L2 Motivation and Identity: A Chat Log Study of an L2 Adolescent in an L1 Educational Environment

Abstract: Motivation and identity have been vastly investigated within second language acquisition (SLA). These issues are restrained by their complex and dynamic natures, which indicate that they are far from easy to research. The purpose of this essay was to continue traditional areas of research in order to add to empirical knowledge. The attempt was to show that systematic research is necessary in order to strengthen knowledge within the field of SLA motivation and identity. The study presented in this essay was conducted through a chat log interview with one participant. The participant was an L2 adolescent who recently relocated from Sweden to the UK. A content analysis of the data was conducted together with theoretically framed interpretations. The findings in this study indicated that the respondent’s motivation was generated both by external and internal factors; that is, the individual and the surrounding context both appeared to have had an impact on each other. Ethnic identity could have determined the participant’s language preferences, and there seemed to have been a continuous dynamic movement between identity and motivation that, in turn, could potentially have promoted SLA success.