ABSTRACT
Psychological factors involved in learning an additional language have been a focus of considerable interest in applied linguistics research. A copious number of studies have been carried out on language attitudes and motivation to learn a second or a foreign language (L2 motivation). Some research was done on stereotypes that language learners bring into the foreign language classroom. Traditionally, these studies were conducted among learners of major European languages and in Western educational contexts. In the past two decades, the research scope has expanded to include learners of Asian languages who are predominantly university students taking Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language courses. Hence, there still remain noticeable lacunae in applied linguistics research on language learner psychology. For example, there is a lack of studies on language attitudes and L2 motivation among learners of ‘less commonly taught’ Asian languages, including major languages spoken in Southeast Asian countries. Little is known about factors that motivate students to learn these languages and whether these factors are influenced by the students’ stereotypes of the target language country, its cultures, its and people. The current book chapter hopes to narrow down this gap in our knowledge. It focuses specifically on Malaysian learners of Myanmar, Thai, and Filipino languages.
