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Building on Zoltán Dörnyei's authoritative work in the field of learner motivation, this book introduces a new conceptualization-Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs)-and sets out the defining aspects of what they are, what they are not, and how they are related to language learning motivation. Going beyond focused behavior in a single activity, DMCs concern intensive long-term motivation. The dis
In contexts of transnational migration, language skills provide the key to employability and successful integration into host country societies. To enhance the learning process, and facilitate transitions into the workforce, integrated programs of L2 learning have been developed in several Nordic countries. In these undertakings, language learning, vocational education, and workplace practice are
This article describes two inter-related research projects concerned with the teaching and learning of English in contemporary contexts, where English is changing its status from being the first language of specific groups of speakers to becoming a global lingua franca. Focussing respectively on learners of English as a second language (L2 users) in the Netherlands and Sweden, and on native speake
Identity is of increasing interest in teacher education. Crucial for resilience, the development of a coherent professional identity has been characterized as emerging from tensions between multiple and sometimes conflicting conceptions of what it means to be someone who teaches (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011). While light is being shed on these often antagonistic relations, less is known about the
Currently, the inner dynamics of teacher identity transformations remain a “black box.” Conceptualizing preservice teacher identity as a complex dynamic system, and the notion of “being someone who teaches” in dialogical terms as involving shifts between different teacher voices, the study investigates the dynamical processes at play when transitions between identities occur. Using a single-case d
Motivation in simultaneous L2 learning situations is an area of research largely overlooked and studies from contexts where people are engaged in learning more than one L2 are rare. In their large-scale Hungarian research, Dornyei, Csizer and Nemeth found that pupils' positive attitudes to one L2 could cause interferences with attitudes to others, with English being the greatest source of such int
In this chapter I will suggest that in cultural contexts such as Sweden where English is an integral part of young people’s everyday lives and is encountered and used in a range of out-of-school domains, a particular challenge facing teachers is not so much generating motivation to succeed in long-term competency goals, but rather engaging students in day-to-day classroom activities. Based on the
Transcultural flows of capital, culture and communication have created conditions for the widespread movement of people around the globe, leading to increasing diversity in countries of destination. In contexts of global migration lingua franca English is indispensable in initial and survival communication. For migrants to northern European countries where lingua franca English functions as a 'con
In this Swedish case study of four upper secondary students engaged in simultaneous L2 (English) and L3 (Spanish, French and Russian) learning, a possible selves approach was used to investigate the impact of English on L3 motivation. Using a maximum variation sampling strategy, participants were selected from a larger dataset (n=101). Semi-structured interviews were conducted using Interpretive P
Along with aptitude, motivation is the primary determiner of learning outcomes in second language (L2) learning. Widely regarded as an activity especially suited to girls, empirical studies from different sociocultural contexts have, with few exceptions, revealed systematic gender differences in L2 motivation. In particular, gender differences are most apparent in relation to establishing an affin
By tradition, L2 motivation research has a monolingual bias – the motivational systems of a learner’s different languages conceptualized as separate entities rather than as cognitively interconnected. At a time when multilingualism has become a new world order (Douglas Fir Group, ) and where there is evidence of powerful identity experiences connected to speaking several languages (Pavlenko, ) thi
The purpose of this thesis was to study secondary school students' motivation to learn a second foreign language in addition to English. In addition to the empirical investigation of L3 motivation over a program of study and the testing of the widely-held assumption that L2 English impacts negatively on L3 motivation, the aim was also to contribute to the conceptual development of self-based motiv
Multiple language learning has been largely neglected in L2 motivation research. Recently, complexity principles have been used to model multilingual motivation. In this work, multilingual self-guides are conceptualised as emergent from interactions between the motivation systems of different languages. Motivational systems and their emergent properties are also influenced by the contexts in which
With roots in social psychology, second language (L2) motivation has largely been investigated using self-report techniques. Studies drawing on observational data gathered in contexts where learning takes place are rare, and understandings of how motivation evolves in classroom interactions remain limited (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015). In a position paper in Language Teaching, Ushioda (2016) ma
Language teaching is all about relationships. As Earl Stevick famously put it, success in learning a language “depends less on materials, techniques and linguistic analyses, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom” (1980 p. 4). For the teacher, getting students engaged in learning activities, and involved in developing communicative competence, requires interpersona
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 a grounded theory ethnographic approach (Charmaz,20
Mental time travel lies at the frontier of research into motivational persistence in language learning (Dörnyei, 2020). This article introduces the theory of episodic future thinking (D’Argembeau, 2016, 2020), and examines the key components of autobiographical knowledge and personally important goals. With findings on the long-term goals and career aspirations of preservice English teachers as a
