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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 45:3 (2022) ► pp.299–321

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Community presence, motivation, and identity

The Community-engaged L2 Self of university students of Italian in Melbourne

ORCiD logo with link | The University of Melbourne
Published online: 23 April 2021
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.20079.amo
Abstract
This study examines the extent to which the motivation of university students of Italian in Melbourne (Australia) is influenced by the visibility of a local Italian community. The research relies on data collected by open-ended questions and two Likert items from a survey study (n = 74) as well as in-depth interviews (n = 5). The findings show that learners’ motivation is influenced by their exposure to the L2 language and culture in the local context and by their engagement with a community that forms part of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse population. Students’ invest-​ment in the L2 can be interpreted in light of a new identity dimension, the community-engaged L2 self, which builds upon previous motivational variables (integrative orientation, ideal L2 self), as well as scholarly insights into the link between language, identity, and access to L2 resources. This self-characterizes both heritage and non-heritage learners’ positioning through the L2 in the local socio-context and is expected to hold considerable pedagogical significance.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Motivation as L2 community-dependent
    • 2.2Motivation as a process of self-discrepancy
    • 2.3Identity and context
    • 2.4Heritage language learning
  • 3.The context: Italian in Australia and in Melbourne
  • 4.Methods
  • 5.Results and discussion
    • 5.1Integrative orientation and identity
      • 5.1.1Integrative orientation
      • 5.1.2Identity
    • 5.2A person-in-context relational view and “local” linguistic capital
  • 6.New theorizing on L2 motivation: The community-engaged L2 self and its pedagogical implications
  • 7.Final remarks
  • References
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