Book Review
Elegance and Elephants in the Roomof Language Learning Motivation inJapanMatthew T. Apple, Dexter Da Silva, Terry Fellner (Eds.).
Multilingual Matters. 2013. (344 pages). ISBN 978-1-78309049-5

Reviewed by Peter A. Edwards
Kansai Gaidai University
The perspectives in this review hold willingness to communicate and classroom/social dynamics as pivotal to language learning, and the goal of “actionalizingtheory” as indispensable. The struggle to write a review of Language Learning
Motivation in Japan (LLMJ) comes neither from the text as a whole, norconcerning its individual 17 chapters, which are all well-written, well-meaning,and often elegantly insightful. Instead, beginning with the book’s title, achallenge arises in determining what room it hopes to occupy in which school ofthought and purpose. In other words, what is the motivation behind this bookabout motivation?
Of course this difficulty does not completely escape the authors, and towards
the end of the opening chapter, Ema Ushioda questions the motivation behindthe book, and shrewdly points out:(I)f our work in foreign language motivation research does not lead tohelping the very people who are engaged in language learning, then we may200

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well ask what useful purpose our research serves beyond our own academic
interests and our need to publish. (p. 13)
Precisely! This quote uses the word research, in reference to language
learning motivation, however the title of the book does not, and this could
perhaps mislead some readers to think that this volume explicitly and extensively
discusses how to motivate Japanese language learners, which LLMJ does not.
Would-be readers primarily motivated to better understand the history
and current trends in researching language learning motivation, and thosewith a specific interest in the Japanese context for such research, will not bedisappointed with this fine assembly of chapters. This review will highlight a few
of the possible motivations readers may have to pick up such a collection, in lightof the gems they will find. Also a brief discussion will mention this reviewer’s
perspective based on experiences as a teacher, researcher, and administrator, as
to what LLMJ and the field of motivation have not yet emphasized enough: theimpact of the L1 audience on the fluctuating motivation of L2 learners.
The preface to LLMJ states that the first and last chapters take the rolesof “bookends” which respectively introduce and then summarize the other15 chapters, which need not be read in any particular order. That said, Hideo
Hadashi’s chapter 5, “Dual Goal Orientation in the Japanese Context: A Case
Study of Two EFL Learners” provides an admirable introduction into thedaunting world of motivation and the Japanese context, while looking at a small
case without unnerving statistics. Interested readers may then want to dart
around the chapters and will quickly find recurring themes. Although perhaps
convenient for getting familiar with current researchers, readers of LLMJ will
discern a somewhat incestuous flavor in that reference lists resemble, and evenchapters often refer to each other.
Though not a contributor to this volume, Zoltán Dörnyei’s landmark
motivational self system and other of his publications make appearances in every
LLMJ chapter, painting a picture of understandable dominance but perhaps alsodependence on one particular perspective. That is not to say that Dörnyei’s system
is never challenged. For example, Lake’s chapter 13, “Positive L2 Self: Linking
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Positive Psychology with L2 Motivation”, not only offers a fine list of references
for the field of psychology, but also notes that Dörnyei’s “ought-to” self in thecontext of Japan may actually be linked to a phenomenon known in Japanese askiki komori, or self-seclusion due to anxiety caused by learners stressfully striving
for an unreachable perfectionism they feel they ought to achieve.
Several other Japanese terms emerge from the chapters that may be usefulto readers entering the Japanese world as teachers, researchers, administrators,
or otherwise curious visitors, who want to learn some of the local lingo andbecome acquainted with some of the country’s unique and impactful contextualcharacteristics.
Ushioda’s chapter 1 includes three important Japanese terms: sakoku ( Japan’s
historic self-imposed isolation), koku saika (desired internationalization), andjunken eigo (English specifically or only for exams). Together these concepts
frame some of the puzzle the later chapters attempt to piece together. For
example: How does a culture that historically eschewed the outside world now
seek globalization with old-style teaching methodology?
Falout et al. in chapter 14, “What’s Working in Japan? Present Communities
of Imagination”, also point to issei gakusuu (learning through lecture-styleteaching) as a common but increasingly unpopular way of approaching English
learning. Adding to this puzzle, Yashima in chapter 3, “Imagined L2 Selves andMotivation for Intercultural Communication”, mentions a growing counterphenomenon, uchimuki (lack of interest outside of Japan), where many young
Japanese no longer have a strong desire to study abroad or connect with theinternational world. Yashima also discusses the saliency of researching willingness
to communicate, as she reintroduces her now famous “International Posture” as a
critical part of motivation.
These few Japanese phrases reflect quite a paradox of forces pulling language
learners both toward and away from English. Thus while many are drawn to thelanguage as a bridge to the world, others retreat with a dearth of motivation.
Several of LLMJ’s chapters discuss in detail the causes of demotivation
among Japanese language learners. Among others, Keita Kikuchi’s chapter,“Demotivators in the Japanese EFL Context”, will raise hackles among many202

