The motivational disposition of international students learning foreign languages in Hungary: Testing the L2 motivation self system in the Hungarian context

Abstract

Abstract While the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2005, 2019) has been researched extensively in the Hungarian context, it has not been used to test international students' motivational dispositions towards learning foreign languages. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to report a study that aimed to test the L2MSS on 34 international students who learned Hungarian or English as a foreign language (EFL) during their studies in Hungary. The pilot questionnaire contained nine scales adapted from Taguchi, Magid, and Papi (2009). Besides the ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self, the scales measured other influential learning and environmental impacts that exert their influence on the L2 learning experience, the third constituent of the model, with a view to better understanding what motivates international students to learn foreign languages. The findings of the pilot revealed that the adapted instrument worked in the Hungarian context and that international learners' motivational dispositions were mostly affected by learners' attitudes towards the foreign language community. Linear regression analysis revealed that the participants' motivated learning behavior could be predicted by their intrinsic and instrumental motivation. Significant differences were found between male and female respondents regarding their L2 ought-to selves and instrumental motivation. Besides explaining the attitudes that the learners have towards the foreign language community, the findings can be utilized to further enhance learners' motivation once the results are fed back to the community of professionals teaching similar students.