Sarah K. George
Passport to the Future: Integrative Motivation and Second Language Identity
A Case Study of a Highly Motivated Learner
“It feels so much more rewarding to understand something in English than in my native
language . . . the French culture is of no more interest to me” (Serge1, Interview,
December 3, 2012)
I.
Intro and Rationale
The process of learning a foreign language is different from studying any other
academic subject. It inherently involves the complex interaction of diverse cognitive,
affective, and motivational factors. Furthermore, it can challenge one’s sense of self,
future goals and cultural allegiance. Indeed, according to Gardner (2001) the most
successful learners tend to be integratively motivated by a desire “to come closer to” (as
cited in Ortega, 2009, p.170) native speakers of their chosen L2. It has also been
observed that some may experience “complete identification with the L2 community”
(Ortega, 2009, p. 170) and “express desires to think and behave” (p. 170) like a native
speaker, “at times to the point of detachment from” their own culture (p. 170).
Csizér and Dornyei (2005) expanded upon this idea, suggesting that, “integrativeness
can be conceived of as the L2 representation of one’s ideal self” (p. 12). This concept
directly links language learning motivation and a learner’s sense of self. As Norton
(2001) states: “an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner’s
own identity” (p. 166). Highly motivated individuals therefore “hope to have a good
return on their investment in the target language”, namely, “access to the privileges of
1
The participant’s name is a pseudonym. Also, all names used in the present paper are pseudonyms
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Sarah K. George
target language speakers” (p. 166). These individuals believe that the acquisition of the
L2 will enable them to achieve their life goals and ultimately become their ideal self.
The present paper is a case study of one such highly motivated learner. My close
personal friend Serge, a native French speaker, has impressed me not only with his
constant eagerness to improve his English, but also with his rejection of his own culture
in favor of all things American. While his command of the language is not without
disfluency, his story illustrates the point that motivation and identity are multifaceted
entities whose evolution is an ever-continuing process. I conducted this study in order to
discover the principle motivational factors that have contributed to his distinctively
integrative orientation towards learning English. Furthermore, I was interested in the
evolution of his second language identity. For learners like Serge, acquiring a second
language can also mean acquiring another self, a different culture, and a passport into a
new life.
II. The Case Study (Context and Methods)
Serge is 25 years old and currently resides in Paris, France where he works as a
developer in a software company. He was first exposed to English at the age of 7 when
his mother enrolled him in English lessons at a local daycare center. He did not begin
formal instruction until junior high where he mostly studied grammar and vocabulary. He
eventually matriculated into a more advanced and prestigious section of his school, which
meant that he had an additional hour of English lessons every week focused on
Anglophone civilization. After high school, Serge was accepted into an Engineering
University in Paris. Although English was not a part of the curriculum, by this time Serge
was motivated enough to continue learning on his own. He started watching movies and
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TV series with subtitles and began chatting with Anglophone pen pals online. During this
time he did, however, have the opportunity to study abroad. Serge chose to spend a full
semester in the UK and another in Canada. Although this was not Serge’s first time
abroad, it was his longest length of residence in an Anglophone environment to date. He
was also more fully immersed than ever before, taking all of his classes in English, living
with English speaking roommates and making friendships that remain an important part
of his life even today. Finally, in 2011 Serge made his lifelong dream a reality when he
moved to California for several months. It was there that he met and fell in love with a
native Californian, Jane. Today, his closest relationships are with Anglophones he either
met in Canada or through Jane. The couple even plans on moving back to the US
permanently this spring and Serge looks forward to being surrounded by his American
friends and continuing to pursue his career in the realm of computer engineering.
In order to gain insight into Serge’s evolution as a L2 learner I conducted one
semi-structured oral interview via Skype. During this interview Serge gave a detailed
account of his L2 learning experience. He described his learning process in terms of the
motivational factors that have helped him to achieve an advanced proficiency in the
language. He also explained how acquiring a L2 has changed his life by influencing his
sense of self, shaping his professional aspirations and even affecting his personal goals
and relationships. As a follow-up to this interview I had an online “chat” with Serge
(without the video or audio component) and asked him more specific questions regarding
his feelings towards his L2 and the culture it represents.
