What is the Interplay Between the Emotions of Enjoyment and Anxiety, Motivation and Willingness to Communicate in two Adult Migrants’ English as a Second Language Learning Experience? A UK-Based Case Study

Abstract

While emotions, motivation, and willingness to communicate (WTC) in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have been explored in various contexts, the interplay between these constructs in the language learning experience constitutes highly fertile ground for research. This case study thus examined the complex interaction between the emotions of anxiety and enjoyment, motivation, WTC, and the learning environment in an English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) context. Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System and Ushioda’s (2009) person-in-context relational view were used as the motivation-related framework of the study. The participating students, Yasumi and Miguel, were adult migrants who were learning English in the United Kingdom. To gain insight into the relationship between these learners’ enjoyment and anxiety, their motivation and their WTC in the ESOL learning experience, two data collection methods – interviews with the learners and their teacher, and classroom observations – were employed for one term. The results revealed that the two learners enjoyed interactive activities in the ESOL classroom and were motivated in the learning experience by visions of ideal L2 selves where the use of English was crucial. Nevertheless, they did not manifest WTC in English outside the ESOL classroom in certain situations. The findings of the study emphasise the deeply idiosyncratic relationship between the language learning aspects under investigation.