Online Media Creation and L2 Motivation: A Socially Situated Perspective

Abstract

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, 2006), and with the aim of developing a theoretical account of the emergence of motivation in online media creation, this study investigated a blog project in an English language classroom in Sweden. Engaging with multiple data sources, and using Ito and colleagues' (2010) theory of participation in media practices as an analytical framework, motivation is conceptualized as stemming from the desire to create a visually appealing and authentic artefact, from a perception of audience, and through the documentation of identities. Variations in motivational intensity between student groups could be traced to varying investments in digital media practices. Primarily, differences were between validation-seeking that was locally oriented and validation-seeking conditioned through actions within a genre of practice. These conceptualizations are of importance for English language teaching. In language-developing activities that involve online media creation, motivation can be enhanced when space for genre exploration is provided.

Motivational connections in language classrooms: A research agenda

“…For example, in a project focusing on poetry, students created a dedicated Facebook group where they shared work in progress, and received peer feedback (Henry & Thorsen, 2019). In a project where students blogged about an imaginary journey to an English-speaking country on openly accessible websites, students monitored each others' work (Henry, 2019). When, for example, one group decided to include a video containing bloopers alongside an ‘official’ vlog, several other groups followed suit.…”

Disaffection and agentic engagement: ‘Redesigning’ activities to enable authentic self-expression

“…In the observations carried out in the MoTiSSE project, teaching often centered around activities that provided students with opportunities for creativity and personal expression (Henry, 2019; Henry & Thorsen, 2018a, 2018b, 2019; Henry et al, 2018). Working with these activities, students would frequently demonstrate high levels of engagement, often for sustained periods of time.…”

“…The second case (‘Visting India’) occurred in a project where 7th grade students created a blog about an imaginary trip to an English-speaking country and, during lessons, worked together in writing posts about events taking place on different days of the journey (Appendix 2). In both activities, motivational affordances included scope for autonomy, the triggering of imagination, and the use of digital resources to create aesthetically appealing textual artefacts (Henry, 2019).…”

“…The second case comes from a class observed by the first author where, working in groups of four, 7 th grade students wrote blog posts about an imaginary journey to an English-speaking country (see also Henry, 2019). In the group in focus, two girls who were highly motivated and who exhibited consistently high levels of engagement worked with two boys whose motivation fluctuated, and for whom engagement was periodic.…”

Weaving webs of connection: Empathy, perspective taking, and students’ motivation

“…To develop an understanding of the responsiveness theorized to be characteristic of successful motivators (Lamb, 2017), classrooms where relationships are positive, where students are motivated, and where teachers are aware of and interested in students' lives and experiences outside school provide suitable sites for research. Here we draw on data collected in a 9th grade class as part of the Motivational Teaching in Swedish Secondary English (MoTiSSE) project (Henry, 2018;Henry, Korp, Sundqvist, & Thorsen, 2018;Henry & Thorsen, 2018a, 2018b, 2018cHenry, Sundqvist, & Thorsen, 2019). Ethnographic research was conducted in the classrooms of 16 teachers identified from a randomly-drawn sample (N = 252) as being knowledgeable about and interested in students' out-of-school activities involving English, possessing a professional practice informed by these insights, and having students who were generally motivated.…”