Factors Affecting Japanese Learning Motivation for Small Sample

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing motivation in learning Japanese with a small sample size and develop a predictive model for motivation levels.  Two models, quantile regression analysis and bootstrapped quantile regression, are compared using the width of confidence intervals of the regression coefficients as a criterion. The studied population consists of individuals studying Japanese at the B1 level in the Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University. Purposive sampling was employed, specifically selecting 37 participants from Batch 11 of the B1 level Japanese course. A questionnaire was used to assess motivation in learning the Japanese language, focusing on factors of attitudes towards Japan, attitudes towards Japanese people, and the stereotype of Japan. The research findings indicate that the quantile regression analysis at the 2nd quartile level is the most appropriate model, and the factor that had statistically significant relationship with motivation in learning the Japanese language is the stereotypes of Japan, with a Spearman's correlation coefficient of approximately 0.541.