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 to learn languages other than English (LOTEs) has been underrepresented in second language (L2) motivation research. This study investigated and compared the motivational profiles of first-year and second-year students majoring in Spanish, grounded on the proposition of bifurcating ideal and ought selves into "Own" and…

Research on language motivation has tended to focus on the phenomena of demotivation and remotivation in the English classroom. This study utilized Q methodology to analyze the dynamics of demotivation and remotivation among 15 Chinese university students during their English learning process from primary school to senior middle school. Informed…

This dissertation investigates the intricate relationships among global competence, cultural identity, and English learning motivation within the context of undergraduates in Southern China through a mixed-methods research design. Given the backdrop of accelerating globalization, this study underscores students' need to develop robust global…

Second-language (L2) learner motivation has been a thriving subfield within L2 acquisition research for decades, particularly since the development of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), a multi-faceted motivational theory. This survey-based study examines (1) whether L2MSS facets differ between students intending to continue (or discontinue)…

The second-language (L2) Motivational Self System (L2MSS) proposed by Zoltán Dörnyei described how L2 learners are motivated through envisioning their ideal future L2 self. The L2MSS framework for studying L2 motivation has had mixed results. The aim of this study was to evaluate measuring future selves as L2 motivators consistent with the L2MSS…

This paper examines the relationship between ethnocentrism and motivation in language learning, focusing on the Ideal L2-Self and Ought to L2-Self constructs of the L2 Motivational Self System. Additionally, the study examined the potential moderating effect of gender on the relationships between ethnocentrism and both the Ideal L2-Self and Ought…

Since the beginning of the 21st century, heritage language studies have drawn unprecedented attention from language-related research areas. Despite the flourishing research on heritage language learning, relatively few studies have examined the motivational profiles of L1 English speakers engaged in heritage language learning. Theoretical…

Academic self-concept (ASC) is a student's self-perceived level of ability in an academic domain and a major factor involved in academic performance. We examined the importance of internal/external sources of evaluation for the structure of L2 and L3 ASCs in two groups of 5th/6th graders learning English and French in Switzerland (mean age: 12.1).…

Increasing numbers of Chinese students are pursuing graduate degrees in Catalonia. Although highly proficient in both Castilian and English when they arrive, they find themselves in a bilingual society where Catalan, not Castilian, predominates both at universities and in the broader social context. Acquiring Catalan is hence important for both…

Drawing on the Language Mindset Meaning System (LMMS) framework, the study investigated how language mindsets (growth vs. fixed) influence the adoption of the four achievement goals, and how they subsequently shape second/foreign language (L2) learners' emotions (i.e. enjoyment and anxiety) in the process of learning English as a foreign language…

Previous research on the foreign language (FL) learner has yielded a rich body of knowledge on personality, individual differences, and conceptions of the self as a measure of motivation. While these contributions have greatly enriched our understanding of learner psychology, the current paper proposes an analytical framing of language learning…

This qualitative study explores the roles that undergraduate Spanish as a second language (L2) learners ascribe to their identities, backgrounds, sociocultural contexts, and imaginations in the development of their ideal second language (L2) selves (Dornyei 2009), rooted L2 selves (MacIntyre et al., 2017) and investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015;…

This intervention study helped EFL learners visualize their possible selves as successful L2 speakers. It included three classes as a control group and three EFL classes as an experimental group at a secondary school in Yemen. The three experimental classes received one ideal L2 self-visualization lesson a week for six weeks, whereas the three…

Drawing on Markus and Nurius's (1986) theory of possible selves and Higgins's (1987) theory of self-discrepancies, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) developed the L2 self-guide, a construct explaining the generation of motivation for language learning. Because Dörnyei focused on convergences in the source theories, L2MSS researchers have come to regard…