Language Learning Motivation in Asia: Selves within Systems

Terry Fellner, Matthew T. Apple and Dexter Da Silva

Why a Book on Language Learning Motivation in Asia?

During the past half-decade, there have been quite a number of published books concerning themes such as the interaction of cultural and personal identity and language learning motivation. For example, recent volumes have examined self concept (Csizér & Magid, 2014; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009; Mercer & Williams, 2014; Taylor, 2013) and possible selves and dynamic systems (Dörnyei et al., 2015). However, to our knowledge, there is no book directly addressing motivation in Asian language learning contexts. While many language learning motivation books focus on learners in North America and Europe, the number of language learners, particularly English learners, in Asia dwarfs that of other regions. The two most populous countries in the world (China and India) are in Asia and are major players in the global economy. As Ushioda (2013) has pointed out, while the seemingly global motivation to learn languages, and particularly to learn English, is being driven by the forces of globalization, this perceived need to learn English for business and market expansion has both positive and negative impacts on issues of cultural and self-identity. The primacy of the English language is also evident in scientific fields of inquiry, where English by far dominates the publishing of social and natural scientific papers (Lillis & Curry, 2006).

Although language motivation is not isolated to any single second (L2) or foreign language, the study of language learning motivation is generally dominated by the study of English learning motivation. In the increasingly globalized world culture, English adds something other than pure study for learners: it expands access to other cultures and ways of thinking, it opens other study and job opportunities and it increases cultural and economic capital. One could therefore logically infer that the desire for employment, wealth or travel (or indeed all three) should be sufficient motivation for students in Asian contexts to learn English. Yet, the sheer amount of English language learning motivation research produced by Asian context-based scholars – particularly the growing subfield of 'demotivation' research (cf. Kikuchi, 2015) – would seem to belie that assumption.

Culturalizing Language Learning Motivation

This book, while focusing on Asia as a central powerhouse of the global economy, has another emphasis. Following the recent trend in educational psychology and motivational science, it takes a more situated approach to learning, emphasising the importance of the social and cultural contexts of learning. A stimulus to taking this approach was the success of our previous book of studies based in Japan (Apple et al., 2013), which convinced us of the need for a book like this. The feedback we received was not only very positive, but also pointed to similarities and differences between cultures found in similar research studies. This suggested a focus on one of the key issues in current psychological and educational research – how do we balance our recognition of the importance of the cultural context and situation with the need to extract generalisations considering the universal aspects of humans? Despite the wide variety of motivational theories within the field of educational psychology, a major drawback to educational motivation studies is its limited generalizability across the cultural milieu. The fact that most such studies take place in WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) countries raises the question of whether any of the existing theories of motivation apply in 'non-WEIRD' cultural contexts (Henrich et al., 2010).

However, when trying to define the non-WEIRD cultural context of 'Asia', an additional difficulty emerges. 'Asia' as a continent comprises some 30% of all total land area on the planet and well over 4 billion people. In no way could 'Asia' be construed as a single cultural context. 'Asia' is a geographical area, not a cultural area. Not only is the term 'Asian context' not accurate, the various 'Asian contexts' represented in the present book may not even resemble each other. Yet, in common parlance, researchers, teachers and learners alike have a tendency to compare 'Eastern' and 'Western' cultures and peoples. These are convenient labels but ultimately they are too simplistic and fail to capture the range of historical, educational, religious and philosophical differences both between and within cultures. Researchers would never attempt to argue that learners in Hungary, France and Greece behave the same way or have the same learning motivations for English. If language learning motivation is not the same across European countries, why should we expect learner culture within Asia to be representative of a single 'Asian' context?

Bearing all this in mind, the present volume presents studies from various foreign language learning contexts in Asian countries, in which multiple motivational theories, cultural identities and 'selves' may be at play. While the researchers investigate the cross-cultural validity of existing language learning motivation theories in Asian contexts, and compare motivations of Asian students of foreign languages across cultures, the reader should bear in mind...