ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the importance of the term directed in the Directed Motivational Current (DMC) construct and explained the means by which a DMC is always focused on a specific target. A DMC is always and in every case directional; the salient purpose or objective provided by the overall goal provides both cohesion to one's efforts and a focus for one's energies. It discusses the ways in which the setting of goals guides action and behavior, and in doing so it introduced two key goal-related constructs self-concordant goals and vision explaining how each of these is vital in understanding the powerful motivational capacity of a DMC. The concept of vision emerged within L2 research as an attempt to conceptualize a higher-order factor which can help explain sustained motivation. The chapter also considers the processes of setting subgoals and their impact on motivation, and explains how subgoals form a key component of the DMC pathway.
