This landmark volume offers a collection of conceptual papers and empirical research studies that investigate the dynamics of language learning motivation from a complex dynamic systems perspective. The contributors include some of the most well-established scholars from three continents, all addressing the question of how we can understand motivation if we perceive it as continuously changing and evolving rather than as a fixed learner trait. The data-based studies also provide useful research models and templates for graduate students and scholars in the fields of applied linguistics and SLA who are interested in engaging with the intriguing area of examining language learning in a dynamic vein.

Does anxiety about learning and using a foreign language decline as learners become more competent in the target language, or is anxiety also relevant at higher levels of proficiency? This is the question Foreign Language Anxiety and the Advanced Language Learner sets out to explore. The aim of the book is to give readers an insight into what role anxiety plays in the language learning and communication processes of advanced language learners. Specifically, the study examines how advanced EFL learners’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) can be characterized; how anxiety relates to other individual differences (cognitive, affective, personality); and explores the relationship between FLA and various aspects of learners’ performance and communication experience in the target language. The research context is Hungary. The findings, however, are not confined to the Hungarian EFL setting. In addition to making a contribution to the clarification of some unresolved issues in language anxiety research—including the role of proficiency in the development of anxiety, the relationship between anxiety and other learner variables, and the much-debated question of whether or not anxiety accounts for differential success in L2 learning—this study has important implications for language teachers as well.

This book focuses on the dynamic relationships among individual difference (ID) variables (i.e., willingness to communicate, motivation, language anxiety and boredom) in learning English as a foreign language in the virtual world Second Life. The theoretical part provides an overview of selected issues related to the four ID factors in question (e.g., definitions, models, sources, types, empirical investigations). The empirical part reports the findings of a research project which aimed to examine the changing nature of WTC, motivation, boredom and language anxiety experienced by six English majors during their visits to the said virtual world, the main contributors to the changes in the levels of the constructs under investigation, as well as their relationships. The book closes with the discussion of directions for further research as well as pedagogical implications.

Offering a historical and empirical account, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the socio-educational model of second language acquisition. This approach to understanding motivational variables that promote success in the learning of a second or foreign language - distinguishing between language classroom motivation and language learning motivation - is a major one in the history of this field of research. Chapters include a discussion of the definition and measurement of motivation; historical foundations of the model; recent studies with the International Attitude Motivation Test Battery for English as a foreign language in different countries; the implications of the model to the classroom context; and a discussion of criticisms and misconceptions of the model. The book provides graduate students and researchers with unique coverage of this research-oriented approach as well as serving as a source book for the area. It is ideal for courses on motivation in second language learning, or as a supplemental text for research-oriented courses in applied linguistics, educational psychology, or language research in general.

This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume. Chapters show that language anxiety can be viewed as a complex and dynamic construct and can be researched using different methods and frameworks.

This book demonstrates how foreign language self-esteem (FLSE) affects foreign language (L2) learning and teaching, and how it fluctuates with growing proficiency. Further, it explains the interaction between FLSE and a range of factors of recognized importance in second language acquisition (SLA). The theoretical part of the book presents the main pillars of self-esteem as well as its notable influence on psychological functioning and learning, with special emphasis being placed on L2 learning. In turn, the empirical part presents the findings of a study that explored the trajectory and behavioural outcomes of FLSE across three stages of education. The book closes by outlining future research directions, as well as some pedagogical implications. In particular, the findings of the study can be employed in teaching English as a foreign or second language by helping instructors understand the significance of learners’ individual differences.