Abstract
L2 motivational self system (L2MSS) has offered novel pathways for motivating language learners by introducing the concepts of possible selves, vision and imagery. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a vision-based motivational intervention program in improving motivational attributes of Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). A total of 51 male and female adult Iranian EFL learners formed the experimental and control groups. The experimental groups received the treatment during an academic semester. The intervention consisted of six steps and included various tasks and activities to improve the students’ vision and imagination. A Likert scale self-report questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention. Marginal qualitative data was also collected for a more in-depth analysis of the results. The results of ANCOVAs alongside the qualitative analysis demonstrated that the vision-based intervention was greatly effective in enhancing second language (L2) learners’ vision and motivation. The participants’ ideal L2 self, attitude toward L2 learning, imagery capacity and intended effort improved, while their ought-to L2 self remained unchanged. The outcomes suggest that it is possible to conduct vision-based interventions that contribute to improving L2 learners’ future self-guides and motivation. Finally, the relevant pedagogical implications are discussed.
I Introduction
Since Gardner and Lambert (1959) introduced the concept of second language (L2) motivation as a research agenda, numerous studies have confirmed the importance of motivation and its vital role in learning activities and L2 acquisition (Dörnyei, 2014; Ushioda, 2008). The last half a century witnessed the emergence of a plethora of L2 motivation theories, models, and frameworks (for a review, see Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). Currently, Dörnyei’s theory of L2 motivational self system (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009) has revolutionized the agenda by introducing the concepts of self, future self-guides, and vision. As a result, there is a great deal to explore and discover about the nature of L2 motivation and its pedagogical applications.
The L2MSS has broadened the motivational repertoire available for language teachers by highlighting the significance of the L2 learners’ vision (Dörnyei, 2014). The possibility of harnessing the powerful motivational capacity of vision and mental imagery has opened up a novel pathway for promoting motivation by means of building and elaborating self-relevant imagery in L2 learners.
Now, it seems warranted to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a vision-based intervention program to enhance L2 learners’ vision as a powerful way to motivate them. The complicated and far-reaching goal of motivating L2 learners could be attained more easily and with greater success through applying the principles of L2MSS. As Dörnyei (2014) indicates, such pedagogical experiments are very welcome because the current approaches to classroom processes need a major overhaul. Very little has been done on the pedagogical aspects of L2MSS, thus, it is useful to examine the actual outcomes of its implementation.
II Literature review
L2MSS grew out of the effect of two important theoretical developments: new conceptualizations in L2 research and advances in mainstream psychology (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015). A reconceptualization of integrativeness has brought about significant changes in L2 motivation research which herald a deviation from the long-standing Gardnerian perspective. Within mainstream psychology, appearance and consolidation of the concept of self and self theories gradually influenced L2 motivation and, together with progressive L2 research developments, begot the L2MSS (Dörnyei, 2005).
Challenges to the Gardnerian concept of integrativeness intensified with the development of English as an international language (Dörnyei, Csizér, & Nemeth, 2006; Irie, 2003; McClelland, 2000; Yashima, 2002). This led to a reconceptualization that fits the global status of English. In their large-scale study in Hungary, Dörnyei et al. (2006) found that no motive could be detected to match the Gardnerian concept of integrativeness. Rather than linking L2 learners’ motivation to integrating into an L2 community, Dörnyei et al. (2006) concluded that a more fundamental process within the self-concept of individual learners must be at work.
The second pivot on which L2MSS stands is the psychological concept of self. Theories of self have focused on the active, dynamic nature of the self-system. Self theorists have been interested in linking the self with action to determine how self concepts affect actual behavior. These attempts connected self-system to motivation (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). The two influential self theories that formed the foundations of L2MSS were possible selves theory (Markus & Nurius, 1986) and self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). Markus and Nurius (1986) define possible selves (or future self-guides) as ‘specific representations of one’s self in future states, involving thoughts, images, and senses, and are in many ways the manifestations, or personalized carriers, of one’s goals and aspiration’ (p. 954). Also, Higgins (1987) postulate that human beings are motivated to reach a state where their current self-concept matches their future self-guides. In other words, motivation is conceptualized as the desire to lessen the discrepancy between one’s existing self and one’s imagined self-guides (Dörnyei, 2009).
