Motivation Towards English Learning and the Acquired Proficiency in ESL: A Study of Native Speakers of Chinese in the UK and Chinese Universities

This study investigated the relationship between English learning motivation and second language writing ability among Chinese university students. Data were collected from 45 Chinese students (undergraduate to doctoral students) at universities in China and the UK using the Gardner Motivation Scale and a timed writing task. Lexical and syntactic complexity of their writing was assessed using the CTAP (Computed Topic Text Analysis Tool). The study found that: Instrumental motivation was dominant (68%), particularly among native Chinese students with a strong desire for career development. The high-motivation group performed significantly better in writing than the low-motivation group (t=4.32, p<0.01), with their text lexical diversity (HDD index) averaging 0.28 higher. Although the UK international students had slightly lower motivation intensity (mean 0.7 points lower), their syntactic complexity (average number of clauses per article) surpassed the native group by 37%, demonstrating a compensatory effect of immersion on writing ability. The results highlight the crucial interaction between motivation type, intensity, and learning environment on second language writing ability, providing empirical evidence for differentiated writing instruction.