Introduction

As the rapid development of overseas education in China, more and

more Chinese students choose to study abroad. A report (ICEF
Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment,
2016) reports that there were 523,700 Chinese students study
abroad in 2015 and the number will increase. Obviously, more and
more Chinese students are willing to study abroad. On the other
hand, as Counsell (2011) noted, English is a favoured second
language. In fact, English as a global language, is a compulsory
foreign language subject in most area in Compulsory Education.
There is no doubt that English play a significant role in Chinese
education system.

All these background show that English-speaking country would be

relatively favoured destination. Indeed, the international student
statistics (Institutions.ukcisa.org.uk, 2017) show that there are
91,215 Chinese students studying in UK, and a figure (Iie.org, 2015)
shows that 74,921 Chinese students studied in Japan in 2015.
However, despite there are less Chinese students studying in Japan
than UK, a research indicates that Japan is the third favoured for
Chinese students to study abroad (Colson, 2016). Interestingly,
there are plenty of students trying to learn second foreign language
in order to study in that country. To understand the motivations of
studying abroad, this essay will aim to discuss the reasons that
Chinese students study abroad through collecting data from Chinese
students in UK.

Existing theory

Obviously, there are many factors that cause students choose to

study in a foreign country. One important factor is to develop
language skills. A research (Counsell, 2011) shows that the merit of
studying abroad is to develop foreign language skills. Studying in a
foreign country can be one of best approaches to improve language
skills. Counsell (2011) suggested that students who chose to study
in English countries believed English as the key to the world as a
global language and students can learn pure and real English.

Studying in a foreign country could not only gain language skills, but
also open minds. A considerable reason is that some students want
to be comfortable in the global world and become international
(Pyvis and Chapman, 2007). A survey (Counsell, 2011) reflects that
over half respondents wish to gain foreign country experience.
Counsell (2011) also mentioned that international students can
experience different cultures, broaden their views and thoughts, be
more confident. The experience of overseas study can develop an
appreciation for diverse cultures and traditions.
Beyond learning language and experiencing the culture,
international education is a plan in students careers. For instance,
Counsell (2011) found that a number of respondents felt that
Chinese employers would consider the UK educational qualifications
more valuable than Chinese educational qualifications. A foreign
language such as English can be considered as having an impact on
employment and career development. Pan and Block (2011) noted
that a linguistic capital could have benefits for employees career
developments. An interesting finding is that international employers
preferred hire people who have international qualifications (Pyvis
and Chapman, 2007). As Bolton and Graddol (2012) pointed, people
who are good at English are more competitive than peers. Similarly,
Pyvis and Chapman (2007) stated that international educational
qualification would be a competitive advantage in the labour
market. Apart from those active reasons, there are some students
who have no choices to study abroad. Some oversea students may
performance less well than students who studying in their own
countries (Counsell, 2011).

Since there are many countries to choose, the destinations can

cause by many factors. A report (Colson, 2016) examined the
countries where Chinese students most often choose to study, and
there are five English-speaking countries on the top ten lists.
Obviously, English as a global language, is crucial to the choice of
country. On the other hand, Pyvis and Chapman (2007) stated that
many students who wanted to study abroad consider quality as the
same important. A research (Counsell, 2011) found that two-third
respondents chose UK because of the relatively high reputation of
education.

Since international education qualification has an impact on

personal career, the economy of a country can be one of most
crucial reasons for international students. Counsell (2011) found
that the reason for citing a country over another is the strong
economy, and the good employment environment.

Methodology

In order to explore the Chinese students motivations of studying

aboard and narrow the research scope, this survey only focus on
Chinese students have been studying in UK. The informants of this
study are 20 Chinese international students in UK, which are 14
females and 6 males. The survey was designed and delivered
online. All students could only know the aim of the research before
the survey. Also, all of them were told the research was anonymous
and the survey would be used for this research only.

However, there are still some limitations about this research. One
limitation is the number of the participants is relatively small, and
therefore should be used to produce a wider study would be more
useful. Also, the number of male students is relatively less than
female students; therefore the data about male students can be
collected more. Another limitation is that geographic range of
participants can be widened. Chinese students have been studying
in other countries particularly non-English speaking countries can be
surveyed. Furthermore, the design of the questionnaire can be
improved. In addition to group the students according to gender, the
grouping category can include the degree that students have been
attending. Despite the limitations, this essay can demonstrate
Chinese overseas students attitudes.

Results

In this survey, all students were asked about their motivations about
studying in UK; the result is that, the main cause of more than half
students chose UK was the high educational reputation. Over a
quarter participants thought studying aboard would have a big
impact on their competitiveness. Surprisingly, among these
students, no one considered the development of a country was a
relatively important reason; and only one student was triggered by
the importance of English. Interestingly, it was a student who have
learned second foreign language before. As the result of the gender
matched control, more than 35% female students studying in UK
due to the benefits of personal career; on the other hand, none of
the male students in this study were triggered by competitive edge.

Unsurprisingly, every informants first foreign language was English;

meanwhile, there were 8 students who had learned second foreign
language before. While asking for the plan about learning a new
language, three quarters of informants planed to study a new
language. Furthermore, in this group, nearly half students had the
learning plan due to personal competence. In addition, there were
around 20% students were willing to learn due to personal interests,
and nearly half of them were triggered by movies or dramas. Also,
there were approximately 13% students decided to learn a new one
because it was a compulsory course.

Discussion

The above result indicates that one of the most important factors for
Chinese students studying aboard is the education quality.
Apparently, some Chinese students consider the education quality in
UK would be better than in China. As Lowe demonstrated, although
the quality disparity between Chinese universities and British
universities was narrowing in recent years, the perceived quality of
a British university was still a crucial reason (Lowe, cited in Counsell
2011). However, there are only few Chinese students think that gain
English language skills as a crucial reason to study in UK. Indeed, as
Counsell (2011) mentioned, UK and USA and Australia could be
considered as the top three destinations for overseas students; and
career prospect was one of the most important reasons for one
country over another. Similarly, from the above, another
considerable factor is the benefits for personal career. The
experience of studying abroad is one part of Chinese students
career plans. Moreover, an international qualification plays a
significant role in Chinese womens career; therefore more and more
Chinese females desire to study abroad. A survey suggests that in
order to have more opportunities, to gain a better job in the male
dominated society caused some Chinese females to study abroad
(the Guardian, 2007).

Similar to study abroad, learning a new language can be considered

having benefits for personal career; gaining more linguistic capitals
could be a good choice for Chinese students. Interestingly, an
unexpected finding is that film and television works can motivate
Chinese students to learn a new language. Culture has a big impact
on learning language; also it would be an efficient approach for
stimulating students passions.

Conclusion

It is clear that the overseas education background has a huge

impact on students career. As the competition of students job
markets becomes more excessive, more and more Chinese overseas
students not only desire to experience different culture, but also
more importantly, seek to gain more competences. The concern is
that few students in this study chose UK due to personal interests.
Also, it seems that few students who have learned a second foreign
language before chose UK aware of the disparity of two foreign
languages. The consequence of this research depends on the results
about Chinese overseas students in UK; the comparison between
Chinese students studying in two different countries can be further
researched, particularly one English speaking country and the other
non-English speaking country.

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