Motivational Self Research Articles

The mediating role of L2 motivational self system in relationship between Personality Traits with English Anxiety in Students

Background and Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the the mediating role of Language Self-Motivational System in relationships between Personality Traits with English Anxiety in Students. Methods: The research method was descriptive-correlation based on structural equations. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all female high school students in the ninth grade of 10 public schools in the academic year 2021. In this study, 350 people as a sample size by two-stage cluster sampling method. Students were selected. To collect data from HEXACO Personality Traits Questionnaire (2013), Taguchi, et al’s Self-Motivational System Questionnaire (2009) and Khalaf Ali’s English Language Anxiety Questionnaire (2017) were used. Structural equations with SPSS18 and AMOS23 software were used to analyze the data. Results: Findings showed that personality traits and language self-motivational system have a direct effect on English language anxiety in students. Also, personality traits have a significant effect on English language anxiety through mediation of language self-motivational system in students. Conclusion: In general, the research model was approved and the research variables were able to predict 49% of the English language anxiety variable. The present study shows the importance of cognitive and motivational factors in explaining English anxiety.

Motivators for learners of languages other than English in college elective courses in a monolingual social setting

Guided by the Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MSS) framework, this study examined to what extent the three L2MSS components of ideal self, ought-to self, and learning experience described the motivation of learners who chose to enroll in college elective courses of modern languages other than English (LOTEs) in the monolingual social setting of Taiwan. Questionnaire surveys were conducted at the end of two consecutive semesters and learners were interviewed. Triangulation of survey and interview data suggested that a positive learning experience was the strongest factor in motivating effort. Although some classroom factors were known, others worth further exploration in instructional settings were pointed out. The ought-to L2 self was found to be an insignificant predictor with questionable validity. Instead, academic responsibility and instrumentality proved more relevant factors in LOTE. Results on ideal self were less straightforward, suggesting that the ideal self for LOTEs may be qualitatively different from the English ideal self. Comparisons of data sets across time and learner groups indicated motivation did not change over time. By considering major L2MSS components and related constructs together, this study uncovered their relative adequacy in explaining LOTE motivation and suggested possible new perspectives for studying motivation in instructed LOTE acquisition.

English learners' orientations towards complexity, accuracy, and fluency: Learner factors and L2 writing performance

Complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) represent distinctive dimensions of language development, which have been widely used to assess learners’ task performance. Despite much attention to CAF constructs in research, little is known about how they are perceived by L2 learners. This study examines what CAF-specific orientations learners possess as they relate to their motivational self and anxiety, and it further explores how learners’ CAF orientations affect their L2 writing performance. Fifty-one Korean learners of English completed a questionnaire that gauged learners’ orientations towards CAF constructs. They also performed simple and complex writing tasks with a one week interval. The participants’ responses were submitted to factor analysis, and the writing performance was assessed in terms of CAF measures. The results revealed the convergence of learners’ CAF orientations, suggesting that the CAF triad exists as a unitary construct for L2 learners. Also, the participants’ CAF-orientation did not affect their writing performance in either simple or complex tasks.

Comparing Omani Student-teachers’ Expressions of Identities in Traditional EFL Classrooms and Digital Contexts

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate how virtual social spaces facilitate the expression of female and male Omani student-teachers’ identities, as compared to classroom contexts. The study follows a qualitative research design that is grounded in an interpretivist/constructivist paradigm. Focus group discussions and Language Learning Histories were used for data collection. Fourteen Omani EFL student-teachers participated in this study. The findings are discussed in relation to Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (2009), the Self-Determination Theory (2002), and Yashima’s International Posture (2009). The research data support the tripartite motivational model, with the expression of Omani-Islamic identity as a powerful motivation for Omani learners to participate in social media. Significantly, the findings reveal that participants’ online identity relates to their actual identity and, thus, bringing their offline identity to the digital context. In a sense, what they consumed offline fed into their online identity. Their online identity was filtered through the lens of English which facilitated their participation in virtual social spaces. The paper argues that social and cultural platforms afford wealthy exposure to and participatory involvement in multicultural-oriented spaces, promoting extensive research of the digital context. The findings of the research are topical as they resonate with the current thinking in the realm of motivation.

