Professional identity and academic burnout among foreign language students: a case study of Japanese major at a Chinese university

Abstract

This study takes Chinese university students majoring in Japanese as its research population and investigates their levels of professional identity and academic burnout, together with the association between these two variables, on the basis of questionnaire data and quantitative analysis. The findings show that, on the whole, students of Japanese exhibit a moderate degree of professional identity. Across its four dimensions, suitability identity scores the lowest, suggesting that many students remain uncertain about whether their major is truly compatible with their individual interests, abilities, and longerеterm development. This points to a structural pattern that may be described as «high recognition but low suitability». Academic burnout is found to be slightly above the moderate level, with inappropriate academic behavior emerging as the most salient dimension. The relationship between professional identity and academic burnout exhibits a complex «doubleеedged sword» effect: while professional identity helps reduce emotional exhaustion, it is simultaneously associated with a heightened risk of diminished sense of achievement. The «personеmajor fit» factor emerged as a key determinant of students' perceived learning value. Furthermore, the mode of voluntary major selection exerts a significant moderating effect on both professional identity and academic burnout: students who actively chose their major face higher expectations and pressures. Based on these findings, this study proposes targeted recommendations at the student, teacher, and institutional levels, with the aim of enhancing professional identity and alleviating academic burnout among Japanese major students.