This study centers on maintaining motivation in second language learning (SLL), by exploring Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs), a recently conceptualized phenomenon theorized by Professor Dornyei and his colleagues (Dornyei, Muir, Ibrahim, 2014; Dornyei, Ibrahim, Muir, 2015). DMCs are characterized by motivational intensity, goal-directness, and self-propelled progress. They also build on an intricate structure that includes an explicitly laid-out pathway with a clear set of subgoals. These subgoals serve as progress markers and can create opportunities for regular feedback and positive emotionality, resulting from a fruitful cooperation within a supportive discussion group. As a second language learners (SLLs) accomplish their respective goals and subgoals, they solidify their long-term motivation and significantly increase their chances of reaching a high level of second language (L2) proficiency. The aim of this study is to explore the role of DMCs in developing language learning proficiency among Arab heritage learners (AHLs) and Arab ESL learners, as well as to identify the most effective components of DMCs for adult second language learners. The research sample included two groups of students enrolled in language programs at Florida State University: AHLs who were studying Arabic in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, and native Arabic speakers who were studying ESL at the university’s Center for Intensive English Studies. Each group had 3 students. Accordingly, the main queries that guided this research examine the extent to which DMCs exist for these students, how the phenomenological makeup of the DMCs differed between the two groups, and how the DMCs dynamically impacted the participants’ learning processes over the course of one academic semester. Based on a phenomenological method of data analysis exploratory research, data was gathered through in-depth interviews, reflective journals, and observations for the participants of both groups. In addition to providing an empirical validation of the DMC phenomenon, the results revealed what it was like to experience a DMC, how the participants developed DMC structures, and how they maintained individual and group motivation in an academic language learning setting. Findings suggest that developing a DMC structure immediately after a DMC starts is vital to maintaining long-term motivation, due to the effect of a behavioral routine and its role in ensuring the interactive engagement needed to achieve one’s goal. The findings also underscored the central roles of the language institution and the language teacher in altering second language learners’ behavioral routines, and how learners transition from a salient and facilitative recognizable structure to a clear perception of progress. As a result of the positive effect that the individuals received throughout the DMC experience, their efforts were appreciated and effective engagement was maintained until their goals were accomplished. However, this positive effect was not just the pleasure of activity and engagement or the feelings that were associated with simply learning a second language. Rather, it was the high energy that was received due to a sense of happiness associated with a great transformation, which developed the participants’ vision of how to reach the goal, levels of structural development and skills, and individuals’ feelings about how they were developing. The results likewise revealed that DMCs can be experienced not just by individuals but also by groups of learners, when a combined energy becomes directed toward a shared goal. Furthermore, the study shows that groups’ DMCs were based on the ultimate form of the group’s performance, in large part due to the time they invested in learning the L2, and that reaching the goal maintained motivation by letting them use their highest capacity to apply what they learned. In summary, the empirical evidence presented in this study suggests that long-term motivation in a DMC is the outcome of the ideal combination of motivational principles that enable individuals to reach their highest level and to achieve outstanding results in terms of accomplishing their goals. Throughout the DMC and due to the effect of the positive impact and structural functions, the motivational energy was renewed, allowing both long-term progress and autonomy interaction without the need for optional self-regulatory procedures. Once applied in a second language setting, DMCs deliver an exceptionally influential boost to second language learners’ performance as well as their motivation. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 9, 2018. / Comparative analysis, DMC, ESLs, HLLs, Motivation, SLL / Includes bibliographical references. / Phil Hiver, Professor Directing Dissertation; Valliere Richard Auzenne, University Representative; Ayesha Khurshid, Committee Member; Kelly Whalon, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_650750 |
| Contributors | Tawfeeq, Wasan Azeez (author), Hiver, Philip V. (professor directing dissertation), Auzenne, Valliere Richard, 1952- (university representative), Khurshid, Ayesha (committee member), Whalon, Kelly J. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), School of Teacher Education (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (140 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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