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This study investigates beginning EFL teachers' emotional labor from the perspective of the Activity Theory. Emotional labor is defined as the process of controlling one's emotions and emotional expressions in accordance with the occupational standards for proper emotional expression. Two beginning EFL teachers at Korean junior high schools were recruited by means of a qualitative research method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed based on Activity Theory. The findings indicate that participants' emotional labor in relation to their students was represented as conflicts in their activity system. Additionally, the resolution of the conflicts could be possible if a teacher can join a new teacher learning community and use new instruments. The results suggest that beginning EFL teachers should be encouraged to be empowered with new instruments such as classroom management skills and teaching practices for handling mixed-level students. These new instruments are expected to prevent students' problem behavior and ease the burden of teachers experiencing emotional labor.

This study examined the characteristics of male high school English learners' motivation and the relations between their motivation and achievement in English learning. A total of 334 Grade 10 students in a boys' high school participated in this study by completing a questionnaire survey on second language (L2) learning motivation and taking an English achievement test. As a result of explanatory factor analysis, five factors were found as underlying constructs for male high school students' English learning motivation: The Ought-to L2 Self, The Ideal L2 Self, The Feared L2 Self, Instrumentality, and Intrinsic Motivation. In terms of the structural relationships between the learners' motivation and achievement in English learning, the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation exerted a direct impact on their motivated L2 behavior, and then English achievement mediated by the motivated L2 behavior. The other factors had an indirect influence on motivated L2 learning behavior, mediated by the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation. Based on the findings, we suggested motivational activities to realize the creation of the ideal L2 self among male high school English learners.

This exploratory study investigates the structural relationship between second language (L2) learning motivation, resilience, motivated behavior, and L2 proficiency among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in South Korea. The research questions are as follows: (1) What are the constructs of resilience and L2 learning motivation among L2 learners? (2) What is the structural relationship between L2 learning motivation, resilience, motivated behavior, and L2 proficiency? A five-point Likert-type questionnaire was administered to 152 college-level EFL learners. The findings of factor analysis demonstrated that resilience factors were divided into self-composure, sociability, life satisfaction, communicative efficacy, and realistic optimism. Four factors emerged regarding L2 learning motivation: recognition from others, Ideal L2 self, instrumental motivation, and Ought-to L2 self. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that these factors are independent constructs with conceptual validity. The final structural equation model showed that resilience influenced L2 proficiency through L2 learning motivation and motivated behavior.

The current study aims to explore the influence of resilience on (de)motivation and second language proficiency among elementary school students in South Korea. A total of 367 sixth-grade students completed questionnaires at three elementary schools. The data were analyzed with factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that resilience is composed of metacognitive adaptation, sociability, optimism, perseverance, and communicative efficacy. In terms of the influence of resilience, the SEM presents that the direct impact of resilience on English as a foreign language (EFL) learning motivation is greater than its impact on demotivation. Regarding the impact of EFL learning (de)motivation and resilience on English proficiency, EFL learning demotivation plays the most dominant role. The findings indicate that it is important to simultaneously sustain EFL learning motivation and prevent demotivation to help learners achieve their desired level of English proficiency in an EFL context.

This paper presents the components influencing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning demotivation and resilience. Semi-structured interview data from 23 EFL students and nine teachers were thematically analyzed guided by the Grounded Theory approach after systematic reiterative comparative reviewing. The major demotivators were teachers' lack of clear delivery for elementary school students, excessive afterschool learning programs at private institutes for junior high school students, and impractical EFL lessons focusing on grammar rather than spoken English for high school students. In order to curb these demotivators and maintain high EFL learning motivation levels, four distinctive components influencing their resilience were identified: social support, emotional regulation, a clear learning goal, and tenacity in EFL learning. This study illustrates that emotional regulation, not negative emotions such as anxiety, is crucial, and students' clearly stated short-term learning goal is a crucial component in maintaining high academic resilience. Participants cultivated specific components influencing resilience as they advanced academically. Additionally, high-proficiency EFL students exhibited greater tenacity and utilized various coping strategies. We argue for the necessity to refine the sub-constructs of EFL learning demotivation and resilience and recommend the need for a follow-up confirmatory study to prove the conceptual validity of these constructs.

This exploratory study focused on the factors that constitute second language (L2) learners' resilience, and how these factors are related to L2 learning by investigating what relation resilience may have to motivated behaviour and proficiency in English learning. A total of 1620 secondary school learners of English participated in a questionnaire survey. By analysing the quantitative data, five resilience factors were extracted: perceived happiness, empathy, sociability, persistence, and self-regulation. Confirmative factor analysis using AMOS proved that these five factors are distinctive constructs. Among the factors, persistence was identified to play the most influential role in L2 learning. Persistence showed the highest correlations with, and the strongest explanatory power for, motivated behaviour and English proficiency. It is suggested that resilience can be further explored as an individual differences factor in L2 learning, which is involved in L2 learning process and outcomes.

This study explores motivational and demotivational factors in English learning among elderly learners attending a lifelong education institute located in Seoul, South Korea. A total of 420 elderly learners with limited English learning experience responded to a questionnaire with 47 five-point Likert-type items. In order to investigate what factors encourage and discourage elderly learners in their participation in English learning, we conducted factor analysis, which indicated five motivational and three demotivational constructs. The motivational factor of self-actualization proved the most influential, while pressure from the Graduation Equivalency Examination was the most demotivating. It was found that the motivational factors demonstrated positive correlations with demotivational factors, and that the ideal L2 self showed the highest correlation with demotivational factors. Furthermore, the elderly learners' motivation did not exhibit significant change related to their years of learning experience from less than one year to more than three years.

