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This book examines the role of affective variables in the process of learning a minority language. It presents a comprehensive account of how adult learners’ attitude, motivation and identity are related to their awareness of, and commitment to, different dialects and varieties as target speech models. These issues are examined in the context of Irish, a minority language which does not have a standard spoken variety and where the vast majority of learners have no regular contact with native speakers. Using a mixed methods research approach, this study explores the relationships that exist between, on the one hand, learners’ attitudes towards the three main traditional dialects of Irish and non-traditional second language varieties, and on the other, their motivation and self-concept as second language learners.
Written in a highly readable style, this book details the findings of an in-depth and timely study among adult language learners, investigating the role of motivation, language attitudes and linguistic identities in determining levels of acquisition of (varieties of) the Irish language. The book constitutes a valuable resource for researchers, teachers and students interested in second language acquisition, bilingualism and sociolinguistics.
Colin J. Flynn is Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Irish Language and Adult Learners of Irish
Chapter 2. The Native Speaker and Target Models in Second Language Acquisition
Chapter 3. Attitude, Motivation and Identity in Second Language Learning
Chapter 4. Research Methodology
Chapter 5. Stage I: Irish Language Questionnaire for Adult Learners
Chapter 6. Stage II: Speaker Evaluation Exercise
Chapter 7. Stage III: Semi-structured Interviews
Chapter 8. Discussion and Conclusions