ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Directed Motivational Currents as a Framework for Mutual-Benefit Peer Teaching in Foreign Language Education
Provisionally accepted
- Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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This study applies the Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs) framework to a mutual-benefit and student-led foreign language teaching model at a Chinese university. Eight language majors volunteered as peer instructors and 60 undergraduates enrolled as beginners of French, Japanese, Korean, or German. Drawing on the four DMCs dimensions (vision-based goals, triggering factors, facilitative structure, positive emotionality), the program offered weekly classes supported by quizzes, homework, and participation evaluations. Data from pre-and post-course questionnaires, classroom assessments, and semi-structured interviews were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative results showed that most learners were driven by intrinsic interest, maintained participation, and improved their quiz performance over the semester. Qualitative themes highlighted vivid learner and teacher visions, diverse triggers, supportive routines, and positive emotions for both groups. Overall, the findings suggest that a DMCs-informed peer-teaching model is a feasible non-profit approach for sustaining motivation and expanding equitable access to foreign language learning in higher education.
Keywords: Mutual-benefit Teaching Model, directed motivational currents, Foreign language teaching, Non-profit Platform, Education
Received: 28 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shengnan Ma, mashengnan22@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn
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