Abstract
Motivation is without doubt one of the most important factors in successful language learning, not least because it can to a large extent compensate for deficiencies in language aptitude, irrespective of the ways in which it is conceptualized. It is thus not surprising that this individual difference variable has been subject to numerous empirical investigations undertaken from a range of theoretical perspectives. As Dörnyei (2005) explains, such research has entered a process-oriented period, where motivation is viewed as a dynamic phenomenon, constantly undergoing fluctuations in response to an array of influences. One recent theory representing this approach is the theory of the ideal language self (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009, 2014), according to which motivation to learn a foreign language largely stems from a desire to reduce the distance between one’s actual and imagined skills and abilities. The theory provided a point of reference for designing a questionnaire used for the purpose of the study reported in the present paper and administered to 220 Polish university students majoring in English. The tool, which included 40 six-point Likert-scale statements, sought to tap into such aspects of motivation as interest in international vocation or activities, encouragement from parents or significant others, intended learning effort, instrumentality, L2 self-confidence, ideal L2 self, lack of fear of assimilation, attitudes to learning English, interest in foreign languages and lack of ethnocentrism. The results indicate that the participants are highly motivated to learn English and provide important insights into the nature of their motives.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clément, R. (1980). Ethnicity, contact and communicative competence in a second language. In H. Giles, W. P. Robinson, & P. M. Smith (Eds.), Language: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 147–154). Oxford: Pergamon.
Csizér, K., & Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The internal structure of language learning motivation: Results of structural equation modeling. Modern Language Journal, 89, 19–36.
Csizér, K., & Kormos, J. (2009). Learning experiences, selves and motivated learning behavior: A comparative analysis of structural models for Hungarian secondary and university learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 98–119). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Csizér, K., & Kormos, J. (2014). The ideal L2 self, self-regulatory strategies and autonomous learning: A comparison of different groups of English language learners. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 73–86). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of self-determination. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robison (Ed.), Individual differences in second language acquisition (pp. 137–158). Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the self (pp. 9–42). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z. (2014). Future self-guides and vision. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 7–18). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Chan, L. (2013). Motivation and vision: An analysis of future L2 self images, sensory styles, and imagery capacity across two target languages. Language Learning, 63, 437–462.
Dörnyei, Z., & Csizér, K. (2002). Some dynamics of language attitudes and motivation: Results of a longitudinal nationwide survey. Applied Linguistics, 23, 421–462.
Dörnyei, Z., & Kormos, J. (2000). The role of individual and social variables in oral task performance. Language Teaching Research, 4, 275–300.
Dörnyei, Z., & Kubanyiova (2014). Motivating learners, motivating teachers. Building vision in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., MacIntyre, P. D., & Henry, A. (Eds.). 2015. Motivational dynamics in language learning. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ottó, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics (Thames Valley University, London), 4, 43–69.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The psychology of the language learner revisited. New York and London: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z., & Taguchi, T. (2010). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New York: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.). (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z. & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.): Harlow: Longman.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language earning. The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C. (2000). Correlation, causation, motivation, and second language acquisition. Canadian Psychology, 41, 10–24.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1959). Motivational variables in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 13, 266–272.
Gregersen, T., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). Capitalizing on language learners’ individuality. From premise to practice. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Henry, A. (2015a). The dynamics of possible selves. In Z. Dörnyei, P. D. MacIntyre, & A. Henry (Eds.), 2015. Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 83–94). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Henry, A. (2015b). The dynamics of L3 motivation. A longitudinal interview/observation-based study. In Z. Dörnyei, P. D. MacIntyre, & A. Henry (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 315–342). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Higgins, E. T. (1998). Promotion and prevention: Regulatory focus as a motivational principle. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 1–46.
Kim, T. -Y., & Kim. Y. -K. (2014). EFL students’ L2 motivational self system and self-regulation: Focusing on elementary and junior high school students in Korea. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 87–107). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Lamb, M. (2009). Situating the L2 self. Two Indonesian school learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 229–247). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Lamb, M. (2012). A self system perspective on young adolescents’ motivation to learn English in urban and rural settings. Language Learning, 62, 997–1023.
Lyons, D. (2014). The L2 self-concept in second language learning motivation: A longitudinal study of Korean university students. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 108–130). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Magid, M. (2014). A motivational program for learners of English: An application of the L2 motivational self system. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 333–356). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Markus, H. R., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.
Miyahara, M. (2014). Emerging self-identities of second language learners: Emotions and the experiential profile of identity construction. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 206–231). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Noels, K. (2003). Learning Spanish as a second language: Learners’ orientations and perceptions of their teachers’ communication style. In Z. Dörnyei (Ed.), Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language learning (pp. 97–136). Oxford: Blackwell.
Pawlak, M. (2012). The dynamic nature of motivation in language learning: A classroom perspective. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 249–278.
Piniel, K., & Csizér, K. (2015). Changes in motivation, anxiety and self-efficacy during the course of an academic writing seminar. In Z. Dörnyei, P. D. MacIntyre, & A. Henry (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 164–194). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Ryan, S. (2005). Motivational factors questionnaire. Nottingham, School of English Studies, University of Nottingham.
Ryan, S. (2009). Self and identity in L2 motivation in Japan: The ideal L2 self and Japanese learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 98–119). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Taguchi, T., Magid, M., & Papi, M. (2009). The L2 motivational self system among Japanese, Chinese and Iranian learners of English: A comparative study. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 120–143). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ushioda, E. (2001). Language learning at university: Exploring the role of motivational thinking. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (pp. 91–124). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.
Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215–228). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2014). Motivation. In S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 396–409). London and New York: Routledge.
Weiner, B. (1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories and research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Waninge, F. (2015). Motivation, emotion and cognition. Attractor states in the classroom. In Z. Dörnyei, P. D. MacIntyre, & A. Henry (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 195–213). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Williams, M., Mercer, S., & Ryan, S. (2015). Exploring psychology for language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yashima, T. (2009). International posture and the ideal L2 self in the Japanese EFL context. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 144–163). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Yue, Z. (2014). Chinese university students’ willingness to communicate in the L2 classroom.: The complex and dynamic interplay of self-concept, future self-guides and the sociocultural context. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 250–267). Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pawlak, M. (2016). Investigating Language Learning Motivation from an Ideal Language-Self Perspective: The Case of English Majors in Poland. In: Gałajda, D., Zakrajewski, P., Pawlak, M. (eds) Researching Second Language Learning and Teaching from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31954-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31954-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31953-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31954-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)