Motivation, role models, and reading task performance: An exploratory study of Saudi self-directed learners of Japanese

Research on second language acquisition (SLA) motivation has focused predominantly on learners of English, while learners of languages other than English (LOTEs) remain comparatively underexplored. This exploratory study examines the relationship between motivational variables, role models, imagined interaction, and reading task performance among Saudi self-directed learners of Japanese. Drawing on Dörnyei's (2009) L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), the study investigates how identity related and socially mediated forms of motivation may relate to Japanese reading performance. An exploratory cross-sectional correlational design was employed involving 30 Saudi self-directed learners of Japanese. Data were collected through a motivation questionnaire and a Japanese reading comprehension task involving Kanji. Because many variables were ordinal or binary in nature, the data were analyzed using Spearman's rank-order correlations. The findings revealed a small number of statistically significant associations between motivational variables and reading task performance. In particular, peer encouragement demonstrated a moderate positive association with reading task performance, while role models were strongly associated with imagined interaction in Japanese. By contrast, several instrumental variables, including travel intentions and work-related motivations, demonstrated weak or negligible associations with performance. The findings suggest that socially mediated forms of motivation, particularly peer encouragement, may be associated with reading task performance among Saudi self-directed learners of Japanese. Role models and imagined interaction emerged as descriptively noteworthy aspects of participants’ motivational experiences, although they were not directly associated with reading task performance.