Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education (2020) PDF

Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING Series Editors: Sarah Mercer, Universität Graz, Austria and Stephen Ryan, Waseda University, Japan This international, interdisciplinary book series explores the exciting, emerging field of Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching. It is a series that aims to bring together works which address a diverse range of psychological constructs from a multitude of empirical and theoretical perspectives, but always with a clear focus on their applications within the domain of language learning and teaching. The field is one that integrates various areas of research that have been traditionally discussed as distinct entities, such as motivation, identity, beliefs, strategies and self-regulation, and which also explores other less familiar concepts for a language education audience, such as emotions, the self, and positive psychology approaches. In theoretical terms, the new field represents a dynamic interface between psychology and foreign language education and books in the series draw on work from diverse branches of psychology, while remaining determinedly focused on their pedagogic value. In methodological terms, sociocultural and complexity perspectives have drawn attention to the relationships between individuals and their social worlds, leading to a field now marked by methodological pluralism. In view of this, books encompassing quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies are all welcomed. All books in this series are externally peer-reviewed. Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can be found at http://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual Matters, St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK. Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. DOI https://doi.org/10.21832/MUIR8854 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Names: Muir, Christine, author. Title: Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education: Exploring Implications for Pedagogy/Christine Muir. Description: Bristol, UK; Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Multilingual Matters, 2020. | Series: Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching: 8 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: ‘This book presents empirical research which investigates directed motivational currents (DMCs) in the context of second language learning and motivation. The studies explore participants’ individual experiences of DMCs, and the practical implications of DMC theory for L2 pedagogy through the use of intensive group projects’ – Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020018824 (print) | LCCN 2020018825 (ebook) | ISBN 9781788928847 (paperback) | ISBN 9781788928854 (hardback) | ISBN 9781788928861 (pdf) | ISBN 9781788928878 (epub) | ISBN 9781788928885 (kindle edition) Subjects: LCSH: English language – Study and teaching – Foreign speakers. | Second language learning. | Motivation in education. Classification: LCC PE1128.A2 M844 2020 (print) | LCC PE1128.A2 (ebook) | DDC 428.0071 – dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020018824LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020018825 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-78892-885-4 (hbk) ISBN-13: 978-1-78892-884-7 (pbk) Multilingual Matters UK: St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK. USA: NBN, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA. Website: www.multilingual-matters.com Twitter: Multi_Ling_Mat Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/multilingualmatters Blog: www.channelviewpublications.wordpress.com Copyright © 2020 Christine Muir. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. The policy of Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications is to use paper that is natural, renewable and recyclable, made from wood grown in sustainable forests. In the manufacturing process of our books, and to further support our policy, Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. preference is given to printers that have FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification. The FSC and/or PEFC logos will appear on those books where full certification has been granted to the printer concerned. Typeset by Riverside Publishing Solutions. Printed and bound in the UK by the CPI Books Group Ltd. Printed and bound in the US by NBN. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Preface Part 1: Introducing DMCs and Intensive Group Projects 1 Key Threads in the Field of L2 Motivation Research and the Emergence of Directed Motivational Currents From Macro to Micro Perspectives: Unavoidable Complexity Changing Methodological Priorities and Perspectives Possible Selves, the L2 Motivational Self System and Vision Language Learner Self-concept Language Learner Emotions Group-level Investigation: Motivation, Agency, Affect and Flow The Emergence and the Significance of Directed Motivational Currents Conclusion 2 What Exactly is a DMC? Key Definitions and Core Characteristics (1) Goal Orientedness (2) The Launch of a DMC (3) DMC Structure (4) Positive Emotional Loading (5) The End of DMCs Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Conclusion 3 DMCs in the L2 Classroom: Group DMCs and Intensive Group Projects (‘with DMC Potential’) Projects in the L2 Classroom How Do Projects Align with Other Pedagogical Approaches in SLA? Introducing Group DMCs: Designing Projects ‘with DMC Potential’ for the L2 Classroom Conclusion Part 1 Summary: Next Steps for DMC Research Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Next Steps for DMC Research Key Contributions of this Book Part 2: DMCs Worldwide 4 Part 2 Methodology Development of the DMC Disposition Questionnaire Piloting the DMC Disposition Questionnaire Procedure Participants Data Analysis