Abstract

Mastering Mandarin is an asset for international business. The purpose of this study was to ascertain therelationships between motivational factors and academic achievement. It provides a numerical estimate of howclosely or distantly these two variables are related. A quantitative analysis was used through a surveyquestionnaire among selected undergraduates learning Mandarin at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.Besides, classroom assessments were also conducted to enrich the data. The findings showed that there was asignificant relationship between Mandarin scores and all the six motivational factors which were futureoccupation, intrinsic value and self-development, friendship, entertainment, Chinese influence and travel,requirement motivation, and Chinese culture and community. The strength of the relationship is moderate andpositive. The results are important in determining the content of Mandarin learning material which may lead toeffective and efficient learning process. Future studies should focus on more variables to enhance performance inlearning Mandarin.

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