The Motivation of Chinese College Students in Online English Learning: A Study Based on Self-Determination Theory

Sammanfattning

This study investigates Chinese college students’ motivation in online English learning through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), with a focus on autonomy, competence, and relatedness. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining questionnaire data collected from college students in Hohhot with semi-structured interviews involving students from diverse academic backgrounds. The findings reveal an uneven pattern of psychological need satisfaction. Autonomy demonstrates the highest level of satisfaction and emerges as the strongest predictor of learning motivation, particularly intrinsic motivation. Competence plays a stabilizing role by supporting both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation through clear feedback and perceived learning progress. In contrast, relatedness shows the lowest level of satisfaction and does not significantly predict learning motivation in the online English learning context. In addition, significant differences in need satisfaction were observed across students with different academic backgrounds and learning experiences. These results provide empirical evidence from Chinese higher education, extend the application of SDT to online second language learning, and offer practical implications for the design of motivation-supportive online English learning platforms.