The Motivational Foundation of Learning Languages Other Than Global English: Theoretical Issues and Research Directions
TL;DR: The theoretical paradigms of second language learning motivation developed over the past 25 years have been largely based on the study of English as a target language, which raises the question as to whether they are equally applicable to the understanding of the motivation to learn languages other than English as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The theoretical paradigms of second language (L2) learning motivation developed over the past 25 years have been largely based on the study of English as a target language, which raises the question as to whether they are equally applicable to the understanding of the motivation to learn languages other than English (LOTEs). It is suggested in this article that current conceptualizations of L2 motivation display certain subtle characteristics that may not do full justice to the understanding of the motivation underlying LOTEs, either by downplaying certain important features or by providing an insufficiently nuanced representation of areas where the motivation to learn English and LOTEs diverges. The discussion addresses five such aspects: (a) the confounding interaction of English- and LOTE-related self-images, (b) the individualistic focus of the ideal L2 self, (c) the different nature/role of the ought-to self associated with languages with substantial versus marginal social support, (d) the different nature of goals in the learning of English and LOTEs, and (e) the differing role of unconscious motives in the study of English and LOTEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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01 Jan 2019
TL;DR: The L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) as discussed by the authors is a self-theory in relation to L2 learning motivation, that is, the L2 self, the ought-to-L2 self and the learning experience.
Abstract: 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.
500 citations
DOI•
31 May 2007TL;DR: Dornyei et al. as discussed by the authors presented the results of a large survey on motivation in second language learning from over 13,000 Hungarian foreign language learners collected in three successive stages during 1993, 1999, and 2004.
Abstract: The volume, Motivation, Language Attitudes and Globalisation: A Hungarian Perspective, written by Dornyei, Csizer, and Nemeth, presents the results of a large survey on motivation in second language learning from over 13,000 Hungarian foreign language learners collected in three successive stages during 1993, 1999, and 2004. The objectives of this book were to provide a quantitative statistical analysis on the significance of the relationship between the socio-political changes in Hungary and the variety of interests among Hungarians in learning five foreign languages: English, German, French, Italian, and Russian. The informants were young teenagers selected nationwide and surveyed during an eventful, historical time in the country, that is, the 12-year transitional period when the nation went from restrained communism to an open, Western-style democracy. The fact that Hungary faced many difficult obstacles in a plethora of areas in its drive towards European Union membership makes this study particularly interesting. The various national, political, social, and personal motives of the Hungarians to choose and learn particular foreign languages are analyzed in this volume.
173 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the impact of global English on motivation to learn other languages, and concluded that global English tends to impact negatively on motivation, despite the growing linguistic and cultural diversity of today's societies, and pointed out that having skills in additional languages may offer a competitive edge in a global job market where English skills have become commonplace.
Abstract: In 2006, Graddol predicted that numbers of 'English as a foreign language' learners would begin to decline through the second decade of this century, as global English achieves basic skill status for children entering education in more societies across the world. As he further noted, having skills in additional languages may thus offer a competitive edge in a global job market where English skills have become commonplace, and where monolingual and even bilingual English speakers may lose out to multilingual competitors. As yet, however, the extent to which the spread of global English may motivate individuals to diversify their language skills beyond English seems limited. Rather, both empirical evidence and commonly held perceptions would seem to endorse the view that global English tends to impact negatively on motivation to learn other languages, despite the growing linguistic and cultural diversity of today's societies. This article critically analyses this impact on motivation from two perspectives. First, from a macro-sociological perspective, it explores the tensions among language globalization, multiculturalism, and multilingualism in today's changing social world and examines the mixed messages communicated for language education in general and for language learners in particular. In so doing, it considers the socially distributed nature of motivation at the level of societal multilingualism and educational policy and practice, and the impact of the social on the individual. Second, from a theoretical perspective, the article considers whether the impact of global English on motivation to learn other languages might be more positively construed by shifting away from SLA frames of reference (concerned with progression toward proficiency in a particular language) in favour of a 'linguistic multi-competence' framework, defined by Cook (2016) as the overall system of a mind or community that uses more than one language. As the article concludes, an important pedagogical implication would be a focus on multilingual (rather than L2) speakers as the normative model of communication and instruction, and the associated promotion of ideal multilingual selves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
128 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that the three components of the L2 motivational self system (the ideal L2 self, the ought-to-L2 self and the learning experience) were significant predictors of subjective intended effort (r s =.61,.38, and.41, respectively).
