ABSTRACT
This chapter delves into the three main constructs of the study through which language and identity are explored: language attitudes, language-learning motivation and self-perceived proficiency in English. The chapter provides an overview of the literature on each of these constructs before delving into the analysis of aggregate responses to questionnaire items and scales. The content-based analysis of qualitative data build on these findings to expose contradictions in responses, delve more deeply into the nature of these constructs and reveal nuanced views of the eight case study participants. The data revealed that, in all, participants generally displayed positive attitudes towards English, primarily rooted in its utility and simplicity, and those whose attitudes were not positive resisted the compulsion to study the language as well as the overwhelming saturation of English in participants’ milieu. The perception that the acquisition of English could assist participants to realize their future selves in international and professional domains was a fundamental motivating force. Quantitative findings revealed largely positive positions on self-perceived proficiency in English, though interview data revealed ambivalence and dissatisfaction with current English knowledge. The findings suggest complexity and variability in the nature of attitudes, motivation and self-perceived proficiency.
