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This book provides rare insights into motivation among extremely successful learners of English and languages other than English (LOTEs) through the analysis of a longitudinal study and the examination of the factors involved in becoming multilingual in a non-multilingual environment. Based on sixteen interview sessions, conducted over the course of nine years while the learners progressed from high school to the world of work, this book offers the story of how two learners persist in English/LOTE learning. The study illuminates the long-term processes through which the interviewees develop ideal English/LOTE selves in an environment where multilingualism is not emphasized and where both English and LOTEs can still be described as foreign languages. Educators and researchers will learn from this study, which stretches our understanding of motivation beyond the recent theorizing of L2 motivation and contributes to the limited research in long-term motivational trajectories and LOTE learning motivation, which is particularly scarce in non-European contexts. The book will be of interest not only to readers in Japan but also to those in other contexts as it offers an example of successful learners who go beyond the pragmatic and instrumentalist view of language learning to hold a more holistic view, thus revealing the factors which can sustain multiple language learning, even in foreign language contexts.
A fascinating case study of multiple language learning, this monograph breaks new ground in providing an account of persistence in the pursuit of a multilingual future. Examining motivational trajectories as processes in motion, Takahashi’s study will be required reading for anyone interested in L2 perseverance and the long-term dynamics of language learning motivation.
This book provides a fascinating account of two successful multilingual learners’ nine-year learning journeys. It expands our understanding of multilingual motivation by transcending the traditional research site of school settings, and highlights how lifelong language learning and lived experiences co-shape and coordinate over a long term. The endurance and persistence shown by the learners are truly impressive.
English in Japan is mandatory at all levels of education, from elementary school through to undergraduate university and – while languages other than English (LOTEs) are occasionally available at secondary level and undergraduate levels – LOTE courses are generally not required and thus few in number [...] This is one reason why Takahashi’s book is such a rarity [...] An even more striking aspect of this book is the length of the study it describes: longitudinal work lasting nine years is highly unusual and, for a study based in Japan, very likely the first of its kind.
Takahashi’s research monograph distinguishes itself from many publications on language education by drawing attention to the learning of LOTE in Japan, where explicit policy support is absent [...] The experiences represented in this study undoubtedly echo many language learners’ motivations for multilingual learning in the Asia-Pacific region. Its results should encourage readers to reflect on the educational system and identify areas for positive change concerning the learning and teaching of multiple languages in addition to English.
Chika Takahashi is Associate Professor at Ehime University, Japan. Her research interests include L2 motivation, LOTE motivation and L2 self-instruction, and she has recently published articles in The Language Learning Journal and Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching.
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Part 1: Contextualizing the Study
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Theoretical Background
Chapter 3. Growing Body of LOTE Motivation Research
Chapter 4. English and LOTE Education in Japan
Part 2: The Empirical Study
Chapter 5. The Study
Chapter 6. The Early Days: English Self-Instruction Using Radio Materials in High School
Chapter 7. Broadening the Horizons: (Re-)Starting LOTE Learning at University
Chapter 8. Pursuing Multilingualism or Not? Language and Academic Studies
Chapter 9. What Does Language Mean to the Interviewees, in the End? Language Learning beyond Formal Education
Part 3: Concluding Thoughts
Chapter 10. Reflecting on the Method: Advantages and Challenges of Longitudinal Case Studies Utilizing Interviews
Chapter 11. Conclusion
Afterword
Appendices
References
Index