A Comparative Study of L2 Motivation of English and Chinese Languages using Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System Framework at University Level Students

The objective of this study is to find out the contribution of Dörnyei’s L2 motivational self-system framework for English and Chinese language learning motivation. It has been used as a conceptual model to find the motivation level of language learners. The study was conducted using the quantitative research approach. The sample comprised 100 English language learners and 100 Chinese language learners belonging to the public institutes of Dist. Lahore. Data was collected using two quantitative survey questionnaires. One questionnaire was used for the learners of the English language, and the other one was used for the learners of the Chinese language. The analysis of the data was done through SPSS software to find the answers to the study. The findings revealed that “L2 learning experience and Ideal L2 self” are the significant contributors to English language learning motivation rather than “ought to L2 self”. In contrary to that, “Ideal L2 self”, “ought to l2 self," and “L2 learning experience” is not the strongest contributor of Chinese language learning as compared to the English language. The findings recommend that students’ motivation can be enhanced by teaching quality of language learning centers and associated teachers should utilize various motivational techniques such as “ideal L2 self, ought toL2 self and L2 learning experience” to inspire their students to learn English and Chinese language effectively.

L2 Motivation

Globalization has led to the spread of English, which has become the world’s international language. As a result of its importance in social, economic, and political spheres, many countries have introduced English language learning in their school curricula. However, despite its importance many learners still seem to struggle with English second language (L2) motivation, which is an important element of L2 learning success. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between several phases of learners’ motivation, including learners’ attributions of past English L2 learning success, current motivational characteristics, and motivation to learn English in the future. Using the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) as a framework, it was found that past learning experiences did not have a significant effect on current learner motivational dispositions. However, elements of the L2MSS had an effect on learners’ intentions to exert effort into future English language learning. In other words, Croatian university students’ L2 motivation was based on their visions for the future rather than on past learning experiences. Moreover, it appears that the ideal L2 self plays a much stronger role in learners’ motivation compared to the ought-to L2 self, and this motivation is tied to utilitarian motives for learning English. In addition, the results showed that other motivational components, such as interest, as well as L2 anxiety, are important elements of learners’ motivation, suggesting cognitive as well as affective aspects in this motivational profile. The complexity of motivation as shown in this study suggests the need for further investigations in various contexts.

Why am I learning English? Spanish EFL sports science university students´ motivational orientations through the prism of the L2 motivational self system

The study explores the motivational profiles of Spanish EFL sports science university students from the second language (L2) motivation self system (L2MSS) perspective to ultimately support Spanish higher institutions´ plans committed to improving employability and competitiveness. The study analyzes the relationships between L2 motivation, L2 proficiency, gender, and L2 contextual variables using data from 196 English as a foreign language (EFL) sports science university students. The data reveal that the ideal L2 self construct stands out as the most salient and powerful factor, while the ought-to and rebellious L2 selves are less significant and there are items loading on both of them at the same time. Thus, higher means for the ideal L2 self motivation correspond to higher levels of L2 proficiency and are supported by L2 learning contextual variables. The strongest ought-to L2 self was registered in students with mid-low L2 proficiency and a lack of L2 learning experiences. Meanwhile, the rebellious L2 self is clearly distinguishable only for students with high L2 proficiency. Pedagogical and curricular implications of these findings are that the ideal and the rebellious L2 selves could positively predict students´ L2 proficiency. Thus, new dynamics of education should explore language teaching methodologies that are more likely to enhance students´ ideal and rebellious L2 selves.

EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION AND PROFICIENCY

AbstractA foundation of second language motivational theory has been that motivation contributes to explaining variance in language learning proficiency; however, empirical findings have been mixed. This article presents an innovative approach to exploring L2 proficiency and motivations of teenage English language learners in Madrid, Spain (N = 1773). Participants completed a multiskill English language test, plus an eight-scale questionnaire operationalizing constructs from Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005). Data were analysed using Latent Variable Mixture Modeling, a person-centered profiling approach. Results indicated five distinct classes of students, characterized by differing motivation-proficiency profiles. The importance of this study is that the analysis does not assume a homogenous relationship between motivational traits and proficiency levels across the learner sample; whilst there is undoubtedly a connection between the two areas, it is not a straightforward correlation, explaining to some extent discrepancies in previous findings and laying groundwork for further, more nuanced, investigation.

