Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

and disorientation could divert attention away from the language learning task and delay or even
block the acquisition process.
This study has important implications for English as a Second Language (ESL) and
foreign language classrooms. Both present and past literature highlight the importance of the L2
learner’s attitude and beliefs toward the second language and culture. These attitudes seem to
either promote or hinder the development of an intrinsic motivation to learn the L2. Further, as
the research study data will show, L2 motivation can be highly influenced both by the mode of
instruction and by the instructor.
The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the various attitudinal and
motivational factors that four highly proficient L2 learners feel led them to a high-level of
proficiency in their second language, in order to address the following research question:
What attitudinal and motivational factors do near-native second-language learners report as
leading to high-proficiency With that in mind, this study evaluates and adds to the literature on
L2 motivation by using previously established constructs as a vehicle for understanding the
motivational and attitudinal factors identified by participants as leading to their high levels of L2
acquisition.
Methodology
A qualitative design was selected in order to implement a holistically applied research and to
allow for reflective and introspective responses by the participants. The study asked participants
to identify, reflect upon, and subjectively describe specific events that they had experienced in
various social and linguistic settings, which lent itself quite naturally to a qualitative research
design. In her book, Qualitative Research And Case Study Applications in Education (2001)
Sharan Merriam posits that the key philosophical assumption upon which all types of qualitative
research are based is the view that “reality is constructed by individuals interacting with their
social worlds” (p.6). Shermann and Webb (1988) mirror this belief when they state that
qualitative research “implies a direct concern with experience as it is ‘lived’ or ‘felt’ or
‘undergone’” (p.7). Through the use of autobiographical journals, participants were able to
describe at length the various factors that they identified as influential as they “lived” through the
experience of acquiring a second language and second identity.
The Participants
A criterion sample consisted of four highly proficient second language learners, who were
selected to participate in the study. Each was assigned a pseudonym for use throughout the
research process. Three of the four participants learned English as a second language and the
fourth is a native English speaker with Spanish as an L2. Although this researcher did not
evaluate the language proficiency of the participants, each was selected because of his/her
demonstrated ability in the second language. Two of the participants received an advanced
degree (masters or doctorate) from an accredited U.S. university and have successfully written
either a master’s thesis or a doctoral dissertation in their second language. The third participant
received a Master’s degree from a non-U.S. school that used English as the medium of
instruction. The fourth participant received two PhDs in his native country, where general
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