Alastair Henry

Examining the Impact of L2 English on L3 Selves: A Case Study.

In this Swedish case study of four upper secondary students engaged in simultaneous second language (L2; English) and third language (L3; Spanish, French and Russian) learning, a possible selves perspective was used to investigate the impact of English on L3 motivation. Using a maximum variation sampling strategy, participants were selected from a larger dataset (n=101). Semi-structured interviews were conducted using interpretive phenomenological analysis techniques. In analysing the data, Markus and Nurius’ theory of the working self-concept was used to examine the components and processes active in cognition in L3 learning situations. The results indicate that for these individuals an L2 English self-concept can, in L3 learning situations, be an active constituent in the working self-concept and that it has a referential function. To offset the potentially negative effects of the incursion of the L2 English self-concept, some individuals recruited different forms of positive self-knowledge into the working self-concept. For one participant, the systematic referential effect of English was such that it became difficult to sustain a viable L3-speaking/using self. The results suggest that the inclusion of a working self-concept component in possible selves motivational research may be methodologically rewarding, particularly in multilingual settings and/or where contextual or process factors are in focus.

Swedish students’ beliefs about learning English in and outside of school

Motivation has an undoubtedly evident effect on foreign language learning. The ways in which it affects learning,however,is still an issue much concerned in the field of language teaching. This paper is to attempt a tentative analysis,both psychologically and linguistically,in the hope that the importance of motivation can be duly attached to ELT to bring about more effective teachers and more efficient learners.

Digital games and ELT : bridging the authenticity gap

In this chapter I will suggest that in cultural contexts such as Sweden, where English is an integral part of young people’s everyday lives and is encountered and used in a range of out-of-school domains, a particular challenge facing teachers is not so much generating motivation to succeed in long-term competency goals, but rather engaging students in day-to-day classroom activities. Based on the idea that self-authenticity can have a motivating force (Gecas, 1991; Vannini, 2006; Vannini & Burgess, 2009) and drawing on James Paul Gee’s recent work on affinity spaces (Gee, 2005; Hayes & Gee, 2010), I will argue that teachers of English need to create learning opportunities whereby students can experience the types of creative and self-relevant interaction commonplace in digital gaming. This does not mean that teachers should look to leisure-time domains with an eye to the wholesale import of youth culture content into the classroom but, rather, that greater scope should be given to aesthetic and personal expression in activity design. In arguing that there is a growing authenticity gap between the English that students learn in school and the English they use outside, I will begin the chapter by looking at the sorts of things young people in Sweden do in their free time.

Enablements and constraints : Inventorying affordances associated with lingua franca English

Transcultural flows of capital, culture and communication have created conditions for the widespread movement of people around the globe, leading to increasing diversity in countries of destination. In contexts of global migration lingua franca English is indispensable in initial and survival communication. For migrants to northern European countries where lingua franca English functions as a ‘contact language’ in ‘contact zone encounters’, it is of value not only as a communication medium, but also as a resource for learning typologically similar host-country languages. Drawing on the concept of affordances, the purpose of this study is to create an inventory of the ways in which English can facilitate, but also constrain social interaction and the acquisition of Swedish. Interviews conducted with 14 recently arrived migrants with English in their repertoires revealed the presence of enabling and constraining affordances in social, classroom, material and cognitive domains. Discussing the study findings, it is suggested that the ways in which the individual attunes to an affordance associated with English, perceiving it as either enabling or constraining, is dependent on their current motivational and affective state and in-the-moment cognitive processing.

Conceptualizing Teacher Identity as a Complex Dynamic System The Inner Dynamics of Transformations During a Practicum

Currently, the inner dynamics of teacher identity transformations remain a “black box.” Conceptualizing preservice teacher identity as a complex dynamic system, and the notion of “being someone who teaches” in dialogical terms as involving shifts between different teacher voices, the study investigates the dynamical processes at play when transitions between identities occur. Using a single-case design, and drawing on intra- and inter-personal data collected across three timescales, the identity transformations of a preservice teacher during a practicum are examined as a process in motion. The study offers a systemic account of the participant’s teacher identity experiences, analyses revealing oscillations between two identity positions and a pattern of multi-stability. It is suggested that complexity approaches can be valuably used in mentoring processes to help students make sense of identity transformations and the conditions under which they occur. In the longer term, support of this kind can have a positive impact on teacher retention.

