Global trends and local realities: Lessons about economic benefits, selves and identity from a Swiss context

Abstract

Inspired by the unexpected results of a standardized questionnaire survey of Swiss university students' motivation and attitudes toward English, the paper discusses the influence of global and local contexts on language learners' motivation and identity. As a result of the unprecedented spread of English as a foreign language (Crystal, 2003;Graddol, 2006), and, more importantly, the underlying social and economic issues that it reflects, elements of the global context intermingle with local realities to create new learning experiences, unaccounted for by traditional research paradigms. Individuals find themselves at the convergence of multiple contexts that affect and are in turn affected by their language attitudes and identity as well as sense of self. The intricate relationships between contexts and individuals continue to gain emphasis in current approaches to language learning motivation (cf. , which position L2 learnin in a new light, questioning the power and relevance of different motivational categories and also these of a generalizable theoretical model. The quantitative study presented in this paper explores interrelationships among key elements of the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2009) and a number of motivational factors on the one hand, contrasting them against the economic and social background of the Swiss context on the other. The findings of the project reveal that such repositioning of the participants in the multicultural, plurilingual environment of Geneva and its socioeconomic reality was indeed essential to the interpretation of the results since the extraordinary strength of external and societal factors in participants' motivational profile gained meaning only in the light of the particularities of the local context. Therefore, the paper showcases the potential of a broader perspective on L2 motivation and the importance of learner-context relationships.Virág Csillagh 432

English as a Medium of Instruction at Turkish State Universities

“…De Wit (2011) claims that the internationalization of universities are usually a good indicator of their quality (De Wit, 2011) and that, worldwide, the increase in the number of universities that offer EMI courses is more observed in the private sector (Kirkpatrick, 2014). Consequently, since very early ages, parents who can afford to, consider private English courses for their children aiming for the best universities and the possibility of living with international students in a culturally diverse environment (Csillagh, 2015). As pointed out by Finardi (2014) in relation to the role of English in private institutions in Brazil, the offer of English courses (be them in the form of general English courses or in the form of EMI courses) in the private sector, creates a social gap whereby only the economically privileged people can have access to this kind of knowledge and linguistic capital.…”

The role of attitudes in the development of Russian as a foreign language: A retrospective study

“…Therefore, Gardner's AMTB may be a better instrument, especially when supplemented with personal interviews. Csillagh's (2015) analysis of the Swiss context highlights important motivational factors in language learning, pointing out that "theoretical developments have gradually moved away from the notion of a clear-cut division between internal and external factors in favour of a more complex representation of L2 motivation" (p. 433). She found that different contextual elements play an important role in university students' motivation and attitude.…”

Methodological Diversity in Emotions Research: Reflexivity and Identities

“…In addition, depending on the research inquiry, a variety of research methodologies and methods are adopted: some take a quantitative approach (e.g. Csillagh, 2015), others employ a more qualitative oriented approach (e.g. Costa, 2015), while, still others adopt the mixed methods line of inquiry (e.g.…”