III. Emerging Issues
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS – Internalizing External Goals
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Today Serge is integratively motivated “to the point of detachment” (Ortega,
2009, p. 170) from his native culture. He often makes statements like “France is so dull!”
(Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012) and can wax poetic for hours about his hopes and
dreams for his future in the U.S. He did not, however, become this way overnight.
Instead, his current worldview is the culmination of an evolutionary process. As Schoaib
and Dörnyei (2005) point out, motivation is a dynamic entity. Serge, for example, began
English lessons at the behest of his mother and at the time “wasn’t very excited about it”
(Serge1, Interview, December 3, 2012). However, over the years he experienced
landmark moments in his L2 acquisition, what Schoaib and Dörnyei (2005) refer to as
“motivational transformation episodes” (p. 31). These linguistic and cultural milestones
encouraged him to gain interest and “internalize external goals” (p. 33) leading “to more
intrinsic involvement” (p. 33) with his learning.
(1) In my elementary school, I was one of the very few who "knew" English. The
others didn't take those classes but played soccer instead. I was very proud that
kids asked me to translate Worlds Apart and Spice Girls songs… For me English
was fun (Serge, Interview, December 4, 2012)
Serge, who was never very interested in sports, had always felt isolated from his peers.
This changed when he began to learn English. Thanks to his knowledge of the L2, he
gained a special status in the eyes of his peers and was therefore, finally seen as “cool”.
This contributed to Serge gaining a more intrinsic motivation to continue learning
English.
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS – Professional Ambitions
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Sarah K. George
The next step in Serge’s motivational evolution involved “moving into a new life
phase” (Schoaib & Dörnyei, 2005, p. 32) following high school. His interest in computers
and technology, which had begun as a mere hobby, had blossomed into a full-fledged
passion leading him to enroll in an engineering school in Paris. The maturation of his
professional ambitions was accompanied by a growing admiration for the English
language and a “change in learning goals” (p. 32), which had now become more specific
and career-oriented. This motivated him to continue studying on his own even though
English lessons were not an official part of his university curriculum:
(2) Especially since most of the technical things I learned didn't really have
French translations anyway (programming languages use English words only) and
most of the things I was interested in led me to websites in English, I started using
English versions of Windows, and other software and games, and went
exclusively to US websites for news, searches etc… (Serge, Interview, December
4, 2012)
As Koestner and Losier (2002) have suggested, while previously Serge had found
studying English to be “fun”, it was not until the language became relevant to his own
personal interests and goals that he was able to “engage fully and effectively” (as cited in
Noels, 2009, p. 309). As he delved further and further into the world of programming and
technology, he became more and more motivated to learn English and interact with native
speakers:
(3) At that time, it started to become easier to speak English with … uh...
someone, with uh, nerds, like, people who speak in, uh, technical terms like me
(Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
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Serge began to not only learn computer vocabulary but to align himself with Anglophone
cultural concepts. He started to see himself as a “nerd” and while Americans have a
distinct idea of what this word means (we often picture someone obsessed with
computers and math for example) there is no equivalent in the French language.
Furthermore, he began to truly develop an ideal L2 self as he began to fantasize about
living in the United States:
(4) . . . it felt like my, my, job was not really something that I could do, here in
France but something that would umm work, there in America… in the Silicon
valley or something like that. (Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
The English language was not only useful in his studies, but had now become his ticket to
a life in California where his professional dreams could be fully realized.
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS – Time Spent Abroad
Over the years Serge had developed a marked “international posture” (Yashima,
Zenuk‐ Nishide, & Shimizu, 2004, p.125) illustrated in his “willingness to go overseas to
study and work” (p. 125). Throughout his childhood and adolescence he had gone on
several trips to Anglophone countries, including several brief home-stays in the UK and
the US. It wasn’t until he enrolled in university and formed specific career goals that he
became motivated to embark on a much longer stay in a target language country. He
proceeded to spend a full semester in the UK and another at Concordia University in
Canada. Following this year, he was able to graduate and then move to California for
several months, making his lifelong dream into a reality.
