Análisis de los temas y estructura

As international posture (IP) was found to closely relate to motivation in many previous studies (e.g., Yashima, 2002; Yashima et al., 2004), the quantitative data suggested that students had uneven level of motivation and FLA across languages and that English was not the only language influencing IP. While ideal self and ought-to self were found to be linked to IP in some languages, FLA was not found to relate to IP at all in any language. The interview aimed to seek the answer why simultaneous learners’ IP was influenced by the particular language they learned. Feedback will only reflect the perspective of the individual interviewee. While individual experience cannot be generalized, it might provide some insights in the question.

It is surprising that FLA did not correlate with IP in this study. Previous studies showed FLA related to Willingness to Communicate (WTC) (Liu & Jackson, 2008) which directly links IP (Yashima, 2002; Yashima et al. 2004; Yashima & Zenuk-

Nishide, 2008). A possible explanation for the lack of a significant relationship between FLA and IP might be linked to the programs students were studying in. As students of language-related programs, they might expect interaction and contact with foreigners on a normal basis either during or after their university education. To some degree,

students’ future career plan would inevitably relate to FL communication. Although some interviewees reported to be anxious, they still had the desire to use FL for communication with the outside world. When asked about their attitude towards the upcoming ASEAN community, all interviewees said they would be happy to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment.

In order to find the relationship between motivation and IP, students were asked what language they thought was the most important and whether they thought the L3

they learned would be helpful to communicate with foreigners either in general or at work. Also, they were asked whether they had or would like to have international friends and in what language they would like to communicate. The answers were diverse as each student had different impression and experience with the FLs they learned.

Most students agreed that English was the language associated with international communication, which is consistent with their English motivation scores and interview accounts. Some indicated the desire to have more exchange students at the university so that they could have more international friends to practice English with. Regardless of what language they were studying, most students had an inclination towards

intercultural friendship and the desire to gain intercultural communicative competence through using English.

The role of Chinese motivation scores on IP seemed to rely heavily on ought-to self, which indicated how the students perceived Chinese as a practical language. Chinese students felt that Chinese expanding economic influence in Asia would make the language become one of the major languages in the region as well. But they also thought that English is equally important. This might explain why Chinese ought-to self scores along with English ideal self and ought-to self scores correlated with

international posture.

Korean students named English as the most important language but appeared very determined to use Korean in their future career. Korean students addressed the importance of English in general but underscored the importance of South Korea as a technologically developed country and one of the world’s leading economics. A student (S2) thought that this factor attracted people all around the world to become interested

in Korean language, along with youths all around Asia who admired its cultural products.

“I took a short course in South Korea last summer. There were so many

international students, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Spain and American. We rarely used English to communicate. We spoke Korean. South Korea is a fast growing country. In Thailand, Korean is such a big hit. Its marketing is amazing. South Korea is a small country with various capacities. Even Western countries are interested in Korean language.” (S2)

The knowledge of Korean language and culture might somehow encourage them to learn more about the wider world outside their country, which resulted in Korean motivation score correlated with international posture. Also students of Korean might be stimulated by the strong sense of shared experience when talking about Korean pop culture and feel enthusiastic to meet people from different cultures to discuss the topic of their interest. As mentioned earlier, students appeared to be very eager to meet Korean speakers to discuss about Korean pop culture.

In the case of Japanese, Japanese motivation scores did not correlate with IP at all despite the fact that students had relatively high ideal self and ought-to self scores. This was different from previous research that reported the correlation between motivation and international posture. Based on the interview, Japanese students talked about their motivation to learn Japanese for economic reasons. The future goal was to use Japanese in their profession. When asked about their intention to use Japanese outside working context, students reasoned that the opportunities would be rare because Japanese was spoken in a limited circle. Therefore, they did not think Japanese was associated with something international. On the other hand, most Japanese learners

indicated their pro-English view as most of them thought English was more prevalent and versatile.

“If we don’t work as a Japanese interpreter, it might be difficult for us. To be a teacher, to work in the hotel, English would be more advantageous. The job market for Japanese students is quite narrow. English is much more needed because English is required in every field of work.” (S3)

The results showed that the relationships between motivations, FLA and IP among multiple language learners were not straightforward as found in previous research using linear models to measure the relationships of these variables in EFL context. In the current study, there might have been some latent variables that affected the results. This emphasized the complexity of the systems in which learners’

motivations develop and the need to tackle this issue carefully probably with Dynamic System Theory (DST) research design.