Motivation to learn languages other than English: A critical research synthesis

Abstract

The primary purpose of this investigation was to put forward critical research synthesis as a qualitative alternative to meta‐analysis in second language acquisition using as a case example studies published from 2005 to 2018 applying the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) to learners of languages other than English (LOTEs). Since L2MSS research is methodologically diverse and meta‐analysis necessarily excludes literature that cannot be subjected to its parameters, a qualitative synthetic approach with the systematicity and transparency of meta‐analysis is warranted. This study synthesizes 30 L2MSS studies on LOTEs in three world regions—Europe, Inner Circle English‐speaking countries, and Asia—and examines substantive and methodological features of the literature, including (1) the diversity of languages and educational contexts, (2) common issues of interest and findings in each world region, and (3) the strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative L2MSS studies. Suggestions for improving the diversity and quality of research on motivation to learn LOTEs are offered.

Tracking the Evolution of Chinese Learners’ Multilingual Motivation Through a Longitudinal Q Methodology

“…There is growing concern that learners may lose interest in learning a LOTE in the age of English globalization and in the current populist climate (Busse, 2017; Lanvers, Doughty, & Thompson, 2018). Although language‐learning motivation research is vibrant, an overwhelming majority of empirical research has focused on motivation to learn global English (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015), and only around a quarter of the studies include LOTEs (Mendoza & Phung, 2019). Researchers have recently begun to resituate language‐learning motivation in the LOTE setting (see Ushioda & Dörnyei, 2017), but only a few studies have integrated motivation and multilingualism (e.g., Busse, 2017; Csizér & Lukács, 2010; Henry, 2011, 2017; Henry & Thorsen, 2018; Thompson, 2017b; Zheng, Lu, & Ren, 2019), and these were mainly conducted in European and Anglophone contexts.…”

“…The notion of motivation as a static and fixed attribute has gradually been replaced by a dynamic, fluid view (Dörnyei, MacIntyre, & Henry, 2015). Despite the surge in interest, longitudinal empirical studies are still in a minority in the language‐learning motivation literature (Boo et al., 2015; Mendoza & Phung, 2019). Recent developments in L2 motivation research have advanced a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective to address the situated and dynamic nature of motivation (Henry, 2017; Hiver & Larsen–Freeman, 2020; Hiver & Papi, 2020; Papi & Hiver, 2020; Thompson, 2017b).…”

Two sides of the same coin? Internationalisation and employability - students’ perceptions of employability and career outcomes from International Studies

“…Where these options are more likely to provide students with a meaningful volume of language study (one that could be relevant to employability), questions about the motivations for language study, as well as the form and volume that study takes to also support employability learning, must be considered. In European, Asian and American contexts, knowledge of another language is often perceived as an 'added value' (Heller & Duchêne, 2012, p. 2) as it enriches a person's economic, academic and symbolic capital (Kramsch, 2014;Mendoza & Phung, 2019). This valuing of languages, including in relation to employability, has nonetheless led to a differentiated ranking of languages (Heller & Duchêne, 2012) with English being a sought-after employment-related skill for non-native English speakers (Thompson, 2017).…”

German in the Marketplace of Languages: Why Students of German and of Four Other Languages Say That They and Others Might Choose German

“…In response to the gap in research, a recent issue of the Modern Language Journal (2017, 101.3) examined motivation in the context of learning Languages Other Than English (LOTEs). Similarly, in the Foreign Language Annals, Mendoza and Phung (2019) analyzed the status of research into L2/LOTE motivation and found it lacking.…”

“…At the onset, one needs to note that if the situation for motivation research in LOTEs is generally dire, it is particularly so for the study of German in a university context. Mendoza and Phung (2019) identified only three such studies: Busse (2013) in the U.K., Huang, Hsu, and Chen (2015) in Taiwan, and Okuniewski (2014) in Poland. Okuniewski's study encompassed theoretical concepts from both the AMTB and L2MSS.…”