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FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF TERTIARY EDUCATION

NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY - HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Master's Program - Applied Social Psychology

The relationship between motivation to learn Russian language, wellbeing and bridging social capital of international students in Russia

Srikanth Ayilliath Janardanan

Reviewer Supervisor

Ekaterina Bushina Doctor of sciences

Senior Research Fellow Professor Alexander Tatarko

Master's Thesis

2020



ABSTRACT

Every year thousands of international students come to Russia to study. For many, Russia is a new country with a very different language and culture. Some students want to learn the Russian language because their curriculum requires it while some others want to learn it for the pleasure of learning it. Some make lots of local friends while some do not. The aim of the present study was to explore relationship between motivation to learn Russian language, wellbeing and bridging social capital of international students in Russia. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were the Independent Variables and wellbeing and bridging social capital were the Dependent Variables. Based on literature review following hypotheses were formulated 1) Motivation to learn Russian language negatively affects wellbeing but leads to higher bridging social capital for extrinsically motivated international students and 2) Motivation to learn Russian language positively effects wellbeing and leads to higher bridging social capital for intrinsically motivated international students. A survey of 184 international students at different Russian universities was conducted. The survey results revealed that extrinsic motivation to learn Russian language did not lower wellbeing whereas it did not increase bridging social capital and intrinsic motivation to learn Russian language did not increase wellbeing whereas it increased bridging social capital.

Key words: international students in Russia, motivation to learn language, wellbeing &bridging social capital. motivation language social



INTRODUCTION

Globalisation characterised the emergence of the 21^st century. Globalization influenced all aspects of modern life. Education was one aspect of globalisation that underwent great changes. A country that aspires to be a leading player in the globalised world must possess strong, advanced and high-quality education institutions and must be ready to offer them to any citizens of the world.

Tertiary education in Russia has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the last decade. Today many Russian universities are collaborating with premier scientific and educational centres in the USA, Europe, Asia and Latin America by creating joint educational programs and projects using Russian and foreign funds (Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, 2013).

Since its joining the Bologna Process in 2003, the percentage of foreign students in Russia increased sharply. The project ` Development of the export potential of the Russian educational system,' aims to increase the number of international students enrolled in Russian universities from 220,000 in 2017 to 710,000 in 2025(Beregovaya&Kudashov, 2019) Traditionally, Russian universities have been a popular choice for students from the post-Soviet states, as well as from India, Vietnam, China and most African countries. Recently, interest in Russian universities has been growing in Europe also. Besides, the fall in ruble has made Russian tertiary education more affordable for foreign students. This is encouraging more state universities to attract foreign students as an important revenue source (Lossan, 2016)

However, with more and more students coming to Russia from different parts of the world, it becomes imperative for universities to ensure the long-termwell-being of foreign students. University counsellors who are aware of language and communication challenges of international students (especially from non-Russian speaking countries) may facilitate positive acculturation and adaptation programs to them. Also, this approach could help resolve issues relating to the effect of language barriers on academic and interpersonal issues of international students enrolled in fully Russian taught programs.It will also help in faculty, staff, and administrators being guided by the counsellors to improve their knowledge and abilities to work with international students.

The study aims to understand the empirical relationship between motivation to learn Russian language, wellbeing and bridging social capital of international students in Russia. To understand this relationship, several relevant theories of well-being, social capital and motivation to learn language are discussed in the theoretical review. This understanding leads to the following hypothesis:

H₁: Motivation to learn Russian language negatively affects wellbeing but leads to higher bridging social capital for extrinsically motivated international students

H₂: Motivation to learn Russian language positively effects wellbeing and leads to higher bridging social capital for intrinsically motivated international students.

Novelty of the study

Very limited research has been done so far on the relationship between motivation to learn a foreign language, well-being and bridging social capital. A study of students on a short-term study abroad (SA) showed how adult language learners increased their social capital with host nationals and helped them become more open-minded (Ferreira, Aline &Schwieter, John (2014). The same could apply to international students in Russia who are immersed in a Russian speaking environment for a longer period of time. However, no study has tried to exclusively study the relationship of extrinsic or intrinsic motivation to learn a language with well-being &bridging social capital. Whilst much of the research focuses on high school students, no existing researchinvestigates whether motivation to learn a foreign language influences wellbeing and social capital of international students living in a foreign country.



