The investigation into the possible l2 selves to interpret l2 motivation of vietnamese learners of english as a foreign language in VATC a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of mas

ABSTRACT The thesis aims at investigating the ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves of Vietnamese learners of English because the L2 selves determine the level of L2 motivation in learn

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

-

NGUYỄN MỘNG HẰNG

THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE POSSIBLE L2 SELVES TO

INTERPRET L2 MOTIVATION OF VIETNAMES LEARNERS OF

ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN VATC

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the thesis entitled “AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE

VIETNAMESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN VATC” is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, October 26

NGUYEN MONG HANG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With great respect and humility, I wish to express my sincere thanks to all the people and the Hochiminh City Open University that, in one or another way, made this thesis possible

First of all, my sincere and special appreciation goes to Dr Dang Tan Tin, my supervisor, who has walked me all the way through this journey with great passion and patience He has always guided me ahead by academic advice and emotional encouragement I have benefited massively from his wise prompts, searching questions, constructive comments and emotional comfort

Moreover, my appreciation goes to Dr Pham Vu Phi Ho, who introduced me to

my supervisor and gave a considerable amount of good advice on academic writing by his seminars and workshops I would also like to thank Mr Trinh Thai Van Phuc and

Ms Ho Thi Bao Uyen, two coordinator assistants for the TESOL master program, for their willingness and motivation

I would like to thank my colleagues who were always willing to help and share experience Special thanks go to my dear classmates for their best suggestion as well as their constant and enthusiastic assistance The thesis has brought us together

I am also grateful to the informants in the study who have spent their valuable time participating in interviews, generously sharing their excitement and disappointment of English learning and other experiences with me Without their support, this study could not be carried out

ABSTRACT

The thesis aims at investigating the ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves of Vietnamese learners of English because the L2 selves determine the level of L2 motivation in learners In order to investigate the perception of learners in terms of their L2 selves, qualitative data analysis was employed in the study Four IELTS learners at Vietnamese-American Training College took part in the interview study, of which questions adapted from Kim’s (2006) interview questions and a version of Al-Shehri’s (2009) self-report questions Based on the themes provided by Unemori et al (2004), the responses of the four participants were analyzed The six themes which are

Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Career, Education, Extracurricular, and Attainment of material goods, were categorized accordingly

In terms of the ideal L2 self, their ideal L2 self tends to fall in Career domain (1) They would like work for an English-related working environments (2) They also

expressed the wish to find a well-paid job (Attainment of material goods) because the

English-related jobs would help them find a better income (3) The most significant feature of the participants’ L2 self-images in the domain of Extra-curricular activities is related to English pop-culture (4) Most of the participants expressed their wish to communicate in English fluently with foreigners, or Vietnamese people living overseas (Interpersonal) (5) No participants in the study expressed the wish to study overseas although they are studying IELTS, a paper test commonly used for applying for overseas study (Education) (6) They expressed their imagined life in the future as a positive one thanks to English Besides that, the ideal L2 self of living overseas is also found (Intrapersonal)

In terms of the ought-to L2 self, (1) they learn English because of the fear of losing opportunities to do business with foreigners or the fear of failing the job interview (Career), (2) because of the fear of losing better income from business deals with foreign customers (Material attainment), (3) the fear of failing the university entrance exam and the fear of being scolded for bad marks are found in Education domain, (4) the fear of being behind friends who have high English test scores and the fear of being ashamed in front of their children (Interpersonal)

From the findings, it can be concluded that the perception of their ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves of the four participants are varied in terms of content in different domains of life The results obtained can be used to help those learners sustain their L2 motivation in both short and long-term L2 learning process in order to reach

L2 attainment

Table of Contents

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS ix

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of problem 3

1.3 Purpose of the study 4

1.4 Research Questions 4

1.5 Significance of the study 4

1.6 Basic assumptions 5

1.7 Organization of the study 5

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Theoretical background to the research 7

2.1.1 Historical overview of theories related to possible L2 selves 7

2.1.2 Conceptual framework 12

2.1.3 The role of imagination in possible selves 14

2.1.4 Conditions for the motivating capacity of the ideal and ought selves 16

2.1.5 Importance of researching Ideal L2 Self and Ought-to L2 Self 21

2.2 Review of related literature 21

2.2.1 Pakistani learners’ L2 selves 22

2.2.2 Japanese students’ L2 selves 24

2.2.3 Iranian students’ L2 selves 25

2.2.4 Taiwanese students’ L2 selves 28

2.3 Implications for the present study 30

2.4 Summary of chapter 2 31

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 33

3.1 Research design 33

3.2 Research site 34

3.3 Participants 36

3.4 Procedure of the study 38

3.5 Instrument for data collection 40

3.6 Methods of Data Analysis 45

3.6.1 Coding scheme for students’ responses about their L2 selves 46

3.6.2 Coders 47

3.6.3 Coding procedure 48

3.7 Summary of chapter 3 48

Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 49

4.1 Description of the participants 49

4 2 Findings 51

4.2.1 Findings for Ideal L2 Selves 51

4.2.2 Findings for Ought-to L2 Selves 56

4.2.3 The common characteristics in possible L2 selves of participants 57

4.3 Discussion 58

4.3.1 Discussion of the Research Question 1 58

4.3.2 Discussion of the Research Question 2 59

4.4 Summary of chapter 4 62

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 63

5.1 Conclusion 63

5.1.1 Conclusion to Research question 1 63

5.1.2 Conclusion to Research question 2 64

5.2 Implications 64

5.2.1 Theoretical implication 64

5.2.2 Future research implication 65

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 65

5.4 Recommendations 66

5.5 Summary of chapter 5 67

REFERENCES 68

APPENDIXES 78

APPENDIX A 78

The interview questions (English version) 78

The interview questions (Vietnamese version) 80

APPENDIX B 82

THE INTERVIEW WITH KEN 82

THE INTERVIEW WITH KEN 86

APPENDIX C 90

THE INTERVIEW WITH ANNE 90

THE INTERVIEW WITH ANNE 93

APPENDIX D 96

THE INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL 96

THE INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL 99

APPENDIX E 102

THE INTERVIEW WITH MARY 102

THE INTERVIEW WITH MARY 106

APPENDIX F 110

The letter to VATC’s authority (Vietnamese) 110

APPENDIX G 112

The Consent form of interviewee (Vietnamese) 112

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 1 Questions of the semi-structured interview adapted from Kim’s (2006)

