Exploring Chinese university students’ motivation and engagement in English medium instruction: A latent profiling approach

Students may decide to enroll in English medium instruction (EMI) programs for different reasons, in which they may exhibit different degrees of engagement. Although a sizable body of research has examined students’ motivation and engagement in EMI, it remains unclear how motivation and engagement in EMI may configure differently among different students and whether different profiles of motivation and engagement differ significantly in their emotions and learning outcomes. Drawing on 360 Chinese university students’ responses to a questionnaire survey, this study adopted a person-centered approach (i.e., latent profile analysis) to identify profiles of motivation and engagement in EMI, and differences, if any, in emotions and learning outcomes between the profiles. Four distinct profiles were identified: the “Demotivated and Disengaged”, “Motivated and Engaged”, “Moderately Demotivated and Disengaged”, and “Motivated but Disengaged” groups. About one third of the students were found to be motivated and engaged in EMI, whereas the remaining students were found to be either (moderately) demotivated and disengaged or motivated but disengaged in EMI. EMI students across the four profiles differed significantly in their emotions and learning outcomes. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to the existing EMI literature.