This mixed-methods study investigates the differences in demotivation between Chinese and Korean English teachers. A questionnaire on demotivation was conducted on 58 Chinese and 94 Korean in-service teachers to find out the dominant factors in teacher demotivation. Follow-up interviews with teachers were conducted to explore the reasons as to why teachers found the salient factors to be demotivating. The results indicated that the number of students per English classroom was the detrimental factor for both Chinese and Korean teachers. Moreover, the only factor that Chinese teachers perceived to be more demotivating than Korean teachers was the excessive interference or expectations of school parents. For Korean teachers, large amounts of administrative tasks and students' lack of interest in English were found to be the most detrimental factors. From the findings of this study, practical implications as well as research suggestions are provided.

This mixed-methods study investigated the changes in Chinese students' motivation to learn English from elementary to high school and explored the reasons for these changes at different school levels. A motivational questionnaire was designed and administered to 3,777 elementary, junior high, and high school students, and follow-up interviews were then conducted with nine students in order to investigate their perceptions of their motivations. Seven subcomponents of motivation were identified. The statistical results revealed that junior high school students had the highest learning motivation, followed by those in elementary school and those in high school. The interview data indicated that parents' positive influence on students' English learning motivation was greater for junior high school students compared to elementary and high school students. Furthermore, the pressure of the college entrance examination had a negative influence on high school students' motivation to learn English. Based on the findings of this study, suggestions for further research are provided.

This paper analyzes two recent Korean immigrants' ESL learning motivation using Dörnyei's (2009, The L2 motivational self-system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), "Motivation, language identity and the L2 self," pp. 9-42) Second Language (L2) Motivational Self-System, which is synthesized with Engeström's (1999, "Activity theory and individual and social transformation." In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R. Punamáki (Eds.), "Perspectives on activity theory," pp. 19-38) Activity Theory (AT) framework. Over a 10-month period, the author conducted semi-structured monthly interviews and stimulated recall tasks. The findings of this case study suggest the following: (1) when sociocultural factors are mediated by L2 learners' beliefs, these factors may directly influence learners' ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self; (2) learners' sensitivity with inclusive attitudes can transform the L2 learning environment into meaningful affordances; and (3) if there is no tension among elements in individual's AT system, the individual's ideal L2 self can be maintained. From the Vygotskian AT perspective, this paper implies that affordances may positively affect maintenance of the ideal L2 self and the ought-to L2 self and that AT can function as a coherent framework for these two L2 selves.

Framed in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT) of mind, this paper explores second language (L2) learning beliefs in study-abroad (SA) contexts. Previous research on learner beliefs has relied mostly on survey methods, while regarding belief as a static, internal representation of experience that is resistant to change. Due to the concern regarding the prevalence of a cognitive orientation, this qualitative research examines two L2 learners' belief changes and their impact on motivated L2 behaviors from an SCT perspective. The data were collected mainly through pre- and post-SA interviews and monthly-collected journals with other triangulating methods such as L2 learning autobiographies and stimulated recall tasks. The findings suggest that 1) a learner's L2 beliefs are constantly evolving in accordance with his or her goals and SA experiences, and 2) the learner's L2 belief changes capture a remediation process that leads to qualitatively different L2 learning actions. This paper challenges the common assumption that L2-rich exposure through SA is the optimal way to improve L2 proficiency. Rather, it shows that the learner's internalized L2 beliefs aligned with meaningful L2 environments can exert crucial influences on the success of SA learning. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study explores Korean elementary school students' decreased motivation for English learning by analyzing the questionnaire data obtained from 6,301 students in a large city in South Korea. The students' school grades and their prior experience in private institutes were considered as the major factors behind the decrease in their motivation. There was a statistically significant and consistent decrease in the students' satisfaction with their English learning experience; expectation of ultimate success in English; and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation and integrative/instrumental motivation. Prior experience in attending private institutes had a substantial impact on the students' motivation. Those who attended private institutes ("hakwons") exhibited higher levels of instrumental and intrinsic motivation. However, in terms of other motivational constructs of integrative and extrinsic (parental, academic) motivation, private instruction had a negligible or negative impact. By comparing the results with those of Lamb ("2007"), the present study proposes that Korean students should be made to internalize the beneficial role played by English so that their English learning motivation can be maintained.

This study examines the longitudinal trajectories of two Korean ESL immigrants' L2 learning motivation from an Activity Theory perspective. Two highly skilled immigrants participated in monthly semistructured interviews over a period of 10 months. The research questions are as follows: (1) How does the relationship between ESL learners and their perceived social contexts affect and shape the way in which their ESL learning motivation develops? (2) How can the factors affecting the changes in ESL learning motivation be explained from an Activity Theory perspective? The recurring themes in the monthly interview data were coded and aligned to Engestrom's (1999a) activity-system model; important interactions among the subcomponents of the model are presented and discussed. The results indicate that (1) the dynamism in ESL learning (de)motivation can be coherently explained in a series of longitudinal activity-system models; and (2) that it is not the ESL context per se but each participant's recognition of it that plays a pivotal role in creating, maintaining, and terminating ESL learning motivation. (Contains 8 figures, 1 table, and 3 notes.)

This paper investigates Korean high school students' English learning motivation and attitudes. In this regard, the results of a 2002 study were compared with those of a 2006 study. Questionnaire data were obtained from a total of 1,037 high school students in a major city in South Korea, and the data were compared with those on the students' English proficiency. Statistical analyses verified two distinctive Korean-specific constructs: "competitive motivation" and "attitudes toward Americans" among the participants. The results suggest that negative washback effects of the College Scholastic Ability Test in Korea and influences of peer group cohesion, mass media, and the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure play a crucial role in EFL motivation and attitudes among Korean high school students. (Contains 5 tables and 4 footnotes.)