A Self System Perspective on Young Adolescents’ Motivation to Learn English in Urban and Rural Settings
Abstract
This study examined the motivation to learn English of Indonesian junior high school pupils, 13–14 years of age, in three distinct contexts: a metropolitan city, a provincial town, and a rural district. Utilizing Dörnyei's second language (L2) Motivational Self System as the theoretical framework, this study employed a 50‐item questionnaire to sample the views of 527 learners, and a C‐test to measure their current proficiency in English. Motivation was found to be similar in strength and character in the two urban settings but significantly different in the rural setting. A positive view of the experience of learning English was the strongest predictor of both motivated learning behavior and L2 proficiency, whereas the Ideal L2 self was only a significant factor among the metropolitan group.
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The literature on the predictive validity of the ideal L2 self has produced polarized conclusions.
“However, the results seem to have led to a range of conclusions in the field, some of which seem polarized.”
From The L2 motivational self system: A meta-analysis (2018) · cites this paper as Lamb, 2012
Future selves have their origins in the social role models and media images available to young people in childhood and early adolescence; in many global societies, the valorization of English language skills and the association of the language with desirable cosmopolitan lifestyles means that by the time they enter secondary school, many pupils do already have incipient ideal English-speaking selv
“Future selves have their origins in the social role models and media images available to young people in childhood and early adolescence; in many global societies, the valorization of English language skills and the association of the language with desirable cosmopolitan lifestyles means that by the time they enter secondary school, many pupils do already have incipient ideal English-speaking”
From The motivational dimension of language teaching (2017) · cites this paper as Lamb 2012
Cites
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2. The L2 Motivational Self System
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Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers.
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Motivation, Language Attitudes and Globalisation: A Hungarian Perspective
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The motivational dimension of language teaching
Lamb, M. (2017) · Language Teaching · doi:10.1017/s0261444817000088 · Cited by 361 · see citing works
Self-citationL2 SELVES, EMOTIONS, AND MOTIVATED BEHAVIORS
Teimouri, Y. (2017) · Studies in Second Language Acquisition · doi:10.1017/s0272263116000243 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
The L2 motivational self system: A meta-analysis
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A longitudinal study of primary school EFL learning motivation in CLIL and non-CLIL settings
Pladevall-Ballester, E. (2019) · Language Teaching Research · doi:10.1177/1362168818765877 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
“It might also be the case that young learners can reflect on the learning experience more easily than they can on their future selves (Lamb, 2012).”
BackgroundKim, T.-Y., & Kim, Y. (2021) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/s10936-020-09721-8 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Tai, K. W. H., & Choi, K. C. K. (2026) · Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development · doi:10.1080/01434632.2025.2580563 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lamb, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lamb, Martin
- ORCID
- Lamb, Martin
- Venue
- Language Learning
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2012-08-03
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 997-1023
- ISSN
- 0023-8333 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9922
- OpenAlex
- W1773963740
- Cited by
- 394
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 80.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Language Learning (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Keywords
- English learning motivation, self-determination theory, second language motivation, ideal L2 self, second language proficiency, junior high school students, urban-rural differences, Indonesian learners, learning experience
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