A Sociocultural Approach to the Study of Motivation and Attitudes towards the Learning of Mandarin Chinese in the U.S.

This qualitative case study focused on exploring non-Asian students' and their parents' perspectives on the students' Chinese language learning experiences. It aimed to provide a better understanding of what motivates secondary school level students in the U.S. to learn Chinese, as well as their attitudes towards the Chinese language, the Chinese culture, and Chinese speakers. The purpose of the study was to provide comprehensive pictures of what learning the Chinese language might mean to secondary school level students. Ten non-Asian secondary school students who were studying Mandarin Chinese in New York City constituted the target population. The secondary target population was their parents. The data collection methods included interviews, the review of documents, and a focus group. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts, and the data were collected, interpreted and analyzed by applying a sociocultural constructivist framework and the multiple-leveled Communication Ecological Model. The findings showed that the economic power of China and the national security establishments of the U.S. affect the motivation and attitudes of non-Asian secondary level sc