Positive and negative emotions underlie motivation for L2 learning
Journal Title: Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 1
Abstract
The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love) and 9 negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, embarrassment, guilt, hate, sadness, feeling scared, and being stressed). The emotions are correlated with core variables chosen from three well-known models of L2 motivation: Gardner’s integrative motive, Clément’s social-contextual model, and Dörnyei’s L2 self system. Respondents came from Italian secondary schools, and most participants were from monolingual Italian speaking homes. They described their motivation and emotion with respect to learning German in a region of Italy (South Tyrol) that features high levels of contact between Italians and Germans. Results show that positive emotions are consistently and strongly correlated with motivation-related variables. Correlations involving negative emotions are weaker and less consistently implicated in motivation. The positivity ratio, that is, the relative prevalence of positive over negative emotion, showed strong correlations with all of the motivation constructs. Regression analysis supports the conclusion that a variety of emotions, not just one or two key ones, are implicated in L2 motivation processes in this high-contact context.
Authors and Affiliations
Peter D. MacIntyre, Laszlo Vincze
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP256590
- DOI 10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.1.4
- Views 117
- Downloads 0
Digitally-supported language exchanges in primary school: The AlpConnectar project
This article presents the design, implementation and outcomes of AlpConnectar, a Swiss project that exploits technologies for digitally-supported language exchange (LE) in primary schools. Launched in 2013, the project i...
Revising the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) and testing for factorial invariance
In this study, we revised the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI), a self-report instrument designed to assess students’ awareness of reading strategies when reading school-rela...
Reframing the L2 learning experience as narrative reconstructions of classroom learning
In this study we investigate the situated and dynamic nature of the L2 learning experience through a newly-purposed instrument called the Language Learning Story Interview, adapted from McAdams’ life story interview (200...
An investigation of the self-related concepts and foreign language motivation of young Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners in Hungary
In recent years increased attention has been given in applied linguistics to the learning processes of various groups of special needs (SN) students, especially to those whose achievement is impeded by dyslexia or other...
A study of retrospective and concurrent foreign language learning experiences: A comparative interview study in Hungary
Despite the fact that the influence of learning experiences on foreign language learning motivation has been widely acknowledged and emphasised, there are hardly any studies concentrating on these learning experiences. H...