Cover not available
Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 47:2 (2024) ► pp.129–152

A socio-psychological analysis of goal-setting when deciding to learn a second language

The Australian experience

ORCID logo | The University of Melbourne
This study bridges a gap in the current research on motivation and demotivation learning a second language (L2). It is meant to provide an overview of students’ goal setting when they start to learn an L2 at university level in Australia. Drawing on goal-setting and learning goal orientation constructs (cf. Miller, 2020), goal formation is deconstructed and analysed to throw new light on students’ psychological processes identified at the micro level and the influences on goal setting stemming from the social context at the macro level in which students operate. The interaction between the two levels is explored in order to understand which dynamics lie behind research participants’ desire of gaining proficiency in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Qualitative data analysis outcomes are shown in an attempt to provide clear and applicable pedagogical suggestions for L2 practitioners (see, e.g., Al-Hoorie et al., 2021).
Keywords: second language motivation, goal-setting, learning goal orientation, second language learning and teaching, Australian universities, French studies, German studies, Italian studies, Spanish studies, European studies
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Goal-setting theory
    • 2.2Goal orientation theory
  • 3.Methods
  • 4.Data analysis and findings
    • 4.1The micro level of the psychological domain
    • 4.2The macro level of the social domain
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Research question one: What influences students’ goal-setting process in the micro-level psychological domain when they choose to learn an L2?
    • 5.2Research question two: How does the macro-level social environment shape students’ goals during their decision-making process of learning an L2?
  • 6.Pedagogical implications
  • 7.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 20 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.21070.dor
References (82)
References
Adolphs, S., Clark, L., Dörnyei, Z., Glover, T., Henry, A., Muir, C., Sánchez-Lozano, E., & Valstar, M. (2018). Digital innovation in L2 motivation: Harnessing the power of the ideal L2 self. System, 78 1, 173–185. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Al-Hoorie, A. H., Hiver, P., Kim, T. Y., & De Costa, P. I. (2021). The identity crisis in language motivation research. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 40 (1), 136–153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ames, C. (1992). Achievement goals and classroom motivational climate. In J. Meece & D. Schunk (Eds.), Students’ perceptions in the classroom (pp. 327–348). Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Banesch, S. (2001). Critical English for Academic Purposes: Theory, politics, and practice. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bazeley, P., & Kristi, J. (2013). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. Sage.Google Scholar
Ben Maad, M. R. (2016). The role of L2 learner goal differences in task-generated oral production. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39 (1), 47–71. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bennett, J. M. (2008). Transformative training: Designing programs for culture learning. In M. A. Moodian (Ed.), Contemporary leadership and intercultural competence: Understanding and utilizing cultural diversity to build successful organizations (pp. 95–110). Sage.Google Scholar
Berardi-Wiltshire, A. (2016). Identity and motivation among heritage language learners of Italian in New Zealand: A social constructivist perspective. In T. Aravossitas & P. Trifonas (Eds.), Handbook of research and practice in heritage language education (pp. 1–19). Springer International. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, J., Cantero, M. D., & Inceoglu, S. (2019, November). Transitioning to university: Managing expectations in language classes [Paper presentation]. Exchanges: People, knowledge and cultures conference, The University of Western Australia, Perth.