interview questions and a version of Al-Shehri’s (2009) self-report questions 44

Table 3 2: Coding scheme for L2 selves 47

Table 4 1: Description of participants’ background 50

Table 4 2: Summary of Participants’ ideal L2 selves 55

Table 4 3: Summary of Participants’ ought-to L2 selves 56

LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS

CEFR: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

EFL: English as a foreign language

ESL: English as a second language

L2: Second/Foreign language

L2 community: target language community

L2 Motivation: Motivation to learn a foreign/second language

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Possible L2 selves: Possible selves for a foreign/second language

TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication

TOEFL iBT: Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test

VATC: Vietnamese-American Training Center

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE POSSIBLE L2 SELVES OF

VIETNAMESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

IN VATC

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

According to Bandura (1986), individuals possess a self-system that enables them to exercise a measure of control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions (different cognition, different motivation, and different behaviors) Particularly, the part of one’s self-system which is the most integrated into motivation is termed ‘the possible selves’ (Markus & Nurius, 1986) or ‘the future self-guides’ (Higgins, 1987) The future self-guides consist of ‘ideal self’ (what they would ideally become) and ‘ought-to self’ (what they should become to meet expectations and to avoid negative outcomes) Motivation arises when one wants

to reduce the difference between their current self and either their ideal self or their ought-to self (Higgins, 1987)

Along with the contribution from the two psychological theories which are the theory of possible selves and self-discrepancy theory, Dornyei (2005) has re-conceptualized the motivation to learn second/foreign language (L2 motivation) within the framework of self/identity as a result of the dissatisfaction towards the highly influential concept of integrative motivation proposed by Gardner (1959) Integrative motivation or integrativeness refers to the L2 learners’ desire to be identified with the members of the target language community (L2 community) (Gardner, 2001)

The rapid globalization and the rise of Global English, in which English has widely been used as a lingua franca among speakers of international world (Crystal, 1997) have provoked criticism on the validity of the traditional Gardner’s model of motivation Since the ownership of English language does not

necessarily belong to the native speakers of British or American, and nowadays English belongs to the people who speak it (Jenkins, 2007; Norton, 1997), a large number of contemporary learners of English see no obvious target reference group to be identified with (McDonough, 1981; Clement and Kruidenier, 1983; Graddol, 2006) Even more, several studies have demonstrated the lack of identification with native speakers of English as a significant motivating factor in

a variety of settings (Lamb, 2004; Warden & Lin, 2000; Yashima, 2000) It raises a question of what type of person that English learners would like to become (ideal L2 self) and what others would like English learners to become (ought-to L2 self) if that is not the integrative disposition towards the British or American native speakers Therefore, it can be assumed that English learners have low motivation to learn L2 because of not having a clear and vivid image of what they would like to become in L2-related aspects (1), and/or because of not being aware of what L2-related attributes they ought to possess under social pressure (2) Answering the question of what are the learners’ ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self can help explain for the learners’ motivation to study English

To date, an increasing number of studies have successfully employed the theory of possible L2 selves to interpret individuals’ motivation toward language learning, and offered empirical evidence regarding the motivational function of L2-specific selves (e.g Chen, 2012; Csizér & Kormos, 2009; Csizér et al., 2010; Kim, 2009; Kormos et al., 2011; Lamb, 2007; Taguchi et al., 2011; White & Ding, 2009)

As Shahbaz & Liu (2012) suggest, in Asian settings, self-related factors should be focused to keep the students motivated for a long and tedious process

of L2 learning However, Le (2013) finds out, there is a lack of research studies

on the Vietnamese learners relating to a number of factors involving the L2 selves

and motivation of the Vietnamese learners which should be taken into consideration to ensure the success in teaching and learning a foreign language in

Vietnam These important self-related factors have not received adequate

attention from researchers as, to the best knowledge of the researcher, up to now there has been no formal study on Vietnamese learners’ ideal L2 self conducted This situation, hence, calls for more research to explore and address these issues

to enhance the L2 motivation so as to achieve the ultimate goal of promoting Vietnamese students’ language proficiency

1.2 Statement of problem

Vietnam, with no doubt, is under the influence of English language due to the growth of international relations of the country with other nations and the advances of technology and science throughout the world (Phan, 2011) It is obvious that many English language centers have been mushroomed to help Vietnamese learners to integrate into the trends of globalization and international interdependency of the global village In Hochiminh City, the most populous city

in Vietnam, Vietnamese-American Training Center (hereafter VATC) is one the most favorite institutions selected by those who want to improve their English proficiency

Having worked at VATC, the researcher found the phenomenon that some learners have high level of motivation while others have low in various English classes offered by VATC such as the class for preparation for TOEFL iBT, IELTS, TOEIC, etc The writer of the thesis has noticed that the students learn English with three main purposes, which is similar to the findings of Hoang (2007) The majority of them learn English just to pass the tests, while some view English as a tool for more attractive and lucrative employment opportunities; and

a small number of others need English to continue their higher education at graduate and doctoral levels However, these above are only individual

observations; so far, there has been no formal study on this issue at VATC Therefore, the writer aims to conduct a formal study on the perception of learners

in terms of the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self so as to know what motivates them in English learning

1.3 Purpose of the study

The primary concern of this study is to explore and describe the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self of the Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language to examine what are the L2 self-images that they envison in relation to their English learning The study’s results will help to identify which areas of learners’ L2 selves can be strengthened to motivate them in their English learning

1.4 Research Questions

To achieve the aims mentioned above, the writer seeks for answers to two research questions:

1 What are the perceptions of Vietnamese learners of English

in terms of their ideal L2 self?