Conclusion 5 Investigating the Wider Relevance and Recognisability of DMCs First Look Results Identifying DMCs in the Dataset Creating a Composite DMC Disposition Scale Interrogating the DMC Group: Comparisons with the General Long-term Motivation Group Interim Summary: What Do We Know So Far? A Closer Look at the DMC Group: Who Experienced DMCs? DMCs and Language Learning Conclusion 6 Exploring Commonly Reported Triggers and the Experience of DMCs Investigating Commonly Reported Triggers Reasons for or Against Wanting to Repeat the Experience Conclusion Part 2 Summary: Key Findings, Limitations and Pedagogical Implications Summary of Findings Methodological Decisions and Limitations Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Pedagogical Implications Concluding Thoughts Part 3: From Theory to Application: Group DMCs in the L2 Classroom 7 Part 3 Methodology Participants Instruments Procedure Data Analysis Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Conclusion 8 Group DMC Emergence: Assessing the Evidence Was the Intervention Successful in Facilitating a Group DMC? Interim Summary: A Group DMC Emerged! Benefits to Language Learning How Did these Benefits Come About? Conclusion 9 Intensive Group Projects ‘with DMC Potential’: Refining the Key Criteria for Success ‘All Eyes on the Final Product’: Key Criteria for Success Conclusion Part 3 Summary: Key Findings, Limitations and Pedagogical Implications Summary of Findings Methodological Decisions and Limitations Pedagogical Implications Concluding Thoughts Part 4: The Future of DMC Research 10 Revisiting the Seven Frameworks for Focused Interventions and the Future of DMC Research Revisiting the Seven Frameworks for Focused Interventions Study Abroad Longer-term Effects of Study Abroad Experiences Longer-term Effects of DMC Experiences? Key Contributions of this Book The Future of DMC Research Conclusion Afterword Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Some Practical Advice Useful Websites Researching Projects ‘with DMC potential’ (A Guide to the Appendices) Appendix 1: Full Questionnaire with Response/Routing Options Appendix 2: Student Diary Template and a Sample Completed Page Appendix 3: Teacher Journal Template and a Sample Completed Page Appendix 4: Traditional School Timetable and the Timetable for Week 1 of the Project Appendix 5: Project Framework Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. References Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Figures and Tables Figures 4.1 Description of DMCs used in the DMC Disposition Questionnaire 5.1 Duration of the experience for the DMC and general long-term motivation groups 5.2 Ages of respondents within the DMC group versus the sample as a whole 5.3 Age range of respondents in the Never group compared to the sample as a whole 5.4 Language levels at the time that participants experienced this type of motivation in the context of language learning, for those who answered ‘Strongly Agree’ (N = 277) 5.5 Contexts in which DMCs were experienced in the context of language learning, for those who answered ‘Strongly Agree’ (N = 277) Afterword.1 Sketch of a project on creating a video clip to be used as class material Tables 3.1 Seven frameworks for focused interventions 4.1 Number of responses from the top 20 most well represented countries (in terms of number of respondents) 4.2 Number of responses broken down by continent 4.3 The age spread of respondents 5.1 Summary of responses to initial questions regarding participants’ recognition and Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. experience of this type of intense motivation 5.2 Summary of responses to the question: ‘How often do you think you have experienced a project to this kind of motivational intensity?’ 5.3 Chi-square results: Level of intensity x whether participants would like to repeat the experience 5.4 Results of the exploratory factor analysis (Extraction method: Maximum Likelihood. Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation) 5.5 Results of the exploratory factor analysis with a forced two factor solution (Extraction method: Maximum Likelihood. Rotation method: Oblimin with Kaiser normalisation) Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. 5.6 Descriptive statistics for the four response groups submitted to ANOVA to compare scores on the DMC Disposition Scale 5.7 Descriptive statistics for the four response groups submitted to ANOVA to compare scores in the level of intensity reported 5.8 Descriptive statistics of responses on the DMC Disposition Scale in the general long- term motivation group for each of the seven age groups 5.9 Descriptive statistics of responses on the DMC Disposition Scale from participants in the DMC group for each of the four regrouped age categories 5.10 Chi-square analysis comparing the DMC and general long-term motivation groups by way of the duration of the experience 5.11 Descriptive statistics of the five groups put forward for ANOVA: Both the DMC group and the general long-term motivation group together (N = 1185; 1 = Not very intense, 5 = Very intense) 5.12 Descriptive statistics of the five groups put forward for ANOVA: The general long-term motivation group (N = 655) 5.13 Descriptive statistics of the five groups put forward for ANOVA: The DMC group (N = 530) 5.14 Summary of responses to the question: ‘Have you seen this type of intense motivation in people around you?’ 5.15 A 2 × 3 Chi-square analysis between participants’ own experience of DMCs and whether they have witnessed DMCs in others 5.16 Chi-square analysis comparing the DMC group and the rest of the sample by way of the ages of participants 5.17 Nationality make-up of the DMC group and the sample group as a whole for the top 15 most populous nationalities represented 5.18 Nationality breakdown of the top 15 most populous nationalities in the Never group compared to the sample as a whole Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. 