Inadequate research attention has been paid to the learning of a third language. For this reason, this study explores senior English major students' learning of additional foreign languages in seven universities in Shaanxi Province, China. The study examines the relationship between the participants' motivation and language proficiency through a questionnaire, and the collected data are analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analysis. The results identify that the participants' instrumental and integrative motivations positively influence their second foreign language proficiency. Further analysis reveals that the connection between the participants' motivation and language proficiency is mediated by foreign language enjoyment. These findings form the basis of our suggestions for the sustainable learning and teaching of foreign languages in universities.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1302 2 of 13 the field of positive psychology have pointed out the importance of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in language acquisition [22][23][24], more work is needed to elaborate the role of FLE in foreign language learning. Considering FLE's connection with mental activity, we assume in this paper that it mediates the relationship between motivation and foreign language proficiency, and we try to examine this mediating effect in the TLA context. Therefore, the present study uses survey data from seven universities in Shaanxi Province, China, to explore the process of second foreign language acquisition, examining and explicating the relationship between motivation and language proficiency as well as the mediating role of FLE on the focal relationship. Theoretically, this paper enriches our understanding of how motivation influences second foreign language proficiency, facilitates further interest in TLA in terms of individual differences, and highlights the importance of positive psychology in learning a second foreign language. Practically, it suggests important implications for the sustainability of second foreign language teaching and learning.
Why do rational, profit-orientated firms generously engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Our study explores the real motives of speculative firms for CSR engagement and the hidden causality behind it. Using national survey data of privately owned firms in China, we find that corporate speculation positively influences firms’ engagement in CSR, revealing that CSR is instrumental and that firms use it as a tool to mask their speculative activities by building their reputations and buying ‘leniency insurance’ against potential penalties. Further, the relationship between speculation and CSR is less pronounced in firms with political involvement, revealing that the effect of political involvement as an informal institution somewhat protects speculators from potential sanctions without a CSR premium. We also discovered that the relationship between corporate speculation and CSR—as well as the moderating role of political involvement—is less pronounced among developed regions, revealing that the development of formal institutions can restrict the instrumentality of CSR and the effect of political involvement. Such findings have important implications for CSR in emerging economies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.