Language Acquisition and the Multilingual Ideal: Exploring Japanese Language Learning Motivation

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Description

Examining the motivational development of Japanese language learners, this book investigates the relationship between their future self-image as Japanese speakers and their broader self-image as multilingual individuals. The book compares two groups of Japanese language learners, one from Australia and the other from South Korea. Questioning how motivation is influenced both by native languages and by the other languages which learners speak or study, Toshiyuki Nakamura uses dynamic systems theory (DST) to uncover how knowledge of English in these different contexts motivates the learning of Japanese. Employing the concept of domain of possible selves as an analytical framework, the book also provides a detailed description of the development of the learners visions of themselves as users of Japanese and uncovers various aspects of Japanese language learners L2 self.

Reviews

Among many published studies on language learning motivation, Nakamuras study stands out as it deals with two distinct locations of learning of Japanese, Australia and Korea, with different education systems and different social values given to Japanese, English and other languages. A forward-looking work that examines motivation in a multilingual world. * Chihiro Kinoshita Thomson, Professor of Japanese Studies, UNSW, Sydney, Australia *
Drawing on qualitative data from students of Japanese in Australia and Korea and integrating various theoretical frameworks, Nakamura offers rich insights into their motivation as language learners and its development over time. This is an illuminating and timely study, which contributes to contemporary discussions around motivation and the multilingual self. * Ema Ushioda, Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, UK *
A fresh perspective on motivation in language learning. * BAAL Newsletter *

Author Bio

Toshiyuki Nakamura is Lecturer of Japanese in the Department of International Communication, Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, Japan.