2 What are the perceptions of Vietnamese learners of English

in terms of their ought-to L2 self?

1.5 Significance of the study

This study will be conducted for several expected outcomes In order to contribute a small part in motivating the Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language, particularly the students learning English in VATC, the researcher conducts this study with the hopes that its findings will enable learners and educators to have a positive perspective towards their L2 learning and teaching

Especially, for students who have low motivation, they can have a reference

of what they can use L2 in their ideal future and increase their awareness of others’ expectations and negative outcome in terms of their L2 so that they can start generating these L2 self-images for themselves to increase higher motivation

In addition, the findings of the study will help teachers gain deeper understanding of what learners would like to become in L2-related aspects, so that they can design classroom activities to enhance learners’ ideal L2 self in order to increase their motivation, and know what factors in L2 learning environment has the most influential effect on their ought-to L2 self

Also, the deep understanding of the Vietnamese learners’ ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self will help educators and curriculum designer with a channel of information to take into their consideration when they design the L2 curriculum

so that it can match the learners’ L2 selves in outlining and implementing intervention programs to increase the L2 motivation among Vietnamese learners

1.6 Basic assumptions

In this study, it is assumed that all participants answer the questions in the interviews honestly and truthfully

1.7 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 gives the background of the study, the statement of problem, the research purposes, the research questions, and significance of the study This chapter ends with an organization of the thesis

Chapter 2 provides literature review of the theoretical dimensions of the research and relevant previous studies The research gap is also stated in this chapter as a bridge leading to the current study

Chapter 3 deals with the research methodology employed for the study This chapter starts with the description of the research site and the participants It also includes the research design, instruments, and procedures for data collection The section of data analysis for the two research questions is also illustrated in this chapter

Chapter 4 analyzes the data collected from the instruments namely the structured interviews and discusses the findings drawn out from the preceding

semi-chapter

Chapter 5 summarizes the main findings of the thesis Some contributions of this work are also mentioned in this chapter Next, it reveals the limitations and offers suggestions for further research Some recommendations for further research are presented as the final part in this chapter

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This section of the study consists of two main parts, namely theoretical background to the study, and the review of previous studies including the research gap The conceptualization begins with many important issues, including the concept of possible selves and future self-guides, the concept of possible L2 selves, the role of imagination in possible L2 selves, and the conditions for learners’ motivational capacity of the L2 selves, which leads to the conceptual framework L2 Motivational Self System This part continues with the reasons why ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves worth researching in L2 motivation research This chapter ends with the research gap that leads to the current study

2.1 Theoretical background to the research

2 1.1 Historical overview of theories related to possible L2 selves

2.1.1.1 Theories related to possible selves

“Possible selves” is one critical domain of self-knowledge (ones’ knowledge

of who they are) that pertains to how individuals think about their potential and about their future (Markus & Nurius, 1986) Three components of future-oriented self-knowledge are named as the expected self, the hoped-for self, and the feared-self They are mental representations of one person about what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming (Markus & Nurius, 1986) Firstly the expected self is a future self that a person feels he or she can realistically achieve Secondly, the hoped-for self represents a highly desired possible future, which is often not fully grounded in reality Thirdly, a feared self is what a person is afraid of becoming in the future

While the two extremes, the hoped-for self and the feared-self are easy to grasp and illustrate such as ‘the successful self’ for the former and ‘the incompetent self’ for the latter, the selves of the last type ‘the expected self’ is

more likely that these selves refer to ‘expected’ or ‘likely’ selves (Carver et al., 1994), that is, reflect realistic anticipated outcomes of a future action Clearly, not all types in the theory of possible future selves proposed by Markus & Nurius (1986) will exert motivation Therefore, Higgins (1987), after one year since the work of Markus and Nurius (1986) presented a similar conceptual scheme called Self-Discrepancy Theory In the theory of self-discrepancy, people are motivated

to reach a condition where their self-concept matches their personally relevant self-guide In other words, the future self-guides inside an individual provide incentive for action because sufficient discrepancy between these future self-guides and the actual self will urge the individual to reconcile their behavior to reduce the discrepancy

Higgins suggested that there are two types of idealized future selves that influence behavior (1987) The ideal self, the first type, refers to the attributes people hope or wish they could become The ought-to-self, the second type, refers

to the attributes a person feels obliged or duty-bound to become Moreover, the distinction between these two types of selves is distinguished by Higgins (1987) based on self-perceptions (i.e “I should be fluent in English”) versus the perceptions of others (i.e “My mother thinks I should be fluent in English) In general, ideal selves have a promotion focus, where the concern is on growth, achievement, and goal-reaching Conversely, ought-to selves have a prevention focus, and are concerned with regulation of behavior in order to stay responsible and safe (Higgins, 1998)

Therefore, in this current study, ‘possible selves’, or ‘future self-guides’ are

“hypothetical images about one’s future, including the ideal selves that we would like to become, such as ‘the good parent,’ ‘the successful business person,’ and

‘the loving spouse;’ as well as the selves that we are afraid of becoming, such as

‘the alcoholic,’ ‘the college dropout,’ and ‘the lonely spinster.’ (Strahan & Wilson, 2005, p 3)

2.1.1.2 Theories related to possible L2 selves

However, not until Dornyei’s work that the language learning literature applies the theory of possible selves Dornyei (2005) borrowed two concepts from

