Despite the fact that learners’ identities are thought to be shaped by foreign/second (L2) language learning, the emergence of self-related issues in L2 motivation research is relatively recent. The aim of the present chapter is to summarize our knowledge about one particular self-theory in relation to L2 learning motivation, that is, the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Dornyei, The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2005) and its components: the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience. I start by describing the emergence of the model and introducing empirical investigations about the verification of constructs pertaining to the model. Next, I present research that has been conducted on the model, paying special attention to the interdisciplinary nature of the relevant studies, to the concept of motivation as vision, and to contextual issues, multilingualism, and the model’s potential links to dynamic systems theory. Finally, future research directions are suggested by taking into account the strength of the model and the shortcomings of previous research.

The L2 Motivational Self System

Recent theorizing on second language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language learners’ vision of their desired future language selves. This would suggest that the intensity of motivation is partly dependent on the learners’ capability to generate mental imagery. In order to test this hypothesis, this study investigates whether learner characteristics are related to sensory and imagery aspects with indices of the strength of the learners’ future L2 self-guides (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) and how these variables are linked to learning achievement in two target languages, English and Mandarin, assessed both by self-report and objective measures. One hundred seventy-two Year 8 Chinese students (ages 13–15) completed a questionnaire survey, and the results reveal several significant associations between the future self-guides and intended effort and actual grades, including a consistently positive relationship between the ideal self and the criterion measures. The findings also confirm the multisensory dimension of future self-guides, suggesting the importance of a broad imagery capacity (including both visual and auditory components) in the development of individuals’ future self-identities. Finally, the ideal-self images associated with different languages were shown to form distinct L2-specific visions, which has various implications for future research with regard to the potential positive or negative interaction of these self images.

Motivation and Vision: An Analysis of Future L2 Self Images, Sensory Styles, and Imagery Capacity Across Two Target Languages

This study examined the motivation to learn English of Indonesian junior high school pupils, aged 13-14, in three distinct contexts: a metropolitan city, a provincial town, and a rural district. Utilizing Dornyei’s (2009) L2 motivational self-system as the theoretical framework, it employed a 50-item questionnaire to sample the views of 527 learners, and a C-test to measure their current proficiency in English. Motivation was found to be similar in strength and character in the two urban settings but significantly different in the rural setting. A positive view of the experience of learning English was the strongest predictor of both motivated learning behaviour and L2 proficiency, whereas the ideal L2 self was only a significant factor among the metropolitan group.

A self-system perspective on young adolescents' motivation to learn English in urban and rural settings.

6. Self and Identity in L2 Motivation in Japan: The Ideal L2 Self and Japanese Learners of English

This article reports on the findings of a large-scale cross-sectional survey of the motivational disposition of English language learners in secondary schools and universities in China. The total sample involved over 10,000 students and was stratified according to geographical region and teaching contexts, selecting participants both from urban and rural locations. The investigation aims to present a balanced overview of the general level of L2 motivation in China through the lens of the L2 Motivational Self System (Dornyei 2005, 2009). The wealth of data obtained in the survey provide solid empirical description of the main features of language learning in China, and the detailed information presented in the study can also serve as a baseline for future research conducted to investigate temporal, social, and geographical variation and evolution.

Gabriella Lukács

Papers

The comparative analysis of motivation, attitudes and selves: The case of English and German in Hungary

The gender of the meme: women and protest media in populist Hungary