the more they engaged in the learning process. This orientation was promoted to the extent that learners felt a connection with the Chinese community and, particularly for heritage learners, a sense of personal control over the learning process. Relative to non-heritage learners, heritage learners more strongly indicated that they were learning Chinese because it was an integral aspect of their self-concept, but also because of feelings of obligation. There were few differences between heritage learners who spoke Chinese as a mother tongue and those who spoke English, which suggests that from the standpoint of social psychology, regardless of Chinese proficiency, subgroups of heritage language learners may be more alike than different.