With regard to negative affect, these data showed that model learners also
encounter these feelings when the learning task is perceived as uninteresting
or boring. When this happens, learners were described usually as not giving
up, but continuing to learn the materials, especially if the materials are still
required or important or useful knowledge. Still, they would not display in-
trinsic motivation and enjoyment. Instead, they would persist with some level
of indifference, tepidity, boredom, even dread. Many respondents also ac-
knowledged that these learners would stop investing time and effort into the
materials if they are deemed less essential. For example, “he’d plow through
it with boredom,” “she would feel dread doing it,” and “procrastinate from
studying and complain about the materials.”
Related to these negative affects, respondents also referred to extrinsic
motivation as antithetical to natural curiosity, interest, and enjoyment. For
example, “he would not spend time on it because the acquisition of knowl-
edge must be an interesting and fulfilling process for him to want to pursue it.
Learning to impress, or for money, or for other external rewards is not
enough.”
When model learners experience failure, they were described to feel a num-
ber of related negative emotions such as sadness, frustration, anger (at self ),
shame, low self-esteem, and depression. Naturally, these emotions stand in
sharp contrast to those associated with high achievement. For example, “she
would be frustrated... , embarrassed about her ignorance” and “he would
lose his confidence and be nervous around others when engaging in conversa-
tions.” However, these negative emotions were not described as having a dev-
astating effect on these learners. Quite the contrary, model learners were be-
lieved to be able to bounce back, change their course of action, and aim at
doing better next time. These positive attitudes were described as necessary
and conducive to their personal goals, as well as processes of learning.
Chinese Beliefs About Learning
Purpose of Learning. Similar to the U.S. learners, also three main pur-
poses emerged from the data: (a) Perfect oneself morally–socially, (b) acquire
knowledge–skills for self, and (c) contribute to society (Table 14.1). With re-
spect to the first, the most significant, Chinese respondents described the pur-
pose of their model learners as a need to perfect themselves morally and so-
cially. This purpose is deeply influenced by Confucian teaching ofren,a
lifelong striving to become the most genuine, sincere, and humane person one
can become (Tu, 1979). Ren is regarded as the highest purpose of human
lives. However, a person is not born but learns to become ren. Therefore, the
first and foremost purpose of learning is to engage in this process of one’s own
moral and social development, which is the tenet of Liu Xiang’s story. Such
learning is called the great learning, as opposed to narrowly defined skill learn-
- AMERICAN AND CHINESE LEARNERS 403