JALT CUE 2011

Foreign language motivation research in Japan: An ‘insider’ perspective from outside Japan

Ema UshiodaUniversity of Warwick

JALT CUE 2011

An ‘insider’ from outside Japan

A Japanese born & educated in

Ireland

Teaching English in Tokyo (1982-5)

Winchester Shoei College, UK (1985-

90)

Interest in affective side of

language learning

Graduate studies in Dublin(1990-95)

Primary interest in L2 motivation

JALT CUE 2011

Foreign language motivation:currently a vibrant research field

Four books on L2 motivation within last five years:• Nakata 2006• Dörnyei & Ushioda (eds) 2009• Dörnyei & Ushioda 2011• Murray, Gao & Lamb (eds) 2011

&• Ushioda (ed.) in preparation

Impact of globalization and global English?

Traditional concept of integrative motivation

L1 community, culture and values

L2 learner

TL community, culture and values

Gardner & Lambert 1972

Globalization & global English

global Internet

communityglobal

community of English users

self

Impact on how we theorize L2 motivation:

Reconceptualizing integrativeness as an internal process of identification within the self-concept (Dörnyei 2005)

Linking L2 motivation with self and identity:

Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self (Dörnyei & Ushioda 2009)

Identity, Motivation and Autonomy in Language Learning (Murray et al. 2011)

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Global importance of English: pedagogical & educational issues

Other foreign languages

Professional job market

High stakes gatekeeping exams

Educational policy & curricula

ENGLISH

(e.g. Kubota 2002; Henry & Apelgren 2008; Dörnyei et al. 2006)

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Impact on L2 motivation literature

Growing empirical literature on L2 motivation and demotivation from ‘problematic’

Japanese educational context

Local issues of foreign language motivation in different educational contexts

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English language education in Japan

English in high school:• Exam hell• English for exams (juken

eigo)

English at university:• Four years of ‘leisure-land’

(Clark 2010)• ‘Motivational wasteland’

(Berwick & Ross 1989)

‘permanent sense of crisis’ (Ryan 2009a)

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Foreign language motivation in Japan:three areas of research inquiry

Analysing demotivation, its definitions, causes, factors

Investigating how motivation changes through different stages of education and

learning experience

Exploring what English and learning English mean for

students(self, identities, goals, values)

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L2 demotivation

Japan leads the field in this area of inquiry Teacher variables –

complex perspectives

Defining demotivation• External factors only (Dörnyei

2001)• Learner-internal factors as

mediating influences (Sakai & Kikuchi 2009; Falout et al. 2009)

Pedagogical implications• developing a sense of purpose,

inner resources, self-regulatory strategies (Carpenter et al. 2008)

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Students’ motivational trajectories

• Compulsory English (foreign language activities) from April 2011

Elementary school

• English for exams• Grammar, reading,

vocabulary

Junior & senior high school • ‘leisure-land’

• English communication skills

University

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Investigating motivational change

Japanese students’ educational experiences and development of L2 motivation• Nakata 2006

L2 motivation at different stages of education• Ryan 2009b

L2 motivation and language learning histories• Carpenter et al. 2009• Shibuya 2010

Longitudinal studies of L2 motivation• Nitta & Asano 2010

Critical role of initial motivational states and

learning experiences

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What English & learning English mean for Japanese students

English and learning English

self, identities, goals, values

Transition to university:‘Learning English for exams’ no longer provides obvious rationaleLoss of learning purpose and disorientation (Warrington & Jeffrey 2005)

?

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Historical and cultural legacyJapan’s complex & ambivalent relationship with western

world

Self-imposed isolation (sakoku)

Post-war westernization

Internationalization (kokusaika)

Discourses of Japanese uniqueness (Nihonjinron)

Resonates with current L2 motivation themes and perspectives (globalization, global English, self-and-identity theories)

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Contribution to reshaping L2 motivation theory

Impact of Japan-based research on the development of Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System

Proposing alternative concepts

international orientation (Nakata 1995) international posture (Yashima 2000, 2002)

Questioning the relevance of integrative motivation in the Japanese context (Irie 2003)

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Focus on student voice and agencyTeachers’

perceptions of student motivation

and strategies for working

with this motivation (Cowie &

Sakui 2011)

Student voice, agency

and active participation

in transforming educational

practice (Murphey et

al. 2009)

JALT CUE 2011

Concluding remarks

Globalization and global English

Retheorizing L2 motivation

Local practical concerns for student motivation

Foreign language motivation

research in Japan

Educationally grounded, problem-focused,

locally driven research agenda

Locally produced insights have global

relevance for advancing current thinking