A Proposal for a Study on the Relationship between Three Learning Motivations and Second Language Acquisition in ESL Classrooms

The purpose of this research proposal is to explore the effects that different learning motivations have on second language acquisition in a classroom of adult ESL students and to summarize their relationships. This paper focuses on three types of SLA motivation: 1) Ideal self, 2) Ought-to self and 3) Anti-ought-to self. The data designed for analysis will come from 100 freshmen scholars who speak English as a second language from different countries randomly located in different community colleges. They will participate in the experiment by filling out questionnaires and answering semi-open-ended interviews. The expected results of the experiment show that in second language learning, students’ different motivations may have different effects on their ESL learning outcomes. Among them, ought-to self may be inversely related to the acquisition of outcomes, while ideal self and anti-ought-to self may be positively related to the acquisition of outcomes.