Zhejiang study links Chinese-learning motivation tiers to engagement and self-efficacy

International students learning Chinese in Zhejiang, China, were grouped into three distinct levels of language-learning motivation in a study of 648 learners. Students in the moderate-motivation, moderate-high-motivation and high-motivation groups also reported progressively higher academic self-efficacy and class engagement. These were statistical associations measured within the same study population, not evidence that stronger motivation caused students to feel more capable or participate more actively in class.

Researchers used latent profile analysis to examine students across six subdimensions of Chinese-learning motivation. This person-centered approach assessed whether participants formed groups with similar combinations of motivational scores. The analysis identified moderate-motivation, moderate-high-motivation and high-motivation profiles. According to the researchers, the profiles reflected quantitative differences in the overall intensity of motivation rather than qualitatively different configurations of learning motivation. The results therefore suggest that motivation among international students in this Zhejiang sample could be organized into three intensity tiers.

The study then used multinomial logistic regression to examine learner characteristics associated with membership in the three profiles. Male students had lower odds of belonging to the two higher motivational profiles in this sample. By contrast, the analysis detected no statistically significant associations between profile membership and either study duration or Chinese proficiency. These findings describe statistical patterns within the sample; they do not show that gender, time spent studying or proficiency determined a student’s motivational profile.

Academic self-efficacy and class engagement were compared across the three profiles using the modified BCH method. Scores for both outcomes were incrementally higher in the moderate-motivation, moderate-high-motivation and high-motivation groups, respectively. The parallel differences mean that students assigned to more strongly motivated profiles also reported higher academic self-efficacy and class engagement. The analysis did not determine which of the three variables changed first or whether any of them influenced the others. The outcomes were also not reported as improvements over time, and the research did not evaluate a teaching intervention.

Participants completed validated scales for Chinese-learning motivation, academic self-efficacy and class engagement. Because the evidence comes from one regional sample of 648 international students in Zhejiang, the findings may not generalize automatically to Chinese-language learners in other locations or institutions. The research offers baseline evidence for examining whether students with different motivational profiles differ in other aspects of the learning experience. The authors identify differentiated pedagogical support as a possible application for international Chinese education, but the study itself did not test whether such support would change motivation, self-efficacy, engagement or language-learning outcomes.

Subject of Research: Chinese-learning motivation profiles among international students in Zhejiang, China

Article Title: Academic self-efficacy and class engagement across Chinese learning motivation profiles among international students in Zhejiang, China

Article References: Qu, Y., Yang, X., Zhou, X., & Dong, J. (2026). Academic self-efficacy and class engagement across Chinese learning motivation profiles among international students in Zhejiang, China. BMC Psychology, 14(1), Article 1342. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05512-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05512-3

Keywords: Chinese-language learning, international students, learning motivation, academic self-efficacy, class engagement, latent profile analysis, Zhejiang, second-language acquisition, student engagement, Academic, self-efficacy, class