Signature Dynamics Of Local University Students' L2 Motivational Self System

Dornyei's(2005,2009)second language motivational self system(L2MSS)opened a window on investigating the dynamic development of L2 motivation initiated by the gap between L2 learners' actual selves and possible selves.But L2MSS is not without limitations.One limitation comes from the less delineated definition of L2 learning experience which is conceptualized in rather abstract and generalized terms(Nitta&Baba,2015).Another limitation is concerned with the behavioral manifestation of L2MSS which lacks clarified components.Up to the present,little research has been conducted to investigate the constituents of L2 learning experience and the behavioral manifestation of L2MSS.Besides,the complex and dynamic relations of L2 self-guides,L2 learning experience variables and various dimensions of the behavioral manifestation of L2MSS have been under-researched.Larsen-Freeman(1997)introduced dynamic systems theory(DST)to investigate the dynamic,complex and non-linear nature of L2 learning,which launched a" dynamic turn" in L2 research and influenced the methodology of L2 motivation studies in the past few years.To improve the significance of L2 motivation research from the DST perspective,Dornyei(2014)advised L2 motivation researchers to focus on attractors and signature dynamics of L2 motivation development and he recommended that researchers employ a retrodictive qualitative modelling(RQM)method to investigate L2 learners' typical motivational dynamic processes from the initial conditions to the end-states from which L2 learners' signature dynamics of motivational development can be derived.Although Dornyei's(2005,2009)tripartite framework of L2MSS seeks to explore the dynamics of L2 motivation,it only displays the cross-sectional relations of L2MSS variables,so it is essentially a static model.A dynamic model of L2MSS is needed to account for the temporal variations and dynamics of L2MSS development.Such a dynamic model will be an important complement to Domyei's(2005,2009)L2MSS because the temporal variations and dynamic processes can explain the system's end-states.Local universities are the largest group of universities that can offer degree programs(Wu,2019),but little research has been conducted targeting this group of students' L2 motivation.The present study investigated local university EFL students'L2MSS in which L2 learning experience was operationalized as process-oriented self-regulatory capacities in the cyclic self-regulated learning(SRL)and the behavioral manifestation was operationalized as behavioral engagement which not only covered the independent learning but also the social learning.A mixed-methods approach to investigating local university EFL students'L2MSS was adopted.A quantitative study was performed to investigate the end-states of the students' L2MSS,while an RQM study was conducted to explore the processes of the students'L2MSS development that led to the end-states.Four research questions were investigated.The first and second research questions were about the end-states of the students' L2MSS development investigated by the quantitative methods,while the third and fourth research questions were about the temporal dynamics that led to the end-states explored by the RQM method.The instruments of the quantitative study were composed of questionnaires of L2 self-guides,self-regulatory capacities and behavioral engagement administered to 1020 second-year EFL students from three local universities in Shandong province.With regard to the first research question about the general patterns of local university EFL students' L2MSS,the factor analyses indicated that local university EFL students had three L2 self-guides,namely,ideal L2 self,ought-to L2 self and feared L2 self.The descriptive analysis showed that the mean score of feared L2 self was the highest of all the variables,which manifested local university students' anxiety and fear about their future career.The variable with the lowest mean score was student-teacher interaction.With regard to the second research question about the relations of the L2MSS variables,the multiple regression analyses showed that ideal L2 self could predict self-regulatory capacities and dimensions of behavioral engagement much better than feared L2 self and ought-to L2 self.The relations between self-regulatory capacities and various dimensions of behavioral engagement were complicated.Goal-setting contributed most to predict independent learning,while self-evaluation was the strongest predictor of collaborative learning,student-teacher interaction and participation in academic-oriented activities.With regard to the third research question about the salient system components of the students' L2MSS,different RQM research tools such as L2MSS trajectory plots and narrative interviews were employed to display the students' L2MSS trajectories.Salient system components such as initial conditions,attractor states,different kinds of perturbations were ed through an interpretative phenomenological analysis.With regard to the fourth research question about the signature dynamics of students' L2MSS,a dynamic model of local university EFL students' L2MSS was abstracted from the salient system components.Five signature dynamics of L2MSS were derived from the dynamic model and three typical dynamics were finally abstracted:the cyclic movement,the periodical movement and the linear directed current.The important findings in the quantitative study about the end-states of local university EFL students' L2MSS could be explained by the signature dynamics derived from the dynamic model.The signature dynamics and the reasons causing the dynamics provide pedagogical implications for English teachers to solve the problems in the end-states and developmental processes of the students'L2MSS.At last,six pedagogical implications can be obtained from the results of the study including creating positive initial conditions for amotivated students as early as possible;reigniting students' already existing but hibernating initial conditions;maintaining students' positive attractor states through strengthening ideal L2 self imagery;cultivating students' senses of belonging and competence to strengthen positive attractors;helping students set subgoals and self-evaluate to embark on directed motivational currents,and helping students socialize to avoid negative cyclic and periodical movement of their L2MSS.