Exploring Chinese “Post-00s” College Students’ Motivation to Learn a Second Foreign Language through Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System

: In the new era, there has been a steep rise in the number of people attempting to become bilingual or even multilingual, especially among the post-00s generation, which refers to individuals born after the Year 2000. In many cases, their multilingual language competence lets them stand out from their peers. Moreover, motivation is inalienable in language learning. Therefore, the present study explores the motivation of post-00s students with the formula of Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). The paper found that 322 “post-00s” college students have strong motivation to learn a second foreign language, especially the data driven by ideal self and learning experience. In addition, it was discovered that individuals have higher intended effort in L3 than in L2 (English). Nevertheless, the results do not demonstrate the interference between L2MSS and L3MSS constituents. Furthermore, it distinctly revealed only L3 ought-to self significantly correlates with ought-to ultimate language output based on the self-rated form. Hence, the paper sheds light on the relationship between L3MSS and L3 language proficiency might not be linear; some intervening variables might need further studies and investigation. In the final, some educational suggestions are provided according to current findings.


Introduction
Motivation has significant ongoing influences on attitudes, emotions and behaviours in the realm of applied linguistics, which further plays a decisive role in language achievements [1]. Building on prior Markus and Nurius' possible-selves and Higgins' self-discrepancy theories, Dörnyei's L2 motivational self system construction is one of the most prestigious and influential marks of the new paradigm that the emphasis has shifted to the self-awareness and the content of people's selfperceptions in motivational research [2] [3]. This theoretical framework has significantly remedied the deficiencies of the integrative motivation pioneered by Gardner from the social-psychological standpoint. On the one hand, Gardner's work lacks the directionality of integrativeness. Although Gardner used to state that integrativeness is "the openness of an individual to accepting the characteristics of another culture/language group", whose characteristics should English learners accept when English is widely spoken as a world lingua franca? Lai questioned [4]. On the other hand, it had limited applicability. Like many Asian communities, English (as L2) is more a language spoken in a specific place rather than a communication tool used in a wide geographical area.
To better enrich the previous integrative and instrumental motivation classification, the L2MSS is divided into three major components: (1) ideal self, (2) ought-to self, and (3) L2 learning experience. Amongst them, the ideal self is an internalized self-concept. The learner's goal or vision is highly individualized, and the pursuit of the goal or vision is a completely autonomous act. When learners try to bridge the gap between their actual and ideal selves, the ideal self becomes an important driver. Moreover, some publications discussed that 'the paramount among L2MSS is the ideal self.' [5] [6]. In contrast, the ought-to self refers to the learner's efforts to meet external expectations or avoid possible negative consequences in learning a foreign language and is an externalized concept of self, which somehow corresponds to instrumental motivation. And finally, the second language learning experience (sometimes known as second language learning attitude) stands for the experiences that learners have, including factors that are relevant to second language learning at the moment, such as 'satisfaction with the learning environment, the teacher, the course, peers and the success of second language learning. As a whole, L2MSS is centred on the dynamics of the personals' micro-psychological structure and the interaction between individuals and the group or society. Compared with the other motivational theories before the millennium, it has advantages in expanding the developmental chrematistics of motivation with a relatively small sample size but a more international posture. Besides, the validity and reliability of the L2MSS were largely tested in studies [7] [8]. Significantly, Chinese scholar Liu investigates the validity of L2MSS for different groups of foreign language learners ranging from secondary school students to postgraduates (including both foreign language majors and non-foreign language majors). In her studies, the structural equation analysis demonstrated that the model's fit indices met the fit criteria, and the statistical results from path analysis indicated that most of the model paths were significant [9]. Thus, Dornyei's L2MSS has solid validity among all Chinese students' motivation research groups and would be a robust theoretical foundation underpinning this research paper.
Although L2 is literally the abbreviation for the second language, like the aforementioned, it has broad implications in various textual settings, not only the second langue but also the foreign language (here, two terms have different semantics). Nonetheless, few academics incorporated L2MSS into the second foreign language (L3) research, and most trilingual discussion remains at the theoretical levels. At the root, L3 learning is equivalent to L2 learning since they all use native language (L1) as bridges. Hence, this paper attempts to use the motivational self system to explore the motivation of the newest generation of L3 learners born after the millennium with the quantitative approach.