CHAPTER 1/ THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF MOTIVATION TO LEARN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE, WELL-BEING & BRIDGING SOCIAL CAPITAL

1.1 The importance of international students

The personality of a university and also its financial well-being are heavily influenced by the number of international students present at that university(Hegarty, 2014). International students academically constitute a main component of several research universities. For example, in the United States, international students are regarded as highly important for research and innovation. A study by Chellaraj et al., (2008), showed that a 4.5 % increase in patent applications was corelated to a 10% increase in international graduate students. Also, the US economy benefits a lot from international students. From tuition and fees, to food, clothing, travel and insurance almost every industry within the US benefits from their presence (Schworm, 2008).

1.2 Challenges faced by international students

International students are generally described asyoung, well educated, highly motivated, adaptable and better off than many of their peers (McNamara & Harris, 2002). However, they can experience stress while studying in a foreign higher education institution as they need to develop bi-cultural competence. Unlike host national students, international students often struggle to preserve their own cultural values while adapting to the everyday intеr-pеrsonal and emotional challenges experienced in the new country (Noh &Kaspar, 2003; Musgrave-Marquart, Bromly, &Dalley, 1997). As young adults, most of these students are in the process of developing or reinventing their personal identities so as to operate with a higher psychological and financial autonomy (Furnham,2004). For students who have to adapt to a new culture, language, academic and social environment, these demands are more complex.

At the same time, academic-related issues pose huge worry for students (Rice and Dellwo, 2002). Very often academic demands and expectations create more problems for international students than to their domestic counterparts (Burns, 1991). Previous research findings reveal that many international students reel under academic problems (Hashim &Zhilliang, 2003; Misra, Crist&Burant, 2003). These problems are further amplified when international students try to master a new language. For example, in Russia, many international students studying in Russian programmes mustlearn the Russian language appropriate for academic purposes in just one year prior to commencement of studies in their major. This can cause a lot of distress.

Language barriers seem to be one of the most challenging issues for international students (Mori, 2000). An insufficient knowledge of the host language is a stressor for effective adjustment to the new culture (Poyrazli, Arbona, Bullington, &Pisecco, 2001; Yeh &Inose, 2003). The student's level of host language proficiency impacts academic performance, social interaction, and general adjustments within the host culture, which directly affect the psychological well-being of these students. Inadequate language proficiency may induce low self-esteem, which may lead to anxiety and depression as shown by Lin and Yi (1997) among Asian international students in the United States.Besides, students who lose their social support structures that previously served as reliable coping systems in times of stressful life events may experience a lot of pressure. Social support enables personal adjustment. The extent to which these students make new friendships and relationships at the host country can largely determine their academic and emotional wellbeing. Learning the new language can be a major enabler.



1.3 Motivation of international students to learn Russian

Usually, reasons for learning a foreign language differ from person to person.From pure intrinsic enjoyment and sense of fulfilment that comes with learning a new language to obtaining an extrinsic reward of better remuneration & opportunities, the motivations for learninga language are many (Noels, Pelletier, Clйment and Vallerand,2000). Learning a foreign language in a foreign country requires an individual to directly experience unfamiliar experiences and to some degree merge with the new culture (Bhawuk and Brislin, 2000; Roccas, Horenczyk and Schwartz, 2000).

International students are immigrants who go to a foreign country by their own choice and voluntarily. Before making the choice of opting a country for studies, they consider all the pros and cons of living there for a certain period of time. However, after leaving their countries and coming to a foreign country, the reasons for learning a foreign language could be classified according to the degree to which they freely choose to learn the foreign language; more precisely, the degree to which they are self-determined (Noels et al., 2000; Noels, 2001a). From the perspective of self-determination, motivational orientations are classified as extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985; Vallerand, 1997). Extrinsic motivation is the motivation that exists because of `an externally mediated activity or constraint' (Deci,1980, pp. 30-31). Extrinsically motivated activities are performed not for the enjoyment of the activity but for a reward that is available if the activity is completed. For example, extrinsically motivated international students learning Russian may say that they are learning Russian to do well in their Russian courses or to improve their chances of getting a good job.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation involves motivation to pursue an activity or fulfil a task in order to experience a sense of personal enjoyment and autonomy over their selves or their environment. Individuals with more self-determined motivations become more involved in activities and make efforts to reach challenging goals (Deci and Ryan, 1985). For example, intrinsically motivated students learning Russian may say that they learn the language because of their interest in its grammar, the culture of the people speaking the language, the history of the country or to connect with more and more native speakers.Kasser and Ryan (1993,1996) found that intrinsic aspirations are related to greater well-being and less distress. At the same time, a disproportionate reliance on extrinsic aspirations is negatively related to well-being and causes more distress. Vansteenkiste, Simons, Lens, Sheldon and Deci (2004) found that `greater processing of information, perseverance and academic achievement occurred when learners were presented learning activities as an intrinsic objective rather than an extrinsic goal.' Further, Sheldon et al. (2004), showed thatcontrolled motives and extrinsic goal objectives uniquely predicted negative well-being whereas self-determined motives and intrinsic goal objectives uniquely predicted positive well-being.

