scholarly journals The Impact of an Intensive English Reading Course Based on the Production-Oriented Approach on the L2 Motivational Self System Among Chinese University English Majors From a Dynamic Systems Theory Perspective

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chili Li ◽  
Chujia Zhou ◽  
Wen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Intensive English ◽  
English Reading ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
And Control ◽  
Oriented Approach

This article reports on a study that took a Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) perspective to second language (L2) motivational self system (L2MSS). More specifically, it investigated the influence of an Intensive English Reading course based on the Production-Oriented Approach (POA) upon the L2MSS of Chinese university English majorsfrom the DST perspective. To this end, two intact classes composed of 50 students were assigned into experimental group (EG) (N = 23) and control group (CG) (N = 27), who responded to an L2MSS scale before and after the one-semester intervention. Eight and five students were respectively selected using the purposive sampling method from the experimental and control groups for follow-up semi-structured interviews. The quantitative results revealed that the overall and dimensional (Ideal L2 Self and L2 Learning Experience) levels of L2MSS were significantly strengthened over time in the EG while kept stable in the CG. The qualitative results suggested that the enhanced Ideal L2 Self of the participants stemmed from an attractor basin that was deepened by a number of attractors encompassing Output Tasks and Peer Performance. The interview results also showed that the increased L2 Learning Experience of the participants pertained to an attractor basin that was consolidated by an array of attractors containing Output Tasks, Teacher Guidance, Group Discussion, and Peer Assessment. The findings indicated that the attractors at the subjective and social dimensions in the POA-based course collectively worked together to cause changes in L2MSS among the participants. The implications for intervening L2 motivation from a POA approach in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms were discussed.

scholarly journals A Study of Chinese University English Majors’ L2 Motivational Self

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Meihua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
Senior Students

As a highly important affective variable, motivation has always been a focus of research in second/foreign language (SL/FL) learning and proved to play a critical role in SL/FL learning. Even so, considering the complex and dynamic nature of SL/FL motivation, it always deserves research. Guided by the newly proposed framework of L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009), the present mixed-method study hence explored Chinese English majors’ L2 motivational self. One hundred and one English majors from a prestigious university in Beijing answered the questionnaire and 15 of them were interviewed in the present study. Analyses of the data revealed the following main findings: (1) the participants were generallyhighly motivated to learn English, had vivid images of themselves as proficient English users in the future, had positive appraisals of their L2 learning experiences, and had a moderately good perception of their ought-to L2 self, (2) senior students reported having significantly higher ideal L2 self and held more positive attitudes towards English learning experience. Based on these findings, some pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Chinese students’ motivation for learning German and French in an intensive non-degree programme

2021 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 81-93
Author(s):  
Yu Chen ◽  
Dan Zhao ◽  
Shen Qi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Motivation For Learning ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
The University

This paper reports on a mixed method study that examined the motivation of 121 students in a 1-year intensive language course in German or French at a Chinese university. Drawing on Dörnyei’s (2009) theory of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), a survey was conducted to explore their motivation to learn German or French. Regression analyses revealed that learning experience and promotion-focused instrumentality were the predictors for the German learners’ intended learning effort, while ideal L2 self was the predictor for the French learners’ motivation. Furthermore, ought-to self, culture/community interest and prevention-focused instrumentality were excluded in both regression models. In addition, 17 participants’ qualitative data in the interviews suggested that most of them had lower expectations for the value of German or French than for the value of English in improving one’s employability. Instead, they were much more oriented to learn and appreciate the cultural values of these languages. The results provided insight into the complexity of motivation to learn Languages Other than English (LOTEs) in the university context in China, and suggested future direction for research on LOTE learning motivation

scholarly journals Strengthening the visions of students as proficient L2 speakers: A teaching proposal for the EFL classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Aranzazu García Pinar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Ideal Self ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Future State ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
The Ideal

