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Learners’ emotions in learning a foreign language are claimed to shape complicated dynamic associations contributing to their motivational and linguistic outcomes, as evidenced by recent research in this area. In order to advance this research area, this study sought to investigate the foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) as the predictors of ideal L2 self in Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The total number of 195 English-major students from various universities completed an online survey containing the three scales in question. The measurement models were first verified using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Then, the structural model for the relations among the variables was tested employing structural equation modeling (SEM). The SEM results showed that although FLE and FLCA significantly predicted ideal L2 self, FLE was a stronger predictor of ideal L2 self than FLCA. This study provides significant pedagogical implications for EFL practitioners.

This study examined the influence of teachers’ use of face threat mitigation (FTM) strategies on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ state motivation, motivation to process instructional materials, vision of their ideal L2 self, and L2 achievement in a distance course. To this end, sixty-three EFL learners were assigned into one of the two conditions: high FTM condition and low FTM condition. In the high FTM condition, the teacher buffered the threats to the students’ face needs via the use of FTM tactics. In the low FTM condition, the teacher's interventions were, on the other hand, direct and without any efforts to mitigate the possible threats. The results indicated that teachers’ efforts to positively redress their instructional feedback interventions can positively influence EFL learners’ state motivation and motivation to process instructional materials, can promote their vision of their ideal L2 self, and can contribute to language learning success. The study concluded that the way EFL teachers communicate their feedback interventions is as important as, or even more subtle than the forms and the modality of feedback they select.

Modern L2 motivation theories related to the self tend to favour research in learning only one L2, especially global English. Interactions between ideal selves related to various languages can imply competition for mental resources, usually won by the more stable self (related to English). To promote lasting motivation to learn other foreign languages, formation of an ideal multilingual self seems to enhance weaker ideal L2 selves and to influence indirectly the intended learning effort.

This study aimed to examine to what extent Turkish EFL learners’ L2 motivational dispositions which are ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self and language learning experiences predict their intended effort for language learning. The study was designed from a quantitative perspective in which the participants were given a composite instrument. The study was conducted at a state run secondary school in Turkey and the participants were 254 students including 5 th , 6 th , 7 th and 8 th graders. The results indicated that secondary level Turkish EFL students have high scores on all of the L2 motivation variables. However, the statistical analyses suggested that the participants’ level of ought-to L2 self was significantly higher than their level of ideal L2 self. It was also seen that when the participants got older, their levels of ought-to L2 self appeared to indicate a decreasing trend. Besides, the results asserted that the secondary school students’ intended effort for learning a language was found to be predicted mostly by language learning experiences, then ought-to L2 self and lastly ideal L2 self, according to hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results were discussed in line with L2 motivational self system studies in the literature and it was concluded that the results in favor of ought-to L2 self might imply the existence of peer or community pressure in language learning process of secondary school EFL students in Turkish context.

The present study attempts to highlight the age-related differences between secondary and high school students’ motivation within Dörnyei's (2005, 2009) framework of L2 motivational self system. To this end, 1670 male and female students studying at secondary and high school level, who had only learned English at school, filled out a questionnaire developed by Taguchi, Magid, and Papi (2009), and some took part in a semi-structured interview. The results of the independent samples t-test revealed a higher motivational disposition for secondary school students. Moreover, based on regression analyses, different factors predicted students’ ideal and ought-to L2 selves, learning experience, and intended effort. The results of the interviews also reinforced the quantitative findings. Considering the socio-educational context of Iran, the importance of immediate learning environment, significant others, and learners’ L2 dreams in increasing their intended effort and motivated learning behavior are discussed.

The present study investigated L2 motivation among TEFL students in Iran. ‘L2 motivational self-system’ reframed the dominant concept of ‘integrativeness’ within a broader domain conceived as ‘possible self’. This study also addressed this issue by conducting interviews with 16 TEFL students in their first and final years of study in Mashhad Azad University, Iran. After content analysis of interview transcripts, the results revealed that while ‘ideal L2 self’ might be a better indicator of final-year students’ motivation, it was not so for first-year students’ and could not be substituted by ‘integrativeness’.

The present study intends to show the relationship between ‘L2 motivational self-system’ variables, integrativeness and students’ intended effort to learn English. A questionnaire of 33 items was administered to a group of 308 TESL students 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 a second language. The major focus of the study is both to examine the major findings in previous studies and to investigate whether the findings are constant in a different context. The major pedagogical implicati on can be mainly 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.

Since the inception of the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005), which operationalises motivation as a function of learners’ future identities, the field of L2 motivation has seen a growing interest in mental imagery. Numerous studies have examined the role of a future self-guide, that is, the ideal L2 self, and have confirmed it to be powerful for explaining learner motivation (e.g., Csizér & Lukács, 2010; Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009); however, few studies have explored how mental imagery, a key dimension of the ideal L2 self (Dörnyei & Chan, 2013), can manifest itself in actual motivated behaviour. Using in-depth interviews, the present study aims to explore the motivational capacity of the natural use of mental imagery in three doctoral candidates studying at a British university. The main research focuses on examining how imagery was employed to stimulate the participants’ L2 learning and their doctoral research as well as career choice. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of types, functions, and conditions of imagery in academic and professional achievements based on the data obtained. It reveals an intriguing array of imagery types, functions, and conditions, which shape the achievement of the individuals’ desired goals. Recommendations and implications for future research on imagery use in SLA are also discussed.