Bicultural or Hybrid? The Second Language Identities of Students on an English-Mediated University Program in Sweden

It has been suggested that in foreign language learning and ELF situations, identity might not be implicated in any great extent. Focusing on the impact globalization has on identities, the purpose of this study is to consider whether identity might be involved in Swedish students’ reasons for enrolling on an English-medium university program and, if so, the types of identities students construct. Analyses of data from interviews with 11 students revealed that identities do play a role in students’ enrolment reasons. However, rather than the bicultural identities identified in previous motivational research, the identities emerging here appear hybrid in nature. Along with other recent research, the results indicate that in contexts where English has a prominent social/societal/cultural presence it is implicated in identity construction, and that there is a relationship between identity and ELF.

Rewarding foreign language learning: effects of the Swedish grade point average enhancement initiative on students' motivation to learn French

In order to reinstate interest and motivation for learning foreign languages (FLs) other than English, the Swedish government has recently reformed the system for admission to higher education. Upper secondary students who continue with the FL learnt in secondary school are rewarded with extra credits that considerably enhance their grade point average (GPA). The purpose of this interview-based study is examine the impact of this initiative on six upper secondary students’ choice to continue with their FL, French, and on their motivation over one-and-a-half semesters of study. Using self-determination theory and the L2 Motivational Self System model as analytical lenses, the results reveal that for the three students whose motivation is rooted in intrinsic and/or self-determined extrinsic reasons for learning, the GPA-enhancing credits have little or no impact on either choice or effortful behaviour. For the other three students, none of whom would have chosen to continue with French but for the extra credits, the GPA enhancement is almost the sole source of motivation. However, because their reasons for studying French are not fully self-determined, the learning lacks personal meaning. These students see little longer-term value in their efforts, nor meaningful applications for the skills they have developed. Consequently, goals do not extend beyond achieving a passing grade. The effects on students’ willingness to use the FL in the future and on their FL-speaking/using self-concepts of making a fifth and sixth year of FL learning de facto compulsory are discussed, and the consequences of the initiative are critically appraised.

The case of a missing person? The current L2 self and the L2Motivational Self System

ABSTRACT In the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) motivation is conceptualized to be generated by discomfort associated with the learners experience of a discrepancy between their current L2 self, and their ideal L2 self. However, in the L2MSS model, this discrepancy is not operationalized. A questionnaire containing measures of current L2 selves was administered to two cohorts of students learning English in Sweden, one in grade 7, and one in grade 9. Using structural equation modeling, results revealed that the discrepancy between the ideal L2 self and the current L2 self was greater for the grade 7 cohort. So too was the impact on a criterion variable measuring intended effort. Arguments for the operationalization of the self-discrepancy process in research designs are put forward. In studies tracking changes over time, it is suggested that the inclusion of a variable measuring the current L2 self could provide important insights into self-discrepancy trajectories, facilitate the investigation of motivational dynamics, and bring greater sensitivity to intervention-design.

The ideal multilingual self: validity, influences on motivation, and role in a multilingual education

ABSTRACT L2 motivation research has a longstanding monolingual bias. Recently, however, the motivational systems of a multilinguals different languages have been conceptualised as constituting a multilingual motivational system, and it has been suggested that interactions between the ideal Lx self and the ideal Ly self can lead to the emergence of an ideal multilingual self. While the notion of an ideal multilingual self chimes with research on multilinguals’ identity experiences, it has not been investigated empirically. The purpose of this study is to establish whether there is empirical support for the proposed ideal multilingual self construct, and whether it influences motivation to learn a second foreign language. A questionnaire containing items measuring the ideal L2 self and the ideal multilingual self was administered to a sample of secondary students (N = 323) at two schools in Sweden with international profiles. Using structural equation modelling, analyses yielded discriminant validity for the ideal multilingual self construct, and revealed an indirect influence on intended effort mediated via the ideal L2 self. On the strength of these results, a case is made for future research into peoples motivation to be or become multilingual, and educational interventions focused on developing students’ ideal multilingual selves.

Teachers’ self-disclosures and influences on students’ motivation: A relational perspective

ABSTRACT While teacher–student relationships are of central importance for students’ motivation, they remain under-investigated. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and focusing on the ‘relationality’ of teacher–student relationships, this study examines the identity-work that takes place when a teacher makes visible an aspect of identity not normally salient in the classroom. Framing self-disclosure as a relational practice, and drawing on ethnographic data that includes observations of English lessons (N = 258) in Swedish secondary schools, a relational conceptualization of the motivational influences of teacher identity-work is offered. Since language teachers are sensitive to the psychology of learning–teaching processes, relationally-grounded perspectives on motivation can be of particular importance in shaping classroom practices.