Higgins (Higgins, 1987) – the ideal self and the ought self to propose a new, broad construct of L2 learning called the L2 Motivational Self System This

construct is composed of three dimensions, namely the Ideal L2 self, the Ought-to

Self, and the L2 Learning Experience The first dimension, Ideal L2 Self, is the

L2-specific facet of one’s ‘ideal self’ If the person we would like to become can speak an L2, the ‘ideal L2 self’ is a powerful motivator to learn the L2 because of the desire to reduce the discrepancy between our actual selves (i.e incompetent L2 speaker) and ideal selves (i.e competent L2 speaker) The second dimension,

Ought-to L2 Self, concerns the L2-related attributes that other people believe an

individual ought to possess to meet expectations and to avoid possible negative

outcomes The third component, L2 Learning Experience, is added because

Dornyei suggested that some learners may not have future-self images related to L2 before they begin to learn a language They may actually produce some images due to the learning experience itself Under this category Dornyei included the impact of the teacher, curriculum and peer group, etc which concerns situated, ‘executive’ motives related to the immediate learning environment and experience

One of the reasons that Dornyei’s L2 Motivational Self System framework was proposed is due to the criticism on the Gardners’ motivation theory The basic premise underlying the integrative concept (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), namely that the L2 learner ‘must be willing to identify with members of another ethnolinguistic group and take on very subtle aspects of their behaviors’, has

provoked considerable dissatisfaction towards the concept of integrativeness (CoetzeeVan Rooy 2006; Lamb 2004; Yashima 2000) There are several reasons for this growing opposition Firstly, according to Dornyei (2009), the label

‘integrative’ is limiting and does not make much sense in many language environments, especially in learning situations where a foreign language is taught only as a school subject without any direct contact with its speakers such as teaching English or French in Hungary, China, Japan or other typical 'foreign language learning' contexts (Dornyei, 2010) Secondly, in one study of Yashima (2009), although many Japanese learners wish to interact with native speakers of English, they are not particularly interested in identifying with them Thirdly, in the learning of world languages such as English or French, it is not clear who

‘owns’ the L2, resulting in the lack of specific L2 community, then the question is actually of which target language community the learner wants to become a member (Dornyei, 2010) Moreover, the actual empirical findings did not always fit Gardner’s original interpretation of the notion (Coetzee-Van Rooy, 2006; Dornyei et al., 2006; Irie, 2003; Lamb, 2004; Ushioda, 2006; Warden & Lin, 2000; Yashima, 2000) All of these concerns undermine the Gardner’s theoretical concept of integrativeness; as a result, very few motivation researchers currently include this concept in their study, which calls for the need of rethinking the integrative concept

In addition, Rashidi et al (2013) mentioned there are some studies indicated that instrumental orientation, when English becomes an instrument for learners to achieve a goal such as passing an exam or getting a job promotion, could help learners gain L2 outcomes well or even better than the integrative one (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011) Interestingly, Oxford (1996) also found that instrumental orientation was more influential among foreign language learners who were

“separated in space and attitude from the target culture” (p 5), while integrative

orientation was more predictive of motivation among second language learners who had the opportunities to interact with the target language community and thus had better attitudes towards and perceptions of the community (Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels, 1994; Dörnyei, 1990; Oxford, 1996)

However, actually, not only the integrative but also the Gardner’s

‘instrumentality motivation’ faces problem when it is very difficult to distinguish instrumentality, especially in the case of English language In today’s world, it seems to have all of these aspirations such as ‘meeting with westerners, using pop-songs, studying and travelling abroad, pursuing a desirable career’ being associated with each other (Lamb, 2004)

In such a situation, Dornyei’s framework L2 Motivational Self System was established with the good point that Dornyei tried to avoid contradicting the large body of empirical data accumulated previously with integrative and instrumental motives because this motivation theory was viewed as fundamental or classic in a long time, which was highly influential in much L2 motivation research during half of century since Gardner and Lambert first proposed this concept in 1959 The L2 Motivational Self System was formed in response to the situation that Pavlenko (2001) blamed the social psychological approaches to L2 motivation for not reflecting the complexity of the modern globalized multilingual world when these approaches viewed the world as ‘homogeneous and monolingual cultures,

or in-groups and out-groups, and of individuals who move from one group to another’ while in reality, more than half the inhabitants are not only bilingual or multi-lingual but also members of multiple ethnic, social and cultural communities Therefore, as Norton (2000) stated that it can be problematic if language learners are characterized as motivated or unmotivated with clear-cut target identities because identity and motivation are multiple, complex and a site

of struggle, being socially constructed

Since its first introduction in 2005, the L2 Motivational Self System has been widely tested and validated in different EFL countries such as Hungary, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, and Iran (Al-Shehri, 2009; Csizér & Kormos, 2009; Ryan, 2009; Taguchi, Magid, & Papi, 2009) L2 Motivational Self System has brought noteworthy contributions Firstly, it serves to advance our thinking and understanding about issues of language learning motivation in the modern globalized multilingual world Secondly, it brings L2 motivation theory in line with the current analyses of language and identity in multilingual contexts Thirdly, it serves to illuminate fundamental underlying processes of motivation in these analyses With its suitability for answering my two research questions of what are the learners’ perceptions in terms of ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self in order to investigate what motivates them to study English in a globalized world,

my current study relies on L2 Motivational Self System as conceptual framework

(2) Ought-to L2 Self, which concerns the attributes that one believes one ought to possess to meet expectations and to avoid possible negative outcomes This dimension corresponds to Higgins’s ought self and thus to the more extrinsic (i.e less internalized) types of instrumental motives

(3) L2 Learning Experience, which concerns situated, ‘executive’ motives related to the immediate learning environment and experience (e.g the impact of the teacher, the curriculum, the peer group, the experience of success

