Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
This study examines the factors influencing the popularity of Chinese as a foreign language over Japanese at Dartmouth. On average, across US colleges and universities, Japanese language programs tout higher enrollment when compared to their Chinese counterparts. Dartmouth College subverts this trend, as the Chinese language program has higher overall enrollment compared to the Japanese program. This study aims to understand the motivating factors underlying Dartmouth students’ choice of foreign language in the context of the study of East Asian languages. The study design employed a quantitative survey and qualitative interview to probe the factors students considered when choosing their foreign language of study. The quantitative survey responses were analyzed using ANOVA and contingency tests to determine correlations between each group’s responses. The results showed that, on average, the respondents who reported Chinese as their foreign language of study were motivated by extrinsic factors such as peer recommendations and career prospects offered by the language. These findings are useful considerations when designing the pedagogies for each foreign language program in order to cater for its target demographic.
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Machimbidza, Lesley and Mukuruva, David, "Value Perception: Contrasting Priorities on the Choice of Foreign Language Study" (2026). Research Papers and Posters from ASCL 60.20: Languages and Scripts of Gender, Class, and Nation. 3.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/ascl_60-20/3
