Judy F. Chen

Motivators that do not motivate: The case of Chinese EFL learners and the influence of culture on motivation

Language learning motivation plays an important role in both research and teaching, yet language learners are still largely understood in terms of North American and European cultural values. This research explored language learning motivation constructs in a Chinese cultural setting, where large numbers of students are required to study English. In Taiwan, 567 language learners responded to a survey concerning motivation orientation, expectancy, and self-evaluated skill. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to explore potential relationships within the framework of the process model. Expectancy was found to be an intervening construct between motivation orientations and self-evaluated skill. The strongest link to expectancy was the required motivation, with the integrative motivation playing no significant role. The context of these findings is discussed in relation to Chinese cultural and educational history and a proposed motivator— the Chinese Imperative. Implications for teaching practice are explained, including the need to reconsider motivation constructs within nonWestern cultural settings.

Cultural Values and Communication Online: Chinese and Southeast Asian Students in a Taiwan International MBA Class

Whereas many researchers have examined differences in values and behavior between Westerners and Asians, fewer have investigated differences within Asian cultural groups. A recent government initiative in Taiwan to encourage international education has led to the development of an international MBA program at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan; both Chinese and Southeast Asian students participate in the program. They exhibit different behaviors in their classes, particularly in their postings in online discussion boards. For reasons that can be partly explained by the students’ responses on a Chinese-Value Survey, Chinese students tend to post fewer messages than Southeast Asians, and both groups post fewer messages than Westerners in the classes under study. Instructors in multicultural classes have to consider such differences when they design assignments and set expectations for students in online discussions.

When hot and noisy is good

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend research on metaphors of consumption to a Chinese cultural setting, specifically examining consumer thoughts related the Chinese concept of renao (hot and noisy).Design/methodology/approach – The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) was used – a photo elicitation approach and semi‐structured interviews that surfaced metaphors. Field observation and participative techniques were combined with the 14 interviews, in Taiwan, through a grounded theory approach that classified results in categories using the software XSight.Findings – Five main categories of related concepts consistently arose: food, inexpensive, crowd, marketing communication and servicescape. Respondents closely tied renao with consumption behavior. All five categories resulted in rich descriptions that these consumers, and possibly a wider group, associate with successful retail locations.Research limitations/implications – This in‐depth approach was limited to 14 respondents and two ...

Restaurant Service Failure Recoveries: Role Expectations in a Chinese Cultural Setting

ABSTRACT This research explores service failure-recovery strategies within the Chinese context in order to create a consumer-centered typology of failure types and expected roles of restaurant service providers in recovery attempts. Findings indicate that consumers classify recovery strategies into three categories of human intervention, monetary incentives, and no response. Any recovery attempt is far more beneficial than none. Human intervention is expected from the service provider when the failure is part of the core service product while monetary incentives are expected when the failure is peripheral to the core product. Although this finding confirms previous research from the West, culture is found to influence what the definitions of peripheral and core products are, with the Chinese cultural emphasis on collectivism influencing both failure seriousness ratings and expectations for recovery strategies. The importance of culture within the restaurant context is discussed. Implications for restaurant service providers are included.

Efficacies of 3D Immersive Virtual World Classrooms

Virtual 3D immersive virtual environments are no longer novel, with current college freshmen having grown up with virtual gaming environments. Implementing virtual world classrooms, complete with student and teacher avatars, is increasingly achievable by individual teachers. Virtual world classrooms match the effectiveness of traditional classrooms while brining an up-to-date element into the class and satisfying increasing demands for distance learning. Hotel tourism management is a good example of how virtual worlds can give students opportunities not possible in the physical classroom—allowing students to receive both lectures and perform simulations. The question addressed in this study is what are the personal experiences of mainstream students and teachers when attempting to execute and participate in such a virtual world class? Using an action research approach, we developed a rich description of student and teacher efficacy toward a virtual world 3D immersive classroom. Findings describe four main categories of student reactions: Dialogue, Convenience, Technology, and Motivation. Content analysis describes the positive and negative experiences as well as feelings that make up these categories. The specific benefits and challenges of a virtual world classroom are described, informing teachers considering adopting a virtual world classroom.

Study of E-Marketing Mix

Presented with the new marketing opportunity of the Web, traditional marketing mix may need to be examined and studied to measure its fitness in the e-commerce environment. This study found that decisions to purchase a product over the Web are influenced by the mix of product type, price and brand differently than when the sale location is a regular store. Comparing the traditional normal store shopping to on-line shopping, differences exist between the level of specific preferences. For example, brand plays a less important role in influencing consumers to make a purchase over the Web than at a regular store. Conjoint analysis was employed to measure the importance of product type, price, brand and location. Three products were studied, including music compact disk, personal computer and exercise shoes. In addition, analysis of interaction showed that price discounts and product type do not have any special influence on Web-based purchase decisions compared to a regular store location.