Since possible selves are shaped by social influences, the ideal L2 self / ought-to L2 self does not necessarily originate from the individual, but is probably a product of one’s conformity with socio-contextual influences embedded within the wider world (Dörnyei (2009)

To differentiate between the ideal and the ought selves, Deci and Ryan’s (1985) described the graded internalisation of external motives in self-determination theory, which offers an internalisation continuum of extrinsic regulation There are four stages of the process which make an external motive being internalized, in which (1) and (2) appear to be linked to the ought self and (3) and (4) to the ideal self

(1) External regulation: refers to the least self-determined form of extrinsic motivation, coming entirely from external sources such as rewards or threats (e.g teacher’s praise or parental confrontation);

(2) Introjected regulation: involves externally imposed rules that the individual accepts as norms he/she should follow in order not to feel guilty (e.g some laws of a country);

(3) Identified regulation: occurs when people engage in an activity because they highly value and identify with the behaviour, and see its usefulness (e.g.learning a language which is necessary to pursue one’s hobbies or interests); (4) Integrated regulation: is the most developmentally advanced form of extrinsic motivation, involving choiceful behavior that is fully assimilated with the individual’s other values, needs and identity (e.g learning English because

proficiency in this language is part of an educated cosmopolitan culture one has adopted)

However, there is still a confusion in this distinction (Boyatzis and Akrivou, 2006) It is not always easy to decide whether an ideal self represents one’s genuine dreams or whether it has been the result of the desire to be conformed in the society due to the social pressure because human beings are social beings and adhere to some extent to the norms established by the society (Dornyei, 2007) This means that, to some extent, the ought-to selves may be internalized and transformed to ideal selves

As stated by McIntyre et al (2009), the L2 Motivational Self System enables the researchers to explore various types of motivations a learner will experience because “the self, like motivation, is multifaceted and constantly changing” In addition to the L2 Motivational Self System, the researcher also employed the concept of ‘domains of possible selves’ (Oyserman and Markus, 1990) Although the relationship between the L2 selves and the L2 motivation has been investigated (Kim, 2009; Lamb, 2012; Ueki & Takeuchi, 2012), little attention has been devoted to the content of their future L2 self-images According to Oyserman and James (2009), individuals possess multiple positive and negative possible selves which are often linked with differing social roles and identities These possible selves are likely to develop in domains relevant to current life tasks such as being a student, a parent or a life partner Therefore, focusing on the domains in which the L2 selves are constructed should be prioritized in order to understand the nature of learners’ L2 selves

2.1.3 The role of imagination in possible selves

Traditionally thinking, a person’s concept is the summary of their knowledge related to how the person views him/herself at present It is also usually assumed to concern information from the past experience (Dornyei,

self-2009) However, Markus (2006) emphasized, “We were impressed by the fact that people spend an enormous amount of time envisioning their futures We now know that this imaginative work has powerful consequences” (p.14) The theories

of possible selves converge with the notion of imagination which refers to “a process of expanding our self by transcending our time and space and creating new images of the world and ourselves” (Wenger, 1998) This denote unique self-dimension because it refers to future more than current states (Dornyei, 2009)

Since the ancient Greek, imagination has been known to be related to motivation (Dornyei, 2009) It is defined as a prime motivating force in human action because when images of something to be pursued or to be avoided exist in our imagination, we are likely to act as if the mental images of that circumstance were materially present (McMahon, 1973; Modell, 2003) Markus and Ruvolo(1989) claimed that when humans imagine achieving their goals through their elaborate possible selves in their mind, this will directly translate into goals and actions In addition, it is believed that the more elaborate and vivid the image exists in one’s imagination, the more likely that an individual is motivated to make the image become true

Although the future self-guides or possible selves are rather close to the definition of ‘goals’ which refers to the end-states that individuals desire to reach

in the way that possible selves are “explicitly related to a long-term developmental goal involving goal setting, volition, and goal achievement” (Pizzolato, 2006), there is a crucial difference between possible selves/future self-guides and goals With the definition of mental imagery as “the ability to represent perceptual states in the absence of the appropriate sensory input” Kosslyn et al (2002), the difference between possible selves/future self-guides and goals is that possible selves/future self-guides involve images and senses that humans actually experience when they are engaged in the motivated or goal-

directed behaviors (Dornyei, 2009) Possible selves/Future self-guides are larger than any goals or even larger than the combination of the goal-related constructs (Pizzolato, 2006) The crucial element of the difference is that possible selves are self-states that humans experience as reality Possible selves involve tangible images and senses that people can ‘see, hear, and smell’ as the here-and-now self (Dornyei, 2009)

Gregg and Hall (2006) summarized, imagery is an effective performance enhancement technique as a result of hundred studies which have examined the relationship between mental imagery and sport performance Therefore, the inclusion of imagery is a central element of possible selves theory, which makes

many studies place the possession of L2 self-images a crucial element in keeping

language learners on the track to obtain good L2 performance during the up and down of language learning (Dornyei, 2009)

As Zhan & Wan (2016) concluded, learners may experience a four-stage cyclical process of developing their possible L2 selves, namely, (a) generating multiple possible L2 selves, (b) selecting a possible L2 self to pursue, (c) realizing the selected possible L2 self, and (d) incorporating the realized possible L2 self into the present self scheme

2.1.4 Conditions for the motivating capacity of the ideal and ought selves

As previously mentioned, the imagery component of future self-guides is a powerful motivational tool However, the fact that future self-guides motivate action does not always happen automatically (e.g Oyserman et al., 2006; Yowell, 2002) There are certain conditions that can enhance or hinder the motivational impact of the ideal and ought selves, which are as following:

(1) availability of an elaborate and vivid future self image

Richardson (1994) asserts that people display significant individual differences in the vividness of their mental imagery because not everyone can easily generate a successful possible self (Ruvolo & Markus, 1992) Therefore, the obvious prerequisite is that the self-image needs to exist, and needs to have sufficient degree of elaborateness and vividness to be effective to exert sufficient motivation The more elaborate the possible self is in terms of imaginative, visual, and other content elements, the more motivational power it is expected to have The absence of sufficient motivation in many people can be explained with the difficulty they have found in generating these future self-guides It is concluded that a possible self with insufficient specificity and detail may not be able to stir up the necessary motivational response (Dornyei, 2009)

(2) perceived plausibility

Possible selves are only effective when the individual does indeed perceive them as possible, that is, realistic within the person’s individual circumstances There are several important notes about the second conditions for motivating capacity of ideal and ought selves

If individuals believes they can control the ease or difficulty in performing the behavior to reach the possible selves, he/she will be more inclined to take the necessary steps to attain or avoid that possible self (Normon & Aron, 2003)

Segal (2006) pointed out that the degree to which people expect their feared

or wished for possible selves to come true will affect their self-esteem, current mood, and optimism While the optimists are able to translate ideal self into realistic expectations, the pessimists fail to do so, which makes their hopes implausible and leads to no motivation (Carver et al., 1994)

(3) harmony between the ideal and ought selves

Another important condition for effective desired possible selves is that there should be harmony between the ideal and ought selves The ought-to self is closely related to peer group norms and other normative pressures If the peer group believes an individual ought to have a high academic attainment while that individual’s ideal self is also to attain remarkable grades, it would be effective because there seems to be no conflicts between that individual’s personal and social identity

However, interestingly, if the peer group has a low expectation towards an individual’s academic attainment, which may be called as “norm of mediocrity”, the person tends to regulate their behaviours to fit with their peers (Pizzolato, 2006) In other words, for a result found by Oyserman et al (2006), one teenager may not maintain their own high standards for their academic attainment if he/she

is a member of a peer group whose belief of obtaining good scores are negative, conflicting with his/her ideal academic self-guides In such cases, the future self-guides cannot work well in terms of motivational impact

self-Ruvolo and Markus (1992), for example, maintain if individuals pretend that they have a feeling of reaching the desired end-state, this simulation can activate the future self-guide, which makes the motivational impact to be enhanced Furthermore, empirical evidence provided by Ruvolo and Markus (1992) has

proven that if participants are asked to imagine themselves as successful or unsuccessful before a certain task, this imagery manipulation may increase the accessibility of possible selves, as illustrated via the good or bad performance of the participants

(5) accompanying procedural strategies,

In order to translate the motivation into action, one needs to have a roadmap

of tasks and strategies to follow in order to be close to the ideal self For example,

it is obviously not enough for a language learner merely to imagine her self passing the English proficiency test if he/she has no instructors or practice plan For this reason, Oyserman et al., (2006) argue that future self-guides are only effective if they are accompanied by a set of specific action plans being predeveloped and plausible, and being cued automatically by the image In this way, the possible self may link the beliefs about one’s ability and competence in the domain with effective steps and strategies (Cross & Markus, 1994) The systemized sub-goals serve to reach the possible selves, which will distinguish reality-based future goals from empty dreams and fantasies (Miller & Brickman, 2004)

There are two factors causing the absence of an appropriate system of meaningful strategies to pursue the desired selves The first factor is the lack of sufficient knowledge or experience It means that there is no role model for us to take reference, or we do not have relationship with any of those who are knowledgeable in creating the meaningful strategies The second factor is the ineffective cognitive skills for planning and problem-solving (Miller & Brickman, 2004)

(6) the offsetting impact of a feared self

Oyserman and Markus (1990) proposed an interesting point, which is the last condition concerning the motivational capacity of possible selves They argued when a desired possible self is offset or balanced by a counteracting feared possible self in the same domain, it will be the most effective When individuals focus on what would happen if their original intention failed, this imagination has often been seen as a powerful source of motivation to keep individuals continue (Dornyei, 2001) For example, there are times that the fear of missing the deadline for submitting an assignment makes us get down to writing more than the image of successfully finishing the paper (Dornyei, 2009) Thus, it

is advised by Oyserman and Markus (1990) that if an individual wants to get the best effect from the motivational impact of possible selves, he/she should bear in mind the elaborated images of negative consequences of not achieving a particular desired end-state

Oyserman et al., (2006) explained in an educational intervention study, it is observable that for learners who had desired future selves related to academic success, they spent more time doing homework, more engaged in classroom activities and caused less problems Meanwhile, those who possessed feared possible selves may attend class more regularly, resulting in fewer absences from school In other words, positive self-guides and their negative counterparts have distinct impacts on the students’ self-regulatory behavior It is important to note that it will be greater to have the motivation conferred by balanced possible selves involving both tendencies of approaching pleasure and avoiding pain than the motivation conferred by the hoped-for or feared self alone (Hoyle and Sherill, 2006) Hence, Higgins suggests that the most effective condition for future self-guides is a balanced combination of the ideal and the ought-to selves (1987)

2.1.5 Importance of researching Ideal L2 Self and Ought-to L2 Self

It is worth researching possible selves because they function as incentives for future behavior When individuals know their possible selves, it means they are using their knowledge about themselves to know what is possible for them to achieve Ideal L2 Self represents their personal aspirations and motives in L2 while ought-to L2 self indicates threats and other negative associated affective states, which serve to determine which future behaviors should occur so that the hoped-for self can be approached and the feared-self can be avoided (Markus & Nurius, 1986) For example, the language learners who are now incapable of speaking English, after comparing themselves to their peers who they consider good at speaking English, they wonder why they cannot produce a proper utterance in English like their friends, then they may feel embarrassed in such a situation that everyone in the classroom is waiting for their answers but they are stuck with the tongue After that they may figure out certain characteristics or behaviors from their peers that they need to imitate or follow in order to become fluent in English oral ability at some day “What others are now, I could become” Researching ideal L2 selves/ought-to L2 selves can help increase the L2 motivation when learners have elaborateness of their L2 self-imgages