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educators with the reporting on “teacher misbehaviors.” Along with many
noteworthy observations on teacher-student relationships, the data presents
such demotivators as teachers’ “negative physical appearance” and “nagging.”
While this may reflect some students’ equation of “nice and good looking =good teacher,” classmate, parent, administration, and society misbehaviors gounderrepresented. Such factors outside of the classroom also heavily influencelearners. The chapters on demotivation raise important issues but at the sametime seem to discount other crucial ones.
Suffice it to say, the book does a superb job of showing the knotted-up natureof its subject matter, and why Japan in particular has recently emerged as a hotbed
for research, as bilingual Canada did in the past. While solution-seeking teachers,
learners, parents, administrators, etc., looking for actionable, “plug-and-play”
help with motivation may put the book down in dismay, hopeful researchers mayrejoice. The chapters become a textbook on mixed methodologies, from metaanalyses, to structural equation modeling, to case studies, to finding innovative
ways to investigate Dynamic Systems and Self-discrepancy Theories. Moreover,“needs further research” scavengers can feast on numerous untouched territories
toward which the authors helpfully point.
As an example of further in terms of needing further research, the poolof participants represented in LLMJ could be usefully expanded in order tojustify the comprehensiveness suggested by the title’s in Japan. While a few
chapters mention high school students, and Rieko Nishida in chapter 6, “AComprehensive Summary of Empirical Studies of Motivation among Japanese
Elementary School EFL Learners”, lasers in on a meta-analysis of elementary
school studies, most of the research centers on university students that may not
represent the country’s population at large. However, ideas such as analyzing
voice diaries and pushing beyond action research to looping, where students
actually participate in and respond to the data collection, again make LLMJ agood choice for readers interested in the field of researching motivation and thecontext of Japan.
The imperative issue of willingness to communicate (WTC) makes
appearances in Yashima’s chapter 3 (as mentioned above) and also in Kikuchi’s
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chapter on demotivation, and Nitta’s “Understanding Motivational Evolution
in the EFL Classroom: A Longitudinal Study from a Dynamic Systems
Perspective”. However WTC does not receive the attention it perhaps warrants
in a country where getting learners to speak up and use the target language seems
such a ubiquitous concern.
Another near omission is that of the Contact Hypothesis (CH), a social
psychology theory which can tackle so many of the issues running throughJapan. Aubry and Nolan’s chapter 8, “Effect of Intercultural Contact on L2
Motivation: A Comparative Study”, mentions CH in passing as a foundation for
their intriguing voice-diary study of two university campuses with very different
numbers of visiting international students, and how international contact canpositively affect the effort and enjoyment of language learning. Also, the article’s
appendix offers some useful questionnaire items ready to use to investigate
learners’ “international posture.” Nonetheless, the CH could have been used tospotlight an elephant that sits in the room of the whole task taken on by LLMJ.
LLMJ only lightly touches on the main tenants of CH, which include equal
status and friendship potential, two elements vital to the Japanese context. Thechapters barely acknowledge the pervasive influence of senpai/kohai (senioritybased) relationships, club membership, and epidemic bullying at all levels ofsociety. Certainly anyone with experience in Japan recognizes that these intracultural powerhouses can cause drastic fluctuations in attitudes and behavior.
Yet, LLMJ by and large ignores these elephants, almost as if hoodwinked byhonne–tatemae (hiding one’s true feelings from public view) and the dangerous
subtlety and consequences of KY (incorrectly reading the atmosphere of how
others are feeling in a situation).
The volume otherwise does an exemplary job of elegantly delineating thecurrent state of researching language learning motivation and also the Japanesecontext. Readers interested in these areas will find this fine assemblage ofchapters compelling and practical to their own research and understanding ofthe field.

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Author’s bio
Peter Edwards currently explores English language teaching from a neuroeducation perspective. He holds an MA in Literature from UC Berkeley and a
PhD in Second Language Acquisition from the University of Nottingham. Peter’s
research interests include how students’ visiospatial and kinesthetic reasoning canunlock skills for critical thinking. pedwards@kansaigaidai.ac.jp
Received: May 24, 2014
Accepted: June 17, 2014205