All You Need is Love: An Affective Approach to Encouraging Chinese Language Study

Joshua Kellard

《華語學刊》 22期 (2017/06) Pp. 48-51

摘要

In a school climate in which many overseas Chinese students struggle to maintain enthusiasm for learning Chinese, Joshua Kellard argues that our typical motivational strategies are ill-conceived and ineffective. What is needed is an affective understanding of learner motivation, one that recognizes that we study well what we have first come to love. This being the case, the task of parents, administrators and teachers becomes the propagation of affection for the Chinese language which must transcend the merely linguistic or mechanical aspects of learning, and appeal to students with differing interests. It will be seen that the social context of learning becomes all-important in such an endeavour. In closing, the paper will propose three strategies for transforming student motivation at the affective level.