Schoaib & Dörnyei (2005) posit that spending time in the L2 environment “can
have a significant motivational impact” (p. 34), an impact that not only increases the
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Sarah K. George
learner’s motivation, but “restructures” their “motivational disposition... putting it on a
new . . . fast track” (p. 34). Serge looks back on this time, particularly his time in
California, with rose-colored glasses. It was during this period that he began to develop a
strong preference for American culture over his own:
(5) America vs. Europe is equivalent to modern vs. archaic. Everything in
America is recent, well thought out, convenient, optimized, and suited for today's
way of life, The infrastructure: cities, roads, buildings. . . You guys don't live
with centuries of legacy that needs to be maintained to please a few people who
like history, and annoy everyone else. Everything is convenient and easy, so
people can spend their time and energy in stuff that actually matters (you
probably know what I'm talking about). In France, it is very very hard to invent
things, create companies and it’s the opposite in America. Life can have a
meaning there, you can start as a regular anonymous guy and be successful!
(Serge, written Interview, December 4, 2012)
Experiencing life in the US, even if only for a brief time, was enough to make his idyllic
vision complete. America and therefore the English language are both strongly linked to
his professional goals. He sees American culture has more nurturing of technological
innovation and strongly associates it with a spirit of entrepreneurship that is conducive to
the kind of forward-thinking startups that he hopes to work for. For example, Serge is an
avid supporter of Apple computers. He has worked for them in France and dreams of a
future in the company. He often says, “a company like Apple could never happen in
France, only in America.” (Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012). This is in line with
Noels’ (2009) suggestion that if learners feel that a language “corresponds with their
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Sarah K. George
values, interests, and sense of self” (p. 305) they are more likely to try and simulate a
lifestyle that mirrors that of the target community (p. 305).
During this time abroad, in addition to touring the US and experiencing American
culture first-hand, he also cultivated intimate relationships with native English speakers.
These friendships encouraged him to formulate an idea of what it means to have an
“American” personality as opposed to a French one:
(6) Personality wise, we often say that Americans are easy going, and extroverted.
That's exactly how I want to define myself, so it's a perfect match. Other than that,
it's more about hating the personalities of French people (they’re … râleurs, de
mauvaise foi, fermés d'esprit2) it just makes the personalities of Americans seem
even more enjoyable to me. (Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
His admiration for what he sees as “American” character traits have encouraged him to
further define his ideal L2 self in stark contrast to the negative traits he associates with
“Frenchness”. It is also important to note that despite his impressively large range of
vocabulary, he switched to French when describing the negative traits he believes to be
typical of French people. This suggests that he associates these faults with his L1 and
native culture so strongly, that he cannot even articulate them in the idealized L2.
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS – Interpersonal Relationships
Noels (2009) suggests that in order for a learner to claim a L2 identity, “more is
involved . . . than feeling like learning the L2 is an important part” (p. 305) of who they
are. Learners need “meaningful use of the language . . . and validation from members of
that community” (p. 305). At this point in his L2 development, it is through his
2
to complain a lot, to be cynical and/or insincere, to be close-minded (translations mine)
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Sarah K. George
relationships with native speakers that he feels most attached to the English language. In
Canada he developed friendships with other students and his roommate but “the ultimate
motivational force in this respect” (Schoaib & Dörnyei , 2005, p. 34) is developing a
relationship with a significant other who is a native speaker of the target language (p. 34).
In California, Serge met and fell in love with an American girl, Jane. Thus, his future
plans to move to the US are inextricably tied to his devotion to not only the L2, but also
to the woman who represents his full acceptance into that community. The L2, while
previously associated mainly with professional goals, has now become inextricably tied
to his most personal bonds and emotions.