1 The L2MSS
Drawing on the previous developments, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) proposed his new L2MSS. As described by Dörnyei (2009, p. 29), the model includes three components:
Ideal L2 Self: refers to the L2-specific facet of one’s ideal self: If the person we would like to become speaks an L2, the ideal L2 self is a powerful motivator to learn the L2 because of the desire to reduce the discrepancy between our actual and ideal selves. Traditional integrative and internalized instrumental motives would typically belong to this component.
Ought-to L2 Self: centers around the attributes that one believes one ought to possess in order to meet others’ expectations and to avoid possible negative outcomes. This dimension corresponds to Higgins’s ought self and thus involves the more extrinsic (i.e., less internalized) types of instrumental motives.
L2 Learning Experience (also attitude toward L2 learning): concerns situated, executive motives related to the immediate learning environment and experience (e.g. the impact of the teacher, the curriculum, the peer group, the experience of success).
Following the emergence of the model, several studies focused on its empirical validity and found corroborating evidence that supported the theoretical construct of the L2MSS (e.g. Csizér & Kormos, 2009; Hessel, 2015; Kormos & Kiddle, 2013; Li, 2014; Taguchi, Magid & Papi, 2009; Moskovsky et al., 2016; Papi, 2010; You & Dörnyei, 2016).These studies have generally confirmed the explanatory power of the model, and found strong associations between the ideal L2 self, attitude toward L2 learning and motivated behavior. It is worth noting that a few recent studies (e.g., Papi et al., 2018; Teimouri, 2017) concentrated on the regulatory focus of the self-guides and called for a reconsideration and reformulation of the model, especially regarding the ought-to L2 self.
2 The role of vision and imagery
The motivational power of possible selves and future self-guides heavily depends on imagery and vision (Dörnyei, 2009; Henry, Davydenko & Dörnyei, 2015; Markus, 2006; Ruvolo & Markus, 1992). Vision could be characterized as ‘a personalized goal that the learner has made his/her own by adding to it the imagined reality of the goal experience’ (Dörnyei & Chan, 2013, p. 455). As previously mentioned, possible selves and future self-guides, which form learners’ ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self, exert their motivational power through learners’ visions. In other words, an ideal self, is a personalized vision that denotes the person one wishes to become. Similarly, a feared self is a personalized vision of the person one is afraid of becoming (Boyatzis & Akrivou, 2006).
Vision and goals might seem the same. However, the sensory element inherent in the vision distinguishes it from future goals (Dörnyei, 2009; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Dörnyei, Henry & Muir, 2016; Markus, 2006). Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014) focused on this conceptual distinction by stating that ‘unlike an abstract, cognitive goal, a vision includes a strong sensory element: it involves tangible images related to achieving the goal’ (p. 10).
Vision is significant because individuals’ current engagement and activities depend on their envisioned future selves. Positive vision creates positive emotions and facilitates language learning (Munezane, 2015). As Higgins (1987) explained, perception of the discrepancy between the current state and the imagined future vision motivates an individual to take action and travel the distance. That is why creating vivid and thought-out images of future selves is critical to the success of using vision as a motivational tool (Dörnyei et al., 2016). Dörnyei and Chan (2013) insisted that learners’ capability to generate mental imagery determines the intensity of the resulting motivation. This highlights the significant role of mental imagery in constructing vision and nurturing motivation.