Brief View of Empirical Studies of Motivational Self System in L2 and L3
When referring to the empirical studies in L2, it is frequently discovered the fluctuating importance of the three principal concepts of L2MSS. For example, the ought-to self is a rather controversial area in L2. Papi [13]. Additionally, Csizert and Kormos clarified that the "ought-to self" is not a vital part of motivating learning behaviour because it does not adequately internalize learners to leverage the power of their motivation [14]. However, Asian researchers noted that the ought-to L2 self has a stronger positive correlation with motivated behaviours than the other two predictors. In You and Dörnyei's Chinese survey, they explained it might be owing to the traditional "reciprocal duty" and "face" mentality in Chinese society, which all belong to two sub-indicators under ought-to l2 self, namely instrumental-prevention and parental expectation [14] [15]. Similarly, findings from Gabrys-Barker demonstrate a consistent unstable effect; genuine learning events and circumstances make L3 motivation more amenable to modification [16]. Besides, among studies in greater China, Hong Kong and Taiwan accounted for the most proportion, while in-depth and systemic investigations into mainland L3 learning are still relatively rare [17][18] [19]. In addition, many studies use local language or ethnic language (e.g., Cantonese, Tibetan and Uighur) as L1 and then Chinese and English as the L2 and L3, respectively [20] [21]. Hence, despite an innovation from L2 to L3, these studies continue to revolve around global English learning rather than breaking the monopoly. Thus, this paper will take learning a foreign language other than English as a starting point.

The Interference of the L2 in L3 Motivational Research
Dörnyei and Ushioda highlighted in 2009 for further studies that alternative selves may "compete" with one another since the "resource" of the learner is limited in learning more than one L2, and the "mutual interference" between different target languages selves is thus a crucial and distinctive issue in the L3 motivational research [7]. Nevertheless, interference is not an entirely new terminology in applied linguistics and motivation. In some longitudinal and process-orientated research, it was discovered that the motivation of L2 learning was decreasing along the temporal dimension. Several academics attributed this phenomenon to the interference (effect) of the other parallel activities learners participated [1]. Specifically, Csizér and Dörnyei revealed that English indeed has a negative impact on German acquisition based on the findings in Hungary [22]. However, Csizér following suggested there may be a positive correlation between L2 and L2 selfimages if they move the English to the position of L3 [23]. Besides, some scholars also challenge the interplay between languages. For instance, Herdina and Jessner asserted, "crosslinguistic interaction is an umbrella term" that incorporates not only the feature of interference but also "codeswitching and borrowing, as well as the cognitive impacts of multilingual development". Due to the limitation of the length, this paper looks at the most salient factor, "interference" [24]. As Jessner inferred, plurilingual speakers depend more on their L2 than their L1 in acquiring L3; thus, the present paper would particularly examine the interference between L2 and L3 [25].

Second Foreign Language Learning in China
Although L3 is an international nomenclature defined by linguistics in the order of language acquisition, like L1 and L2, the phrase second foreign language (SFL) is more habitual used in referring learn an additional language other than English in mainland china [1] [20]. English courses were made mandatory when the Compulsory Education Law of the People's republic of China was originally promulgated in 1986. This detailed rule automatically categorized English as the lexical substitution of numerous Chinese people's L2. In addition, for students who majored in English, choosing a second foreign is also required in their curricula. Hence, they are regarded as the main force that propels the multilingual environment. However, some scholars criticized these coercive measures, which may potentially threaten their initiatives to master the target language ultimately. Thus, the investigation from a humanistic perspective into the second foreign language learners' motivation and the outcome is meaningful and helpful [26]. Nevertheless, in contrast to the multilingual studies in America and Europe, where economy and politics are highly integrated with substantial population mobility, Chinese research is at a backward stage due to limited practical usability in real life. But recent, multilingual competence drastically becomes a trend for personal and social advancement, which has even been incorporated into specific national strategies, which has gradually formed a ground of trilingual learning research.

Present Studies
The following research questions are designed to address the research gaps mentioned above, which can be summarized as examination, exploration and application of the L2/L3MSS. RQ1: What are the comparative profiles of the Chinese "post-00s" college students' L2 and L3 motivation?

Participants
This study used purposive sampling and focused on young "post-00s" undergraduate students from three universities who chose to learn a second foreign language, ranging from the first to the third year. Three hundred twenty-two Chinese native (n=345 before the adjustment) speakers (English was the first foreign language they learned) participated in the survey. Since all participants attend nine years of Chinese compulsory education, they have at least a rudimentary level of English. There are 190 males and 132 females. In addition, in this survey, students majoring in foreign languages are more actively involved, which occupies around three-quarters (n=245) of the full capacity.