Over the past ten years, research on second language motivation has been dominated by Dörnyei’s influential motivational paradigm, the L2 Motivational Self System. This theoretical construct is comprised of the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self and the L2 learning experience. Students’ imagined visualisations are central components in this theory, as this holds that students who have an explicit ideal self-image with an L2 component are more likely to be motivated to learn a language than other students that have not established a desired future state goal for themselves. To enhance students’ future-self-images, L2 lecturers can create adequate L2 learning experiences, where methodologies and materials fit in with the students’ needs, and where their visions as proficient users of the L2 are regularly sustained and strengthened by productive and realistic tasks. This article offers a teaching proposal that uses multimodal TED conferences as classroom artefacts to embolden students in the foreign language classroom to speak in public. These students might, if able to visualise their desired language selves portrayed in TED speakers, be motivated to spread their ideas worth spreading.

scholarly journals Exploring the L2 Motivational Self System in Spain: Study Design and Preliminary Findings

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Imelda Katherine Brady
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Spanish Study ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Self System

This paper details the design and validation of a Motivational Factors Questionnaire (MFQ) used to explore the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Dörnyei 2009) of over 500 Spanish learners of English. The mixed methods Spanish study was a partial replica of Ryan (2009) in Japan and Taguchi, Magid and Papi (2009) in Asia. The final validated version of the MFQ we present here thus contains 67 items comprising 13 psychometric scales targeting the ideal L2 self, the ought L2 self, as well as a diverse range of goal-related and affective motivational variables. We were able to confirm that the ideal L2 self is a relevant construct for the sample although the ought L2 self emerged as having a negative relationship with L2 learning. The L2 learning experience was explored in this study from the perspective of past L2 learning in compulsory education and we ascertained somewhat negative opinions in this regard.

scholarly journals Closing the gap between person-oriented theory and methods

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Young Mun ◽  
Marsha E. Bates ◽  
Evgeny Vaschillo
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Target System ◽  
Control Parameters ◽  
Closing The Gap ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Control ◽  
Oriented Approach

AbstractSterba and Bauer's Keynote Article discusses the blurred distinction between theoretical principles and analytical methods in the person-oriented approach as problematic and review which of the person-oriented principles are testable under the four types of latent variable models for longitudinal data. Although the issue is important, some arbitrariness exists in determining whether a given principle can be tested within each analytic approach. To close the gap between person-oriented theory and methods and to extend the person-oriented approach more generally, it is necessary to embrace both variable-oriented and person-oriented methods because it is not the individual analytic methods but how studies are implemented as a whole that defines the person-oriented approach. Three areas in developmental psychopathology are discussed in which variable-oriented and person-oriented methods can be complementary. The need to better understand the target system using an appropriate person-specific tool is graphically illustrated. Several concepts of dynamic systems such as attractors, phase transitions, and control parameters are illustrated using experimentally perturbed cardiac rhythms (heart rate variability) as an example in the context of translational alcohol research.

scholarly journals “This language still motivates me!” Advanced language students and their L2 motivation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-311
Author(s):  
Anne Huhtala ◽  
Anta Kursiša ◽  
Marjo Vesalainen
Keyword(s):  
Possible Selves ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Written Narratives ◽  
L2 Motivation ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Emotional Dimension ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Ideal L2 Self

The article focuses on written narratives of 51 Finnish university students who study German, Swedish or French as their major or one of their minors at an advanced level. The study aims to find what keeps these students motivated to study their L2. The data have been analyzed using analysis of narratives (Polkinghorne, 1995). Dörnyei’s (2009a, 2009b, 2014) L2 motivational self system (L2MSS), built around the concepts of ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience, is used as the theoretical framework. The results indicate that perceived social pressure (ought-to L2 self) may be important when the study decision is made, but its importance diminishes during the studies. Instead, a future L2-related vision (ideal L2 self) as well as peers, teachers, course contents, and learning atmosphere (L2 learning experience) become increasingly important during the studies. The role of the emotional dimension of possible selves seems to be central in developing and preserving study motivation. At the end of the article, some implications of the results for higher education programs of languages other than English (LOTEs) are presented.

scholarly journals Exploring Effects of the Second Language Motivational Self System on Chinese EFL Learners’ Willingness to Communicate in English and Implications for L2 Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianhao Li ◽  
Zhenqian Liu
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
High Level ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Self System

