The dynamic relationship between L2 possible selves and learning experience during study abroad: A longitudinal multiple case study of Chinese language learners

Abstract This multiple case study employed the L2 motivational self-system (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2005. The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc; Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2009. The L2 motivational self-system. In Zoltán Dörnyei & Ema Ushioda (eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self , 9–42. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters) to understand the motivational dynamics of Chinese (Mandarin) language learners during a study abroad (SA) sojourn. It examined the qualitative changes in learners’ L2 possible selves by adopting the complex dynamic system theory (CDST) (Larsen-Freeman, Diane & Lynne Cameron. 2008. Complex systems and applied linguistics . Oxford: Oxford University Press) and the person-in-context perspective (Ushioda, Ema. 2009. A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Zoltán Dörnyei & Ema Ushioda (eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self , 215–228. Bristol: Multilingual Matters). Participants were three undergraduate Chinese language learners from different countries (Salvador, Myanmar, and Solomon Islands) enrolled at a Chinese university. Data were collected through a motivational questionnaire administered upon arrival, followed by four semi-structured interviews with each participant conducted over a four-month period during the first semester of their SA sojourn. Through thematic analysis, the study illustrates the process of how learners’ L2 possible selves were constantly refined during SA (e.g., developed more capable actual L2 selves, extended perceived ideal L2 selves, strengthened and internalized ought-to L2 selves). An ongoing interplay between L2 possible selves and learning experience was found: while learning experience abroad shaped learners’ L2 possible selves, their enriched possible selves further guided learners’ behaviors and, in turn, created new learning experiences.