Abstract:
Investigating the discursive construction of EFL learners’
motivation is a relatively new area of inquiry. Hence, there is a
dearth of research into how foreign language learners’
discourse mediates their motivation construction. This study
attempted to examine the discursive construction of two (one
male and one female) Iranian EFL learners’ motivation in
Shiraz University, Iran. Employing Fairclough’s (2003) critical
discourse analysis framework, the study revealed that EFL
learners’ motivation is not single-dimensional and static;
rather, it is complex, multi-dimensional and dynamic which is
discursively constructed in the constant interaction between
the individual and the social context. Findings also indicated
that the discursive construction of EFL motivation involves the
simultaneous interaction of multiple levels of learners’
interpersonal relationships, their ideal selves, and factors in
local and broader social, cultural and political milieus.
Machine summary:
"3. Objectives of the Study and Research Questions This study reports on a qualitative case study of two university English language learners’ motivation by examining their interpersonal relationships in the university where they attend, their future self-guides, and their personal struggles in, and alignment with social norms and requirements.
In another study in the context of Iran, Gharghani Nezhad (2011) attempted to investigate self-regulated learning and its relationship with EFL learners’ writing performance and motivation.
Employing a critical discourse analysis framework, she illustrated how learner motivation was discursively constructed in the dynamic interaction between the individual and the social environment, and through a complex process which involved their interpersonal relationships, their imaginative projections about the future, and their alignment with social discourses.
All of the interviews were conducted in Persian and their main focus was on the participants’ English language learning experience, their future plans, their motivation (or lack thereof) at different stages of their life from their childhood to the present time, and the factors that influenced their motivation.
(2013), and Phan (2010), the findings of Gu’s and our study revealed that utilizing quantitative research alone provides us with an incomplete and simplified picture of motivation while the employment of qualitative approach gave us a more complete and holistic view of motivation construction at different levels of its relationship.
That is, the broad social, cultural, and political conditions influence EFL learners’ English learning at different levels of their relationships with their peers, teachers, and university staff in addition to their ideal selves and all of these factors play a vital role in their motivation construction."