Abstract: This article reports the first meta-analysis of the L2 motivational self system (Dornyei, 2005, 2009). A total of 32 research reports, involving 39 unique samples and 32,078 language learners, were meta-analyzed. The results showed that the three components of the L2 motivational self system (the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the L2 learning experience) were significant predictors of subjective intended effort ( r s = .61, .38, and .41, respectively), though weaker predictors of objective measures of achievement ( r s = .20, -.05, and .17). Substantial heterogeneity was also observed in most of these correlations. The results also suggest that the strong correlation between the L2 learning experience and intended effort reported in the literature is, due to substantial wording overlap, partly an artifact of lack of discriminant validity between these two scales. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.
122 citations
Cites background from "The Motivational Foundation of Lear..."
...However, its global status may make the motivation to learn it distinct from the motivation to learn other languages (Dörnyei & Al-Hoorie, 2017)....
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References
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TL;DR: An implicit association test (IAT) measures differential association of 2 target concepts with an attribute when instructions oblige highly associated categories to share a response key, and performance is faster than when less associated categories share a key.
Abstract: An implicit association test (IAT) measures differential association of 2 target concepts with an attribute. The 2 concepts appear in a 2-choice task (e.g., flower vs. insect names), and the attribute in a 2nd task (e.g., pleasant vs. unpleasant words for an evaluation attribute). When instructions oblige highly associated categories (e.g., flower + pleasant) to share a response key, performance is faster than when less associated categories (e.g., insect + pleasant) share a key. This performance difference implicitly measures differential association of the 2 concepts with the attribute. In 3 experiments, the IAT was sensitive to (a) near-universal evaluative differences (e.g., flower vs. insect), (b) expected individual differences in evaluative associations (Japanese + pleasant vs. Korean + pleasant for Japanese vs. Korean subjects), and (c) consciously disavowed evaluative differences (Black + pleasant vs. White + pleasant for self-described unprejudiced White subjects).
9,731 citations
TL;DR: The exposure-attitude hypothesis as discussed by the authors suggests that mere repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus object enhances his attitude toward it, i.e., exposure is meant a condition making the stimulus accessible to the individual's perception.
Abstract: The hypothesis is offered that mere repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus object enhances his attitude toward it. By \"mere\" exposure is meant a condition making the stimulus accessible to the individual's perception. Support for the hypothesis consists of 4 types of evidence, presented and reviewed: (a) the correlation between affective connotation of words and word frequency; (b) the effect of experimentally manipulated frequency of exposure upon the affective connotation of nonsense words and symbols; (c) the correlation between word frequency and the attitude to their referents j (d) the effects of experimentally manipulated frequency of exposure on attitude. The relevance for the exposure-attitude hypothesis of the exploration theory and of the semantic satiation findings were examined.
5,621 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1985
3,583 citations
Book•
29 Jun 2005TL;DR: In this paper, a taxonomy of individual differences is presented, including personality, temperament, and mood, and self-motivation, self-regulation, and language learning strategies.
Abstract: Contents: Preface. Introduction: Definition, Brief History, and Taxonomy of Individual Differences. Personality, Temperament, and Mood. Language Aptitude. Motivation and "Self-Motivation." Learning Styles and Cognitive Styles. Language Learning Strategies and Student Self-Regulation. Other Learner Characteristics. Conclusion.
3,175 citations
"The Motivational Foundation of Lear..." refers result in this paper
...This lack of clarity signaled the need to replace ‘integrativeness’ with a more holistic concept, and a synthesis of Markus and Nurius’s (1986) possible self theory with four strands in L2 motivation research—by Gardner (1985), Dörnyei (1994), Noels (2001), and Ushioda (2001)—led to the formation of the L2 Motivational Self System....
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...Already Dörnyei’s (2009) original proposal of the L2 Motivational Self System contained a key condition, namely that the future self-image should be in harmony, or at least should not clash, with the expectations of the learner’s family, peers, and other elements of the social environment....
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...The emerging individualistic—that is, learnerinternal and L2-community-independent—perspective of the L2 Motivational Self System did not favor LOTEs, as the latter can usually be associated with a specific community that speaks (or esteems) the L2 and can thus be considered the ‘owner’ of that language....
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...From the perspective of the current version of the L2 Motivational Self System, such a ‘multilingual self’ does not lend itself easily to actual visualization, because the visionary aspect of the theory has mostly been operationalized as imagining oneself using one L2 in a concrete situation....
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...Initial results in this regard were obtained by a cluster analytical study by Csizér and colleagues (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei et al., 2006), suggesting that being motivated to learn more than one L2 at the same time causes interference in that positive attitudes toward one language can go at…...
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Book•
01 Oct 1981
2,349 citations
"The Motivational Foundation of Lear..." refers background in this paper
...A special, and highly intriguing, aspect of the ought-to L2 self dimension of LOTE learning concerns a scenario whereby the powerful influence of English might have a reverse effect, especially for individuals high in psychological reactance (Brehm & Brehm, 1981)....
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