Book Review
International Perspectives on
Motivation: Language Learning andProfessional Challenges.
Ema Ushioda (Ed). London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
£66.00 ISBN: 978-1-137-00086

Reviewed by Shaun Hoggard
Part-time lecturer, Sapporo
This collection of articles on motivation around the English language teaching(ELT) world is the first in a new series titled International Perspectives on ELT.
The editors’ purpose in compiling this particular collection is not to piece
together an all-encompassing global jigsaw of English language teaching fromdistinct local fragments, but rather to exploit the “connectivities that are part of
ELT’s global presence” (p. x). Other volumes in the same series offer selectionsof articles discussing teacher research, materials, classroom interaction, andteaching English to young learners from an array of international viewpoints. In
this volume, a truly worldwide range of authors from five continents, who comefrom a variety of teaching contexts, have contributed articles on both student
and teacher motivation.
The editor of this collection, Ema Ushioda, along with her frequentcollaborator Zoltan Dörnyei, has played an important role in shaping thedirection of research on motivation in recent years (see Ushioda, 2011;Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009; 2011). Most significantly their work, together andindividually, stemming from the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005)
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has been particularly influential. In the opening article, Ushioda argues that theprominence of ELT on the international language education scene has resulted
in increased diversity rather than homogeneity across educational environments.
This means that the traditional binary distinction between English as a second
language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) is no longer appropriate
in the pluralistic societies of the twenty first century. Furthermore, the tendency
to map integrative and instrumental motivations directly onto ESL and EFL
respectively is even more unsuitable in these multilingual cultures. Ushioda
contends that although the sheer variety of modern teaching milieus does notallow for direct associations between context and motivation, there is muchto be learned from the commonalities of teacher and student experiences andconcerns across the global scope of ELT. The goal of finding themes that arecommon across differing teaching and learning environments is furthered by theaddition of ‘engagement priorities’ at the end of each chapter. These are madeup of questions or potential avenues of exploration that help to illuminate “thebroader pedagogical or theoretical implications of the local issues under focus”(p. 14). As a collection of papers on motivation in ELT, this volume seeks tomove away from the one-size-fits-all works of the past and move toward an
approach that starts from localized contexts and builds on them to create wider
perspectives.
The collection is loosely organised into six areas of research. These areclassroom practices, English as a medium for learning, English for academic/
professional purposes, youth culture and technology, self and identity goals, andthe changing global landscape for teachers.
Indonesia and Romania are the backdrops for the discussion into classroom
practices. Martin Lamb and Budiyanto use several vignettes from a rural juniorhigh school in Indonesia to demonstrate issues of identity work and support theircontention that cultural content can be a positive influence in EFL contexts.
Teenage learners are again the focus in Romania where Florentina Taylor
suggests a learner centred approach to classroom practice is complimentary toconstructivist methodology. She also stresses the importance of the link between
motivated teachers and the motivation levels of learners.
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A colonial legacy resulting in both Francophone and Anglophone sectionsof society is the topic of an article by Kuchah Kuchah regarding the choice oflanguage for medium of instruction in Cameroon. Despite French’s traditionalrole as the language of the powerful elites, English’s position as the international
lingua franca, and more interestingly, micro factors such as the role of teachers,
has led to a large number of Francophone children choosing English-medium
education. The topic of English as a medium for learning is also discussed
through a piece of action research carried out by Darío Luis Banegas into contentand language integrated learning (CLIL) in Argentinian secondary schools.
In this case, CLIL was chosen as a pedagogical option in response to the lackof motivation in students who have already accumulated significant language
abilities outside of school. This was one of several articles in the collection that
noted the disparity in levels amongst students caused by the proliferation ofprivate learning opportunities available to wealthier students.
Australia and Bahrain provide the locales for the chapters on English foracademic and professional purposes respectively. In Australia, Lindy Woodrow
delves into the fluctuations in motivation of international students during theirfoundation study period and first year at university. Diane Malcolm’s research inBahrain shows that students face a similarly difficult transition from being highlevel students in the native language setting of their high schools to struggling tocome to terms with the English-language educational environment at a medicaluniversity. Her research notes the importance of the future self, envisioning
themselves as qualified doctors, as a motivating factor in these students.
