A Cross-Sectional Study of L2 Motivational Change in Korean EFL College Contexts

Abstract

The recent theory in L2 motivation has proposed viewing motivation as possible selves such as ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experiences to complement the limitation of traditional socio-educational model. The purpose of the study was to test the traditional integrativeness and L2 motivational self system in Korean EFL college contexts and how those motivations have developed over time through a cross-sectional study. A total of five hundred fifty five college students taking English as elective in Korea completed the motivation questionnaires. The results showed that both traditional integrative motivations and L2 motivational self system have increased positively over time at college. The post-hoc test revealed that the senior students developed significantly higher motivations than the freshmen in integrative orientation, attitudes towards learning English, and criterion measures. L2 motivational self system such as ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experiences better predicted motivated behaviors than integrative motivations even though both had significant correlations. Theoretic discussions were made for L2 motivations.