5.19 Summary of responses to the statement: ‘I have personally experienced this type of intense motivation specifically while learning a language’ 6.1 Group 1: Trigger linked to external influences (positive connotation) 6.2 Group 2: Trigger linked to external influences (negative connotation) 6.3 Group 3: Trigger outcome led 6.4 Group 4: Trigger connected to intrapersonal reasons 6.5 Summary of responses to the question: ‘How did this period of intense motivation begin?’ Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. 6.6 Why participants would like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 1: Outcome-based reasons 6.7 Why participants would like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 2: Process-based reasons 6.8 Why participants would like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 3: More intrapersonal reasons 6.9 Why participants would like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 4: General/other reasons 6.10 Summary of responses as to why individuals reported wanting to repeat the experience 6.11 Why participants would not like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 1: Personal emotional/health reasons 6.12 Why participants would not like to experience this type of motivation again. Group 2: Project specific/other reasons 6.13 Summary of responses as to why individuals reported not wanting to repeat the experience 7.1 Overview of student participants A4.1 Traditional course timetable A4.2 Lesson outlines for Week 1 of the study described in Part 3 Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Acknowledgements I am grateful to have been able to collaborate with Zoltán Dörnyei, Alastair Henry and Zana Ibrahim in developing our understanding of directed motivational currents, and I am indebted to Zoltán for his dedicated and kind mentorship. My thanks go equally to the participants who freely gave of their time to participate in this research, and to Jessica Florent and David Leach for their unending patience, enthusiasm and openness in allowing me into their classrooms. I look forward to repaying this debt to all, with continued friendship and collaboration over the years to come. Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Preface The course of human history is replete with stories of individuals who have accomplished extraordinary feats. Whether related to technological or scientific innovation, remarkable discoveries about the world around us, or astonishing feats of endurance, before such achievements are realised it can often be hard to think them even possible. Take, for example, two feats recently achieved by Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold: after years of striving, both have succeeded in ‘impossible’ rock climbs up El Capitan. ‘El Cap’, as it is affectionately known, is one of the crown jewels of Yosemite National Park. It is a 3000-foot sheer granite rock face and a lifetime ambition of rock climbers the world over. Caldwell ‘free climbed’ the – previously considered ‘unclimbable’ – Dawn Wall route alongside Kevin Jorgeson, using ropes and other aids only to save them from falls. Honnold later ‘free soloed’ the Freerider route up El Cap, completing the entire ascent without any ropes, harnesses or other safety measures. Their remarkable stories are captured in the recent feature length documentaries The Dawn Wall (2017) and Free Solo (2018). The passion and drive required to see such projects through to completion, enduring years of hardship and struggle in the process, are nothing short of colossal. These are extraordinary, personal passion projects, both of which led Caldwell and Honnold to experience remarkably robust outpourings of highly focused, intensely motivated, extended goal striving. Similarly motivated passion projects can be found in all arenas of life. For another example, in a different learning context, let us turn to the story of Rifath Sharook. Rifath was a young Indian boy who, in the words of Forbes India, lived to both ‘breathe and eat space research’.1 He grew up spending evenings in the garden with his astronomer father, gazing up at the night sky through a telescope. On watching the explosion of the INSAT-4C satellite just 72 seconds after its launch in 2006, he struggled to understand the difficulties surrounding Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. the launch of a satellite into space. His father told him he would see for himself, when he launched his own satellite in the future – Rifath quietly committed to himself that he would. Rifath’s story took a turn when, at the age of 10, his father died and he was left without his teacher. In his own words: ‘All the things I got is a slow 2G internet connection in my village. So I used the internet as my teacher, I started learning about all the space research and technology.’2 His passion and intense drive later saw him join a team through Space Kidz India,3 and ultimately – and while he was still in the process of completing his undergraduate degree in physics – design the smallest satellite in the world, which was launched into space by NASA in 2016.4 Through this project, Rifath and his teammates had clearly achieved something Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. extraordinary. Driven by an intensely personal goal – rooted in his relationship and shared passion with his late father – he had worked immensely hard to achieve it. In a TEDx talk discussing their accomplishment, Rifath and one of his teammates, Mohammed Abdul Kashif, emphasised the importance of leadership, team management and positive group dynamics. Yet, as they described, having a common goal and joint vision was core to their success. They had a crystal clear idea of what it was they wanted to achieve, and this served both to block out competing opportunities for action and