From Nihongo, Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin: A Triangular Perspective on Foreign Language Learning in Philippine Higher Education

Abstract

This study investigates the motivation, effort, and achievement of university-level students enrolled in four Foreign Language (FL) electives—Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, and Nihongo. Using self-reported measures and performance ratings, the research examines six dimensions of motivation, revealing that while students in Mandarin reported exceptionally high motivation in communication and global citizenship, all language groups displayed uniformly high motivational levels. Learning effort was evaluated via seventeen behavioral indicators, and results show consistently high effort across the FL electives. Achievement, measured using the reverse-scaled rating system of the University, differed slightly among the groups; while Nihongo and Korean courses attained ratings indicative of high achievement, Spanish trended toward moderate achievement. Correlation analyses among motivation, effort, and achievement generally produced weak and non-significant relationships for Mandarin, Korean, and Spanish. Notably, Nihongo exhibited a significant positive association between motivation and effort, alongside an inverse relationship between motivation and achievement. These mixed correlations underscore the complexity of translating strong affective and behavioral indicators into academic success and suggest that additional factors—such as instructional quality, assessment design, and pedagogical practices—substantially influence learning outcomes. These insights contribute to the broader literature on foreign language education by offering an integrative perspective that can contribute significantly to curriculum design, enhance learner support systems, and inspire future research to optimize foreign language instruction in higher education institutions (HEIs).