1.4 Well-being

Counsellors, researchers and health advisors extensively use the concept of well-being to refer to one's mental health state or general psychological functioning (Andrews & Robinson, 1991). Different types of well-being have been proposed such as physical wellbeing, social wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing and cognitive wellbeing (Pollard & Lee, 2003). Bornstein defined Wellbeingas a lifelong condition of successful performance that integrated physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional functions that resulted in fruitful activities that are consideredimportant by one's cultural community, satisfying social relationships, and the ability to go beyond ordinary psychosocial and environmental problems. The fulfilment of one's potential is also a subjective dimension of wellbeing(Bornstein,2013). Also, a mere absence of mental illness does not result in wellbeing. The existence of significant levels of psychosocial interactions and positive feelings make an individual flourish rather than languish (Keyes & Haidt, 2003). When it comes to students, wellbeing is defined as a positive emotional state; the product of a harmonious relationship between the total of distinct contextual factors on the one hand and the specific personal needs and expectations towards the school on the other (Engels et al., 2004).With these definitions wellbeing of an international student can be defined as a long-term state of positive feeling characterised by satisfaction with self, relationships and experiences inside and outside the school.

1.5. Social Capital

Social capital can be defined as `resources embedded in a social structure which are accessed or mobilized in purposive action' (Lin 2001, 12). Students' parents and siblings (Heath, Fuller, and Johnston 2010) and also students' peers enrolled in their programmes (Brooks 2005) can be these resources. A recent review of the conceptualisation of social capital by Lee (2010) underlined three conceptual issues: the use and accessibility of potential resources, the social capital formation processes and the network orientations.

Normally there are four reasons for resources embedded in social networks to enhance the returns on an individual's actions (Lin 2001). Firstly, these resources enable information flows between people thereby reducing the transaction costs; such as sharing of ideas, assignments or lessons learned. Secondly, social ties have a considerable impact upon how students deal with academic & cultural life and with change in particular (Heath, Fuller, and Johnston 2010, Hommes et al. 2012, Lee 2010). Thirdly, social ties in the new environment may be conceived by the student as testimonials of his social credentials and skills and may reflect his ability to access new resources through new social networks and relations. Finally, social networks are a great source of great psycho-social support (Brooks 2005, Rienties et al. 2012), foster sense of belonging (Heath, Fuller, and Johnston 2010), and strengthen identity and recognition (Lin 2001). Thus, in the scientific literature, social capital is perceived as a means of increasing thehuman capital accumulation mainly through the personal support, trust and sharing of knowledge that social capital provides [Das Gupta 2005; Coleman 1988].

1.6 Bridging Social Capital

Unlike bonding social capital which exists within social groups that have a strong sense of shared identity and belonging, bridging social capital refers to the connections that connect people across race, class, language or religion. Bridging occurs in social relationships when there are exchanges between people with shared interests or goals but with varying social identities (Pelling & High, 2005). These friendships between people of contrasting social identities act as bridging relations; in the sense that they provide access to information, entirely other individuals and groups which are previously not known to them (Edwards, 2004).The benefits of bridging social capital are wide ranging, such as ability to collect information about the new environment, gaining power and better positioning with the network and recognising newer opportunities (Adler & Kwon, 2002). Having friendship with host nationals is a crucial aspect for the overall happiness of international students. International students who have host national friends tend to know the language well, perform well in studies, have lower levels of stress and have greater life satisfaction. A study involving 454 international students in US revealed that 38% of them didn't have a close US friend and were unhappy with this lack of contact (Gareis, 2012). 27% said they had three or more close US friends, 17% said they had one friend whereas 18% said they had two. Students, especially from China and other countries in East Asia mentioned fewer friendships with host nationals and higher dissatisfaction than students from European & Anglophone countries. Most of the surveyed students had been in the US between one & three years. It was noted that one of the main reasons for dissatisfaction and lower bridging social capital was shyness or poor English language ability, another reason being the attitude of Americans.



