The L2 Motivational Self System and National Interest: A Pakistani perspective

This paper reports a study of Pakistani undergraduate students' motivation to learn English, using Dörnyei's (2009) L2 Motivational Self System as the main theoretical framework, while including some context-specific factors. The purpose of the study was both to contribute to the ongoing validation of Dörnyei's model for describing contemporary L2 motivation and to capture motivational factors which were salient in this under-researched global context. A survey was designed and administered to over 1000 undergraduates in various institutions in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Correlation and regression analyses of the data provide considerable empirical support for the validity of the L2 Motivational Self System and its relevance in the Pakistani context, with attitudes to the learning experience and the Ideal L2 self again found to be the strongest predictors of learning effort. However, a proposed new construct – National Interest – made a strong contribution to the Ideal L2 self, highlighting the need to understand the association of English with the national identities and interests of learners.