Imagery could be understood as ‘an internal representation of a perception of the external world in the absence of that external experience’ (Hall, Hall, & Leech, 1990, p. 28). Wenger (1998, p. 176) described imagery as the ability to transcend the time and space just like ‘looking at the apple seed and seeing a tree’. While imagination is commonly associated with visualization and seeing, Weinberg (2008) stated that imagery is the creation of mental images through various sensory modalities (visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory). Imagery can be distinguished from daydreaming in that the former is a deliberate, directed and purposeful process by which individuals can focus on a future goal in a disciplined manner, while the latter lacks predetermined purpose and focus (Klinger, 2009).
As suggested by Markus and Nurius (1986), possible selves contain tangible images and senses that provide people with the same thoughts and feelings that they may experience in real-life and actual situations. In other words, through imagination, possible selves form a reality for people by which they can see and hear their future selves (Dörnyei, Muir & Ibrahim, 2014). Dörnyei and Ryan (2015) maintained that detailed and vivid images of the self are powerful in pushing individuals to engage in pursuing their goals. Dörnyei (2014) believed that those people who possess richer self-images are motivationally more potent than their peers who lack such images.
Trying to connect the theoretical concepts to practical action, You and Chan (2015) explained that generating positive images of the future end-states can potentially lead to the development of the necessary plans and strategies for attaining the intended goals. Similarly, a number of other studies (Al-Shehri, 2009; Dörnyei & Chan, 2013; Kim, 2009; Kim & Kim, 2011) converge in suggesting the effective role of elaborate and clear images in motivating L2 learners.
3 Pedagogical interventions
Vision and imagery have yielded a new prospect for boosting students’ motivation in language classrooms. Dörnyei and Ushioda (2011) wrote ‘The possibility of harnessing the powerful motivational function of imagination opens up a whole new avenue for promoting student motivation by means of increasing the elaborateness and vividness of self-relevant imagery in the students’ (p. 130). Dörnyei and Ryan (2015) explained that imagery provides an internal resource that may be utilized for nurturing practices. Several scholars have pointed out that it is feasible and practical to devise a vision-inspired intervention program to take the theoretical concepts into pedagogical settings for enhancing learners’ motivation (Dörnyei, 2009; Dörnyei, 2014; Murphy et al., 2014; You et al., 2016).
Dörnyei (2009) proposed a general framework for vision enhancement programs. The program consists of six components that are aimed at achieving the motivational potential of vision. Dörnyei and Ryan (2015, p. 98) described an outline of the framework:
Creating the vision: The logical first step in a visionary motivational program is to help learners to create desired future selves, that is, construct visions of who they could become as L2 users and what knowing an L2 could add to their lives.
Strengthening the vision: The more intensive the imagery accompanying the vision, the more powerful the vision; therefore, we need to help students to see their desired language selves with more clarity and, consequently, with more urgency for action.
Substantiating the vision: Possible selves are only effective insomuch as learners perceive them as plausible (hence the term, possible self); therefore, students need to anchor their ideal L2 self-images in a sense of realistic expectations.
Transforming the vision into action: Vision without action is daydream: Future self-guides are only productive if they are accompanied by a set of concrete action plans, that is, by a blueprint of concrete pathways that will lead to them.
Keeping the vision alive: Everybody has several distinct possible selves that are stored in their memory and compete for attention in the person’s limited working self-concept; therefore, in order to keep our vision alive, we need to activate it regularly so that it does not get squeezed out by other life concerns.
Counterbalancing the vision: A classic principle in possible selves theory is that for maximum effectiveness as a motivational resource, a desired future self should be offset by a corresponding feared self.
A few practical studies have investigated the actual effectiveness of L2-specific vision-inspired interventions in pedagogical contexts (Chan, 2014; Fukada et al., 2011; Mackay, 2014; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012).These studies explored the effect of various interventions on L2 learners’ motivation and achieved positive outcomes. None of them, however, applied a program that encompasses various aspects and components of learners’ possible selves, vision, and imagery. Only Chan (2014) and Magid (2014) concentrated on vision and imagery enhancement. However, they utilized a small number of tasks and activities; moreover, their studies did not deal with all the components of vision enhancement as proposed by Dörnyei (2009). This could be due to the fact that no full-fledged, comprehensive vision-based program, including the relevant techniques and tasks, had been devised then for classroom implementation.
