Exploring the Impact of Family Factors on Students’ English Learning Motivation among English Major Undergraduate Students in China

Research Article
Open access

Exploring the Impact of Family Factors on Students’ English Learning Motivation among English Major Undergraduate Students in China

Mohan Li 1*
  • 1 Qilu University of Technology    
  • *corresponding author DeanAngela9110@outlook.com
LNEP Vol.87
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-083-2
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-084-9

Abstract

English learning motivation is a critical and common factor that exists in our daily learning life. Learners in two main environments while learning, the school environment and family environment, these environments are psychologically and physically affecting learning motivation. In college students in China, many researchers have focused on searching the school environment’s influence on English learning motivation, while the family environment is less studied in contrast. This research aims to provide a more comprehensive classification of family factors and expand the existing perspective on their influence on English learning motivation. Through the questionnaire method in mixed-method research, the results of this paper will provide insights into family factors on students’ English learning motivation in China and identify the correlation and the degree of influence. This paper will demonstrate that the family factors (i.e., parents’ sense of values, parents’ social-economic status, parents’ educational background and cultural influence, parents’ involvement and guidance behavior, family's atmosphere and style) is positively related to students’ English learning motivation, and further find the way to improve students’ English learning motivation through paying attention to strong influencing factors and providing appropriate family support.

Keywords:

Family factors, English as a second language, Learning motivation

Li,M. (2025). Exploring the Impact of Family Factors on Students’ English Learning Motivation among English Major Undergraduate Students in China. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,87,58-67.
Export citation

References

[1]. Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R., Jr. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997-1014.

[2]. Gopalan, V., Bakar, J. A. A., Zulkifli, A. N., Alwi, A., & Mat, R. C. (2017, October). A review of the motivation theories in learning. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1891, No. 1, p. 020043). AIP Publishing.

[3]. Butler, Y. G. (2015). Parental factors in children's motivation for learning English: A case in China. Research Papers in Education, 30(2), 164–191.

[4]. Clément, R., Gardner, R. C., & Smythe, P. C. (1980). Social and individual factors in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 12(4), 293–302.

[5]. Björklund, A., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Education and family background: Mechanisms and policies. In Handbook of the Economics of Education (Vol. 3, pp. 201–247). Elsevier.

[6]. Paradis, J. (2011). Individual differences in child English second language acquisition: Comparing child-internal and child-external factors. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1(3), 213–237.

[7]. Niehaus, K., & Adelson, J. L. (2014). School support, parental involvement, and academic and social-emotional outcomes for English language learners. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 810–844.

[8]. Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1996). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Community Alternatives, 8, 92–93.

[9]. Wang, W. L. (2015). The relationship between parenting styles and English self-concept among high school students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Jiangxi Normal University.

[10]. Dai, Z. Q., & Qi, W. H. (2020). External factors influencing children's second language acquisition. English Square: Academic Research, 10, 4.

[11]. Li, G. (2007). Home environment and second-language acquisition: The importance of family capital. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(3), 285–299.

[12]. Yusup, N. B., & Ahmad, A. (2016, October). The influence of parents support and its relationship with students achievement in English education. In International Conference on Education and Regional Development (pp. 657–662).

[13]. Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Fredricks, J. A., Simpkins, S., Roeser, R. W., & Schiefele, U. (2015). Development of achievement motivation and engagement. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (pp. 1-44). Wiley.

[14]. Pfenninger, S. E., & Singleton, D. (2019). Starting age overshadowed: The primacy of differential environmental and family support effects on second language attainment in an instructional context. Language Learning, 69(Suppl. 1), 207–234.

[15]. Abbasian, R., Hadian, B., & Vaez-Dalili, M. (2020). Examination of the role of family socio-economic status and parental education in predicting English as a foreign language learners’ receptive skills performance. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1710989.

[16]. Acharya, A. S., Prakash, A., Saxena, P., & Nigam, A. (2013). Sampling: Why and how of it. Indian Journal of Medical Specialties, 4(2), 330–333.

[17]. Gonzales, R. D., & Lopez, M. Y. (2016). Foreign language learning motivation questionnaire: Further examination of a six-factor model [Unpublished manuscript]. Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines.

[18]. Gonzales, R. DLC. (2006). Conceptual and psychometric properties of a foreign language learning motivation questionnaire. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 39, 1, 76-97.


Cite this article

Li,M. (2025). Exploring the Impact of Family Factors on Students’ English Learning Motivation among English Major Undergraduate Students in China. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,87,58-67.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICEIPI 2025 Symposium: Reimagining Society: AI's Role in Cultural Transformation and Learning Environments

ISBN:978-1-80590-083-2(Print) / 978-1-80590-084-9(Online)
Editor:Kurt Buhring, Rick Arrowood
Conference date: 25 June 2025
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.87
ISSN:2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).

References

[1]. Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R., Jr. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997-1014.

[2]. Gopalan, V., Bakar, J. A. A., Zulkifli, A. N., Alwi, A., & Mat, R. C. (2017, October). A review of the motivation theories in learning. In AIP Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1891, No. 1, p. 020043). AIP Publishing.

[3]. Butler, Y. G. (2015). Parental factors in children's motivation for learning English: A case in China. Research Papers in Education, 30(2), 164–191.

[4]. Clément, R., Gardner, R. C., & Smythe, P. C. (1980). Social and individual factors in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 12(4), 293–302.

[5]. Björklund, A., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Education and family background: Mechanisms and policies. In Handbook of the Economics of Education (Vol. 3, pp. 201–247). Elsevier.

[6]. Paradis, J. (2011). Individual differences in child English second language acquisition: Comparing child-internal and child-external factors. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1(3), 213–237.

[7]. Niehaus, K., & Adelson, J. L. (2014). School support, parental involvement, and academic and social-emotional outcomes for English language learners. American Educational Research Journal, 51(4), 810–844.

[8]. Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1996). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Community Alternatives, 8, 92–93.

[9]. Wang, W. L. (2015). The relationship between parenting styles and English self-concept among high school students [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Jiangxi Normal University.

[10]. Dai, Z. Q., & Qi, W. H. (2020). External factors influencing children's second language acquisition. English Square: Academic Research, 10, 4.

[11]. Li, G. (2007). Home environment and second-language acquisition: The importance of family capital. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(3), 285–299.

[12]. Yusup, N. B., & Ahmad, A. (2016, October). The influence of parents support and its relationship with students achievement in English education. In International Conference on Education and Regional Development (pp. 657–662).

[13]. Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Fredricks, J. A., Simpkins, S., Roeser, R. W., & Schiefele, U. (2015). Development of achievement motivation and engagement. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (pp. 1-44). Wiley.

[14]. Pfenninger, S. E., & Singleton, D. (2019). Starting age overshadowed: The primacy of differential environmental and family support effects on second language attainment in an instructional context. Language Learning, 69(Suppl. 1), 207–234.

[15]. Abbasian, R., Hadian, B., & Vaez-Dalili, M. (2020). Examination of the role of family socio-economic status and parental education in predicting English as a foreign language learners’ receptive skills performance. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1710989.

[16]. Acharya, A. S., Prakash, A., Saxena, P., & Nigam, A. (2013). Sampling: Why and how of it. Indian Journal of Medical Specialties, 4(2), 330–333.

[17]. Gonzales, R. D., & Lopez, M. Y. (2016). Foreign language learning motivation questionnaire: Further examination of a six-factor model [Unpublished manuscript]. Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines.

[18]. Gonzales, R. DLC. (2006). Conceptual and psychometric properties of a foreign language learning motivation questionnaire. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 39, 1, 76-97.