CHAPTER 2. METHODS AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

2.1 Participants

The study involved 184international students who are enrolled in fully Russian-taught programs. These students are mostly from non-Russian speaking countries who learn or learned Russian as a foreign language. The sample size for the empirical study obtained by using MANOVA was 196.The sociodemographic results are presented in Table 1 below. Table 1 shows that male participants (53.8%) were more than females (40.8%). Results from the age distribution showed that majority of the respondents were within the age group of 26-30 years (42.9%), followed by 18-25 years (33.7%), 31-35 years (14.1%) and participants who were above the age of 36 years comprised a mere 4.3%. An examination of the results suggests that nearly 90.1% of the participants who come to Russia with a motivation to learn Russian are young adults

In order to understand respondents' motivation to learn Russian which ultimately is expected to influence their wellbeing and bridging social capital, it's important to know the period of their stay since this has the tendency to influence their responses. Results revealed the following: 30.4% stayed in Russia between 1 to 2 years, 26.6% stayed for 2-3 years, 12.0% stayed for 3 - 5 years. Only few participants recorded that they have stayed in Russia for more than five years (4.3%). It was observed during data collection that many of the respondents were enrolled in programs like medicine or engineering or were masters students who had been studying in Russia since their bachelors. Also, the majority who might have stayed in Russia for more than 1 year are likely to be current students enrolled in higher education institutions in Russia.A look at the educational level of participants revealed that 47.3% obtained their masters education, followed by bachelor education 27.7%, professional student 6.0%, doctoral 3.3% and other forms comprising 9.2%. This population of well-informed respondents allows for the assumption that the respondents understood the questions clearly and therefore the subsequent findings aren't biased. Also, respondents were further asked to state their future plans after graduation from school. The results presented in Table 1 shows that 47.8% respondents indicated that they were likely to leave Russia and 46.2% wanted to stay back. With regard to the location of the university, majority of respondents (60.2%) live in Moscow, with 23.6% living or studying in universities in Saint Petersburg. Only 16.2% indicated that they live in other cities such as Ryazan, Kazan, Tomsk, Ekaterinburg and other parts of Russia. The study also considered the nationalities of the participants. Participants' nationalities were grouped into continental basis due to clarity of interpretation and understanding. The results show that majority of the participants are from Asia (37.5%), followed by Europeans (18.5%), Africans (17.9%), South Americans (8.2%) and Eurasians (7.6%). Only 4.3% participants indicated that they are North Americans.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of socio-demographic characteristics of respondents (N = 184).

Items	Categories	F	%
Gender	Male	99	53.8
	Female	75	40.8
	Missing value	10	5.4
Age
	18-25 years	62	33.7
	26-30years	79	42.9
	31-35years	26	14.1
	> 36 years	8	4.3
	Missing value	9	4.9
Period of stay in Russia
	< 6 months	15	8.2
	> 6months but < 1 year	24	13.0
	1-2years	56	30.4
	2-3years	49	26.6
	3-5years	22	12.0
	> 5years	8	4.3
	Missing value	10	5.4
Educational level
	Bachelor	51	27.7
	Masters	87	47.3
	Doctoral	6	3.3
	Professional student	11	6.0
	Other	17	9.2
	Missing value	12	6.5
Future plans after graduation
	Continuing living in Russia	85	46.2
	Leave Russia	88	47.8
	Missing value	11	5.9
Cities in which university is located
	Moscow	111	60.2
	Saint-Petersburg	43	23.6
	Others	30	16.2
Nationality (based on Continents)
	African	33	17.9
	European	34	18.5
	South American	15	8.2
	North American	8	4.3
	Asian	69	37.5
	Eurasian	14	7.6
	Missing value	11	6.0