The shortage of a comprehensive blueprint was eased by Dörnyei and Kubanyiova’s (2014) publication on vision building activities in the language classroom. Following the principles of the L2MSS, the book offers a plethora of techniques and activities to operationalize the components of the vision enhancement program. It paved the way for preparing a full-scale and inclusive program for enhancing L2 learners’ vision, imagery, possible selves, and ultimately their L2 motivation.
III Method
Drawing on the existing developments and resources, especially Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014), the aim of the present research study was to investigate the probable effects of an L2MSS-based visionary intervention program on language learners’ motivational attributes.
1 Participants
Fifty-one intermediate level learners of English participated in the study. The sample consisted of 24 male and 27 female students. The participants voluntarily attended English courses in a private English academy in Iran. Each one of them had been a student at the same institute for at least two consecutive semesters. Their ages ranged from 16 to 38 (Mean = 23.75). They all spoke Persian as their mother tongue and were learning English as a foreign language. The academic semesters of the institute last for 11 weeks, with two 90-minute sessions every week (a total of 22 sessions). The course book was the third book of the Four Corners series. Four units were covered each semester.
Care was taken to include post-secondary and higher level students in order to follow Dörnyei’s (2009) suggestion that the participants in a self-approach program must be mature enough to formulate their future possible selves and express their opinions about their personal aims, goals, plans, and their language learning experience. In addition, both their cognitive capacity and their language proficiency are close to a minimum required level for filling in an English self-report questionnaire.
Since male and female learners attend separate classes in Iranian language institutes, it was impossible to have both male and female students in the same classroom. Thus, two experimental groups and two control groups were involved in the study. Consequently, this study comprised four distinct groups: two experimental groups (one male and one female), and two control groups (one male and one female). A summary of the participants’ characteristics and grouping is provided in Table 1. This study was based on a quasi-experimental research design and utilized non-probability convenience sampling to find the participants.
Summary of participants’ characteristics and groupings.
2 Instruments
The major instrument of this study comprised two parts. The first part was a five-point Likert scale (from strongly agree to strongly disagree) questionnaire, adapted from Dörnyei and Chan (2013) and Taguchi et al. (2009), which served as both the pretest and posttest (see Appendix 1). It consisted of 41 items in five multi-item scales:
Intended effort (motivated behavior): 10 items, example: I would like to spend lots of time studying English.
Ideal L2 Self: 10 items, example: I can imagine a situation where I am speaking English with foreigners.
Ought-to L2 Self: 10 items, example: 30. If I fail to learn English, I’ll be letting other people down.
Attitude toward L2 learning: 6 items, example: I like the atmosphere of my English classes.
Imagery capacity: 5 items, example: I avoid running into problems by imagining how they might happen in the future.
The second part contained some questions to collect the respondents’ information such as sex, first language and age.
3 Procedures
The researcher, henceforth the instructor, conducted the study during a full institutional semester. The study comprised three distinct phases: pretest, intervention, and posttest. The first phase included administration of the questionnaire and collection of the data. The questionnaire was administered by the instructor during the first session. All 51 members of the experimental and control groups filled out the questionnaire. The administration took around 35 minutes to complete. In order to match the pre-intervention questionnaires with post-intervention equivalents, the respondents were told to write their names on their questionnaires if they were willing to do so; if not, they could write the birth date of their mothers to keep their anonymity. They were also told that their personal information would not be used for any other purposes except this investigation and that the information would not be disclosed to anyone anywhere.
