Examining the relationship between L2 motivational self system and L2-learning among TESL students

Abstract

The present study intends to show the relationship between three motivational variables known as “ideal L2 (second language) self”, “ought-to L2 self”, and “attitudes to learning English” and students’ intended effort to learn English. A questionnaire of 33 items was administered to two groups of TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) students—first-year students (53 samples) and final-year students (55 samples) in Mashhad Azad University, Iran. The results of the correlation coefficient proved a strong relationship between the “ideal L2 self” and the intended effort to learn an L2 for final-year participants. The results, however, were different for first-year students which highlighted the importance of the long-dominant concept, i.e., “integrativeness”. The major pedagogical implication is for teachers so that they can help their students to form an “ideal L2 self” by proposing tasks that provide situations for contacting with native speakers.