Note: f = frequency, % = percent

2.2 Instruments used

To measure the motivation to learn language, Gardner's Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) was used. Only 26 scales (13 measuring intrinsic & 13 measuring extrinsic) were used for the study. A six-level Likert scale (range from strongly disagree to strongly agree) was used for this scale. To measure wellbeing, the 42-item psychological wellbeing scale (PWS) was used. This scale measures six aspects of wellbeing & happiness: - autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self-acceptance. For the sake of respondent convenience, the 18- item version was adopted in this study. To measure bridging social capital, the resource generator scale (Snijders, 1999; Van der Gaag & Snijders, 2005) was used.All the three scales were combined, and an online questionnaire was created on www.1ka.si for data collection. Initially, the respondents were sent the link to the questionnaire by email and social media. But due to the low response rate, respondents were personally met to fill in the questionnaire using a QR code. Majority of the data was collected from visits made to two universities in Moscow and two in Saint Petersburg.



CHAPTER 3. RESULTS

3.1 Testing of hypotheses

The study expected that extrinsically motivated international students learning Russian would have lower wellbeing but higher bridging social capital (H₁). On the other hand, it was assumed that intrinsicallymotivated students would not only have higher wellbeing but also higher bridging social capital(H₂). To check this, Pearson's correlation analysis was first conducted to determine the relationship among intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (independent variables) and wellbeing and bridging social capital (dependent variables).

An interesting observation from Table 2 reveals that extrinsic motivation is positively related to psychological wellbeing (r = .272, p< .01) showing a statistically significant association between the two. Further, resultsshow that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between extrinsically motivated Russian learners and bridging social capital (r = .281, p< .01). This contradicts hypothesis one (H₁) which predicted that the wellbeing of extrinsically motivated Russian learners would be negatively predicted and bridging social capital positively predicted.Looking closely at the results another finding is revealed.While it was earlier hypothesized that psychological wellbeing of the extrinsically motivated learners would be negatively affected, based on the current results, there was rather a positive association with a lower correlation coefficient (r = .281) which in a way supports the lowering of bridging social capital among the Russian learners.

Observation from Table 2 reveals that intrinsic motivation is statistically and positively related towellbeing (r = .184, p< .05) and bridging social capital (r = .404, p< .01). This result suggests that international students who are intrinsically motivated to learn Russian would experience adequate psychological wellbeing even though the correlation coefficient is not strong. Whereas,there was a strong positive correlation between bridging social capital and intrinsically motivated Russian learners (r= .404) suggesting that there was a support for (H₂)which hypothesized that there would be a positive association between intrinsically motivated Russian learners and their higher bridging social capital.

Table 2. Correlational analysis on international students' motivation to learn Russian, their psychological well-being and bridging social capital

Variables	1	2	3	4
1. extrinsic motivation	-	.775**	.275**	.281**
2. intrinsic motivation		-	.184*	.404**
3. psychological wellbeing			-	.510**
4. bridging social capital				-
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Path analysis (Joreskog, 1969; Brown, 2006) was further used to test the causal relationship among the variables. The path analysis was used to clearly understand how motivation to learn Russian (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) influences the psychological well-being and ensures bridging social capital international students in Russia. The path model presented in Figure 1 below showed that the model satisfactorily fits the data based on the following goodness of fit indices ч²/df = 1.00, p = 0.000, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 1.000, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .491, SRMR = 0.000, and PCLOSE = 0.000.

Observation from Figure 1 shows that extrinsic motivation has a significant effect onwell-being (в = .33, p< .01). Extrinsic motivation had a significantly negative effect on bridging social capital (в = -.24, p< .05). Also, it could be realized that intrinsic motivation has no significant effect on psychological well-being (в = -.07, p> .05). Moreover, there was a significant effect of intrinsic motivation on bridging social capital (в = .50, p< .001). Again, the model suggests that if international students have achieved psychological well-being, it will have a trickle effect on bridging social capital, hence observation from Figure 1 reveal that psychological well-being significantly has an effect on bridging social capital (в = .48, p< .001).

Figure 1. Path analysis between motivation for learning Russian, psychological wellbeing and bridging social capital



CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION

As discussed earlier, the earlier hypothesis was that extrinsic motivation to learn Russian language would `negatively affect' wellbeing but lead to `higher bridging social capital.' To test this hypothesis, correlation was used to test the relationship and path analysis was used to test the causal effect among the variables. A discussion of results pertaining to eachhypothesis is provided below.

