Cheng, Jielei (2022) An exploration of self-taught bachelor’s degree learners’ agency in managing the interplays amongst l2 motivations, imagination, autonomous learning behaviours and the micro- and macro-level contextual influences. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

An exploration of self-taught bachelor’s degree learners’ agency in managing the interplays amongst l2 motivations, imagination, autonomous learning behaviours and the micro- and macro-level contextual influences

This PhD study investigates the English learning journeys of adult learners who have pursued a Self-Taught Bachelor’s Degree (STBA) course as English majors in China by exploring their agentic roles in navigating the journey through the analytical perspective of second language (L2) motivation, imagination, and context. This L2 population is under-researched and, commonly, socially disadvantaged. I employed a retrospective qualitative design for enquiry, and the participants included 11 Chinese professionals for whom English had played a key role throughout their lives. I collected data through five rounds of in-depth interviews and conducted the analyses guided by the Time-Window Analytical Approach and the A-Learner-Among-People Ecological Framework.

Firstly, the STBA learners’ significant others from their families, schools, and workplaces considerably influenced their agency in managing their L2 motivational thinking, imagining, feelings, goal-setting, and autonomous learning behaviours. Moreover, the level of co-autonomy, co-regulation, and co-motivation between the STBA learners and their significant others markedly differed across the learners’ child and adult lives.

Secondly, the STBA learners developed strong agentic roles in reflecting upon and creating motivation-enhancing environments during their learning journeys. Specifically, they responded to the contextual realities by adjusting their academic goals, career choices, interpersonal interactions, and learning engagements, which correspondingly influenced changes in their L2 motivation and learning productivity.

Finally, linguistic-self imagery was not a segregated process nor the centre of the STBA learners’ motivational thinking, imagining, feelings, and reflection. Indeed, STBA learners imagined experiencing life moments alongside their significant others as a student, a learner, a child, a parent, a friend, a manager, and a person, rather than as an L2 learner. The imaginings significantly influenced their agency in navigating the evolving external circumstances during their L2 journeys.

Overall, the findings contribute to the development of meaningful implications and recommendations that can benefit the lives and experiences of STBA learners.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Independent study, Open learning, Study skills, Second language acquisition, English language -- Study and teaching -- Chinese speakers, Students -- Education (Higher) -- China
Official Date:	April 2022
Dates:	Date Event April 2022 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Applied Linguistics
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Ushioda, Ema ; Mann, Steve, 1960-
Sponsors:	University of Warwick ; China Scholarship Council
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	xi, 278 pages : illustrations
Language:	eng

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