Connecting Cultural Sponsorship and a Motivated Sense of Self to Understand the Language Learning Project

• In Event: Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Learning and Motivation in Social and Cultural Contexts Poster Session 1

Abstract

Choices individuals make along their educational trajectory reverberate in their future and reflect their past in ways not yet fully understood. Examining students’ choice of which language to study and their persistence, we chose the perspectives of sponsorship and motivational self-theories to depict what Coffey and Street (2008) called the language learning project of U.S.-based students of German and Korean. Data came from autobiographical accounts and interviews. Analysis portrayed how students’ heritage, language exposure, and identities were intertwined with social sponsors supporting language studies in their lives. Students’ language learning seemed based in their motivated sense of self in combination with the sponsorship they encountered. The study sheds light on motivational aspects that are valuable in understanding learners’ life experiences.

Authors

• Anke Julia Zwietasch Sanders, The University of Texas

• Jeong-bin Hannah Park, The University of Texas - Austin

• Diane L. Schallert, The University of Texas - Austin