While interest in multilingualism is growing, in the field of motivation little research has examined the role played by learners' multilingual selves in constructing their motivation to learn a foreign language other than English (LOTE). Based on a dynamic model of the L2 Motivational Self System, this study explores how Chinese undergraduates'…

Taking the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) model as its theoretical basis, this study aimed to extend knowledge of the learning motivation of Korean language learners. A survey questionnaire was administered to 967 Korean language learners at 28 universities in China to investigate their motivation for learning the Korean language and the…

Motivation and anxiety are two crucial factors influencing learning outcomes, yet limited empirical research on expectancy-value theory can be found within previous literature about Chinese undergraduate students studying English as a foreign language (EFL). Moreover, few studies have examined the interaction between motivation and skill-specific…

To explore the washback of the HSK on students learning Chinese as a Second Language (CSL), the study surveyed 1,616 SCL students from 25 different mother tongue backgrounds and interviewed international students studying in China through questionnaire and interview. The following was found in this study: (a) The HSK influenced both the process…

Identity issues have been an area of focus in language learning motivation scholarship. However, the role of national identity in language learning motivation has not received sufficient attention. In response to the timely call for reflections on nationalism and language education, this study examines how political nationalism and cultural…

Informed by a mixed methods research design, the study investigates the interrelations between students' attitudes toward English learning, English-medium instruction (EMI), and the use of their first language (i.e. code-switching) in relation to a range of biographic and contextual factors in their situated EMI programmes. The quantitative…

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 this study, we investigated how student engagement and disengagement change over the course of a semester in the L2 classroom. We modeled change at the inter- and intra-individual levels, using time-variant predictors to examine differences in student classroom engagement and disengagement trajectories. In addition to these temporal dynamics,…

Recognizing the roles that English vocabulary, social interaction, academic performance, and learning motivation play in language learning can be useful in chiefly enhancing EFL language acquisition. This research explores the challenges that the pre-college EFL students encounter while expanding their word learning knowledge, communicating in the…

The growth of the Chinese language in African countries and African students' consequent flocking into Chinese higher education are both emergent phenomena. This partly explains the lack of empirical research on this body of student migrants and their Chinese language learning. This paper applies Watkins' theorisation on pedagogic affect to…

Drawing from (Dörnyei's, The Psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition, 2005) L2 Motivational Self System, this case study delved into the L2 learning motivations of liberal arts and science English majors at a transnational university in China, where English Medium Instruction (EMI) is prevalent.…

This study investigated successful EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students' learning strategies in Chinese universities and explored the classification system of English learning strategies, to guide EFL students how to learn English. A total of 24 successful English majors and non-English majors in Chinese universities were interviewed about…

Foreign or second-language (L2) pre-service teachers (PSTs) are simultaneously learners and teachers of the target language, adding to the complexity of teacher education. How these two identities are intertwined with their pedagogical beliefs and dominant ideologies has not been fully investigated, especially with PSTs in longitudinal studies. To…

This study explores the relationship between the L2 Motivational Self System--namely, the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self--and L2 Willingness to Communicate (L2 WTC) in the classroom (a typical place for English communication among EFL learners) and in the extramural digital setting (an emerging English communication channel increasingly…

Online education may induce different negative emotions and emotional reactions in language learners. One such reaction emerging from emotional experiences in online contexts is academic disengagement, which has been limitedly examined in L2 research. To fill this lacuna, this study has been done to probe into the sources and solutions of student…