This study explores how the three components of L2 motivational self-system (Ideal L2 self, Ought-to L2 self and Learning experience) influence Chinese college students’ willingness to communicate in English using a mixure of methods which include a questionnaire survey and individual interviews. Results show that Chinese college students’ ideal L2 self and learning experience would influence their L2 WTC significantly. Students who have a high level of ideal L2 self and more positive English learning experiences are more willing to use English to communicate inside and outside the classroom. Students’ ought-to L2 self has no significant correlation with their L2 WTC. Findings of the study offers some possible implications to improve Chinese college students’ low motivation in English learning and low willingness to use English to communicate.

scholarly journals L2 Motivational Self System and L2 achievement: A study of Indonesian EAP learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adaninggar Septi Subekti
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Study Results ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Ideal L2 Self ◽  
Level Of Motivation ◽  
Self System

This study was conducted to find the relationship between learners’ L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), consisting of Ideal L2 Self, ought-to L2 Self, and L2 Learning Experience and their achievement. The participants of this quantitative study were 56 Indonesian undergraduate students who were taking English for Biotechnology class, an English for Academic Purpose (EAP) class. This study was conducted based on several rationales. Despite many researchers’ support on L2MSS’ strength in predicting L2 learning, they have not conclusively established the extent to which learners’ motivation measured with their L2MSS influences their achievements and to date, there have only been few studies investigating the relationships between L2MSS and actual learning achievements. Besides, despite L2MSS’ growing popularity in the field of motivational research, motivational studies using L2MSS in the Indonesian university context are generally still very rare. Hence, this study can serve to pave a way for further motivational studies using L2MSS in the context. The study found that in general learners had high a level of motivation as measured with L2MSS questionnaires. The study further found several results which were rather surprising. First, Ideal L2 Self and L2 Learning Experience did not have significant relationships with achievement. Even ought-to L2 Self and achievement correlated negatively. It was also found that, despite many experts’ support on L2MSS’s strength in predicting L2 learning, the participants’ L2MSS could not be a strong predictor of their achievement. Based on the results, discussions on possible contributing factors were presented along with the implications of this study results in the field of motivational studies. Based on the possible limitations of the study, furthermore, some directions for future studies are also presented.

EEG-Based Anticipation and Control of Seizures

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stiliyan Kalitzin ◽  
Fernando Lopes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Internal Dynamic ◽  
Seizure Prediction ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Seizure Onset ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Dynamic Factors ◽  
And Control ◽  
Early Seizure

Early seizure-prediction paradigms were based on detecting electroencephalographic (EEG) features, but recent approaches are based on dynamic systems theory. Methods that attempted to detect predictive features during the preictal period proved difficult to validate in practice. Brain systems can display bistability (both normal and epileptic states can coexist), and the transitions between states may be initiated by external or internal dynamic factors. In the former case prediction is impossible, but in the latter case prediction is conceivable, leading to the hypothesis that as seizure onset approaches, the excitability of the underlying neuronal networks tends to increase. This assumption is being explored using not only the ongoing EEG but also active probes, applying appropriate stimuli to brain areas to estimate the excitability of the neuronal populations. Experimental results support this assumption, suggesting that it may be possible to develop paradigms to estimate the risk of an impending transition to an epileptic state.

Unprompted Alteration of Freely Chosen Movement Rate During Stereotyped Rhythmic Movement: Examples and Review

Motor Control ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Ernst Albin Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Rhythmic Movement ◽  
Finger Tapping ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Rhythmic Movements ◽  
Movement Rate ◽  
Locomotion Speed ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Control

Investigations of behavior and control of voluntary stereotyped rhythmic movement contribute to the enhancement of motor function and performance of disabled, sick, injured, healthy, and exercising humans. The present article presents examples of unprompted alteration of freely chosen movement rate during voluntary stereotyped rhythmic movements. The examples, in the form of both increases and decreases of movement rate, are taken from activities of cycling, finger tapping, and locomotion. It is described that, for example, strength training, changed power output, repeated bouts, and changed locomotion speed can elicit an unprompted alteration of freely chosen movement rate. The discussion of the examples is based on a tripartite interplay between descending drive, rhythm-generating spinal neural networks, and sensory feedback, as well as terminology from dynamic systems theory.

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