4.1 Extrinsic Motivation to learn Russian language, wellbeing and bridging social capital

Contrary to the hypothesis 1, the results showed that extrinsic motivation led to wellbeing (r = .272&в = .33). Also, with regard to bridging social capital, extrinsic motivation to learn Russian language didn't lead to higher bridging social capital (r = .281 &в = -.24). This result is surprising. Extrinsic motivation involves doing actions to achieve some instrumental goal or avoiding a penalty. The pressure toscore better grades and to avoid academic debt could lead to psychological stress thereby affecting wellbeing. Also, extrinsically motivated students who learn Russian would use it to make new friends in the host culture thereby enhancing their bridging social capital. But as per the results of the current study, these didn't happen.

It's believed that extrinsic motivation can play a very important role in learning. Deci & Ryan (1985) divided extrinsic motivation into four stages: (1) External regulation - external means available to others decide the behaviour of students. For instance, students perform to obtain a gain or to avoid consequences regulated by others. This can be a source of stress. (2) Introjected regulation- involves internal motivation and is a stage of internalisation. When the source of motivation is guilt, worry or shameand when an individual enacts a behaviour out of a sense of obligation. For example, a student attending Russian classes not because he enjoys the lessons but because he fears low attendance or expulsion from the university. This kind of extrinsic motivation triggers stress. (3) Identified regulation-When a behaviour is personally identified by a person as important and its regulation benefits the person in attaining a final goal. This form of motivation does not necessarily lead to enjoyment nor an immediate reward. The person accepts a behaviour as beneficial toward personal development and adopts the behaviour as own. For example, a student may recognize that learning Russian grammar is an important means to the objective of reading difficult texts in Russian. This form of motivation positively effects a person's wellbeing and desires. (4) Integrated regulation - This happens when a person fully integrates a motivation within himself. Such a person's behaviour is influenced by self-examination. The person carefully explores external motivations and decides that they are in line with his other personal beliefs and values. For example, a student who very well learns Russian at a preparatory course does so because he believes that the act of learning aligns with his belief system of perseverance, consistency, commitment etc. He may not enjoy it very much nor would he feel guilt or shame if he does not learn. He learns because he feels it is right and appropriate for him.

In the study, all the participants were adults who decided to study in Russia by choice. 42.9% were in the age group 26-30 years, 30.4% had lived in Russia between 1 & 2 years. 47.3 % were enrolled in masters programs and 46.2 % wanted to continue living in Russia. It can be interpreted that as responsible adults, majority of the students care for their academic performance and therefore exhibit identified and integrated regulation. Although the questionnaire did not delve into types of extrinsic motivation, the participants would have most likely ticked the responses that they found appropriate. This could be the reason why extrinsic motivation did not negatively affect students' wellbeing.

As to why extrinsic motivation to learn Russian language did not result in higher bridging social capital, the findings of a study by Neri& Ville (2008) have reasons.Amongst the more active networkers there remain some concerns. In their study involving international students at an Australian university, they noted that many foreign students who spoke good English and were also active in university clubs preferred network building with their own country or other international students, with only a few apparently forming relationships in the local community. It was also observed that most interaction occurred among peers. This showed little existence of mentor style networking with senior students who might help new students establish themselves, especially if they were from the same country.

While there's evidence in literature to say that international students prefer their own country or other international students as their friends, it does not mean they completely avoid forging friendships with the host nationals. Westwood and Barker (1990) studied peer pairing programmes for foreign students and stated that, `contact with certain host national individuals is positively correlated with academic success and lowered probability of dropping out'. This means that while an international student may have several non-host nationals as his friends, he may have a few host national friends too. In the study by Neri& Ville (2008), there was more bonding social capital rather than bridging social capital. This could be one of the survival techniques adopted by international students who inherently share a different social, cultural and economic background. Granovetter's (1973) explained the importance of `weak ties' with more distant acquaintances. He said that these weak ties provided a larger and more diverse and reliable network than the `strong ties' which were shared with close friends with similar backgrounds. In context of this study, even though the participants responded as not having close ties with Russians, it might imply the existence of weak ties with Russian nationals which are distant and outside the inner circle of friends. Further research needs to be done to understand as to why international students in Russia tend to have fewer close Russian friends.

