The Influence of TED Talks on ESP Undergraduate Students’ L2 Motivational Self System in the Speaking Skill: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

Over the past ten years, research on L2 motivation has been extensively influenced by Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) motivational paradigm, the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). A fundamental aspect of Dörnyei’s Motivational Self System are images. Their stimulatory character means that students who possess a more detailed ideal self are more likely to engage in the process of learning a second language than other students that have not articulated their possible selves. The aim of the study was to investigate whether engineering undergraduates’ L2 motivational selves in terms of learning English and engaging in public speaking could be increased with a multimodal pedagogy that drew on the use of TED Talks. For that purpose, a onegroup pretest-posttest research design drawing on a mixed methodology was conducted to analyse the motivational effects of implementing a multimodal pedagogy in the classroom during a semester. Findings showed that the intervention influenced positively on students’ possible L2 selves and on their learning experience. There were statistically significant differences between the preand the post-intervention questionnaires. Additionally, analysis of the interviews and the post-intervention open questionnaires suggested that the ideal L2 self is a potentially powerful generator of motivation.