It’s quiet.
Before you start, think of a drink you really like.
You look out the window while you drink your [insert drink] and wonder where time has gone. “I used to be so young. I used to do so many things. Why does everything end up moving so quickly and why does it feel like nothing make sense?”. After your mini panic attack, you go back to your room and rest a bit.
You take the inevitable nap. Will it be 30 minutes? Will it be 3 hours?
It was three hours.
You wake up, covered in sweat. Time is no longer an issue because you don’t remember it exists. This is your new self, whether you like it or not. Your old self is dead. And this self will die, too.
Una teoría comúnmente estudiada en el aprendizaje y adquisición de una segunda lengua es la creación de un L2 Self. A pesar de ser común, el concepto en sí del L2 Self no está claramente definido, pero, básicamente es un Self o identidad basado en la versión de ti que habla ese nuevo idioma. Existen tres partes: actual self, ideal self y ought to self.
Sara Mercer (2011) proposed a definition of the L2 self-concept as a sort of way an individual feels about themselves as a foreign language learner. She conducted a study on the narratives of university students regarding their self beliefs in English learning and use. She, of course, concluded that these self concepts are “part of a complicated network of multidimensional self-beliefs and are formed through a myriad of interconnected factors” (Mercer, 2011, p.167). These are susceptible to contextual changes. Although she didn’t explore which factors, I guess a few come to mind.
The journaling instructions this week are:
Do you have an L2 self?
Think about your actual self. How well do you speak English (or your target language)? What does this mean to you/about you? Why are you learning this? What are your thoughts on the language you’re learning?
Describe your ideal self and ought to self. Your ideal self is who you aim to be, and your ought to self is the part of you that takes action. Sound familiar? How often do you practice your target language?
What factors have influenced your L2 self?
Explore the space of what might be. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts. I’m really interested in what people come up with :)
Here’s also a really cool diagram:
Oh, and you can read more on Conceptualising the actual L2 self into the L2 motivational self system at:
Xiao Hu, Yuying Zhang, Mairin Hennebry-Leung, Conceptualising the actual L2 self into the L2 motivational self system, System, Volume 130, 2025,103620, ISSN 0346-251X,
It would also mean a lot if you could check out the following image and consider joining our server. I’m sure you’ll find something useful there jiji.
Take care!
Mel.