Memory and Motivation in Learning a Revitalizing Language

Abstract:

Language revitalization efforts often rely heavily on dedicated, persistent individuals (Peréz Báez et al., 2019). These individuals may struggle to find ways to get and stay motivated in the face of numerous challenges (Atkins, 2012; Bommelyn, 2011; Walker, 2014). Motivation is a key element of any second language (L2) learning (Dörnyei & Csizer, 1998), and McIvor suggests it is one of the key elements for Indigenous language learning in particular (2020). Yet L2 motivation research to date has predominantly focused on learners of English and other well-resourced global lingua francas (Duff, 2017).

In this talk, Taylor-Adams discusses her research on L2 motivation with language revitalization practitioners – that is, individuals who learn, teach, and engage in other activities to bring Indigenous or ancestral languages into new use (King, 2001). In particular, she looks at the relationship between collective memory and individual L2 motivation in these practitioners’ experience. This study draws on qualitative interviews with 28 individuals from seven Indigenous language communities in the US and one community working to revitalize a heritage creole of Singapore. In these interviews, practitioners discussed why they choose to learn their languages, what challenges they face, and what supports them in their practice. Interviews were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis drawing on Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006) and were also analyzed deductively to engage with psychology research on the functions of autobiographical memory (Bluck and Alea, 2009). 

Findings from this study show how collective memories are made salient in the language revitalization experience, how individuals grapple with painful memories of what their communities and families endured as a result of colonization, and how these collective memories impact individual L2 motivation. These findings illustrate the importance of attending to collective memory in our understanding of individual language learning in order to dismantle overly individualistic interpretations of L2 motivation models (Dörnyei & Al-Hoorie, 2017) and to critically engage with L2 learning as a site for resilience, resistance, and reclamation (Ushioda, 2020; Davis, 2017).