to continually trigger their attention back towards their goal. Indeed, their toughest hurdle was ultimately overcome via inspiration sparked from eating gulab jamun (a type of sweet and sticky fried dough ball) over dinner: What if they could build a satellite just as small and light? Remarkably, the reaction to their achievements was not universally positive. As Rifath went on to describe in this TEDx talk: Even a lot of big scientists and a lot of experts also told, why you students are concentrating in this kind of research? You have to study first, you have to settle up in the life, after that you can peacefully do the research. But we don’t want to wait for that time. They did not want to wait, and – in today’s world, where they were able to access all the resources and support structures needed in order to achieve their goals – why should they have had to? I am unable to comment on the levels of Rifath’s engagement with his physics degree throughout this period, but the question would surely not be unwarranted. With such experiences of success and achievement in his own time – experiences that allowed him to act wholly authentically to his most personal goals and ambitions – to what extent could his formal studies have facilitated the same levels of engagement? In the context of English language teaching (ELT), such a stark authenticity gap has certainly been documented. In Sweden, for example, students are not only surrounded by English in their lives outside the classroom, but their using it as a means of communication is becoming increasingly commonplace. As Henry (2013) has explored, this includes through online gaming, a pastime that offers a very real avenue of language learning for many around the world. Compared to the authenticity and autonomy that students can experience in the context of playing video games, the dry reality of classrooms can be unable to compete. As Henry describes, in order to succeed, players are required to work collaboratively, creatively, develop and draw on deep wells of knowledge, and interact not only with each other but ‘with the game itself’ Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. (Henry, 2013: 137). It is therefore unsurprising to read his subsequent observation: ‘the English of today’s classrooms may by comparison seem less meaningful. Less “real”. A credibility problem seems to be emerging. There would appear to be an authenticity gap between the two worlds’ (Henry, 2013: 139). The students in our classrooms today live their lives in a world different to that seen even as recently as two decades ago. They have access to extraordinary resources and are increasingly technology savvy (and increasingly technology equipped), entirely at home with ‘the “twitchspeed” pace and multilayered delivery of modern media’ (Barcley, 2010: xi). Striving to establish motivating classroom conditions (cf. Dörnyei & Muir, 2019) and facilitative learning environments may no longer be sufficient to ensure that initial Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. motivational impetus is translated into action and into productive learning behaviours (cf. Mercer, 2019; Mercer & Dörnyei, 2020). One response to this challenge has been a resurgence in the use of projects as educational tools. The lure of projects is rooted in their potential to be able to facilitate for students the same intense surges of motivation they experience when following their own passion projects outside the classroom. Rifath’s story offers one such example of a motivational project experienced in the extreme. By way of offering another, I draw again on a quote describing the extraordinary outcome of a motivational project that we offered in Dörnyei et al. (2016). In the following, an EFL teacher is describing the outcome of a fundraising project that students had recently completed together in her class, which raised money for the Cancer Council:5 the autonomy the students worked with was beyond anything I had seen before. The most telling thing came right at the end when we were debriefing on the whole experience and sharing thank yous. The feedback from the students, in addition to the usual comments on making new friends, having great memories and feeling more confident in their English abilities, also included things like ‘having a new purpose,’ ‘being useful,’ ‘seeing themselves as capable of new things,’ ‘wanting to do it again,’ ‘wanting to teach others to do the same.’ All of these ideas made me realize that on top of the massive high they were on throughout the event and afterwards (as their success was celebrated quite publicly at the school), that they had learnt much more than language and new skills and knew that they could work with a heightened level of intensity towards their English language goals. (Dörnyei et al., 2016: xiv) Whether in contexts outside that of ELT and/or formal educational environments (such as in Rifath’s case and that of Caldwell and Honnold), or in the context of ELT classrooms such as that described by the teacher above, it is exactly these intense, long-term surges of motivation that are at the heart of this book. Even though to many, this type of extended, intense motivation is immediately recognisable, it is only in recent years that its theoretical basis has been explored. How is it, exactly, that individuals are able to maintain such extraordinary levels of motivation over such extended periods of time? And, more significantly still, how does it come to pass that – even when such motivational surges often come at considerable personal expense – people report enjoying doing so? Inspired by these questions, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Nottingham and worldwide, we set out to explore the theoretical underpinnings of these intense motivational experiences, in so doing coining the term directed motivational currents (cf. Dörnyei et al., 2016; Dörnyei, Ibrahim et al., 2015; Dörnyei et al., 2014; Henry et al., 2015; Ibrahim, 2016a, 2016b; Muir & Dörnyei, 2013). Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. A directed motivational current, or a DMC, is a surge of motivational energy that seemingly picks an individual up and carries them sometimes unimaginable distances. Oftentimes, people who have experienced DMCs look back and question how it is they achieved so much (often much more than they could have thought possible: think back to Caldwell and Honnold’s previously unthinkable climbing feats, Rifath and the launch of his team’s satellite into space, or the group of English language students’ extraordinary successes from their fundraising endeavours). During a DMC, an individual’s time often becomes highly structured, with clear routes mapped out to success and daily routines in place to help them achieve it. Significantly, throughout this time, these routines are followed without conscious volition. For example, an individual experiencing a DMC who is training for a Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. marathon does not decide every morning to get up and go for a run. Instead, this simply becomes a part of who they are throughout this time: no debate or decision is needed. Actions and focus across all areas of an individual’s life align so as to work together to best achieve this outcome and – a final hallmark of a DMC – this is all directed towards the achievement of a personally highly valued goal. The motivational drive wrapped up in DMCs facilitates intense goal striving and extended periods of deep engagement towards a clearly defined outcome. As we have previously described them, DMCs represent ‘the optimal form of engagement with an extended project’ (Dörnyei et al., 2016: 33). Since DMCs came to the fore, empirical investigation has primarily sought to assess the validity of key cornerstones of the framework, including its goal/vision directedness, facilitative structure, and intensely experienced positive affect. This has been highly valuable in shoring up and refining our understanding of DMCs, but has left key research questions unexplored. Foremost among them is the broader relevance of DMCs (are DMCs only experienced by the lucky few whom we have had the pleasure of speaking with throughout these years?) and their relevance with regards to L2 pedagogy (might there be a way in which we can apply this theoretical knowledge to our pedagogy, in order to facilitate such experiences becoming a practical reality for learners in L2 classrooms?). The answers to both these questions are foundational to furthering the DMC research agenda. In this book, I explore the results of two international research studies, the focus of which was aimed directly towards the investigation of both these novel avenues of inquiry. Overview and How to Read this Book This book is split into four parts. In Part 1, I situate the research that I go on to present within the field of SLA more widely. I begin in Chapter 1 by highlighting key developments in the field of L2 motivation research in recent years, using this to the trace the path to the emergence of DMCs. In Chapter 2, I offer a full overview of the theoretical underpinning of the DMC framework, before going on in Chapter 3 (the final chapter in Part 1) to root discussion in the potential educational applications of DMCs. Here, I introduce and explore both group DMCs and intensive group projects (‘with DMC potential’). I conclude Part 1 with a short summary, bringing together this opening narrative and setting the scene for what is to follow. In Parts 2 and 3 I present the findings of two empirical studies, each exploring one of the Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. two key research questions identified above: Part 2 is more rooted in theory (exploring the broader relevance of the DMC framework), and Part 3 in practice (exploring implications with regards to L2 pedagogy and motivation). The first chapters of each part (Chapters 4 and 7) detail the methodologies of each study, before the following two chapters explore key findings and results (Chapters 5 and 6, and Chapters 8 and 9). I conclude Parts 2 and 3 by again offering concise interim summaries. In so doing, while this book can certainly be read from beginning to end, by bookending each Part in this way, I hope also to aid readers dipping in and out at those points most relevant to them or of greatest interest. I conclude the book with Part 4. After a brief introduction, in the single chapter here – Chapter 10 – I draw together findings and conclusions from the book as a whole. I return Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. again to consider the ‘seven frameworks for focused interventions’ (the seven project templates we introduced in Dörnyei et al., 2016), and conclude by highlighting what I believe to be the most fruitful avenues for future research. The book concludes with a short Afterword, in which I both offer further practical advice with regards to running educational projects and direct readers towards additional practical resources freely available elsewhere. A Personal Note The writing of this book has been both a challenge and a privilege. Throughout much of this book, I discuss the possibilities that collaboration can afford. Even though this book is sole authored it, too, would simply not have come into being without the colleagues with whom I have collaborated, the mentorship I have received and those friends and family who have acted as ever patient sounding boards and ‘silent partners’. I owe them all a huge debt of personal and professional gratitude. While I cannot claim to have experienced a DMC throughout the writing of this book – I wish to begin writing as honestly as I intend to go on! – the past years have doubtless been punctuated with remarkable motivational experiences, reminiscent of the very essence of directed motivational currents. I hope that the ideas I present in these pages will be able to play their own modest part in furthering our collective understanding of DMCs – of long-term, individual and group-level motivational currents – and of our ability to facilitate such experiences for language learners in classrooms worldwide. Notes (1) http://www.forbesindia.com/article/innovation-nation/for-these-wonder-kids-the-sky-is-not-the-limit/50043/1. (2) This TEDx talk is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Oir4reI4E. (3) http://spacekidzindia.com/index.html. (4) Cubes in Space: http://www.cubesinspace.com/index.html. (5) www.cancer.org.au: known by slightly different names worldwide, it is comparable, for example, to the UK’s Cancer Research: www.cancerresearchuk.org. Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. Part 1: Introducing DMCs and Intensive Group Projects Part 1 both sets the scene and lays the groundwork for the research and findings that I go on to present throughout this book. I begin in Chapter 1 by situating DMCs within the wider context of L2 motivation and second language acquisition (SLA) research. The field of SLA has adopted several significant new perspectives since the turn of the 21st century, each contributing its own account in the overall story tracing the path towards the emergence of DMCs. Rather than offering a detailed narrative of the development of L2 motivation research as a whole, in Chapter 1 I focus on a curated selection of key areas of inquiry. These specific areas of interest are included because they are most relevant both to understanding and situating DMCs in a wider context, and also to the empirical studies I introduce in Parts 2 and 3 of this book. I overview the adoption of a complexity perspective and the reframing of our understanding of L2 motivation in terms of the self, before briefly reviewing key findings related to language learner self-concept, emotions and several areas of group-level investigation. I conclude Chapter 1 by tracing the emergence of DMCs and by underlining their wider significance. Although summaries and descriptions of DMCs can be found elsewhere (for a recent, concise summary see Henry, 2019), this book would not be complete without offering its own. Chapter 2 presents a full overview of the DMC framework, highlighting all key elements of DMCs, including their goal-orientedness, launch, structure, positive emotionality and the way in which they come to an end. In Chapter 3, I continue this discussion further, simultaneously rooting the narrative in the context of language teaching and learning. In doing so, this demands that the focus of discussion be broadened to include the notion of group DMCs. Group DMCs are of disproportionate importance in the context of language Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. learning, owing to the simple fact that instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) primarily takes place with groups of learners. In classroom contexts, we have argued that DMCs can best be understood as emerging through intensive group projects (IGPs) (Dörnyei et al., 2016). After more thoroughly introducing ‘projects’ and exploring their alignment with other pedagogical approaches, I overview key differences between individual and group DMCs and highlight essential principles with regards to designing intensive group projects (significantly, intensive group projects ‘with DMC potential’). In the Part 1 summary that follows, I bring these ideas together and explore key areas in which future research is required – in order to develop both our theoretical and pedagogical understanding of DMCs. In doing so, I concurrently foreground the focus and aims of Parts 2 Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. and 3 to follow. Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. 1 Key Threads in the Field of L2 Motivation Research and the Emergence of Directed Motivational Currents In the 60 years since the emergence of the new field of second language (L2) learner motivation (cf. Gardner & Lambert, 1959), the field has amassed a rich and diverse history. Multiple new perspectives and ideas have been translated into the field from other disciplines. Each has shed new light and offered fresh perspectives on our understanding of L2 motivation, and some have even pushed us to re-evaluate existing knowledge in light of these new contributions. Dominant perspectives have risen to the forefront and have driven the direction of the field throughout clear periods of its history (see Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011), yet, instead of overriding that which went before, each has opened new spheres of investigation and contributed unique insight. The field of L2 motivation research currently finds itself at an exciting juncture. Over the past two decades it has been revitalised with the broad adoption of a complexity approach to research and understanding, and this has posed possibilities equally as captivating as the magnitude of the challenges that have arisen alongside. Complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) has forced us to re-evaluate what it is we think we know about L2 motivation, and to revisit the methods we employed to reach these conclusions. Concurrent with this has been the emergence of several new strands of research, the reconceptualisation of our understanding of L2 motivation rooted in ideas of the self being key among them. It is no exaggeration to say that the challenge for beginning PhD candidates aiming to become familiar with the full history of the field is becoming increasingly daunting: Research output is continuing to grow year on year (Boo et al., 2015). Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. Presenting a full overview of the field of L2 motivation research within a single introductory chapter – such is the space I have available here – is quite simply an impossible task. Happily, it is also a redundant one, as excellent overviews detailing the development of the field as a whole can already be found elsewhere (see e.g. Boo et al., 2015; Dörnyei, 2019a; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; Lamb, 2017). Instead of offering a chronological overview of the field’s development, in this chapter I focus instead on key ideas and research strands currently dominant, included because they are best able to situate understanding relating to the emergence of directed motivational currents (DMCs) and the findings that I explore throughout this book. This has naturally led to a highly selective narrative, which will doubtless exclude areas that some readers would argue to be of critical Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. importance. I defend myself against any potential criticism in this regard by foregrounding this primary purpose. I begin the chapter by introducing in more detail the ‘complexity turn’ the field continues to experience, before going on to highlight the impact that this has had on our methodological choices and decisions. I then discuss the reconceptualisation within the field towards an understanding of self, in doing so reviewing research on possible selves, the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009b) and vision. I go on to overview key findings and ideas in the literature investigating language learner self-concept, learner emotions and several aspects of group-level investigation. I conclude the chapter by tracing the emergence of directed motivational currents (DMCs) and by highlighting their wider significance. From Macro to Micro Perspectives: Unavoidable Complexity In nearly all respects, the ideas in this section underpin all those that I subsequently go on to explore in this chapter (and, indeed, throughout this book). Throughout the 1990s, concurrent with the absorption into the field of a broad range of cognitive theories (including, for example, self-determination theory, Deci & Ryan, 1985, and the notion of self-efficacy, Bandura, 1977a, 1997; for further see Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011), the field began to adopt an increasingly situated approach to research. No longer was research interest dominated by the investigation of the motives and attitudes of collective groups of language learners: a newly emerging focus was concerned with understanding the motivations of specific learners, in specific classroom contexts. If one were to observe a learner in any classroom, for any length of time – even if only over the course of a single lesson – it would not be possible to do otherwise than acknowledge the norm of motivational change: of ‘motivational flux rather than stability’ (Ushioda, 1996: 241). This narrowing focus brought out from the shadows a level of complexity which – while it had, of course, always been there – could now not be ignored (Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008). What followed was an inescapable acknowledgement, awareness and focus not only on motivational change but on the complexity of the innumerable, interlinked factors affecting language learning and teaching. Larsen-Freeman described this recognition in a seminal paper: Progress in understanding SLA will not be made simply by identifying more and more variables that are thought to Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. influence language learners. We have certainly witnessed the lengthening of taxonomies of language-learner characteristics over the years, and we doubtless will continue to add to the lists. Schumann (1976) mentions 4+ factors, by 1989, Spolsky notes 74. However, it is not clear that we have come any closer to unraveling the mysteries of SLA now than before. If SLA is indeed a complex nonlinear process, we will never be able to identify, let alone measure, all of the factors accurately. And even if we could, we would still be unable to predict the outcome of their combination. (Larsen-Freeman, 1997: 156–157) The emerging tradition developed understanding of motivation for the first time beyond that of a stable individual difference factor (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011; see also Dörnyei, 2017). In this current book, exploring aspects of long-term L2 learner motivation, this recognition is key: not only are different individuals guided by different motives, but these motives should likewise be expected to evolve over time (Ushioda, 1998, 2001). Several new Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. motivational frameworks were proposed during the decade prior to the new millennium (e.g. Dörnyei & Ottó, 1998; Williams & Burden, 1997); however, none gained widespread prominence. Even their most complex iterations failed to capture the full complexity of the classroom experience and the dynamicity of the motivational factors affecting any L2 classroom context (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009a). An even more radical reframing was needed. The emerging complexity perspective (de Bot et al., 2007; Larsen-Freeman, 1997, 2002; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008) provided exactly this. Having already exerted a considerable effect in the natural sciences (as Larsen-Freeman reports, some describe it as having ‘shaken science to its foundation’, see Larsen-Freeman, 1997: 142), the scene was set for it to evoke a similar effect on the field of SLA. As Hiver and Al-Hoorie (2016: 743) have argued, not only has a recognition of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) become indispensable for furthering our understanding of L2 motivation, it is inescapable: CDST has become ‘an integral part of empirical research’, having reached ‘critical mass’ across multiple strands of SLA. Indeed, CDST