Furthermore, in order to be fully integrated into a community, certain
“psychological needs” (Noels, 2009, p. 302) must be met and “people within the learner’s
network play an important role in supporting... these needs” (p. 302). According to Ryan
and Deci (2002), native speakers can do just that by giving the learner their approval and
ultimately a sense of “belonging” to the chosen group (as cited in Noels, 2009, p. 303).
Today, Serge has indeed been welcomed into a tight-knit group of American friends that
he met through his partner Jane. He has developed solid friendships and in so doing
became an active member of an English-speaking community.
SECOND LANGUAGE IDENTITY – The development of a L2 Self
Serge’s detailed vision of his ideal L2 self and the strength of his connection to
his new target language community have contributed to him developing a second
English-speaking identity. In a study on bilingualism and identity Pavlenko (2006) gave
her participants an online questionnaire to learn more about how speaking multiple
languages has affected their sense of self. She found that while participants responded to
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Sarah K. George
most of the questions with simple, straightforward answers, “the question about different
selves elicited many emotional responses.” (p. 9). Serge was no exception. When I asked
him if he felt like he had a different identity when communicating in English he
exclaimed: “Yes! Definitely. And it feels like the English one is taking over as the "real"
me!” (Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012). Like the participants in the Pavlenko (2006)
study, Serge expressed his “enthusiasm through lexical choices” (p. 10) (in this case
“definitely) “and punctuation (Yes!)” (p. 10). Serge seems to be excited and perhaps
eager for his L2 identity to overpower his L2 self. This could be attributed to the fact that
Serge now sees English as the language of his future due to its association with his
professional and personal life goals.
However, like motivation, the concept of identity is dynamic and “constantly
changing over space and time” (Norton, 2001, p. 166). While Serge feels a strong desire
to fully become his ideal L2 speaking self, he is still in the process of improving his oral
fluency in particular:
(7) It’s like mm… I think in English I’m more serious and uhh and I say elaborate
things and in French, I um, I, I don’t really say serious stuff I kind of joke all the
time or have very bad language, yeah [laughs] you know me. So umm so it’s
almost like I’m two different people…. but I can still can’t really speak as well.
(Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
Thus, while Serge has a distinct vision of his L2 identity and feels capable of expressing
himself on “serious” subjects, it is evident that he has not yet reached the level of
proficiency that he strives for. His spoken language is littered with disfluencies and he
speaks slower and with a noticeable French accent. At the same time, it is important to
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Sarah K. George
recognize that even his disfluencies can be seen, on some level, as a step in the right
direction. He uses the fillers “umm” and “uhh” instead of the French equivalents “euh”
“ben” or “bah”. These kind of language tics are usually very subconscious and automatic.
Thus, the fact that he uses American fillers so mechanically could, perhaps, be seen as a
positive error, proof that he is at least beginning to think more like a native speaker.
According to Serge, his oral communication is not as fully developed as his
written skills because he is still self-conscious when speaking in person:
(8) I think online its easier cause it gives more more time to think whereas when I
actually speak out loud its harder to think uhhh think of a sentence quickly
enough… and maybe also I’m ashamed of my accent so I don’t really … [laughs]
(Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
Despite his reservations speaking out loud, I have first-hand knowledge of how well he
expresses himself online. In France, we both had jobs that involved spending time on our
computers and now that I have returned to the US we have continued our habit of
regularly talking on Facebook. Serge has the ability to come up with a response
instantaneously and is capable of very involved discussions on a range of very personal
topics. It therefore appears that not only does Serge have a Francophone and Anglophone
identity, but a separate online self as well.
ONLINE IDENTITY
The notion of passing for a native speaker is usually associated with a learner’s oral skills
(Piller, 2002, p. 196). Therefore “the passing performance stands and falls with the
speaker’s accent” (p.196). However, especially in this day and age, many social
encounters occur via text messages or online chatting, which rely more heavily on writing
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Sarah K. George
skills than oral expression. In this medium, Serge excels. When chatting online, he has
the ability to come up with a response instantaneously and is capable of very involved
discussions on a range of very topics. He also is able to correctly use idiomatic phrases
and offer thoughtful advice and insight on personal issues. As Piller (2002) suggests
“focus on the spoken language, and particularly accent, may serve to obscure forms of
passing and high-level achievement . . . in writing” (p. 196).
