Читать книгу New Perspectives on Older Language Learners - Miriam Neigert - Страница 17

In this chapter, I hope to provide the reader with a better understanding of what self-concept is and how its temporal facets play a role in how the young-old in my study conceptualize themselves as foreign language learners. After a discussion of the use and misuse of self-terminology and a look at what concepts mean on a more general level, I will attempt to clarify the meaning of self-concept and the aspects of it relevant to my research project by firstly, considering its structure and formation and, secondly, contrasting it with some commonly investigated self-terms in SLA research.

I would then like to further narrow the focus on self-concept’s temporal aspects, or more specifically, on the idea of the psychological construct of possible selves (Markus & Nurius 1986). How do we perceive the past, present, and future aspects of our self? And related to this, how do we form ideal selves and ought-to selves over time and in what ways do they impact our life course? In the area of second language learning, Dörnyei (2005, 2009) has developed the Second Language Motivational System to find answers to these and more questions regarding the language learner self-concept. This and several other models in current Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research will be discussed in greater detail at the end of this chapter. Out of these models, Dörnyei’s Second Language Motivational System in particular will serve as the foundation for understanding the young-old language learner’s ideal and ought-to L2 selves.