Another Look at the L2 Motivational Self System of Polish Students Majoring in English: Insights from Interview Data

One of the most recent theoretical developments when it comes to the role of motivation in second language learning is the theory of the L2 motivational self system (e.g., Dörnyei, 2005). It has been proposed in recognition of the fact that learning a foreign language does not only involve acquiring a new communicative code, but also affects the personality of an individual, the difficulties involved in applying Gardner’s (1985) concept of integrativeness to foreign language contexts, as well as the mounting empirical evidence (e.g., Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002), demonstrating that key components of motivation, such as integrativeness, instrumentality, attitudes towards L2 speakers or manifestations of motivated learning behavior are intricately interrelated. As a result, the notion of integrativeness has been reinterpreted as the L2-specific aspect of an individual’s ideal self and the motivational system is believed to comprise the following three dimensions: (a) ideal L2 self, which is related to the abilities and skills that learners envisage themselves possessing, which may trigger a desire to reduce the distance between their actual and ideal selves, (b) ought-to L2 self, which is connected with the attributes that the learners believe are important in the eyes of significant others, and (c) L2 learning experiences, which is a context-related factor reflecting the nature of the immediate learning environment and learning experiences. This framework was applied in a qualitative study, the participants of which were 28 English majors in the last year of a three-year BA program who were interviewed about their motives for learning the target language. The analysis revealed that although motivational influences which have traditionally been regarded as important do play a role, there are a number of factors, such as family influence, instrumentality, knowledge orientation or international posture, that are also of vital importance.