Chinese Tea Art and Mandarin Learning: Perceptions of Malay University Students

In increasingly multicultural educational settings, culturally responsive pedagogy has become an important approach to enhancing learner engagement and motivation in third language (L3) acquisition. Although previous studies have extensively discussed motivation in second and third language learning (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Gardner, 1985), limited attention has been given to the role of culture-based experiential activities in Mandarin language learning among Malay learners in Malaysia. This study examines Malay university students’ perceptions of Chinese tea art and investigates the influence of interest in Chinese tea art activities on their motivation to learn Mandarin as a third language (L3). Grounded in Gardner’s (1985) Socio-educational Model, the study employed a quantitative research design involving 149 Malay university students enrolled in Mandarin courses at a Malaysian public university. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings revealed that respondents generally held positive perceptions of Chinese tea art, particularly in terms of cultural appreciation, openness to intercultural learning, and willingness to participate in tea-related activities. However, their understanding of the historical and philosophical aspects of Chinese tea art remained relatively limited. The study also identified a strong positive relationship between interest in Chinese tea art activities and motivation to learn Mandarin (r = .744, p < .001), indicating that higher levels of cultural engagement are associated with stronger learning motivation. The findings highlight the pedagogical value of integrating culture-based experiential activities into Mandarin language education to enhance intercultural competence and learner motivation in multicultural learning environments.

Chinese tea art; Mandarin as a third language; culturally responsive pedagogy; learner motivation; intercultural competence

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