Exploring the Motivational Factors for International Students to Study in Chinese Higher Education Institutions.

China has witnessed a remarkable surge in the enrollment of international students in recent years and the state government has made a massive investment to build key universities of international repute. These trends made it imperative to investigate the underlying motivational aspirations of foreign students arriving from diverse regions to get enrolled in public sector Chinese universities. The present study designed an in-depth survey questionnaire and collected data from 618 foreign students enrolled in postgraduate programs at seven key state universities in the Hubei province of China. The item-based, dimension-based, and variable-level analysis approach is used to systematically uncover the facets of the internationalization of Chinese higher education in the current setting. In so doing, we employ descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, ANOVA, correlation and regression estimations, and path models to ensure the robustness of empirical outcomes. In light of the push and pull factor model regarding motivational factors for foreign students to study in China, the findings of this study assert that academic pursuits mainly dictate the international student's decision to attain higher education in China. While obtaining a foreign degree, international image prestige, and better employment prospects after the completion of the degree were the key intentions that mainly shape the students' decision to get enrolled in Chinese universities. Furthermore, the discriminant analysis posits that international students significantly differ in their motivational dimensions to obtain a higher degree from China. As foreign students from Asia and Africa mainly have academic goals while Europeans and Americans predominantly have pleasure and enjoyment motives to study in China. The outcomes of this research can assist Chinese administrators to understand the key motivational factors for foreign students to study in China and devise a policy accordingly to attract high quality foreign talent.

Enhancing Cognitive Performance of Healthy Czech Seniors through Non-Native Language Learning-A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.

The aim of this article is to discuss the effect of learning a non-native language on the enhancement of cognitive performance in healthy native Czech elderly. In addition, special emphasis is put on the qualitative assessment. To do this, 42 Czech cognitively unimpaired seniors were enrolled into the study. These were then divided into an experimental group (i.e., 20 healthy elderly studied English as a non-native language for three months) and a passive control group (22 healthy elderly, who did not undergo any non-native language intervention). The main outcome measures included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, statistical processing of the data, and a qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that the cognitive performance of the intervention group did not differ from the control group. Therefore, no cognitive enhancement through non-native language learning was achieved. However, the findings of the qualitative analysis show that such non-native language learning with the peers of the same age is especially beneficial for the overall well-being of healthy seniors, especially as far as their social networks are concerned. Furthermore, participant's subjective feelings from their self-reports indicate that foreign language learning also contributes to acquiring new English words and phrases. However, as there are very few empirical studies on this research topic, further research is needed in order to confirm or refute the present research findings on the enhancement of cognitive performance through non-native language learning in healthy seniors.

Impact of Learning a Foreign Language on the Enhancement of Cognitive Functions Among Healthy Older Population.

The purpose of this article is to discuss to what extent foreign language learning may enhance cognitive functions among healthy older population. The methods used in this study included cognitive assessments using standardized tests, intervention through English language teaching and learning, and statistical analysis. Out of 60 older Czech citizens, 42 cognitively unimpaired participants were selected for the experiment. These participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (20 subjects) studying English for 12 weeks (three 45-min lessons per week) and a control group (22 subjects) whose members did not have any language training. The results of the research show that there has been a slight enhancement of cognitive skills in the experimental group. Nevertheless, on the whole, the scores of the experimental and control groups did not considerably differ. Despite this fact, the results indicate that cognitive functions among healthy older population can be maintained through regular foreign language training.