Instruments
The present study employed a modified questionnaire based on Taguchi et al.'s investigation of L2MSS and You and Dornyei's large-scale stratified survey in China. Each questionnaire consists of two parts: participants' background information, including their gender, major, and self-rated proficiency; and items measuring motivational variables concerning English and second foreign language learning. In addition, the intended effort is a supplementary parameter to detect motivation results. This questionnaire also adopted two papers' six-point Likert scales from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (6) because most Chinese candidates tend to find an easy way by choosing the natural point (e.g., Neither agree nor disagree) from past experiences [14] [15]. However, unlike the previous two studies, self-rated proficiency in English and a second foreign language were added as external criterion measures. All the content in the questionnaire is translated into Chinese, the language participants are more proficient with, to help them understand better and avoid the cognitive bias caused by languages. Ten people were randomly selected to test the readability and understandability of the questionnaire before it was distributed to a large group, and all of them managed to complete the questionnaire within 15 minutes, which is a modest length.

Data Collection
The whole data collection took place between August 2022 and September 2022. Most of the questionnaires were released online, while a small number of questionnaires were printed out and collected in person on campus by the researcher in an effort to gather a broader sample capacity. Generally, the whole collection process went smoothly, but some common issues like conscientiousness in completing the questionnaire remain. We found several failed samples (n=23) based on previously set counterpropositions. These results were therefore eliminated before data analysis. The total qualified rate of the questionnaire is considered acceptable. As for the analysis process, all the raw data were recorded and organized using Microsoft Excel. Then, the data were converted into SPSS.28(IBM). With the help of statistics, reliability and validity were tested. The Cronbach Alpha for the asking questionnaire is 0.94 (p<0.05), while the KMO value is 0.95. Therefore, these two values are all greater than 0.8, and the instrument has delivered data of good psychometric quality.

Comparative Profiles of L2 and L3 Learning Motivations and Their ILE.
In general, Chinese college students' motivations to learn both languages are at the upper-middle level, with each category having values above four (the mid-point is 3.5). The paired data demonstrated in table 1 shows that the ideal self is the most influencing indicator in L2 learning among the three major components of the L2MSS. In contrast, the learning experience has the highest mean score (m=4,57) in L3 learning. It is also worth noting that variables ought-to self was rated the lowest in either L2 or L3 learning context (4.26 and 4.05 separately). In the horizontal view, the corresponding discrepancies between L2 and L3 subcomponents are not sustainable, especially the learning experience with a negligible mean gap (0.06). However, the distinction between L2 ILE and L3 ILE is significant; the mean difference reaches 0.55.

Interaction of L2 and L3 Motivational Self System and ITE.
The relationship between various aspects of L2MSS, L3MSS and intended learning efforts were investigated using a zero-order correlation (also named the person correlation). As table 3 demonstrates, there are many significant positive correlations between indices. Take the L3 ideal self as an example; it virtually links with all the variables in the list except L2 learning experience and L2 intended learning efforts. Besides, no traces of negative correlations are found in most L2 and L3 associated parameters, and the only negative figure (-0.002) between L2 IS, and L3 OS is not statistically significant. At the same time, the two most relevant are the L3 IS and L2 OS (r=0. 212, p<0.01). Furthermore, multiple regression analyses were carried out to investigate the relationship between the L3 ILE and all variables in depth. First, L3 ILE has regressed on the seven variables: three L2MSS components, three L3MSS components and L2 ILE. Then, values of VIF and Rsquared were generated in table 4, and statistics display that the collinearity or auto-correlation issues are not present in regression analysis. In addition, table 4 presents only three components in L3MSS that are significantly related to the L3 ILE, while the compositions of the L2MSS domain make no remarkable contribution. All three variables together could explain around 50 per cent of the variance. Among these concepts, L3 LE (β=0.37) and L3 OS (β=0.363) share almost equal importance in predicting their intended effort, followed by the IS (β=0.363).

L2/L3 Motivational Self in Predicting Learning Outcome.
Although intended effort seems to be a fixed criterion in motivation measuring the achievements, psychologists suggest roughly 30% of intentions do not match actual action, which may not function as expected on language proficiency [27]. Thus, a relatively objective and straightforward  measurement of self-rated proficiency (with a detailed description at each level) has been considered comforting mixed standardized tests. From the table above, several findings could be stated. First, most conducted variables did not indicate a significant result apart from the L3 oughtto self (p<0.01). Second, whilst there was an association between L3 OS and L3 self-rated proficiency, it is small (r=0.151). Third, leaving aside the academic pursuit of statistically significant, it is interesting to see the negative direction of correlation between the L2 Ideal self and L3 learning output. It potential illustrates that high English selves could harm the outcome of SFL. Thus, further investigation is needed to avoid the insignificant caused by the limited amount of participants.

