Parameters Inducing Motivational Surges in Second Language Learning

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25079/ukhjss.v1n1y2017.pp24-33

Keywords:

Directed Motivational Currents, Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Motivation

Abstract

Motivational surges in language learning occur when a number of personal and contextual parameters come together to induce intense and long-term motivational experiences. In the second language learning literature, this phenomenon is known as the directed motivational current (Dörnyei, Muir, & Ibrahim, 2014). As a novel concept in the field, little is known about what might induce this extraordinary motivational surge. The current study empirically examined the parameters of nine participants who provided accounts of the conditions around the initial stages of their motivational currents. The qualitative analysis found that five factors triggered the motivational currents in the participants: emergent opportunities, negative emotion, moments of realization/awakening, new information, and meeting others who shared the goal. The study also revealed two main conditions necessary for a DMC to begin: goal/ambitions and perceived feasibility. The final section of this paper presents practical implications of the current findings in relation to how second language teachers and educators might benefit from the findings to help incite motivational surges in their language learners.

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Author Biography

  • Zana Ibrahim, Department of English Language, School of Social Sciences, University of Kurdistan Hawler, Kurdistan Region - F.R. Iraq

    Dr. Zana Ibrahim is the chair of the English Department at the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr. He holds a PhD in English from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the USA. He is a former recipient of Fulbright Scholarship sponsored by the US Department of State. Dr. Ibrahim has been actively involved in teaching English to a variety of student populations and levels both in Kurdistan and abroad. Previously, he has taught courses in academic reading and writing, translation and interpretation, language acquisition, applied linguistics, TESOL, materials development and syllabus design, and research methods at a number of universities in Kurdistan. His research interests lie mainly in the area of second language acquisition and pedagogy, applied linguistics, second language motivation, complexity theory, and positive affect. He is the co-theorist of the directed motivational currents concept and has co-authored the first publication on the construct.

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Published

2017-12-28

Issue

Section

Research Articles

How to Cite

Parameters Inducing Motivational Surges in Second Language Learning. (2017). UKH Journal of Social Sciences, 1(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.25079/ukhjss.v1n1y2017.pp24-33

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