L2 motivation, self and
identity: Current
theoretical perspectives
Ema Ushioda
Centre for Applied Linguistics
University of Warwick
Antwerp CALL 2010:
Motivation and Beyond
My early background in CALL
Email tandem language learning bilateral project in late 1990s
(Ushioda 2000; Ushioda et al. 1999)
Connecting students in Ireland (Trinity College Dublin) and
Germany (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
A ‘successful’ tandem partnership
 more than just ‘L2 learner’ identities
Overview of my talk
Traditional concepts of L2 motivation (integrative motivation)
Re-theorizing L2 motivation in relation to self and identity
Implications for classroom practice
Implications for exploiting digital technologies
Traditional L2 motivation concepts
Instrumental and integrative L2 motivation
L1
community,
culture and
values
L2
learner
TL
community,
culture and
values
Gardner & Lambert 1959, 1972
From external to internal
processes of identification
global
Internet
community
global
community of
English users
Reconceptualizing
integrativeness as an
internal process of
identification within the
self-concept
(Dörnyei & Csizér 2002)
me
Motivation and possible selves
Theory of possible
selves (Markus &
Nurius 1986)
Future self-guides
which channel
motivation
Self-discrepancy
theory (Higgins
1987)
Psychological desire
to reduce discrepancy
between current and
ideal self
L2 Motivational Self System
Dörnyei 2005, 2009
Ideal L2 Self
Ought-to L2 Self
Empirical research:
•Csizér & Kormos 2009
•Ryan 2009
•Taguchi et al. 2009
L2 Learning
Experience
Concepts of identity
Identity as major issue
in applied linguistics
• e.g. Block 2007; Lin 2007
Identity-oriented
theories of motivation
in educational
psychology
• Educational Psychologist 44(2), edited by
Kaplan & Flum 2009
Ethnolinguistic identity • intergroup model (Giles & Byrne 1982)
in theories of SLA and
• situated identity theory (Clément & Noels
second language
1992)
communication
L2 motivation and
current concepts of identity
Pursuit of global,
bicultural or
multicultural
identities
• Lamb 2004, 2009
Aspirations towards
desired social or
professional
identities in
imagined L2
communities
• Kanno & Norton 2003
• Norton 2001
Identities as ways of
relating the self to
the social world
• van Lier 2007
Identities
personally
valued
constructions
Norton 2000, 2001;
Menard-Warwick 2009
socially forged
and negotiated
can be
contested,
resisted, denied
Linking identity perspectives
with possible future selves
• constantly
constructed,
negotiated and
reconstructed
current
identities
identity goals
• evolving
experiences,
relations and
identities
• long-term
personal
motivational
trajectories
possible future
selves
Linking present L2 experience to
future imagined L2 experience
Engaging students’
current social
identities in their L2
interactions
Enables them to
engage directly with
possible future
selves as L2 users
Motivating the person
rather than the L2 learner
Language as medium of
self-expression, giving
ourselves voice and
identity
Language learners as
‘people’, with uniquely
individual personalities,
histories, identities
(Ushioda 2009)
L2 motivation theory to
date – focus on abstract
models and learner
types, not people
Motivating the person: Looking
beyond L2 motivation literature
Learner-centred teaching
Personalisation and authentic communication
Humanistic approaches
Classroom management and dynamics
Learner autonomy in language education
Dogme language teaching
Dogme movement in ELT
Thornbury 2000; Meddings & Thornbury 2009
Inspiration from minimalist-style Danish cinematic
movement in 1995 (Dogme 95)
Primary focus on conversational interaction among
teacher and students
Authentic communication, driven by students’ own
interests and agendas
Value of students’ personal voices and identities
Motivational importance of orienting
to students’ preferred identities
situated identities
discourse identities
• doctor/patient
• speaker/audience
• teacher/student
• initiator
• listener
• questioner
Richards 2006:
Analysis of classroom
talk, based on
Zimmerman’s (1998)
model of discoursal
and social identities
transportable identities
• mother of two
• keen tennis player
• science fiction fan
Engaging students’ transportable
identities in the digital age
Dogme ‘vow of chastity’ or
‘teaching unplugged’ and
technology-free (Meddings &
Thornbury 2009)
But … Web 2.0 …‘Dogme 2.0’
(Vickers 2009)
Students’ transportable
identities grounded not just in
physical but also virtual worlds
– cyberspace, blogosphere,
social networking, mobile
communication technologies
Students as ‘digital natives’
(Prensky 2001)
Fusion of personal technology use
inside and outside L2 classroom
Web 2.0
Personal interests and
needs
Communication,
collaboration,
participation
Individual and creative
identities
Everyday technologies
and resources
Developing L2 skills using
same technologies and
resources to pursue own
needs and interests
To conclude … a shift in identity roles
Students as
technology
‘experts’
cf. Ushioda et al. in
press
Teacher as
‘learner’
Reshaping students’ psychological
relation to content and process of
learning, as they assume greater
autonomy (Little 1991) and
greater internally regulated
motivation (Ushioda 2003)
From new situated identities
 potential for developing new
possible future L2 selves