Due to the importance of the ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self, previous studies have been conducted to examine what are the perceptions of the learners about their L2 selves The next section reviews the literature related to EFL/ESL learners’ L2 selves

2.2 Review of related literature

Although there are differences between ESL settings (i.e Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Nigeria, Jamaica, India, etc.) and EFL ones (i.e Poland, China, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, etc.) in a way that the former provides the learners more opportunities to be exposed to widespread use of

English in education or broadcasting or for local official purposes, the writer feels the need to review the L2 selves of learners whose settings are not in English-native speaking countries, in which both ESL and EFL countries are involved The L2 selves of learners in ESL settings may help portray a clearer image of the majority of learners whose English is not their mother-tongue

2.2.1 Pakistani learners’ L2 selves

Yaqoob et al (2014) conducted a study with the aim of investigating the

promotional factors of Dornyei’s Ideal L2 self and the preventive factors of Ought-to L2 self in Pakistani students by using the mixed method approach involving survey interviews from 15 teachers, 5 each from school, college and university level from District Faisalabad, Pakistan and two questionnaires designed on the basis of these interviews from the teachers There are various promotional and preventive factors which incline Pakistani learners toward learning English

As for the Ideal L2 Self, Yaqoob et al (2014) found that Pakistani learners; firstly, would like to become a knowledgeable person; that is why they study English so that they can understand international literature and gain information from all over the world quickly Secondly, they would like to get a good job in future; therefore, they need to study English because job interviews in Pakistan are conducted in English Thirdly, most of them would like to get admission in foreign universities Next, it has been observed that the ‘international posture’, which are defined by Yashima (2009) as “a tendency of relating oneself to the international community rather than any specific L2 group”, has been found in Pakistani students’ desire to work for an international organization and job market, to travel abroad, or to continue their higher education overseas This can explain why they need to study English Another promotional factor is that students want to learn English to be a competent speaker of English on social

media so that they can interact with the global community through Internet by using English as an international language Last but not least, most university students express the wish of developing their country, especially promoting their culture, identity, and religion because the image of Islam region in their country has been portrayed in a negative way that makes foreigners consider Islam as extremism Therefore, they would like to restore their religious identity through interacting in English with the outside world to represent their country and religion in true manner

As for the Ought-to L2 Self, Yaqoob et al (2014) found that Pakistani learners; firstly, they learn English because it is a compulsory subject till Graduation level and they learn it to avoid failure, to pass the subject and to avoid bad marks Secondly, more than half of the students in the research express they want to avoid hesitation during class discussion because in high level of education, English is a medium of instruction; therefore, they need to have good command on English in order to participate in class discussion freely Thirdly, the students want to avoid the rejection they may face in their job hunting due to lack

of fluency in English because the job interviews in Pakistan are conducted in English Another factor is that they are afraid that they cannot gain the success in life if they do not obtain the academic degree without passing the English subject Next, Pakistani students learn English because they fear that they are not able to keep up with international affairs if they do not have a good command on English because this language is used in international media Last but not least, Pakistani learners, like other Asian countries, are influenced by parents and other family members who suggest or even force them to learn English; therefore, under some sort of parental pressure, they learn English to avoid being ashamed in front of their family members

 The good point of the research is that the results can bring the overview of what are the ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves in Pakistani students ranging from school, college, and university level

 The weak point of this research is that the items in the questionnaires were designed based on the opinions of the teacher participants but not the student participants while the aim of the research is

to explore the ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves of the Pakistani students Therefore, the subjectivity of teachers’ opinion during interviews may harm the true voice of student participants

2.2.2 Japanese students’ L2 selves

Takahashi (2013) highlighted the point that questionnaires studies may not

be able to reveal unique types of ideal L2 selves due to the individual differences Therefore, she conducted an interview study with the purpose of capturing the full range of participants’ ideal L2 self The results from the semi-structured interview in first language (i.e Japanese) with six non-English major university students indicated that their ideal L2 selves varied in terms of their contents and specificity The six interviewee’s ideal L2 selves were described in detail as following The first interviewee would like to communicate in English fluently when traveling abroad, obtain a high score on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), and serve a foreign customer well in English for her job The second interviewee expresses the wish to communicate well in English with a foreigner Interestingly, the third participant has the ideal L2 self as communicating in English fluently with an opponent when playing online games

In addition, understanding English well when listening is also his/her ideal L2 self The fourth participant would like to listen to and understand lyrics in English, and sing well in English The next interviewee expresses the wish of communicating in English fluently when traveling abroad (as like the first

interviewee) and communicating in English well with her host family and acquaintances The last interviewee would like to communicate well in English with an English Language Teacher that he knows and also to communicate in English fluently when traveling abroad (as like the first and the fifth interviewees)

 The good point of Takahashi’s research is that it captures the unique ideal L2 selves of non-English major students through an interview study which qualitative data can be explored when questionnaires could not do that