Thai and Serbian Student L2 Motivational Selves: A Contrastive Study

Applying L2 Motivational Self-System, the aim of this paper is to investigate how Thai and Serbian students construct their L2 motivational self-systems. A total of 543 students from Thailand and Serbia completed an 18-item questionnaire aimed at sampling relevant motivational factors. Although the students from both universities reported medium levels of motivated behaviour and a strong influence of their L2 learning experience, the most influential factors in the construction of self-systems were fundamentally different. While Serbian students construct their motivational self-systems on the basis of their ideal L2 selves, Thai students shape their motivational self-systems on the basis of ought-to L2 self. This difference points to the overall teaching approaches adopted in the investigated settings, where in Serbia learning experience is guided by the communicative approach to language teaching, while the Thai learning experience rests on a teacher-centred approach shaped by the collectivist cultural orientation.

L2 Motivational Self System: A Case of Thai EFL Senior High School Students

This study explored the ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience of the L2 motivational self system (L2MSS) among Thai EFL senior high school students. It took the form of an explanatory mixed-methods research design using the L2MSS questionnaire adopted from Taguchi et al. (2009) and Subekti (2018) to collect quantitative data from 183 students and a semi-structured interview with 6 students for qualitative data. Results from the questionnaire revealed that the ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience were high, while the ought-to L2 self was moderate. The thematic content analysis generated five themes: 1) use of English in the envisioning future career, 2) entertainment as a motivator for self-study, 3) influence of external motivational factors on internal motivation, 4) the impact of learning context, and 5) threat of examination on learning for communication. The paper concludes by recommending further research on a relationship of L2MSS constructs and English learning achievement and how the three motivation constructs predict English learning achievement. Researching the roles of parents in creating English learning motivation, and peers influence on self-efficacy development as a means to generate self-images is also suggested. Keywords: L2 motivational self system (L2MSS); Ideal L2 self; Ought-to L2 self; L2 learning experience; Senior high school students

Becoming a speaker of multiple languages: an investigation into UK university students’ motivation for learning Chinese

ABSTRACT This study explored the language learning motivation of a small group of five university students in the UK through the constructs of Dornyei's L2 Motivational Self System and Henry’s notion of ‘the ideal multilingual self’. The five participants, all successful language learners at school, chose to specialise in modern languages at university and in addition to the foreign languages they had previously learned, decided to study Chinese. Interviews were conducted in the final year of the participants’ university course and their motivational changes during the course of studying Chinese were explored. The results revealed that two students who achieved remarkable success in learning Chinese came to possess a strong desire to integrate in Chinese society, linked to a longer period spent studying in the target language country. We suggest that integrative orientation is a significant component in maintaining the ideal L2 self, especially when a psychological and physical distance exists in relation to the target language, its culture and the country.

Investigating L2 Motivational Self System in the Turkish University Context

This research explores how well L2 motivational self systems explain language learning motivation of university students in the Turkish context. To this end, data were collected from 668 university students in a state university in Turkey using a 51-item questionnaire and semi-structured interviews in this mixed methods research. The data from both the questionnaire and the interview indicate an overwhelming impact of language learning experience on the learners’ motivation to learn English as a foreign language as opposed to their ideal L2 selves or ought-to L2 selves. The findings about the relationship among the components of L2 motivational self systems are in line with the results of the previous research, lending support to the framework of L2 motivational self systems. Finally, the results suggest that learners’ motivation is a dynamic system, changing and evolving over time. The study has implications for language teachers, curriculum designers as well as further research in language learning motivation.

STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODEL OF TEACHERS' MINDSETS, SELF-EFFICACY, AND EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES AND IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS' WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE AND L2 MOTIVATIONAL SELF SYSTEM

This study aimed at investigating the interrelationships between EFL teachers' mindsets, self-efficacy, and emotional experiences and Iranian EFL learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 motivational self system (L2MSS). The participants of this study were 100 Iranian teachers and 501 students of the same EFL teachers, both male and female randomly selected from high schools. To fulfill the purpose of the study, teachers were asked to complete four questionnaires to measure their implicit theories of intelligence, efficacy, and emotional experiences including their burnout symptoms. Learners were required to complete two questionnaires to measure their willingness to communicate and L2 motivational self system. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed a significant structural relationship among all variables. Results also indicated that motivation was the strongest direct predictor of willingness to communicate. WTC was also indirectly correlated with teachers' implicit theories, efficacy, and emotional experiences through the mediating effect of L2MSS.

L2 and L3 motivational systems and their interactions: a study of Tibetan-Chinese-English trilingual learners

ABSTRACT This study explores Tibetan students’ L2 and L3 motivational systems and their interactions based on the framework of the L2 Motivational Self-System proposed by Dörnyei. Five hundred fifty-two participants were invited to respond to a questionnaire regarding their Chinese (L2) and English (L3) motivational selves, learning experiences and intended learning efforts. Multiple regression analyses revealed that L2 motivational selves and L2 learning experiences could explain 55% variance of L2 intended learning efforts (ILEs); L3 motivational selves and L3 learning experiences can explain 57% variance of L3 ILEs. Positive as well as negative interferences were also found between their L2 and L3 motivational systems. Positive interferences were found between L2 and L3 ILEs, while L3 ought-to self exerted a negative effect on L2 ILEs; L2 positive learning experiences exerted a negative impact on L3 ILEs. But the positive interferences outweighed the negative ones. The findings hold multiple implications for CSL and EFL education in Tibetan areas.

EXPLORING MOTIVATION IN EFL LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN A RURAL AREA

Motivation is a key factor in determining success in foreign and second language learning. However, the relationship between motivation and intended effort, ＂a mediating factor between motivation and success＂ (Papi, 2010, p. 468), has been studied mostly quantitatively rather than qualitatively, and even fewer studies have addressed this relationship among elementary school students in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, especially in rural districts. In response, this study examined such a relationship qualitatively drawing on Dornyei's (2005) L2 Motivational Self System as the theoretical lens in a fifth grade class in Taiwan. The purpose was to bridge the divide between rural and urban contexts. Data collection involved participants' drawings and written responses to motivation-related questions, interviews, and the researcher's observations and reflection journal. The study found no direct or linear link between motivation to study English and intended effort. In addition, this relationship was social. Furthermore, participants' learning experiences played a critical and complex role in mediating intended effort. The findings suggest that teachers should create motivated learning experiences rather than try to motivate students through tests.

Taking a closer look at the speaking of ideal self of Spanish undergraduates

Over the past fifteen years, research on second language (or L2) motivation has been dominated by Dörnyei’s influential paradigm, the L2 Motivational Self System. Students’ imagined visualisations are key components in this theory, as those students who have a clear ideal self-image with an L2 component will probably be more motivated to learn a language than others that have not established a desired future state goal for themselves. This article reports the qualitative findings of a mixed-method study that explored the effects of a multimodal intervention with influential speakers on changing the students’ attitudes in public speaking. Semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires were conducted with 11 engineering undergraduates, who volunteered to take part in the present study. Qualitative data showed that the multimodal intervention accompanied by goal setting (i.e., students’ classroom oral presentations) triggered an increase in some students’ future speaking selves. Six of the eleven students demonstrated a slight development in their levels of linguistic self-confidence, which made their vision of their ideal L2 speaking selves more realistic and clearer. The article discusses the implications of these findings and calls for a pedagogical shift that embraces more opportunities to assess the multimodal skills and strategies students need to become fluent L2 speakers.

