Engaging Spanish English-major Undergraduate Students through Imagery and Motivational Activities

Abstract

This research study analyses the impact of a vision-based intervention programme on the motivation of fifty-eight English-major students in the first year of their degree in Modern Languages at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, based on Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). A Motivational Factors Questionnaire (MFQ) and an online English language competence test were administered twice, in preand post- implementation phases, in order to explore the effects of this intervention on the participants’ motivational profile towards learning English as a foreign language. The MFQ contained 50 items comprising 8 dimensions targeting ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience, alongside a range of related motivational variables. The results obtained confirmed the importance of L2 learning experience as a strong predictor of intended learning effort in both phases, while ideal L2 self emerged in the post intervention phase.