This discrepancy between Serge’s oral and online fluency may be a step forward
in the process of acquiring his L2 and shaping his English-speaking identity. For many
learners, it is “easier” to express what they want to say by writing it (Lam, 2000, p. 467).
This, in turn, helps build their confidence in the L2 and thus contributes not only to
overall linguistic improvement but also to the development of their L2 self. Serge
explains that as he began to study English more in depth, he started visiting American
websites and chatrooms:
(9) I made some online friends and started chatting in English on a regular basis.
It grew on me and after a while I started feeling like I had this whole online
personality in English, separate from my regular French self. (Serge, Interview,
December 4, 2012)
He therefore grew accustomed to having personal conversations in English and became
increasingly confident in his use of the L2. He remains, however, more reserved when it
comes to communicating face to face:
(10) When I'm with Jane and you guys, it's like I'm thinking in English, but too
ashamed to speak out loud because of my accent, so I speak French more than I
should. But most of my thinking is in English when it's about serious and "real"
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stuff. I write specs for my projects and it's always in English. I chat and text in
English. If it wasn't for the stupid accent, I would communicate in English
entirely. (Serge, Interview, December 3, 2012)
As of today, Serge still lives in France and while he has close relationships with several
members of his target language community, these individuals are also bilingual speakers
of French, making it very easy for him to simply speak in French most of the time. Being
surrounded by his native language instead of English, combined with his reservations
regarding his accent, have decreased his “self confidence” (Yashima et al., 2004, p. 124)
in his L2, therefore affecting his willingness to communicate (p. 124). As a result, he
does not practice speaking enough and, for the time being, his oral skills are improving at
a much slower rate than his written skills. He does, however, think in English and
associates it with “real” and significant topics to the point of idealizing the language and
expresses a desire to, one day, be able to communicate entirely in the L2.
Serge’s remarkable motivation and desire to fully become his L2 speaking self
will certainly lead to vast improvements in proficiency when he moves permanently to
California this spring. He will be living surrounded by his Americans, including not just
his bilingual friends but monolingual relatives of Jane’s as well. He will also be working
at a software company with native speaker colleagues. This immersion will finally give
him the opportunity for “full participation” (Marx, 2002, p. 267) in the target language
community. He will then be able to not only improve his L2 proficiency, but also finally
become his ideal self.
IV. Conclusion and Reflections
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The goal of the present case study was to investigate the motivational factors that
contributed to the establishment of a learner’s uniquely integrative orientation and ideal
L2 self. I was also interested in exploring how this enthusiasm for the target language and
the culture it represents affected his identity and, ultimately, his plans for the future. I
began by tracing the evolution of his motivation by focusing on several “transformational
episodes” (Schoaib & Dörnyei, 2005, p. 31) in his life, including the construction of his
career aspirations, time spent in the host country, and finally the cultivation of intimate
relationships with native speakers. I then analyzed Serge’s response to questions
concerning the status of his L2 identity. I found that while Serge is highly motivated to
fully become his ideal L2 self, this identity is still in development. This was evident in
the comparison of his online versus oral communication. Chatting online Serge seems to
have a native-like command of the language and therefore a complete English speaking
identity, while when he is talking face-to-face it is clear that there is still room for
improvement.
Furthermore, The findings of the present study serve to illustrate the complex
nature of learner motivation and identity. Both of these concepts are multi-faceted and
dynamic, evolving along with the individual student as they continue the lifelong process
of not only acquiring a second language, but also forming their sense of self. In this way,
for many students, learning a L2 can have implications far beyond the classroom that
contribute to the shaping of both their identities and their futures. Thus, it is important for
instructors to take into account the extremely personal nature of learner motivation. By
familiarizing oneself with each student's personal interests, goals, and primary objectives
in learning the L2, the teacher can design more relevant and effective lesson plans.
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