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Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 41:1 (2018) ► pp.61–90

From second language to third language learning

Exploring a dual-motivation system among multilinguals

| The Chinese University of Hong Kong
| Hang Sang Management College
| Hong Kong Baptist University

This mixed-methods study explores English and Japanese learning motivations in a group of Japanese summer course participants at a university in Hong Kong. Sixty-one Cantonese-speaking students completed two questionnaire surveys on co-existing motivations for learning L2 English and L3 Japanese. Depending on the questionnaire results, eight participants were selected to take part in the two subsequent interviews. The findings revealed that the participants perceived L2 English learning as a school subject and a practical tool for academics and career. It was instrumentality, rather than integrativeness, that motivated the students to learn English. Contrary results were found for L3 Japanese language learning, as the learners had more cultural interest, positive learning experience, self-confidence, and positive attitudes. This study, therefore, argues that L2 and L3 motivations merit distinct status. There appears to exist a dual-motivation system amongst these multilingual learners. The study also provides insights into how geographical and psychological distances could impact language learning under the phenomena of globalisation.

Keywords: L2 motivation, L3 motivation, instrumentality, integrativeness, dual-motivation system
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1L2 motivation and language learning
    • 2.2L3 motivation and language learning
    • 2.3Rationale for the current research
  • 3.Methods
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Instrument
    • 3.3Procedure
    • 3.4Data processing and analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1The descriptive statistics for the scales in both questionnaires
    • 4.2The learning goals for the English and Japanese languages
    • 4.3Relationships between the scales within and between questionnaires
    • 4.4Analyses of interviews
      • 4.4.1Learning a foreign language for integrativeness or instrumentality
      • 4.4.2Different attitudes to communicate with native speakers
      • 4.4.3Different attitudes towards target cultures
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1L2 and L3 motivational systems among multilingual learners
    • 5.2Relationships between L2 (English) self/L3 (Japanese) self with other dimensions of motivation
    • 5.3Participants’ perception of motivational factors in learning L2 and L3
    • 5.4Exploration of a dual-motivation system in multilinguals
  • 6.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 12 October 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.17051.man
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