A Japan-based researcher provides one of the chapters on technology andteacher/learner motivation. In this article, Glenn Stockwell provides a usefulsummary of some of the issues affecting participants in the learning process inlight of the increased use of technology in classrooms. The other chapter is aninteresting discussion by Alastair Henry into the dissonance between the inand outside of school experiences of English due to the prevalence of Englishmedium digital gaming amongst young learners in Sweden. He suggests thatstudents would experience more feelings of authenticity in their classroom
experience, and thus more motivation, if teachers provided more opportunities
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for self-expression and creativity.
Issues of self and identity goals are addressed by a chapter on two studies
carried out by Xuesong Gao in China that highlight the importance of localised
support networks. Although the learners in the studies had almost no occasions
to use their language skills outside of the learning environment, they utilised
strong ideal self motivating factors to sustain their drive to study English. Apaper by Lane Igoudin discusses adult ESL students in the United States andthe variety of motivational strategies that they employ. Igoudin also provides
a summary of motivational strategies for teachers to employ that leans heavily
on learner-centred techniques. Finally, Pamela Aboshiha covers the topic of achanging global ELT landscape for native-speaker teachers working in a variety
of international contexts and their attitudes towards theoretical research.
As Ushioda has been at the forefront of the incorporation of psychologicaltheories of self into ELT motivation, it is to be expected that the majority of thearticles in the collection follow that tradition of research. Her opening chapter
in the book provides an excellent overview of the history and current state ofmotivation research in the field of ELT. It also highlights the key role having
motivated teachers who are secure in their personal identities plays in creating
motivated learners. The book is aimed squarely at the teacher/researcher and thewide array of contexts covered in the collection has something that will likely
resonate with most educators in the ELT field.
In general the individual chapters manage to maintain a relatively uniform
tone of approach to their research and attendant pedagogical implications.
One exception is the article regarding teacher attitudes by Aboshiha. In spiteof the series goal to “have practical relevance, speaking to language teachers andeducators rather than to those interested only in research” (p. xi), Aboshiha’s
paper is a quite strong critique of native-English speaking educators’ attitudes. Inparticular, her assertion that there is an “unproductive divide” (p. 229) between
researchers and educators, and that the primary responsibility of correcting thislies with educators, does not sit easily alongside the other papers in this volume.
As the collection is aimed at teaching practitioners, the statement that educatorsneed to read more papers in order to engage more with theoretical developments
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seems ill-suited for the intended audience.
Taken as a whole, this compilation of articles is a useful addition to theliterature concerning motivation in ELT. The wide variety of contexts andteaching methodologies that appear in the articles give the book a breadth ofscope that provides an interesting glimpse of English teaching around the world.
In terms of illuminating modern theories of motivation from the perspective of
localized topics of research, the collection is undoubtedly successful. However,despite Ushioda’s contention that the classifications of EFL and ESL are nolonger applicable to modern, multilingual settings, many of the chapters still
use them to describe the contexts in question. Additionally, the engagement
priorities are in some cases useful pointers to how the current research can beexpanded into other contexts. Unfortunately though, they occasionally appear
to have been added without a great deal of consideration.
Ushioda’s chapters, which bookend the collection, prove the most useful for
those looking for an elegant synopsis of contemporary motivation research acrossa wide range of international contexts. The opening chapter concisely summarises
modern motivational theories and the larger issues at play in the current worldof ELT. The concluding chapter provides an overview of the localised researchcontained within this volume and ties together the distinct threads of theory
and pedagogical practice. As the articles in this collection illuminate a numberof concerns that many educators have in regard to motivation in the classroom,
this book would prove most useful to those teacher/researchers wishing to gain agreater understanding of that field.

References
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences
in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.) (2009). Motivation, language identity and theL2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation.
Harlow: Pearson.
Ushioda, E. (2011). Language learning motivation, self and identity: Current151

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theoretical perspectives. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(3), 199210.

Author Bio
Shaun Hoggard, originally from the great North of England, has lived and workedon the great Northern island of Hokkaido for over fifteen years. He currently teaches
at a number of universities in and around Sapporo. His research interests include
willingness to communicate in a second language and content-based learning.
shaunhoggard@gmail.com
Received: December 11, 2014
Accepted: December 23, 2014152