Community presence, motivation, and identity

The Community-engaged L2 Self of university students of Italian in Melbourne

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21458371
AutoresRiccardo Amorati (0000-0001-8776-4078, The University of Melbourne, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen45
Número3
Páginas299-321
Fecha de publicación2022-09-29
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAustralian Review of Applied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0155-0640 • E-ISSN: 1833-7139
EditorialJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/aral.20079.amo
OpenAlexW3136052036
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas33

This study examines the extent to which the motivation of university students of Italian in Melbourne (Australia) is influenced by the visibility of a local Italian community. The research relies on data collected by open-ended questions and two Likert items from a survey study ( n = 74) as well as in-depth interviews ( n = 5). The findings show that learners’ motivation is influenced by their exposure to the L2 language and culture in the local context and by their engagement with a community that forms part of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse population. Students’ investment in the L2 can be interpreted in light of a new identity dimension, the community-engaged L2 self, which builds upon previous motivational variables (integrative orientation, ideal L2 self), as well as scholarly insights into the link between language, identity, and access to L2 resources. This self-characterizes both heritage and non-heritage learners’ positioning through the L2 in the local socio-context and is expected to hold considerable pedagogical significance

Aesthetics · Developmental psychology · Geography · Likert scale · Local community · Political science · Population · Sociology · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching · Social Psychology