Abstract
In this study, we examine the fundamental difference hypothesis in language motivation, which suggests that language learning—at the motivational level—is qualitatively different from learning other school subjects. Despite being a long-standing assumption, few investigations have directly examined it. Using a comparative cross-sectional approach, we adapted the L2 Motivational Self System and collected data from South Korean high school students ( N = 644) related to their motivation to learn English (L2), Chinese (L3), and mathematics (a nonlanguage subject). Contrary to the fundamental difference hypothesis, the L2 Motivational Self System fit these three subjects well and did not reveal clear uniqueness pointing toward a qualitative difference in favor of language learning motivation. We use these findings to discuss the possibility of a more global and parsimonious learning motivation theory to accommodate multiple languages in addition to nonlanguage subjects. We also discuss the need for language learning researchers to reengage with other learning sciences.
Highlights
Leading scholars in the field of second language (L2) motivation have speculated whether learning an L2 is a “special case” (Ushioda, 2012a, 2012b)
We investigated the following research questions: Research Question 1 (RQ1): Does the L2 Motivational Self System framework (L2MSS) model of language learning motivation achieve fit with each of the three school subjects (English, Chinese, and Mathematics)?
We set out to test empirically what we called the fundamental difference hypothesis in language motivation. This hypothesis suggests that—at the motivational level— language learning is qualitatively different from learning other school subjects, as second and additional foreign languages have a social component and belong to another community
Summary
Leading scholars in the field of second language (L2) motivation have speculated whether learning an L2 is a “special case” (Ushioda, 2012a, 2012b). This speculation stems from a long-standing assumption in the language motivation field that learning an L2 is different from other school subjects. According to Gardner (1985),. The second language course is very different from other courses in the student’s curriculum Other courses such as mathematics, history, and geography, all involve aspects of the student’s own culture, or at least perspectives of his or her own culture . The words, sounds, grammatical principles and the like that the language teacher tries to present are more than aspects of some linguistic code; they are integral parts of another culture. (p. 6)
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