 However, the research gap is that this study does not investigate the ought-to L2 selves of the participants while Markus & Nurius (1986) claimed that the hoped-for selves and feared selves concurrently exist Moreover, it is not always straightforward to decide whether an ideal-like self state represents one’s genuine dreams or whether

it has been compromised by the desire for the conforming with the social pressure (Boyatzis and Akrivou, 2006) This is obvious for the non-English majors because their primary concern is another subject, not English; hence, they are somehow under pressure to study English (i.e their ought-to L2 self) Therefore, a study which explores both ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves may better help get a thicker understanding

of the L2 Motivational Self System of Japanese non-major English learners

2.2.3 Iranian students’ L2 selves

Another qualitative case study research approach on ideal L2 selves examined by Rashidi et al (2013) on four university English language learners’ ideas about their future in relation to English language To achieve the goal of understanding of the phenomenon from the perspectives of the participants, often

referred to as the ‘emic’, or insider’s perspective (Merriam, 1998), the study captured the participants’ perspectives through asking them to commit to answering emails, interviews and weekly diary writing on their English studies Specifically, six individual interviews, each about thirty-minutes, were conducted every two months, were semi-structured with open questions The language used

in the interviews is Persian In addition, seventy two diary entries with an average length of 300 words per entry were completed They were encouraged to write down any important incidents they encountered in their daily lives, not only those incidents related to English learning but also those related to other aspects of their lives Moreover, a total of 48 emails, 12 emails were sent to each of the participants The purpose of the email exchanges is to establish rapport between the researchers and the participants so that the researchers could build mutual trust among each other The content of the emails is about the topics of English learning, and other topics such as interpersonal relationships, friendly messages, congratulation messages for specific days of the year and so on These four students attended Shiraz University and studied English Language and Literature Among these four participants, David and Yasaman were intermediate-level students while George and Mary were upper-intermediate ones When being asked about their purposes for learning English and their future plans and desires, each participant answered differently The results of the study showed that none

of them has a desire or willingness to identify and integrate with the members of the target language community as their future goals and plans Specifically, four participants expressed what they would like to become in the future as follows Firstly, Yashaman would like to become a tour guide because she wants to go, talk to, and guide the floods of tourists However, when being asked about her decision to study English Language and Literature, she also mentioned her most important goal was to follow her interest and continue her studies till getting her Ph.D so that she could become a university professor in her field of interest The

second participant, Mary, expressed her ideal selves that she would like to translate recent books written in other countries She also mentioned that she would not like to be a university teacher because she feels a professor is like in prison walking along corridors and classes for years When being asked about her initial desires and goals for studying English at the university, she said she chose

it because she wants to continue her studies in English-speaking countries and after that she will come back to her country The third participant, David, expressed that he would like to design websites instead of studying English in the future He does not like teaching because he thinks that a professor’s lifestyles is not suitable for him due to the pressure of being too polite, too proper, or too tidy The last person is George, who is worried about the future job opportunities Financial issues are the main reasons which lead him to start learning English so that he can complete his goal as a professor in English in his own country and earn a better living

 The good point is that the research design of this study is longitudinal with various instruments which provides the specificity and elaborate images of what the Iranian students would like to do in the future with English language The reasons why they do not choose a particular profession in relation to the L2 they are studying is also explained in detail

 Nevertheless, although the study was implemented during one year, it seems that the study focuses only on the aspects of the future job while an individual’s motivation to learn a L2 may be larger than that

It may include other aspects of life such as they would like to master English in order to appreciate English songs or English literature (i.e their hobby), or they would like to improve their relationship with foreign friends (i.e their social relationships), etc Therefore, it would have

provided a broader and truer picture of four participants’ L2 selves if the

study had also explored participants’ other aspects of life

2.2.4 Taiwanese students’ L2 selves

Chen (2012) conducted an interview study in one local senior high school in southern Taiwan to exert the power of the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self which are helpful in analyzing the Taiwanese EFL students’ motivation 26 senior high school students individually participated in the semi-structured interview which explored the main research concerns: students’ reasons for studying English, reflection on the university admission system, and future plans Seven out of 26 interviewees clarified their future plans in terms of academic development and / or preferred occupation, whereas other students either expressed uncertainty or sketched out many possible versions of their future self-images Chen (2012) found the two typical cases who have clear vision of their future are Lucy and Nicole The first one, Lucy would like to become a professional interpreter who can live and work internationally and speak English with native-like fluency Lucy sees her ideal self as competent in speaking English in the professional context of L2 use The second interviewee, Nicole, has an ideal L2 self that she needs to get a higher degree in law at a reputable university overseas and find a respectable job with good pay Interestingly, due to the desire to be exactly like her mother whom she considers her super idol, she studies English diligently to reduce the discrepancy between her actual self and her mother, the perfect role model It means that the ought-to L2 self constructed

by her mother seems to transform to Nicole’s own wishes As for the ought-to L2 self, most of the participants are afraid that quitting studying English might harm their future Specifically, English test score in university entrance exams can raise their overall exam grades and help them get admitted by a higher-ranking university They are afraid that they might face unemployment and

disappointment from family members and a feeling of waste of money if they do not receive an English proficiency test certificate from a recognized university Even more, some expressed that studying hard, especially studying English diligently, is the only way to get their family out of living in poverty

 The good point of the research is that both the participants’ ideal L2 selves and ought-to L2 selves were investigated

 However, the weak point is that only seven out of 26 interviews expressed their clear vision in relation to English language while more than three fourths of the participants showed their uncertainty

or unclear ideal L2 selves This may be because the subjects selected in the study are high school students who may not spend much time thinking of their future after their high school graduation Therefore, the participants

of the study should be better carefully selected so that the researcher can save more time for analyzing detailed information about their L2 selves from those who have the genuine interest and highly motivated learners than those who have not elaborate and specific L2 selves in their mind

In sum, ESL/EFL students have a common wish of studying abroad (Yaqoob et al., 2014; Chen, 2012), which is a strong desire in most students in Asian countries because European countries are like dreamland for them and without English, their wish is impossible Moreover, they would like to work in

an international job market or jobs related to the L2 such as tour guide, translator,

or an interpreter (Takahashi, 2013; Chen, 2012) In addition, they are eager to participate in an international community through traveling abroad and communicating with people they meet on their journey such as the host family, or communicating with people around the world on the Internet (Yaqoob et al., 2014; Takahashi, 2013) On the other hand, students feel the obligation to study English because of the influence of Asian culture where the opinions of their