The main purpose of the second stage was to build vision and strengthen it through visionary and imagery practices and activities. Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014), Dörnyei et al., (2014), and Hadfield and Dörnyei (2013) have suggested a six-step program for a visionary enhancement program. Based on their guidelines, the intervention phase was comprised of six major steps which were implemented through seven academic weeks. For each of the steps several activities and techniques were employed and incorporated as classroom activities, homework assignments and projects. The activities were either adopted from Hadfield and Dörnyei (2013), and Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014), or specifically designed according to the guidelines provided by them. A detailed description of the steps, components, type of activities, place of implementation (in the classroom, at home, or both) and the time allotted to the in-class part of the activities is presented in Table 2 (in the last column, the numbers in parentheses indicate the session numbers when an activity was done or a homework was assigned).
Detailed description of the visionary enhancement program.
After the intervention phase was completed, in the third phase, the same questionnaire was administered to the same groups of learners and the data was collected. In addition to the quantitative data, qualitative data was collected by asking all the members of the experimental groups to write a short passage to express their evaluation and commentary concerning their experience of the intervention program. The students were told to write in Persian in order to help them express themselves with greater ease. The written product contained between 300 to 400 words on average. This was done during the last session of the semester. The qualitative data were used to complement the major quantitative data.
IV Results
A summarized description of the data obtained on both administrations is shown in Table 3. Cronbach α indices of reliability are robust and confirm the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Due to the quasi-experimental design of the study and non-random selection of the participants, the probable differences which might have existed before the intervention needed to be controlled for. Therefore, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used. Five ANCOVAs were run in which the independent variable was the treatment, and the dependent variables consisted of post-intervention measures of intended effort, ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, attitude toward L2 learning, and imagery capacity. Participants’ pre-intervention mean scores on the same measures were used as the covariate in each analysis. Before running ANCOVAs, preliminary checks were conducted and ensured that there was no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, homogeneity of variances, homogeneity of regression slopes, and reliable measurement of the covariate. Table 4 summarizes the major information of all five ANCOVAs.
Descriptive statistics of pre- and post-intervention administration of the questionnaire.
Notes. EGs = experimental groups, CGs = control groups.
Summary of five ANCOVAs comparing the experimental and control groups on each variable.
Notes. AL2S = attitude towards L2 learning; IC = imagery capacity; IE-post = intended effort; IL2S = ideal L2 self; OL2S = ought-to L2 self; post = post-intervention; pre = pre-intervention.
After the initial differences were controlled for, the experimental and control groups were compared. For intended effort (F(1,48) = 10.393, p = .002, partial eta squared = .178), the results revealed that the experimental groups participants’ mean scores on the intended effort were significantly higher than those of the participants in the control groups. Also, a partial eta squared of .178 indicated a large effect size. Regarding the ideal L2 self, the experimental groups outperformed the control groups (F(1,48) = 8.219, p = 0.006, partial eta squared = .146). The large effect size underscores the powerful impact of the treatment. As for the ought-to L2 self, the results showed that the experimental and control groups’ mean scores were not significantly different (F(1,48) = 2.578, p = .115, partial eta squared = .051). The experimental groups achieved higher scores on their attitude toward L2 learning and were significantly different from the control groups (F(1,48) = 6.239, p = .016, partial eta squared = .115). Considering the imagery capacity, a statistically significant difference was observed with the experimental groups outperforming the control groups on the post-intervention measure of imagery capacity (F(1,48) = 25.212, p = .000, partial eta squared = .344). The results suggested that the experimental and control groups were significantly different in terms of their imagery capacity. Besides, the magnitude of the effect size shows that the relationship between the treatment and imagery capacity was large with the treatment explaining 34% of the observed variance in the imagery capacity.
Turning to the qualitative data, all the learners in the experimental groups were asked to write their personal opinions and express their evaluation of the program and the potential effects of the treatment. The prompt is given in Appendix 2. The obtained data contained 25 short Persian passages of about 300 to 400 words which added up to a total of approximately 10,000 words. They were carefully read through three times. Following thematic content analysis (Dörnyei, 2007), during the first reading, the writings were marked for significant and meaning-carrying details. In the second round, relevant higher-order themes were highlighted. Finally, the passages were compared to discover the frequent and shared themes. The findings of the qualitative data analysis were used to reach an in-depth understanding of the intervention results.
