Digital innovations in L2 motivation: Harnessing the power of the Ideal L2 Self

Abstract

Sustained motivation is crucial to learning a second language (L2), and one way to support this can be through the mental visualisation of ideal L2 selves (Dörnyei & Kubanyiova, 2014). This paper reports on an exploratory study which investigated the possibility of using technology to create representations of language learners' ideal L2 selves digitally. Nine Chinese learners of L2 English were invited to three semi-structured interviews to discuss their ideal L2 selves and their future language goals, as well as their opinions on several different technological approaches to representing their ideal L2 selves. Three approaches were shown to participants: (a) 2D and 3D animations, (b) Facial Overlay, and (c) Facial Mask. Within these, several iterations were also included (e.g. with/without background or context). Results indicate that 3D animation currently offers the best approach in terms of realism and animation of facial features, and improvements to Facial Overlay could lead to beneficial results in the future. Approaches using the 2D animations and the Facial Mask approach appeared to have little future potential. The descriptive details of learners' ideal L2 selves also provide preliminary directions for the development of content that might be included in future technology-based interventions.

Students’ Motivation to Learn English Using Mobile Applications: The Case of Duolingo and Hello English

“…Instead of using a single statement of each level of motivation ranging on a continuum of intrinsically motivated to unmotivated, probably, it would be more appropriate to examine the students' motivation by employing a series of questionnaire statements displaying the complex nature of English language learning. Literature pointed that there were a number of key motivational elements that influence learners' motivation in learning L2 comprising milleu, selfconfidence, cultural interest, vitality of L2 community, attitudes toward L2 speakers, instrumentality and integrativeness (Adolphs et al, 2018;Csizer & Dornyei, 2005;Dornyei, 2009). Further studies in this topic need to carefully take into account the complexity of L2 motivation.…”

“…Although it was still at the initial state, the author convinced that digital visualization of L2 self is promising to increase learners' motivation (Adolphs et al, 2018). Despite the fact that mobile technology offers inherent powerful motivational potential through its sophisticated features, language learners possibly have different perspectives concerning the use of mobile technology for learning L2/FL.…”

Reexamining the Role of Vision in Second Language Motivation: A Preregistered Conceptual Replication of You, Dörnyei, and Csizér (2016)

“…A minority of investigators have moved beyond correlations between self‐reported measures and observational designs to the search for novel avenues of how to motivate language learners through generating a language learning vision and enhancing imagery (e.g., Adolphs et al., ; Sato & Lara, ) and for superordinate and durable motivational forces that underpin long‐term persistence for L2 learning (Dörnyei et al., ; Ibrahim & Al‐Hoorie, ). In some of this research, researchers have specifically examined whether and how classroom teachers can use imagined future states and mental projections of the self in those states to mobilize and sustain current language learning behavior toward that visionary target (e.g., Chan, ; Mackay, ; Magid, ; Magid & Chan, ; Sampson, ).…”

“…Looking also to sports psychology, the field from which vision interventions originated decades ago and which inspired research into vision in L2 motivation (Adolphs et al., ; Dörnyei et al., ), similarly raises questions about the centrality of vision in motivation and performance. In a recent meta‐analysis of the effects of mental imagery and vision interventions on biopsychological outcomes related to both performance restoration and performance optimization, Zach, Dobersek, Filho, Inglis, and Tenenbaum () reported that the effects of imagery interventions were all statistically nonsignificant.…”

Using Scaffolding Materials to Facilitate Autonomous Online Chinese as a Foreign Language Learning: A Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Through learning with scaffolding materials, a language learner makes a shift of the role from a passive receiver of language knowledge to an active seeker or a knowledge contributor, and engages in the whole learning process with an autonomous attitude with less supervision needed (Betts, 2004). In this respect, scaffolding provides necessary support for learners, and encourages them to gain increasing self-initiation and self-regulation (Adolphs et al, 2018). As Smith and Craig (2013) have put, scaffolding is essential to the exercise of learner autonomy in foreign language development.…”