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Part of
Cross-theoretical Explorations of Interlocutors and their Individual Differences
Edited by Laura Gurzynski-Weiss
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 53] 2020
► pp. 209–244

Chapter 9
The impact of learner perceptions of interlocutor individual differences on learner possible selves during a short-term experience abroad

| George Mason University

A dynamic shift in second language (L2) research (de Bot, 2015a) has revealed L2 motivation and learner self-concept as temporally dynamic and multidimensional traits that continually emerge in interaction with context (Mercer, 2016; Ushioda, 2015). However, interlocutors have received scant attention under a Complex Dynamic Systems Theoretical framework.

To bridge this gap, this study explores the dynamic interaction between learner selves (Dörnyei, 2009) and interlocutor individual differences (IDs) over a two-week experience abroad. A case study approach focused on three L2 learners and one heritage speaker who completed a daily interaction log, Likert-scale questionnaires targeting daily, weekly, and monthly changes in self-concept, and journal reflections focused on daily interactions in Spanish. Interlocutors (e.g., host families, teachers, Ecuadorian university students) completed a questionnaire tapping several IDs (e.g., language background). Results revealed fluctuation in learner perceptions of self, which interacted with their perceptions of interlocutor IDs.

Keywords: Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, dynamic interaction, L2 motivation, learner self-concept, study abroad
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background literature
    • CDST and learning context
    • Learner affective outcomes and interlocutors in study abroad settings
    • Context and the self as complex dynamic systems
    • The current study
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Focal learners
      • Focal learner 1: Julia
      • Focal learner 2: Leah
      • Focal learner 3: Jenna
      • Focal learner 4: Raquel
    • Learner perceptions of self: Quantitative measures
    • Learner perceptions of self: Qualitative measures
    • Study context
    • Study abroad interlocutors
  • Results
    • Patterns of change in learner perceptions of self
    • Factors affecting the perception and construction of self
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions and future directions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.53.09ser
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