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Motivational connections in language classrooms: A research agenda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2020

Alastair Henry
Alastair Henry*
Affiliation:
University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
*
E-mail: alastair.henry@hv.se
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Abstract

With roots in social psychology, second language (L2) motivation has largely been investigated using self-report techniques. Studies drawing on observational data gathered in contexts where learning takes place are rare, and understandings of how motivation evolves in classroom interactions remain limited (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015). In a position paper in Language Teaching, Ushioda (2016) maps out an agenda for qualitative research examining motivation that emerges in language classrooms. With a focus on psycholinguistic processes, and with the aim of understanding how motivation ‘connects with specific aspects of second language acquisition [and] particular features of linguistic development’, Ushioda makes the case for researching L2 motivation ‘through a small lens’ (p. 564). Furthering this agenda, I make proposals for research with a relational focus where, through a somewhat wider lens, motivation and engagement generated through connections created by teachers in their classroom practice can be investigated. To frame these proposals, I use the concept of connective instruction (Martin & Dowson, 2009). Connective instruction holds that motivation and engagement increase when students can connect with the teacher as a person, with content that the teacher enables them to get involved with, and with the working methods that the teacher promotes.

Type
Thinking Allowed
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 221 - 235
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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