Directed Motivational Currents and Language Education

Christine Muir is an Assistant Professor in Second Language Acquisition at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research interests include language learner motivation, the self in language learning, language learner psychology, language learner narratives and narrative identity.

Motivational currents are intriguing phenomena – once you’ve experienced one you’ll never forget it. This book shows how these surges of motivational energy can be harnessed in the language classroom to boost learning. The author’s findings leave no doubt about the potential value of DMCs in the language learning process. This is SLA research at its most scholarly and most applied!

• ForewordSection One. Introducing DMCs and Intensive Group ProjectsChapter One. Key Threads in the Field L2 Motivation Research and the Emergence of Directed Motivational CurrentsChapter Two. What Exactly is a DMC? Key Definitions and Core CharacteristicsChapter Three. DMCs in the L2 Classroom: Group-DMCs and Intensive Group Projects (‘with DMC Potential’)Section Two. DMCs Worldwide: A Truly Global Phenomenon?Chapter Four. Section Two MethodologyChapter Five. First Look Results: Investigating the Wider Relevance and Recognisability of DMCsChapter Six. Exploring Commonly Reported Triggers & the Experience of DMCsSection Three. From Theory to Application: Group-DMCs in the L2 ClassroomChapter Seven. Section Three MethodologyChapter Eight. Group-DMC Emergence: Assessing the EvidenceChapter Nine. Intensive Group Projects ‘with DMC Potential’: Refining the Key Criteria for SuccessSection Four. The Future of DMC ResearchChapter Ten. Revisiting the Seven Frameworks for Focused Interventions & the Future of DMC ResearchAfterword