Fifteen years of research on self &amp; identity in System

Kostoulas, Achilleas; Mercer, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.system.2016.04.002

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In line with Block would argue that just as defining and researching identity crosses traditional boundaries between disciplines (Bilá, Kačmárová, & Vaňková, 2015;Holliday, Hyde, & Kullman, 2004), it similarly transcends the boundaries of a single theoretical perspective. This approach follows in the tradition of identity research described by Omoniyi (2006) as both 'multi-theoretical and multidisciplinary' (p. 14) and by Kostoulas and Mercer (2016) who argue that 'integrating differing perspectives is more likely to create a richer understanding of the self in the long run' (p. 130).…”

Section: A Multi-theoretical Approach To Investigating Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom: a multi-theoretical conceptualisation

Fisher

Evans

Forbes

et al. 2018

International Journal of Multilingualism

107

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Multilingual identity is an area ripe for further exploration within the existing extensive body of identity research. In this paper we make a case for a conceptual framework that defines multilingual identity formation in terms of learners' active involvement, and proposes the classroom as the hitherto underused site for participative identity (re)negotiation. After reviewing three key theoretical perspectives on identity (the psychosocial, sociocultural and poststructural) for points of intersection and difference, we propose a new framework for a multi-theoretical approach to the conceptualisation and investigation of multilingual identity. This places it at the nexus of (a) individual psychological development, (b), the relational and social, and (c) the historical and contextual. Arguing that a participative perspective can take the field forward, we present a theorised model for classroom practice that provides a structure within which individual learners of a foreign language might explore, with reference to a range of sociolinguistic knowledge, the extent of their current linguistic repertoire. In addition, they are asked to explicitly consider their identity and identifications and offered the agency to (re)negotiate these in terms of multilingual identity, the development of which may be important for investment in language learning.

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Section: A Multi-theoretical Approach To Investigating Identitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom: a multi-theoretical conceptualisation

Fisher

Evans

Forbes

et al. 2018

International Journal of Multilingualism

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…IT IS OFTEN ASSUMED THAT LEARNING foreign languages potentially facilitates better mutual understanding among people of different cultures and languages and promotes social cohesiveness (e.g., Gardner, ), which may help minimize the impact of popular nationalism in the context of geopolitical relationships (e.g., Donitsa–Schmidt, Inbar, & Shohamy, ; Yun, ; Yun & Kibber, ). As research on what motivates learners to learn foreign languages increasingly focuses on individuals in terms of the self (e.g., Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, ; Dörnyei & Ushioda, ; Kostoulas & Mercer, ), desire (e.g., Kubota, ; Motha & Lin, ) or identity investment (e.g., Norton, ), it has become necessary to reaffirm the significance of individuals learning foreign languages for learners’ and target language speakers’ communities. For this reason, this inquiry has developed an instrument to explore university Japanese language learners’ orientations toward Japan in light of rising conflicts between China and Japan in mainland China (e.g., Reilly, ; Sinkkonen, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Modern Language Journal, 103, 1, (2019) DOI: 10.1111/modl.12546 0026-7902/19/327-342 $1.50/0 C National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations search on what motivates learners to learn foreign languages increasingly focuses on individuals in terms of the self (e.g., Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015;Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009;Kostoulas & Mercer, 2016), desire (e.g., Kubota, 2011;Motha & Lin, 2014) or identity investment (e.g., Norton, 2000), it has become necessary to reaffirm the significance of individuals learning foreign languages for learners' and target language speakers' communities. For this reason, this inquiry has developed an instrument to explore university Japanese language learners' orientations toward Japan in light of rising conflicts between China and Japan in mainland China (e.g., Reilly, 2014;Sinkkonen, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What Motivates Chinese University Students to Learn Japanese? Understanding Their Motivation in Terms of ‘Posture’

Teo

Hoi

Gao

et al. 2019

The Modern Language Journal

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In light of popular nationalism on the rise in China and Japan, this inquiry develops and validates a survey instrument to document university students’ motivation to learn Japanese in mainland China and explore how the learning of a foreign language may lead to better cross‐cultural understanding. A total number of 398 Chinese learners of Japanese in Chinese universities participated in the survey and 12 of them participated further in post‐survey interviews. The results confirm that participants’ interest in Japan‐related products, employment opportunities, and activities contribute to the motivation to learn the language for cross‐cultural understanding and undertake cross‐cultural exchanges with Japanese people. The results suggest that increased exposure to Japan‐related affairs in the media coverage undermines their desire for intercultural communication and increases the approach for interacting with Japanese people. This means it is necessary for Japanese language educators to engage with Japanese language learners and to address macro contextual processes such as rising tensions between the two countries, negative coverage on China in Japan's media, and negative coverage on Japan in the Chinese media.

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“…The research on L2 learning has increasingly adopted the Motivational Self System as its guiding compass and has tended to concentrate on motivation rather than demotivation (see Kostoulas & Mercer, 2016). The importance of preparing the ground for L2 learners seems to have taken precedence over protecting them from negative experiences, for instance, the latest addition to the model is mental imagery of the ideal self (Kim & Kim, 2014), but imagining oneself capable of writing word-perfect emails may enfranchise visual learners, but disenfranchise auditory learners.…”

Section: Demotivation In L2 Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disempowering Forces and Disillusioned Selves: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis of Demotivation among French Student Learners of English

Hill¹,

Pottier²

2018

Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Engl. Lit.

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France sits steadfastly at the bottom of EU rankings for English proficiency, and yet French learners have an equivalent access to educational resources and teacher competence. It is a curious phenomenon which points to pupil demotivation during second language (L2) learning at school as a likely cause. The dominant model in L2 motivation – Dörnyei’s Motivational Self System – with its symbiosis of the ought self, the ideal self and the quality of the learning environment, has had its usefulness verified in other countries, but lacks sufficient flexibility to explain L2 demotivation in France. As a departure from the existing corpus of quantitative research on L2 motivation, this research uses Charmaz’ constructivist grounded theory approach to delve into the L2 learning experiences of twelve French students at a qualitative level. The originality of this approach is that the researcher must relinquish preconceived ideas, enter the constructed world of the participant and make conceptual sense of the data produced from the shared construction. The resulting force field/self-discrepancy model indicates that pupils are prevented from reaching language proficiency by disempowering forces, for example, limited contact with English speakers, and that this is compounded by negative emotions arising from discrepancies between the learner’s actual, ought and ideal selves. To address the complexity of this model, French schools should begin by empowering students to set targets towards a realistic English-speaking ideal self. Otherwise, there is a danger that the ideal L2 self becomes another source of disillusionment and hence another disempowering force.

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Fifteen years of research on self & identity in System

Cited by 18 publications

References 40 publications

Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom: a multi-theoretical conceptualisation

Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom: a multi-theoretical conceptualisation

What Motivates Chinese University Students to Learn Japanese? Understanding Their Motivation in Terms of ‘Posture’

Disempowering Forces and Disillusioned Selves: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis of Demotivation among French Student Learners of English

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