Exploring the motivation of women studying in a multilevel ESOL class in England

Abstract

Identifying students’ reasons for learning a language is useful for every teacher who aims to help students achieve their goals. In addition, understanding how their language learning motivation is maintained through the class and to what extent this continues away from the classroom are equally important, especially in noncompulsory adult ESOL. Following Ushioda’s (2016) call for a small lens approach, one class of female, adult ESOL learners was studied to discover factors influencing their language learning motivation whilst attending a multilevel class in England. Data was collected over a period of 8 weeks through classroom observations, motigraphs, and interviews. Dorney's L2 motivational self-system theory (2009) was employed as a means of analysis and the findings appear to suggest that the learning experience and ought-to second language (L2) self have the largest impact on the participants’ motivation in this context. The study concludes with pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research in this often overlooked field of enquiry.