L2 and L3 Learning Motivations and Their ILE.
Parallel to plentiful previous studies, results show that the ideal self and learning experience always occupies the top two positions in L2 learning motivation [17] [28]. Compared with the studies taken a decade ago, the ideal self is recent more recognized as the robust predictor of language learning across gender and georgical areas. Conventionally, scholars consented ought-to self need contextual interpretation, especially in east Asia, where the society is highly achievement-orientated and subtly influenced by Confucianism [29] [30]. For instance, Taiwan scholar Chen and his colleagues mentioned imperative and unique Chinese factors in learning that repay parents through achieving good grades involving additional fear of education failure [29]. Similarly, Magid uses another Chinese notion, "losing face", to explain why avoiding academic failure is a strong motive [30]. As mentioned in the literature part, these ideologies precisely match with subgroups of ought-to self named parental expectations and instrumentality-prevention. Thus ought-to L2 self was outweighed by others in earlier studies. Nevertheless, You and Dornyei's found a turnaround in 2014 that the socalled "Chinese imperative "disabled, which performed a modest role in motivation [14]. Thus, a striking transition of the materiality of the ought-to self coimg from top to bottom may be observed if past Chinese research is arranged and organized chronically. Although many review papers raised this tendency, few provided a reasonable explanation. Standing in the participant ontology perspective, on the one hand, social research conducted in Shanghai revealed they are more selfcentred and committed to achieving their future selves as the "post-00s" undergraduates. On the other hand, despite recognizing the value of money in their physical lives, they lack a sense of urgency in finding a job compared with the last generation due to a more affluent and pampered family setting [31]. These dramatic changes in target groups' character and mentality grealty lift the power of the ideal self in language studying, whereas erodes the sway of relevant ought-to selves content acting on their motivation. Furthermore, the combined ranking of items in L3MSS closely resembles the situations in L2 learning; the learning environment accounts for the most. These results are consistent with L3 learners in Taiwan and many ethnic minority areas [17][18] [19]. Besides, when comparing L2 and L3 motivations, L2 got the higher mark in OS and IS, which reflects more external and internal tensions in learning English than SFL. Nevertheless, the discovery of mainland china still varies with the western findings in a couple of points. First, in contrast to this study, Lukács noted that learning experience did not emerge as a significant latent dimension for their German and English learners [23]. Second, the data in the present study revealed that undergraduates have actually reported higher intended learning effort in L3 learning than in L2 learning. This might be the circumstance that they were not exposed to a third language learning until they entered university, choosing it as a compulsory or optional module, whereas the startling point of English learning could be back to the enlightenment stage. Hence, it is inevitable for individuals to take more time and effort to reach a satisfying level of L3 proficiency. However, Thompson explored that most Americans or SFL learners in anglophone countries do not feel obligated to master second or third languages other than English (LOTEs), with a quite low rating of intended effort in L3 learning [32]. In general, when L3 connects to LOTE, the motivational results are more heterogenic and contextdependent. [33]. The nuanced sociocultural backgrounds provide learners with distinct challenges and affordances. In short, china, as the largest L2 learning community, showcases a similar pattern with other western countries, but in terms of LOTE-as-L3, it maintains certain independence.