Through the thematic analysis of the content, a few major themes emerged. They could be summarized as the following four general ideas: increased motivation, enhanced vision of the ideal L2 self and goals, clear action plans and learning strategies, and improved attitude toward language learning. For reporting the qualitative data, pseudonyms are to used ensure participants’ confidentiality.
1 Increased motivation
A frequent theme in the writing of the learners was their expression of increased motivation. The majority of the respondents (21 out of 25) indicated that they were putting more effort and time into learning English after participating in the program. Some of them indicated that their engagement in learning English had become more consistent and that they were now less worried about their motivation fading away. For instance, Niki commented: ‘I thought that as usual my enthusiasm would waver after a while. However, contrary to my expectations, my motivation has not faded away and I still feel energetic and eager.’
2 Enhanced vision of the ideal L2 self and goals
The second theme concerned the future self-guides and their vividness. Seventeen students reported that they were more adept at imagining themselves and their future states. Some of them expressed pleasure at doing visualization activities. Mona, one of the learners, stated: ‘Initially, I did not understand how imagination could be related to learning English. But, later I began to take much joy and satisfaction by engaging in such activities.’ A few of them wrote that they were continuing to perform imagery and visualization activities by themselves. One of the fairly frequents themes is related to the students’ goal setting and specification. Generally, they suggested that they had clearer end states and goals to strive for. Still a few of them stated that they have stronger reasons to learn English. Bahram, another learner, indicated that ‘I am more in line with my future direction. Now I know more clearly how learning English contributes to making me what I wish to be.’
3 Clear action plans and learning strategies
The third major theme is concerned with a roadmap or plan to learn English. Although some of the students insisted that they still needed to consult their teachers and more experienced peers to learn the way to studying English, the majority seemed more assured about their study skills and strategies. For example, Simin noted that: ‘Since I completed my learning recipe [see step 4 in Table 2], I feel more assured and confident about the potency of my efforts and I think to be capable of achieving the expected results.’ The learners expressed satisfaction over the counseling sessions (see step 4 in Table 2) and discovering recipes, and felt confident about their inventory of strategies. As an example, Farhad wrote: ‘In private meetings, I was able to ask some of my questions and concerns that I felt uncomfortable to pose in the class.’
4 Improved attitude toward language learning
The last salient theme was the excitement, pleasure, and joy the learners experienced during the course. Almost unequivocally, they admitted that the novel activities and classroom techniques were interesting and engaging. Many of them stated that they had never experienced such fascinating tasks that were totally different from what happens in typical language classes. They expressed their heightened interest and enthusiasm about language learning courses and wished to experience the same fun and fascination in their future courses. Pirouz stated that: ‘You may not believe but I was so looking forwards to Sundays and Tuesdays when I attended my English classes.’ Laleh, another student, wrote: ‘The method I experienced was absolutely different from the normal methods that are used in our schools. It was so fun and I would be disappointed if we return to the previous methods by the next semester.’
V Discussion
The findings provide researchers with the confidence to claim that the intervention program has been successful and effective. There was a notable increase in the strength of the learners’ ideal L2 self. According to the results, the students tended to become more skillful at visualizing themselves as successful and efficient L2 users. They were more motivated, as evidenced by the self-reports of their effort to learn English. The quantitative analyses suggest that the motivated behavior of the students improved considerably. As an effective aspect of the learners’ motivation, their attitude towards learning was remarkably enhanced, so that their assessment of the language learning experience exhibited a significant difference after the treatment. Their imagery capacity was greatly improved too. Imagery capacity was a major component of the program and was meant to pave the way for visualization of future self-guides. The post-intervention results demonstrated that the program achieved its aim to develop the students’ ability to imagine and visualize. On the other hand, the intervention did not change the ought-to L2 self of the experimental group learners. It means that they were not much influenced by the external pressures and the projected ideals of the significant ones (family, friends, etc.).
