The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Carol A. Chapelle
previous results in the field of L2 motivation research, but rather helps to reframe them.
A special part of motivation theory has recently come to the fore. Researchers are lately interested in understanding the causes and nature of directed motivational currents (DMCs), that is, intense motivational drives that are capable of stimulating and supporting long‐term second language learning. If researchers manage to isolate the conditions that constitute DMCs, they may be able to “use them as components of a framework for effective classroom motivational interventions to promote long‐term learning” (Dörnyei et al., 2016, p. xiii).
Last but not least, it has to be underscored that the language‐learning context and the complexity of the identities of second language learners vary a great deal in different contexts and, subsequently, the role of integrativeness has been challenged. In bilingual education programs where a regional language is included the integrative motivation may exert a greater influence on language proficiency, whereas in bilingual programs in English as a foreign language instrumental motives may play a more central role in the learning of English as L2. Similarly, the explanatory power of the ought‐to self is considered to be weaker than that of the ideal L2 self in English as a lingua franca context where the ought‐to self‐image is usually conceived as rather homogeneous. In minority language contexts, however, the ought‐to may not be as unified but rather more fragmented (as potential conflicts may be found within the ought‐to self), which is why there is a need for more finely tuned instruments and procedures to study motivation in multilingual settings than those hitherto applied to study motivation to learn global English (Dörnyei & Al‐Hoorie, 2017).
Minority Languages
The social position of a few minority languages the world over has undergone an enormous change in the last few decades, a period in which, after a mammoth fight to recover their rights, speakers have managed to regain the social representation denied to them for many years. School has thus become one of the main social spaces where minority languages are again taken into account and are playing an active role in preparing the next generation of students. However, the language attitudes held by majority and minority groups have a direct impact on language policy for the minority language.
The importance of institutions' commitment to bilingual education and the latter's impact on language attitudes and motivation is clearly reflected in the case of Basque, a language spoken in two autonomous communities in the north of Spain (Basque Autonomous Community—henceforth BAC—and Navarre) and the south of France (Northern Basque Country, henceforth NBC). There are important differences between the three regions into which the Basque‐speaking community is split and which influence Basque's position in the education system of each of them: Basque is fully co‐official with Spanish throughout the BAC, it is fully co‐official only in the north of Navarre (it has no official status in the center and south), whereas in the NBC only French is identified legally as the official language.
There are remarkable differences between the regions regarding how much support is given to Basque (Basque Government, 2016). Analysis of the 1996–2016 period shows that the BAC government's efforts to normalize the situation of Basque have led to a substantial change in the attitudes of the population. In this normalization process the set of rules governing the balanced use of both Basque and Spanish had been previously established, including the implementation of bilingual programs at schools (for further information see Lasagabaster, 2017). As a result of this, there was an enviable rise of 19% (from 46% to 65%) among those positively disposed, especially among the youngest age group (below 25) due to the positive impact of the bilingual programs available. The situation in the NBC is just the opposite, as the 13.7% decrease in positive attitudes (from 49% to 35.3%) is accompanied by 17.1% of negative attitudes. In Navarre, the situation also appears to have worsened, as 39.1% of Navarrese are still opposed to Basque promotion efforts, whereas the percentage of those who support them (33.3%) has also decreased: a 4.7% decrease since 1996 when they represented 38% of the Navarrese population. Although support for efforts to promote Basque is still 2% higher in the NBC than in Navarre, the drop in positive attitudes over 20 years in the NBC is sharper (13.7% versus 4.7%).
The Basque case clearly demonstrates how important the combination of speakers' and institutions' efforts is not only to maintain, but also to revive and, above all, normalize a minority language. Regarding bilingual education, the conclusion to be drawn is that, if the regional language has high status in the eyes of the students, they will be more motivated to learn it and will harbor more favorable attitudes. Therefore, the political dimension comes to the fore and the psychological merges with the political, so that attitudes become part of a multilayered and dynamic scenario related to identity construction and language ideologies which has individual, group, and societal dimensions. Nowadays there is no doubt that the political dimension of language motivation has to be considered (Lasagabaster, 2017).
Foreign Languages: Global English
Education departments the world over are attaching increasing importance to the implementation of bilingual programs in foreign languages, since there is a widespread desire to educate multilingual and multicultural citizens in a context where the linguistic consequences of globalization are more and more evident. Consequently, an ever‐increasing number of schools and universities are offering courses taught in foreign languages, exposing students to teaching through the medium of a foreign language. Since World War II, a global trend has seen English gain importance and replace other foreign languages. In most parts of the world when bilingual education includes the English language, there is generally a consensus support for bilingual education—this is not always the case if the language concerned is a minority language.
In fact, many fear that this hegemony of English will make people lazy about learning other languages or simply make all the other languages unnecessary; it may also hasten the disappearance of minority languages and could cause widespread language death. The study carried out by Dörnyei, Csizér, and Németh (2006) highlights this. These authors examined motivation and language attitudes among 13,000 teenage language learners on three successive occasions (1993, 1999, and 2004). The objective was to describe the impact of sociopolitical changes on the various language attitudes prevailing among Hungarian students and their motivation to learn five foreign languages: English, German, Italian, French, and Russian. The authors state that, despite having a small country as their target, the results are not confined to Hungary but have worldwide implications, as their data can provide valuable information into the actual operation of language globalization.
There was a consistent rank order of the five target languages in the three survey phases, in which English always appeared at the top and Russian at the bottom of the participants' preferences. However, the most outstanding finding was the general decline over time. While English maintained its high educational profile, the remaining languages became less and less appreciated. The authors conclude that the learning of languages other than English is impeded by what they label as the “Englishization” process.
Conclusions
The multifaceted nature of attitudes and motivation has precluded the different theories from representing and tackling them in their total complexity. Many questions have been raised by researchers and educators about their role in second language education, and, in this brief overview, there are several important issues that have not been tackled: the relationship between these concepts and different variables such as gender (Lasagabaster, 2016), the need for greater interdisciplinarity in their study, the need to combine quantitative (self‐report surveys still reign supreme) and qualitative approaches in research, the recent trend to analyze attitudes to multilingualism, or the need to track changes over time (Dörnyei et al., 2015). Attitudes and motivation are not static and they therefore vary due to the influence of people, learning experiences, and the different contexts.
The study of different language‐teaching types of provision and the tasks undertaken presents itself as a potentially very promising field of research regarding the development of motivation. By focusing on different approaches, the researcher can probe their diverse effects and this will certainly be of