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The emergence of Positive Psychology in second language acquisition has placed greater emphasis on the vital role of engagement in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Although previous research has established that EFL learners' engagement is affected by ideal L2 self, boredom, and grit respectively, sporadic studies have attempted to address the simultaneous link between these factors and engagement. To fill the gap, this study aims to examine the association between the ideal L2 self and engagement among EFL learners, with a special focus on the mediating role of grit and boredom in the relationship. A total of 466 EFL learners were enrolled in two public universities in Northern China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed that grit positively predicted engagement and mediated the relationship between the ideal L2 self and engagement. Moreover, boredom negatively predicted engagement and acted as a mediator between the ideal L2 self and engagement. However, ideal L2 self did not directly predict engagement. These findings contribute to the current knowledge by elucidating the complex relationships between the three factors and engagement, which can provide insights for pedagogical practices and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Considering the recent, burgeoning interest in positive psychology individual difference factors and the prominent role of ideal L2 self in learning foreign languages, this study is an attempt to investigate the mechanism through which Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and L2 grit could have a mediating role in the association between ideal L2 self and Foreign Language Achievement (FLA). A total of 452 English language learners, selected by convenience sampling from different branches of a language institute, responded to the survey items. The results of data analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM) demonstrated that learners' ideal L2 self, i.e., their image of themselves as competent and proficient EFL users in future, was directly and positively associated with their FLA. Additionally, ideal L2 self was linked to FLA through both L2 grit and FLE. Implications regarding teachers' roles in promoting FLE, ideal L2 self, and L2 grit are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although ideal L2 self has been considered an importance source of L2 motivation, little empirical research has examined its specific properties and their motivational capacities. This study investigates how five properties of the ideal L2 self—centrality, accessibility, plausibility, vividness, and the existence of plans and strategies—predict two motivational criteria: the ideal L2 self's self-guiding role and general intended learning effort. It also proposes and tests an elaborateness scale for learners' descriptions of their ideal L2 selves in order to examine how descriptive elaborateness relates to the properties of the ideal L2 self and to motivation. Forty-four students wrote narratives about their ideal L2 self, and completed a questionnaire on specific aspects of the ideal L2 self and their motivation in general. The analysis finds only centrality to be a significant predictor for intention to learn, and only accessibility and plausibility to be significant predictors for the ideal L2 self's self-guiding role. The elaborateness of narratives was weakly related to a global ideal L2 self, as well as to the centrality and plausibility of the ideal L2 self. Elaborateness was also related to future intended learning effort, but not to the ideal L2 self's guiding role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite awareness of the important role of motivation in second/foreign language (L2) learning, a thorough investigation into the motivational influence on the L2 writing processes and products has been neglected. In an attempt to fill this research gap, the present study explored the effects of different types of L2 self-related motivation (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) drawn from the theory of the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005) on writing strategy use and writing quality. Sixty-eight Korean undergraduates with a low level of overall English proficiency responded to questionnaires designed to measure their ideal and ought-to L2 selves and writing strategy use. They also completed a descriptive composition task aimed at assessing their writing quality. Regression analyses revealed that the ideal L2 self had a significant positive effect on both planning strategy use and writing outcomes, whereas the ought-to L2 self was merely correlated with revising strategy use. This study provides some empirical support for the potential of an idealized future L2 self-image to become a major determinant of writing processes and products. The results are discussed with reference to a promotion/prevention focus and a sensitivity of the ideal and ought-to L2 selves to positive/negative learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intends to identify the interrelationships between motivation, perceptual learning styles, cognitive variables, and language proficiency in a single framework. In particular, the role of the Ideal L2 self, visual learning styles, and L2 confidence for predicting learners’ language proficiency and their willingness to communicate in real life were investigated. The results revealed that visual learning styles have a positive effect on the Ideal L2 self and are indirectly associated with L2 proficiency through the mediating function of motivation. These relationships provide evidence that learners with more vivid images of the distance between their actual and Ideal L2 selves find learning a goal-oriented activity and as a result, are encouraged to make more endeavors to reach higher levels of proficiency. The desire to bridge the gap between their current and ideal selves helps learners reduce anxious arousals and feel more competent to accomplish L2 tasks, which in turn helps learners be more prepared and willing to communicate. Finally, implications for language teachers and policy makers to inspire learners to become more engaged in L2 activities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes two recent Korean immigrants' ESL learning motivation using Dörnyei's (, The L2 motivational self-system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self, pp. 9-42) Second Language (L2) Motivational Self-System, which is synthesized with Engeström's (, Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R. Punamáki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory, pp. 19-38) Activity Theory (AT) framework. Over a 10-month period, the author conducted semi-structured monthly interviews and stimulated recall tasks. The findings of this case study suggest the following: (1) when sociocultural factors are mediated by L2 learners' beliefs, these factors may directly influence learners' ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self; (2) learners' sensitivity with inclusive attitudes can transform the L2 learning environment into meaningful affordances; and (3) if there is no tension among elements in individual's AT system, the individual's ideal L2 self can be maintained. From the Vygotskian AT perspective, this paper implies that affordances may positively affect maintenance of the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self and that AT can function as a coherent framework for these two L2 selves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]