Learning motivations in the shadow of English language teaching

Abstract

Mimicking the mainstream education systems and widely known as shadow education, private supplementary tutoring has become increasingly popular worldwide. Despite its recent expansion of research in Education, the study of private supplementary tutoring in English (PST-E) has been rather limited in English language teaching (ELT) and Applied Linguistics. PST-E plays a significant role in learners’ English learning experience. It influences learners’ attitudes, motivations and learning strategies, which can create challenges and conflicts with ELT in mainstream education. This presentation reports on the narrative inquiries of fourteen Year One university undergraduates about their PST-E learning experiences in their life before they were admitted to university. The data showed the complex relationships between mainstream ELT and PST-E from a psychological perspective. Adopting Dornyei’s (2005, 2009) L2 Motivational Self System as a theoretical framework, the data suggested that learners’ ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ overlapped to various degrees in different periods, contributing to different types of “possible selves”. In spite of the global trend of promoting learner-centredness and autonomy in language learning, the teacher-dependent and examination-oriented approach adopted in PST-E in various contexts seems to be going in the opposite direction. The study unveiled the situation of PST-E as an out-of-class learning activity which policymakers and ELT practitioners should take into account in order to explore the opportunities in providing learners with better English learning experiences. It also calls for the audience to take on shadow education as a central part of the research agenda in ELT and Applied Linguistics.