Carrot or stick?: an investigation into motivation orientations in learning English among Hong Kong Chinese students

Abstract

This paper publishes the results of a study of Hong Kong Chinese upper secondary students (Form 4 and Form 6) regarding their motivation orientations for learning English. The study analysed male and females student groups using Gardner and Lambert's (1972) 'extrinsic and intrinsic motivation' theoretical framework in order to elicit the most revealing results from the data. Findings will have meaningful implications for pedagogy, helping educators identify strategies more appropriate to distinct Chinese-speaking second-language student groups.