Brown, J., & Caruso, M. (2016). Access granted: Modern languages and issues of accessibility at university – a case study from Australia. CercleS, 6 (2), 453–471. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. C. Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 2–27). Longman.Google Scholar
Chartrand, T. L., Dalton, A. N., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (2007). Nonconscious relationship reactance: When significant others prime opposing goals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43 (5), 719–726. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93 (1), 55–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cohen, T. R., Meier, B. P., Hinsz, V. B., & Insko, C. A. (2010). Competitive group interactions: Why they exist and how to overcome them. In S. Schuman (Ed.), The handbook for working with difficult groups (pp. 223–236). Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Corder, S., & Meyerhoff, M. (2008). Communities of practice in the analysis of intercultural communication. In H. Kotthoff, H. Spencer-Oatey, & K. Knapp (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural communication (pp. 440–461). Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Côté, J., Ericsson, A. K., & Low, M. P. (2005). Tracing the development of athletes using retrospective interview methods: A proposed interview and validation procedure for reported information. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 17 1, 1–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.Google Scholar
D’Orazzi, G. (2020a). Motivation and demotivation in second language learning at Australian universities. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
(2020b). Motivation and demotivation of French beginner university learners in Australia. International Journal of Languages’ Education and Teaching, 8 (4), 252–278. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020c). Influences of willingness to communicate and foreign language enjoyment on second language learners’ motivation. Konin Language Studies, 8 (3), 263–293.Google Scholar
(2020d). University students’ demotivation learning second languages: The case of Australian universities. International Journal of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, 1 1, 28–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
D’Orazzi, G., & Hajek, J. (2021). Italian language learning and student motivation at Australian universities. Journal of Italian Studies, 76 (1), 447–465. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
D’Orazzi, G., Kretzenbacher, H. L., & Hajek, J. (2022). “I imagine myself in the future speaking German”. What motivates university students in Australia to learn German over time? German as a Foreign Language, 2/20221, 64–90.Google Scholar
Darvin, R. (2020). L2 motivation and investment. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 245–264). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Davis, P. E., Fox, C. J., DeBode, J. D., & Peterson, L. T. (2021). Is avoiding the appearance of incompetence the key to success? An examination of team goal orientation and performance in a simulation environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58 (8), 1562–1585. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Saint Léger, D., & Storch, N. (2009). Learners’ perceptions and attitudes: Implications for willingness to communicate in an L2 classroom. System, 37 (2), 269–285. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Denies, K., Yashima, T., & Janssen, R. (2015). Classroom versus societal willingness to communicate: Investigating French as a second language in Flanders. The Modern Language Journal, 99 (4), 718–739. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. (2001a). Teaching and researching motivation. Pearson Education.Google Scholar
(2001b). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020). From integrative motivation to directed motivational currents: The evolution of the understanding of the L2 motivation over three decades. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 39–69). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z., & Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2017). The motivational foundation of learning languages other than English: Theoretical issues and research directions. The Modern Language Journal, 101 (3), 455–468. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. (2001). A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80 (3), 501–519. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gardner, R. C. (2001). Integrative motivation and second language acquisition. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (pp. 1–19). University of Hawai’i Press.Google Scholar
Greene, B. A., Miller, R. B., Crowson, H. M., Duke, B. L., & Akey, K. L. (2004). Predicting high school students’ cognitive engagement and achievement: Contributions of classroom perceptions and motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29 (4), 462–482. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grin, F. (2003). Language planning and economics. Current Issues in Language Planning, 4 (1), 1–66. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Group of Eight (Go8). (2007). Languages in crisis: A rescue plan for Australia. The Group of Eight.Google Scholar
Gu, M. (2009). The discursive construction of second language learners’ motivation. Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Hajek, J., & Slaughter, Y. (Eds.). (2014). Challenging the monolingual mindset. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hajek, J., & Warren, J. (1996). Why study French and Italian? Understanding motivational orientation in LOTE learning. Australian Language Matters, 4 (1), 13.Google Scholar
Hanna, B., & de Nooy, J. (2009). Learning language and culture via public internet discussion forums. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Henry, A. (2017). L2 motivation and multilingual identities. The Modern Language Journal, 101 (3), 548–565. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020). Directed motivational currents: Extending the theory of L2 vision. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 139–162). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Huang, H. T., Hsu, C. C., & Chen, S. W. (2015). Identification with social role obligations, possible selves, and L2 motivation in foreign language learning. System, 51 1, 28–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Islam, M., Lamb, M., & Chambers, G. (2013). The motivational self system and national interest: A Pakistani perspective. System, 41 1, 231–244. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Karbakhsh, R., & Safa, M. A. (2020). Basic psychological needs satisfaction, goal orientation, willingness to communicate, self-efficacy, and learning strategy use as predictors of second language achievement: A structural equation modelling approach. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 49 1, 803–822. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J. (2012). The role of individual differences in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21 1, 390–403. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lamb, M., Csizér, K., Henry, A., & Ryan, S. (2020). Introduction. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 1–18). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Lantolf, J. P., & Pavlenko, A. (2001). Second language activity theory: Understanding second language learners as people. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learner contribution to language learning: New directions in research (pp. 141–158). Pearson.Google Scholar
