Contradictory "Others" and the "Habitus" of Languages: Surveying the L2 Motivation Landscape in the United Kingdom

Britain's already poor record for language learning might be exacerbated by the Global English phenomenon, in that utilitarian reasons for learning languages other than English are increasingly undermined (Lanvers, 2014; Lo Bianco, 2014). This article offers a state-of-the-art review of UK rese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Modern language journal (Boulder, Colo.) Vol. 101; no. 3; pp. 517 - 532
Main Author LANVERS, URSULA
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Malden Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2017
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects
British insularism
Education policy
Educational Needs
Educational Policy
Elementary education
elitism in language learning
Foreign language learning
Habitus
Higher education
Language arts
language learner motivation
language policy
Learning Motivation
Motivation
Otherness
resistance
Second language instruction
Second language learning
Second Languages
Secondary education
Secondary Schools
State of the Art Reviews
Student Motivation
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:Britain's already poor record for language learning might be exacerbated by the Global English phenomenon, in that utilitarian reasons for learning languages other than English are increasingly undermined (Lanvers, 2014; Lo Bianco, 2014). This article offers a state-of-the-art review of UK research on second language (L2) learning motivation and attitude. The introduction is dedicated to a review of language education policy and numerical evidence on the decline in language learning. Part I reviews UK motivational literature under the headings Pnmary school; Secondary school; University and beyond; Teac parents, milieu. The evaluation of the literature reveals some striking lacunae, as well as a misfit betwee common explanations of the UK's language learning crisis and the social divide between those who choose to learn languages and those who do not. A motivation-in-con text understanding of UK's language learning needs to account for the many contradictory Other influences impacting on learner motivation. Therefore, Part II presents a new motivational model, based on Higgins's Self-Discrepancy Theory, a model which includes multifaceted Others as well as Own selves, including that of resistance/rebellion against Others.
ISSN:0026-7902
1540-4781
DOI:10.1111/modl.12410