4.2 Intrinsic motivation to learn Russian language, wellbeing and bridging social capital

It was earlier hypothesised in the study that intrinsic motivation to learn Russian would result in higher wellbeing and higher social capital among international students. Although there was a positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and wellbeing (r = .184) (в = -.07); it was very negligible to support the hypothesis. On the other hand, there was a strong positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and bridging social capital (r = .404 &в = .50). The interpretation of this result is discussed below.

Intrinsic motivation to learn requires involving in learning opportunities because they are experienced as enjoyable, absorbing, or pertinent to fulfilling one's core psychological needs (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The self-determination theory (SDT) states that all people want to satisfy three fundamental psychological needs: the need for enhancing competence, the need for relatedness (creating valid connections with others), and the need for autonomy (the ability to begin and control one's actions). Fulfilment of these psychological needs promotes intrinsic motivation (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier & Ryan, 1991). Cognitive evaluation theory (CET), a sub theory within SDT(Deci and Ryan, 1985) wasconstructed in terms of social and environmental factors that promote versus weaken intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation flourishes when situations permit. The theory states that intrinsic motivation can be enhanced by social-contextual events like rewards, feedback & communications that aid feelings of competence during action. Further, CET specifies that feelings of competence won't increase intrinsic motivation unless combined by a sense of autonomy or in other words by an internal perceived locus of control. Extrinsic motivational factors diminish intrinsic motivation (Biehler& Snowman, 1990). When this theoretical understanding is appliedto understand why international students with intrinsic motivation to learn Russian language do not have higher wellbeing, the reason could be a lower internal perceived locus of control. It is difficult to say if this is caused by rigid academic requirements, uninteresting classes, different course expectations, living conditions or even personality type of students.Such students may have a great aptitude for Russian language & culture but may have low internal locus of control due to academic requirementsthat are notrelated to language. It could also be possible that such students invest less time in academics and spend more time socialising, networking & discovering the country.

Another explanation to this outcome could be the `Over Justification Effect.' As a continuation to the study made by Deci (1971) on the negative effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic behaviour; Lepper, Greene & Nisbett (1973), conducted another classic study that showed that the degree of a person's intrinsic motivation in an activity would decrease over time when introduced to an extrinsic goal. This theory suggests that a person who initially enjoyed performing an action for no reward would less likely perform the same activity for no reward after being rewarded for its performance. In case of international students learning Russian language for the sheer joy of learning it, intrinsic motivation might decline over time when they are evaluated and graded for their competencies. This could be because the students begin to pay more attention to these external rewards rather than their own enjoyment of the activity. Consequently, students might re-evaluate that their involvement in the activity is the product of the extrinsic rewards and not their own intrinsic behaviour. Also, students might perceive external reinforcement as a coercive pressure.



CONCLUSION

One of the findings of the studysuggests that international students who come to Russia with an interest in Russian language do not experience higher well-being. This could be a very valuable input for universities to understand what changes could be made in the curriculum to enhance intrinsic motivation of such students to learn Russian language and also succeed in academics. The findings will also be useful to develop more modern and innovative language courses that can engage students culturally and socially. However, the findings of the study generate questions and ideas for future research. The issues of why international students who know Russian language don't tend to have many Russian friends or why international students who are passionate about learning Russian don't have a higher wellbeing are interesting to explore.

LIMITATIONS & DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The study mainly included students from Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two largest cities in Russia. Although it included students from smaller cities, a greater percentage of participation of international students from smaller cities could have give a clearer picture of the whole question. Besides, the questionnaire did not include questions regarding how students spend their leisure time, their understanding of Russian culture, language and their extra-curricular activities which could have provided more inputs into their well-being and social capital. The questions of Gardner's Attitude Motivation Test Battery may not have been relevant to students who did not attend Russian classes. Since this was a correlational study it does not prove causality and so we can only suggest that extrinsic motivation does not lower well being and does not increase bridging social capital while at the same time intrinsic motivation does not increase well-being but does increase bridging social capital among international students in Russia.

In the future, either an experimental approach can be adopted to establish causality or a mixed approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods can be developed. Questions like why those international students who know Russian language do not tend to have many Russian friends and why international students who are interested in learning Russian language do not have a higher well-being are worth exploring.



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