A teacher's lens on student motivation: a three-year longitudinal study of NCS students' Chinese writing motivation in Hong Kong

Abstract

Motivation is fundamental to foreign language learning, yet little longitudinal evidence exists on how young multilingual learners' writing motivation evolves over time, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. To address this gap, this 3-year teacher-researcher study tracked 25 non-Chinese speaking (NCS) primary students' Chinese writing motivation from Grade 4 to Grade 6, guided by Self-Determination Theory. The study addressed two questions: (1) How do motivational orientations evolve across technology-enhanced and experiential writing tasks? (2) What classroom conditions support or undermine competence, autonomy, and relatedness? Employing a longitudinal teacher-researcher methodology, the study included 38 reflective teaching notes, 100 student writing samples across four task conditions (the Prezi virtual tour administered in Grade 4; regular curriculum narrative writing in Grade 5; and VR immersion, a physical field trip, and an independent AI-image task administered in Grade 6), and student questionnaires. The analysis revealed three developmental paths. Competence grew as writing shifted from basic visual descriptions to rich multisensory expression. Autonomy manifested when students integrated personal and cultural connexions, enabled by teacher affirmation. Relatedness anchored motivation during collaborative physical visits. However, the final independent AI-image task revealed stark individual differences: only students with sustained need satisfaction maintained rich writing; others regressed, showing that prior positive experiences alone do not guarantee internalised motivation.