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Na, Jian (2020) Bilingual Mongolian students’ attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs on the process of foreign language policy and language planning implementation in an eastern Mongolian university. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

This research examined why bilingual Mongolian students chose to learn Japanese as their foreign language at university and how their perceived experiences' impact on foreign language policy and language planning implementation from university, classroom, to self-learning level. Drawing upon data collected through analysis of documents, student questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, the study found that the enactment of China’s systemic College Japanese Curriculum from one eastern Mongolian university was not a matter of simple implementation but the result of a more complex process, which changes in language context to shape students’ language attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, motivations and actions as regards to Japanese learning. The research, therefore, argues that multi-level contents and cause-effect sequences intertwined to shape Mongolian students’ language cognitions and behaviours of Japanese teaching and learning.

The research findings show many factors worked together to facilitate students’ favourable attitudes towards the foreign language policy and language planning implementation at the institutional context, such as more foreign language options, ‘privileged attitude’ of Mongolian identity, intrinsic and instrumental learning motivations, and language similarity. The levels of contextual change tensions caused challenges in the actual classroom instructions, such as students negatively responding in the appraisal of textbooks, preference for the language used in class, reflection on classroom interaction, and questioned the relevance of expected teaching techniques. Moreover, language comparisons at students' individual learning stage are shown to confuse Japanese learning in errors, mistakes and difficulties. Thus, despite students’ general endorsement of and favourable attitudes towards the proposed implementation of foreign language policy and language planning, all students in this study experienced some changes in language behaviours.

The findings suggest that the implementation of a top-down foreign language policy and language planning is mediated through an interplay of challenges at different language contexts with the major impetus for how students make sense of and enact the language behaviour, which relates more to the strength of their previous and current language cognitions, motivations, and practices. Without students’ language attitudes, perceptions and beliefs on foreign language policy and language planning, there will be insufficiency in ensuring the enactment of practices. The research, therefore, explores knowledge on wider influential factors and a deeper context of foreign language curriculum implementation and how language cognitions, behaviours, and motivations are interpreted and translated by students, teachers and administrators in the minority university context. The findings also provide information to administrators and frontline teachers concerning the ideal language contexts.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Thondhlana, Juliet Gao, Xin
Keywords:	Mongolian students, language acquisition, bilingual students, foreign language policy, Japanese as a second language
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Education > School of Education
Item ID:	61538
Depositing User:	NA, JIAN
Date Deposited:	14 Nov 2023 14:57
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2023 14:57
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/61538

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