has even been positioned as marking the ‘coming of age of SLA research’ (Ellis, 2007: 23). To provide a fuller basis for discussion throughout this book, it is worth briefly overviewing some key concepts. As Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008: 25) explain, ‘an important feature, perhaps the most important feature, of complex systems is change’. All elements of a complex system are continually in flux, moment-by-moment change occurring in tandem with semester-by-semester and decade-by-decade change. Change is continually occurring, therefore, over multiple different timescales (cf. de Bot, 2015). A key implication is that traditional notions of linear cause and effect cease to offer up any inroads. As Larsen- Freeman and Cameron describe – and as Larsen-Freeman’s quote at the start of this section also alludes – ‘To be able to predict behavior, we would need to know absolutely accurately every small detail of the starting state, called its “initial conditions”’ (2008: 57). Yet, the complexity of not only the classroom environment but also the rich tapestry of experiences each learner brings with them into the classroom, of course relegates this to the impossible. Having emphasised the centrality of change, complex systems can nevertheless settle into attractor states and experience periods of relative stability. As Hiver describes, systems are not ‘attracted’ towards attractor states in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, attractor states ‘are critical outcomes that a system evolves toward or approaches over time’ (Hiver, 2015: 21). This direction is decided by the parameters of a system, and the resulting positive Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. or negative feedback experienced. For example, An engaged L2 classroom might be described with parameters such as an active and creative teacher, motivated non- anxious students, variety in classroom activities, positive relationships among students and support for the language in the local culture. (Hiver, 2015: 24) A system’s parameters do not include solely within-group (and within-individual) factors, but also include those outside the immediate classroom. In CDST terminology, a classroom is an open system, which interacts with multiple related systems (for example other class groups, the wider school community, the cultural context). Of course, each of these also exists in flux (for further discussion of context see King, 2016; Sampson, 2015; Ushioda, 2015; for discussion specific to DMCs and intensive group projects see Muir, 2021). Muir, Christine. Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education : Exploring Implications for Pedagogy, Channel View Publications, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6346450. Created from nyulibrary-ebooks on 2022-01-31 09:43:42. The rise in CDST perspectives has affected change at a fundamental level. It has changed the way in which we think about and understand the research that we do, and the ways in which we may further develop and assess our understanding. This has doubtless posed significant challenges. However, following the turn of the new millennium, work was already emerging seeking to address these issues head on (see Larsen-Freeman, 2006; Nitta, 2013; Waninge et al., 2014). Changing Methodological Priorities and Perspectives By refocusing our research lens to bring into view the complex reality of ‘the way the world actually works, not simply the way we all think it works’ (Schumann, 2015: xviii), we have been required to simultaneously reconfigure all the other settings of our camera. To borrow Larsen-Freeman’s (1997: 159) turn of phrase, we now ‘need a camcorder, not a camera to do our research’. It would not be unreasonable to say that in acknowledging this, the field backed itself into a difficult corner. For, if we fully accept that the world is complex, continually in flux, and that motivation is not only itself continually subject to change but is also continually affected by the changing context in which it is situated, how can we possibly approach research in any principled and methodologically robust way? Dedicated methodological principles have certainly been proposed (see Larsen-Freeman & Cameron’s 2008 complexity thought modelling and Hiver & Al-Hoorie’s 2016 dynamic ensemble). Yet, a broader paradigm already ideally positioned to investigate these ideas had concurrently been gaining prominence. While quantitative methods continue to dominate within the field of SLA, a growing number of studies employing mixed methods or solely qualitative approaches have contributed to what has been described as a ‘revitalisation of the research environment’ (Boo et al., 2015: 153). A particularly strong proponent of the growing emphasis on qualitative research has been Ema Ushioda (1993, 1994, 1996; Ridley & Ushioda, 1997). Her early writing on this sought to demonstrate that a far more nuanced understanding of the motivational processes and experiences involved in language learning could be gained from adopting a more qualitative, situated approach (Ushioda, 1994). Further, Ushioda argued that this was needed in order to be able to fully explore motivational change over time and to identify those factors in ‘dynamic interplay with motivation’ (Ushioda, 1996: 241). These arguments later formed a basic principle of her person-in- context-relational-view (Ushioda, 2009), in which Ushioda stresses the importance of Copyright © 2020. Channel View Publications. All rights reserved. understanding learners ‘as people, and as people who are necessarily located in particular cultural and historical contexts’ (Ushioda, 2009: 216). The year 2015 saw the publication of Dörnyei, MacIntyre and Henry’s Motivational Dynamics in Language Learning anthology, a collection of studies aimed directly at

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