The CATESOL Journal

In recent years, TESOL has called for the study of the social and cognitive factors that affect adult English learners’ participation in formal language learning. This research project investigated the motivational processes of 10 adult immigrant English learners that led them to take an advanced community college ESL course. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative strategies, the study found that the surveyed group of ESL students chose to engage in advanced language learning in order to, first and foremost, join the dominant language culture and community. Instrumental reasons, though quite important to these students, appeared to be outweighed by the integrative ones. The student’s social identity proved to be an important factor in this process as student motivation often originated in the disjuncture between the learner’s current and desired identities. Furthermore, students viewed language education as a necessary transitional path toward integration and attainment of a desired identity