Profiling the motivational characteristics of Greek university students

Research in L2 motivation of the past 60 years has gone through a journey from seeking the sources of motivation within the individual to currently locating motivation at the interplay of cognitive, affective, and social parameters. This study adopts Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System and employs an adapted version of Taguchi et al.’s (2009) questionnaire in order to examine Greek university students’ motivational profiles with regard to ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self and promotion and prevention instrumentality. In the cluster analysis three motivational clusters are identified, with prevention instrumentality and ideal L2 self as main distinguishing factors. Through a series of analyses of variance and crosstabulation the three clusters are associated with language-related, future goals and social variables: The emergent clusters are: the highly motivated students also most proficient in L2, the low motivated students also least proficient in L2 and the overstrivers. Promotion orientations (ideal L2 self and instrumentality promotion) lead to higher L2 proficiency that lasts longer while prevention orientations erode it. The study compares Greek university students’ actual achievement to self-perceived competence and highlights the importance of the two regulatory orientations for the study of L2 motivation.

The Ideal L2 Self as a Factor of Self-Motivation in Willingness to Communicate

Theoretical basis of this paper is the heuristic L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). The research aims to determine the degree to which the ideal L2 self can be regarded as a significant factor with regards to its power to make a difference in students’ actual motivated behaviour in L2 communication. The research sample consists of 396 students. The ideal L2 self is a predictor variable. Willingness to communicate and the obtained grades are criterion variables. Gender, period of time spent learning English / German, and whether students are residing in the country where the target language is spoken are all moderator variables. Systematic non-experimental observation method based on Dörnyei and Taguchi´s survey was used in this study. Cronbach’s alpha indicated high reliability in the presented sample (.92). Willingness to communicate was investigated using McCroskey´s questionnaire. The findings indicate a rather complex picture of the observed L2 MSS constructs and the importance of their components in the field of L2 learning. Therefore, for further research, it is suggested that the ideal L2 self should be divided into two constructs: obligations that the individual would like to comply with and obligations that others expect him/her to comply with. The contribution of the L2 learning experience should also be considered because otherwise, it is difficult to determine the progress of the model design and what to do with it in practice.

Exploring Effects of the Second Language Motivational Self System on Chinese EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate in English and Implications for L2 Education

This study explores how the three components of L2 motivational self-system (Ideal L2 self, Ought-to L2 self and Learning experience) influence Chinese college students’ willingness to communicate in English using a mixure of methods which include a questionnaire survey and individual interviews. Results show that Chinese college students’ ideal L2 self and learning experience would influence their L2 WTC significantly. Students who have a high level of ideal L2 self and more positive English learning experiences are more willing to use English to communicate inside and outside the classroom. Students’ ought-to L2 self has no significant correlation with their L2 WTC. Findings of the study offers some possible implications to improve Chinese college students’ low motivation in English learning and low willingness to use English to communicate.

The motivational dynamics of learning a foreign language of limited ethnolinguistic vitality during a study abroad

ABSTRACT This study investigated the L2 motivation of five Chinese undergraduates learning Bulgarian as their major and studying in Bulgaria in a one-academic-year exchange programme. The focus of the study concerned a rarely explored L2 learning situation, namely when the L2 is associated with a host community of limited ethnolinguistic vitality. Based on the theoretical foundations of the L2 Motivational Self System and the ideal multilingual self, and drawing on the principles of retrodictive qualitative modelling, this study identified three distinct motivational patterns emerging during the one-year study abroad in Bulgaria: decreasing motivation with a weakened ideal Bulgarian self; fluctuating motivation with a weakened ideal Bulgarian self; and fluctuating motivation with a strengthened ideal Bulgarian self. A comparative analysis of these patterns suggested that: (a) language learners’ agentic interpretations of their sojourn in the host country had a considerable impact on their cultural interest, thereby shaping the quality of their ideal Bulgarian self; (b) the impairment/enhancement of the ideal Bulgarian self was a principal cause of the decrease/increase of the participants’ Bulgarian-learning motivation; (c) an ideal multilingual self can work as compensation for the impaired ideal Bulgarian self, by directly motivating student's learning when the ideal Bulgarian self was weakened.