The Self-Concept and Language Learning: An Introduction

Kata Csizér and Michael Magid

Introduction

A learner's sense of self plays a key role in academic achievement (Pajares & Schunk, 2005) and plays a more significant role in language learning since 'language, after all, belongs to a person's whole social being; it is a part of one's identity, and is used to convey this identity to other people' (Williams & Burden, 1997: 115). Recently in second language (L2) acquisition, scholars have focused on the importance of self-concept as a result of Zoltán Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (e.g. Dörnyei, 2005; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011), which is based on Higgins's (1987) self-discrepancy theory, in which an L2 learner compares their current self-concept to their self-guides, which are their ideal self and their ought self. Self-concept may be 'conceptualised in global terms or in respect to specific domains and includes both cognitive and affective dimensions' (Mercer, 2011: 65).

The paradigmatic shift of L2 motivation research brought about by not only the interest of and research into self-related concepts in second language learning but as well as the apparent need of reconceptualising L2 motivation concepts and processes in light of the emergence of Global English resulted in a wealth of publications in recent years. One of the most comprehensive summaries of the developments of the new century was presented in Dörnyei and Ushioda's 2009 volume, also published by Multilingual Matters. Dörnyei and Ushioda (2009) called for papers discussing various aspects of L2 motivation as related to students' selves and identities, and as a result of their edited volume they concluded that 'motivation conceived as part of the learner's identity/self is a workable concept from several perspectives' (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009: 350). Research into identity and self-related issues in very recent years not only proved the above quote to be true but also created a research niche for a new wave of studies that aimed at finding out how self-related issues actually impact L2 learning in general and L2 motivation processes in particular. Our present volume contributes to this line of research by including theoretical works about the L2 Motivational Self System and self-guides and empirical investigations targeting both learners and teachers of English. A particularly important line in empirical research is that of the intervention studies, as these investigations measure the effects of strategy training on students' L2 motivation. Strategy training concerning students' selves can take many shapes: various motivational programmes, imagery training and self intervention programmes can prove to be successful in motivating L2 learning both in the short and long run in various learning contexts around the world.

A Brief Overview of this Book

This edited volume highlights the effects of self-concept on L2 learning and teaching by considering a wide range of theories related to self-concept as well as their practical applications. As far as the structure of the book is concerned, four main parts are presented: (1) chapters featuring various theories related to the self-concept; (2) empirical studies related to the selves of the learners; (3) teachers' perspectives on students' self-concept and (4) L2 motivational intervention studies associated with the development of the self-concept of language learners.

Part 1 begins with Zoltán Dörnyei's chapter highlighting the importance of and relationship between future self-guides and vision. He argues that vision and mental imagery should be considered as an essential part of motivation and language learning. The second chapter in this part written by Maya Sugita McEown, Kimberly A. Noels and Kathryn Everhart Chaffee details conceptual differences and similarities among the Socio-educational Model, Self-Determination Theory and the L2 Motivational Self System. The authors not only discuss theoretical considerations but empirical data are also presented to underline their arguments. Part 1 is concluded by Sarah Mercer's chapter, which investigates how self and one's network of relationships are linked. She has designed...