The quantitative results can be corroborated by drawing on the qualitative findings in order to explain the outcomes. The experimental groups participants expressed their increased imagery and visualization capacity. Both the numerical information and the verbalized comments suggest that the imagery capacity of the students greatly developed and improved. Even during the visualization activities (e.g., scripted imagery) (see step 1 in Table 2), the participants displayed their enthusiasm for visualization and stated that they were gradually constructing more elaborate and detailed images. The effectiveness of imagery training is a prerequisite for visualizing self-guides (Magid & Chan, 2012). In fact, the motivational power of vision is harnessed by forming imagined realities and mental simulations. Simulated realities, as the term implies, make events seem tangible and almost real. They operate within individuals’ perception of reality. Thus, efficient imagination of reality is the first step toward building motivating visions. In the present study, it seems reasonable to assume that the refined imagination of the subjects paved the way for a vivid and realistic vision of their ideal L2 selves. The empirical findings of some other studies support the positive contribution of vivid mental imagery on future self-guides (Chan, 2014; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012; You et al., 2016).
The learners who received the treatment maintained that their ideal L2 selves became more vivid and specific and consequently, they were able to identify more specific goals to attain. In fact, they believed that unlike abstract goal-setting, which merely includes determining end points, visualizing end-states enabled them to feel the pleasure of being at the end point. Therefore, they managed to make the goal their own by visualizing themselves as the owner of the goal. These findings are in full accordance with the idea of perceived behavioral control or participant ownership (Ajzen, 1988). The notion rests on the belief that a vision must be highly individualized and personally owned to be adopted by the learner and to take effect (Muir & Dörnyei, 2013). Similarly, Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014), indicated that the difference between a goal and a vision is that the latter contains sensory and imagery elements. While becoming a doctor is a goal, the experience of being a doctor is the vision.
Despite the strengthened ideal L2 self, the other future self-guide (i.e., ought-to L2 self) remained almost untouched by the intervention. The robust imagery capacity is expected to affect both of them in the same way. However, the observed discrepancy might be ascribed to three reasons. First, the content of imagery enhancing activities and tasks centered around the ideal L2 self rather than ought-to L2 self. The participants were most often required to imagine their personally cherished and favored future states which correspond to their ideal L2 selves. Possibly, the ought-to L2 self was deemphasized as a result of emphasis on the other future self-guide, a situation which Mackay (2014) faced in her research project. Second, the participants were predominantly adult learners and had probably developed independent, well-established characters. Therefore, they were less susceptible to external pressures and were less influenced by imposed ideals (Azarnoosh & Birjandi, 2012; Lamb, 2012). Finally, as You et al. (2016) have explained, ought-to L2 selves constitute imported visions which are less internalized than ideal L2 selves. As a result, the impact of vivid imagery on the ideal L2 self is particularly stronger.
Another important dimension of the intervention was the enhancement of attitude toward L2 learning. Language learning experience and the immediate environment of learning is a decisive factor in motivational disposition of language learners and greatly contributes to motivated behavior. At the end of the program, the learners admitted that their attitude toward the learning experience was positive and made a significant difference. Both the questionnaire data and the open-ended commentaries attest their support for the effectiveness of the intervention in instilling positive emotions towards the learning situation. In the written evaluations, the students reported that the novel activities and practices were fascinating and engaging. They felt enthusiastic and excited by the genuine tasks which seemed personally relevant and motivating. The majority of experimental group members liked the approach and expressed their desire to experience similar situation in their future courses. The few similar research studies detected the same reactions to the vision-based and self-related techniques (Chan, 2014; Mackay, 2014; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012).
