Multilingual Selves and Motivations for Learning Languages other than English in Asian Contexts

Edited by Anas Hajar, Syed Abdul Manan

Publication date:

16 July 2024

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781800417229

This edited volume focuses on the experiences of individuals learning languages other than English (LOTEs) in a range of Asian contexts that have traditionally been under-represented in the literature. Aligning with the 'multilingual turn' in SLA, it views learners as individuals of a multilingual society with unique, complex, heterogenous and dynamic identities. The chapters explore the learners’ motivational trajectories, multilingual identities and their conceptualisations of the 'ideal multilingual self'. This volume enhances our critical understanding of language learning motivation through empirical findings and conceptual insights from studies of motivation in specific regions in Asia, including Greater China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Syria. Providing insight into the multilingual identities of individuals learning LOTEs, it will appeal to students and scholars in second language acquisition, researchers in language learning motivation and policymakers in language education.

Figures and Tables
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Xuesong (Andy) Gao: Foreword

Chapter 1. Anas Hajar and Syed Abdul Manan: Introduction

Chapter 2. Alastair Henry: Language Learning Motivation and the Multilingual Turn

Chapter 3. Ning An and Yongyan Zheng: Negotiating Agentive Selves in Arabic Learning: A Case Study of Arabic Learners at a Chinese University

Chapter 4. Tianyi Wang: The Construction of Ought-To Multilingual Selves and their Roles in Shaping Chinese Language Learners’ LOTE Motivation

Chapter 5. Chika Takahashi: Japanese Learners’ LOTE Motivation and Persistence in Learning: Focusing on the Influence of English

Chapter 6. Tae Umino: Exploring International Students' Experiences of Learning Japanese in Japan through Multimodal Language Learning Histories

Chapter 7. Anas Hajar and Syed Abdul Manan: Identity, Investment and Language Learning Strategies: Voices of Undergraduate Students Learning Korean in Kazakhstan

Chapter 8. Raan Hann Tan and Larisa Nikitina: Indonesian Students’ Mental Images of Portugal and their L2 Motivation

Chapter 9. Stefanie Pillai and Roshidah Hassan: Multilingual Language Profiles, Perceptions and Motivations within the Context of Majoring in a Foreign Language in Malaysia

Chapter 10. Muhammad Yasir Khan, Liaquat Ali Channa and Muhammad Mohsin Khan: Understanding Pakistani University Students’ Motivations for Learning Chinese in Pakistan: A Bourdieusian Perspective

Chapter 11. Anas Hajar: Understanding Challenges, Strategy Use and the Ideal Multilingual Self of Internally Displaced Syrians on the Syria–Turkey Border

Chapter 12. Yeji Han: L2 Selves as a Source of Emotional Discomfort: A Self-Discrepancy Perspective

Chapter 13. Amy S. Thompson: Current Understandings and Future Directions in L2 Motivation Research

Index

This volume brings together a timely contribution from authors offering insightful perspectives on motivation from Asia. Whilst there’s a great number of studies looking at motivation with a particular regard for English learning, this new volume provides a much-needed, diverse collection examining the motivation to learn languages other than English.