English language learning in Italy: A study of l2 attitudes, l2 motivation and self-perceived proficiency among Italian youth

In response to current data reflecting low levels of proficiency in English in Italy relative to other European Union countries, this dissertation study examines the nature of L2 attitudes, L2 motivation, and self-perceived L2 proficiency among youth residing in Naples and Rome. Drawing on the work of social theorist Pierre Bourdieu and poststructuralist approaches to second language (L2) acquisition, three overriding aims guided the study: to identify the main dimensions describing L2 attitudes, motivation and self-perceived proficiency relating to English among Italian high school students; to unveil the factors that affect these constructs; and to explore learners' negotiations and attempts at (re)positioning themselves to circumvent impediments to English acquisition. This study employs a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, with a first primarily quantitative phase (N = 205) for which the research instrument was a questionnaire, followed by a second qualitative phase (N = 8) that consisted of interviews and classroom observation data.;Findings illustrate that L2 attitudes, motivation, and proficiency are fluid, profoundly interconnected social constructs impacted by power and capital. They also reveal that the multilayered experiences, identities and social contexts of English learning youth impact L2 attitudes, which in turn mediate learners' sense of belonging to imagined communities of English speakers and their self-perceived L2 competencies. Although some were more successful than others in agentive endeavors, participants envisioned a future beyond their current situation, and enacted identities to define themselves as English speakers and to negotiate their positions with respect to their interlocutors and their context. This study demonstrates the utility of research methods that capture the multidimensionality of L2 attitudes, motivations and identities of L2 learners, and highlights the need for educators, policymakers and researchers of English learners in global contexts to problematize assumptions about the meaning and the goals of English language learning for L2 learners.