Guided by the Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MSS) framework, this study examined to what extent the 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…

Studies focused on motivation to learn languages other than English or more than 1 language simultaneously have been gaining attention in recent years. However, there are far fewer than those related to second language (L2) English learning. To fill this gap, this article explores the evolving motivation of 2 Japanese students who spent 1 academic…

Self-Directed Learning (SDL) has been the focus of attention on the part of scholars for at least four decades. However, it is with the advent of technology and the possibilities offered by the Internet that researchers and practitioners have begun to look more closely at what students do autonomously to support their own learning outside of the…

A great deal of research has focused on tasks, particularly for adult second language learners. In this paper we provide an account of studies that have investigated children and tasks -- an age group that have received far less attention. We consider, in particular, the impact of tasks on children's language learning, how their design features…

Digital technologies are increasingly common in language learning. Online media creation provides scope for agency and spaces for identity construction, but empirically grounded conceptualizations of the influences on learners' motivation are lacking and the digital technology--second language motivation interface remains largely unexplored. Using…

Agency has attracted considerable attention, especially of late. Nevertheless, perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. In this article the Douglas Fir Group's call for a transdisciplinary perspective is heeded in a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory's (CDST) conceptualization of agency. It is suggested that CDST maintains the…

This study examined the role of growth mindset, self-efficacy, and intrinsic value in self-regulated learning (SRL) and English language learning achievements in Hong Kong primary school students. A sample of 690 4th graders participated in the study. The findings suggest that the level of SRL strategy use (i.e. monitoring, effort regulation, and…

As digital technology is becoming an increasingly critical component of education, learners' socioeconomic status (SES) and technology use are becoming more important in their learning. In the context of English learning, the present study modeled how learners' SES and their perception of technology use for language learning are linked to their…

A bulk of research has revealed that emotions play a crucial role in different aspects of second/foreign language (L2) education. However, the emotions that English as a foreign language (EFL) students experience during assessment have been neglected, so far. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study intended to unveil the typologies,…

This study aims to investigate the influence of an English as a foreign language college extensive reading program on different types of motivation to study English within the framework of Self-Determination Theory in order to identify and clarify students' motivational changes. Identical questionnaires were administered to a group of nonEnglish…

This study examines the extent to which the motivation of university students of Italian in Melbourne (Australia) is influenced by the visibility of a local Italian community. The research relies on data collected by open-ended questions and two Likert items from a survey study (n?=?74) as well as in-depth interviews (n?=?5). The findings show…

Many institutions around the world use the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to assess test-takers' proficiency in English, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where a given Band score (or its equivalent) is required for direct entry to majors taught in English. However, despite the test's importance and despite being one…

Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a cross-cultural, empirical framework for exploring what world (i.e., "foreign") language educators can do to support the satisfaction of their learners' basic psychological needs and, in turn, their autonomous motivation and well-being. Despite this, the identification of approaches to world…

The present study seeks to offer insights into how former study abroad students, temporally beyond the period of initial re-entry into their home environments, perceive Spanish as a foreign language in their lives now. This post-sojourn period is explored within the framework of the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2009) and the expanded…

L2 motivation research has a longstanding monolingual bias. Recently, however, the motivational systems of a multilingual's different languages have been conceptualised as constituting a multilingual motivational system, and it has been suggested that interactions between the ideal Lx self and the ideal Ly self can lead to the emergence of an…