Lantolf, J. P., & Swain, M. (2020). Perezhivanie: The cognitive–emotional dialectic within the social situation of development. In A. H. Al-Hoorie, & P. D. MacIntyre (Eds.), Contemporary language motivation theory: 60 years since Gardner and Lambert (1959) (pp. 80–105). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Latham, G. P., & Locke, E. A. (1979). Goal-setting – a motivational technique that works. Organizational Dynamics, 8 (2), 68–80. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1991). Self-regulation through goal setting. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50 1, 212–247. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lo Bianco, J. (2010). The importance of language policies and multilingualism for cultural diversity. International Social Science Journal, 61 (199), 37–67. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014). Documenting language loss and endangerment: Research, tools, and approaches. In T. G. Wiley, J. K. Peyton, D. Christian, S. C. K. Moore, & N. Liu (Eds.), Handbook of heritage, community, and native American languages in the United States. Research, policy and educational practice (pp. 54–65). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivation through conscious goal setting. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 5 (2), 117–124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mejía, G. (2014). A case study of anxiety in the Spanish classroom in Australia. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 11 (3), 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mettewie, L. (2015). Apprendre la langue de «l’autre» en Belgique: la dimension affective comme frein à l’apprentissage [Learning the language of ‘the other’ in Belgium: The affective dimension as a brake on the learning process]. Le Langage et l’Homme, 1 (2), 23–42.Google Scholar
Miller, A. M. (2019). Exploring Achievement Goal Theory, ACTFL’s 5 Cs, and the L2 classroom: What goals do students set? Foreign Language Annals, 52 (2), 237–254. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020). Investigating the connection between achievement goal theory and goal-setting theory: Does goal setting have an effect on achievement in the Spanish second language classroom? Hispania, 103 (3), pp. 387–402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2021, July). The Cultura Exchange Site. [URL]
Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study. The Modern Language Journal, 96 (2), 153–169. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Montrul, S. (2016). The acquisition of heritage languages. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Norton, B. (2013). Identity and second language acquisition. In A. Carol Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopaedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1–8). Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Oakes, L. (2013). Foreign language learning in a ‘monoglot culture’: Motivational variables amongst students of French and Spanish at an English university. System, 41 1, 178–191. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Palmieri, C. (2017). Belonging, idealised self and wellbeing. Key motivators among adult learners of Italian in Sydney. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 40 (2), 176–193. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019). Identity trajectories of adult second language learners. Learning Italian in Australia. Multilingual matters.Google Scholar
Papi, M., & Hiver, P. (2020). Language learning motivation as a complex dynamic system: A global perspective of truth, control, and value. The Modern Language Journal, 104 (1), 209–232. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ross, A. S., & Stracke, E. (2016). Learner perceptions and experiences of pride in second language education. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39 (3), 272–291. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ryan, S. (2009). Self and identity in L2 motivation in Japan: The ideal L2 self and Japanese learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 120–143). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sakai, H., & Kikuchi, K. (2009). An analysis of demotivators in the EFL classroom. System, 37 (1), 57–69. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, G. (1997). Teaching culture and language for specific purposes: An approach to the development of appropriate teaching material. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, S (14), 135–146. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). Motives for studying German in Australia. Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Seijts, G. H., Latham, G. P., Tasa, K., & Latham, B. W. (2004). Goals setting and goal orientation: An integration of two different yet related literatures. Academy of Management Journal, 47 (2), 227–239. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Strambi, A., Luzeckyj, A., & Rubino, A. (2017). Flourishing in a second language (FL2). Integrating positive psychology, transition pedagogy and CLIL principles. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 40 (2), 121–139. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tercanlioglu, L. (2004). Achievement Goal Theory: A perspective on foreign-language-learners’ motivation. TESL Canada Journal, 21 (2), 34–49. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Uhl Chamot, A. (2001). The role of learning strategies in second language acquisition. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning (pp. 25–43). Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Ushioda, E. (2017). The impact of global English on motivation to learn other languages: Towards an ideal multilingual self. The Modern Language Journal, 101 (3), 469–482. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020). Researching L2 motivation: Past, present and future. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 661–682). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Vahidnia, F., & Fatemi, A. (2015). The advantage of power of goal-setting theory coupled with the power of choice in Iranian EFL learners’ writing. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6 (4), 818–823. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vandewalle, D. (1997). Development and validation of a work domain goal orientation instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57 (6), 995–1015. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weinmann, M. (2018). ‘Asia literate’ learning in global contexts: Curriculum perspectives on Asian Languages education in Australia and Germany. In B. Nickl, I. Herrschner, & E. Goździak (Eds), German-Australian encounters and cultural transfers. Global Germany in transnational dialogues (pp. 111–129). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Xu, H. L., & Moloney, R. (2020). Motivation for learning Chinese in the Australian context: A research focus on tertiary students. In M. Lamb, K. Csizér, A. Henry, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning (pp. 449–469). Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86 (1), 54–66. DOI logoGoogle Scholar