Languages (Feb 2023)
A Dual-Motivation System in L2 and L3 Learning: A Theoretical Framework and Pedagogical Application
Abstract
This article is an attempt to conceptualise the possibility of two coexisting language learning motivational subsystems for an existing L2 (or L2s) and an L3 currently being learnt, which gives rise to a complex dynamic dual-motivational system. As is generally accepted, an L2 in second language acquisition is defined as any language learned in addition to a person’s first language, which can be the second, third or any other subsequent language. Partly because of this, there appeared to be an assumption that L2 motivation, in general, could be applied to all these “L2s”. In more recent studies, however, it was pointed out that L3 learning may sometimes have an adverse influence on one’s lexical activation, L2 identity, or general L2 motivation. In particular, L2 and L3 motivations have been conceptualised as two quite distinct yet related systems. Against this backdrop, this article argues that L2 and L3 (with any subsequent languages) deserve discrete statuses, as do the motivations of learning them. It then follows that there exists a dual-motivation system for multilinguals. From a Complexity Dynamic Systems Theory perspective, this paper presents an up-to-date review of the mutual influences between languages among multilingual learners, discusses the similarities and differences between L2 and L3 motivational systems, and, most interestingly, explores the interaction between the two types of additional language learning motivation among multilinguals. This article ends with a close look into how the notion of a dual-motivation system could shed light on L2 and L3 pedagogies. It suggests how teachers could maintain existing learning motivation when another language is introduced to one’s linguistic repertoire and avoid detrimental effects that might thus be caused.
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