<i>How Do I Measure up</i> ? Social Influence and L2 Motivation in the Algorithmic Age

ABSTRACT Comparative thinking is a fundamental human drive and a hallmark of contemporary life. For social action, such as the learning and use of additional languages, a target for appraisal (an L2 attribute) is evaluated in relation to a comparison standard (an appraiser's standpoint). An appraiser can be the person themselves, another person, a social group, people in a particular social context, or, in the broadest sense, people in society itself. While the range of potential appraisers is wide, in the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), parsimony has meant that the category of “other people” who function as appraisers is narrow. In this article we explore the role of socially focused appraisals in L2 motivation. In an age of algorithm‐driven sociality, and at a point where generative AI is crossing an ontological line from “machine” to semi‐human actor and “participant” in social life, we consider how social influence can extend beyond the standpoints of significant others. We explain how, in varying forms, “other people” can exert an influence on the L2 learner's motivation. In the paradoxical situation of researching an enterprise that is inherently social but lacking a conceptual apparatus to investigate social influence, we set out imperatives and make recommendations.