The participants wrote about the importance of learning strategies. In their comments, they indicated that success recipes, roadmaps, and other similar activities have been useful and enlightening. Not all the respondents were sure whether they possessed sufficient knowledge about learning strategies. Nonetheless, they emphasized the necessity of planning and managing the learning process. They also insisted that they should be looking for their appropriate learning roadmap. This is reminiscent of Oyserman, Bybee and Terry (2006) who believe the future self-guides will only be effective if they contain plausible and specific action plans. Also, Dörnyei (2009) contends that ‘effective future self-guides need to come as part of a package, consisting of an imagery component and a repertoire of appropriate plans, scripts and self-regulatory strategies’ (p. 21).
The culmination of all the aforementioned factors, possibly, led to increased effort and desire to learn English. Similar intervention projects almost converge at concluding that improved imagery and visualization ability leads to constructing more elaborate and effective future self-guides, which by themselves illuminate the gap between the current self and the future self (Chan, 2014; Mackay, 2014; Magid, 2014). Consequently, learners’ awareness of the self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987), evoke the desire and provide the impetus to expend more effort to attain the goals. Meanwhile, positive attitudes to the learning situation will facilitate the process and contributes to motivated behavior.
VI Pedagogical implications
This study was an attempt to manipulate the teaching and learning practices within the realm of language education. Therefore, its findings can have multiple pedagogical implications.
First, the close connection between imagery and the future self-guides signals the motivational capacity of mental imagination. The results indicated that imagery and visualization can exert a remarkable motivational power. It suggests that the beneficial potentials of imagery can be exploited in language education. In contexts of English as a foreign language (EFL), such as Iran, where L2 learners do not have enough opportunity to experience genuine interaction with native speakers, sensory and imagery capacities could be employed to offer the necessary excitement and enjoyment. Now, there is a large number of techniques and activities (Arnold et al., 2007; Dörnyei & Kubanyiova, 2014; Hadfield & Dörnyei, 2013) that could be implemented within the main teaching syllabi to help learners envision their ideal L2 self so that they can feel how their learning efforts may lead to eventual success.
It has been shown that imagery and visualization are trainable. Vision of future self-guides can be manipulated and rendered more vivid and tangible. Language teachers can practically incorporate a motivational intervention into their routine activities to enhance learners’ motivation. The data confirmed a need to provide opportunities for the learners to work on their action plans and roadmaps. L2 learners must be helped to apply their enhanced motivation to a concrete learning plan and utilize personalized learning strategies to create a pathway for channeling the motivational power of their vision.
As illustrated through the current study, learners’ attitude toward their immediate learning environment, instructional materials, and the overall experience is a decisive element in their motivational disposition. The culmination of all the activities, materials, syllabi, tasks, and other elements of the teaching/learning practices must be understood by language learners as meaningful, relevant, and conducive to ultimate achievement.
VII Conclusions
The major motive behind this study was the auspicious capacity of Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) self-based motivational model. The major goal of the study centered on the feasibility of a vision-based intervention program to enhance the motivational aspects of L2 learners. In fact, this research project was one of the pioneering attempts to materialize the theoretical underpinnings in a pedagogical context. Besides, it is distinct from the other known projects (Chan, 2014; Mackay, 2014; Magid, 2014; Sampson, 2012) in that they all employed a limited number of activities and typically focused on a rather specific aspect of the motivational model (e.g. imagery enhancement). However, the present research project set up a fully-fledged program to cover more dimensions and employ the steps proposed by Dörnyei and Kubanyiova (2014), for the first time. Besides, it was the first study to include control groups.
The findings of the project were robust enough to suggest that a vision-based intervention program can be successfully implemented. The analyses of covariance confirmed that the learners’ imagery capacity, ideal L2 selves, motivated behavior, and attitude toward L2 learning were enhanced. The positive effects of the program were testified by the qualitative data as well. The data affirmed that the treatment was well-received by the participants. As the findings imply, it is possible to motivate L2 learners through boosting their vision. This could be attained by training their ability to imagine and visualize their future self-guides with more clarity and vividness. Also, the students who underwent the intervention expressed their excitement and positive attitude toward the learning experience. This further reassures that positive and enjoyable L2 learning experience is an indispensable and integral constituent of success.