Interaction between L2MSS and L3MSS
Meanwhile, it is undeniable that some of the evidence indeed points to the competition between different target languages' future self-guides, and English is regularly found to be a hindrance to the progress of acquiring other languages. Compared to the two L3 studies on German and Japanese in greater china [34] [35]. The present study indeed demonstrates some interaction between parts of L2MSS and L3MSS. Even from the correlation figure between L3 IS and L2/L3 OS (0.212, p<0.01; 0,248, p<0.01), there may exist a complementary relationship between L2 ought-to self and L3 ought-to self. Nerveless, more interactions are within the separate systems, for instance, L2IS and L2OS, L2IS and L2LE. However, in general, it does not embody the vision of interference when the term has a negative semantic meaning [1]. In this case, positive attitudes in one language will not exist at the expense of another. Besides, these discoveries are not an exclusive case, either. Calafato and Tang also employed the L2 Motivational system to examine the motivation selves of Emirati teenagers, and they came to the same conclusion that participants' English selves do not significantly correspond with their L3 self-concepts. In addition, that paper further reveals that female participants not only show a stronger desire to communicate in many languages, but they also connect multilingualism more positively with education, travel, and intellect [36]. Corresponding Multilingual-self is another possible self advocated by several scholars, which is believed to be a crucial driver in cultivating multilingual motivation [5]. Besides, a number of papers suggested it is possible for distinct self-concepts of multiple languages to coexist peacefully without rivalries if each language is tightly connected to a particular domain [1] [35].
On the other side of the coin, many academics offer the explanations that second foreign language learners or LOTE learners tend to employ English selves as a 'yardstick' [20]. Once learners place English a high status in their minds, studying other languages becomes less desirable. Back to the discussion on post-00s personality and character, they are seeking common grounds while shelving differences. It implies they try to master a relative niche language to highlight themselves while learning global English as a way to follow the stream [31]. Hence, there is no contradiction in simultaneously attracting post-00s to learn English (L2) and second foreign langue (L3).

The Correlation between L2/L3MSS Concepts and Actual Achievements
Even though it has been identified as the axiom that higher motivation levels will result in more achievement for language learners, this research reflects the gap between conscious effort and actual language accomplishment since the correlation between ILE and grades is insignificant. In addition, the usefulness of promising L3 IS and L3 LE is suspected based on the discoveries. For the extremely small correlation between L3 ideal self and grades, Subekti found a conjoint situation on foreign language achievements among Indonesian and responded that it might cause by the blurry and overly idealistic opinion of their L3 IS. In other words, the students 'answers to the category for the L3 IS concept has more to do with their optimism and hopeful outlook on the future than how they could realistically see themselves in the long run [28]. However, these views are not facilitated by enough actual effort. Therefore, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on their L3 achievements. Accordingly, researchers have likewise expressed some thoughts. First, Dornyei brought up imagining that activity plans may be an outside mediator playing a significant role in L2MSS [37]. High-level intended effort cannot be translated into genuine exertion without pointby-point activity plans, Destin and Oyserman equally argued in the article [38]. In comparison, Lamb's language proficiency and motivation research uncover that provincial distinction which is primarily credited to unbalanced education resource and economic development is the most potent predictor "followed by participants' parents' level of L2 proficiency and educational level [39]. Therefore, the self-rated format is somehow not to blame for the insignificant results; more importantly, there may exist some prerequisites or conditions for motivation to be fully operated, which current studies have not adequately excavated yet.
On the other hand, the finding suggests if students seek to be productive in the long run, those extrinsic reasons or less-internalized motivation are required. That might be attributed to the fact that most participants are majoring in foreign languages, which means they have the duty to avoid negative outcomes to obtain a graduation certificate. In addition, as a strength, the motivational self system could provide guidance for the educator. Accordingly, the instructor could present some real-world cases of the destructive impacts of failing L3 study in the classroom to help them construct the ought-to self. Moreover, based on the above discussion, pragmatic approaches may be more effective for these students due to the reality that second foreign langue learning is not institutionally supported compared to the leading English. It also needs to be cautious that the ought-to self could promote anxiety which has been proposed by several scholars, though some studies prove that anxiety could fuel students to take action [40].

Conclusion
As part of the socio-dynamic period in motivational research, Dorney's L2MSS represents a primary reformation of the previous motivational thinking with the evolving and self-organized open system [35]. It is also a tremendous quantitative tool to explain or even predict learning efforts. Depending on the L2MSS or deuteronic L3MSS, the present paper had both analogous and novel discoveries. For instance, convergence has occurred in the English (L2) learning motivation that the ideal L2 self makes an immense contribution, closely followed by the Learning experience and ought-to self. However, there is no such fixed trend in the realm of L3, and the results are more text-based in nature. So far, it reveals that the Leaning experience most actively induces L3 motivation; the second best is the L3 self. Meanwhile, second foreign language students seem to put more effort into L3 learning than L2. Besides, no presumptive interference is spotted between L2MSS and L3MSS concepts. In many cases, two motivational systems are run individually. Moreover, the most prominent and surprising discovery is that intended effort might not determine final achievements. At the same time, although the ought-to self is less perceived in students' own opinion, it indeed has the strongest correlation with the ultimate language level in reality from the data collected. Thus, several teaching approaches are outlined to address low language proficiency, including mental intervention and tangibles behaviours. Furthermore, many results could be linked or explained with post-00s characters under social progress throughout the study. Hence, regardless of L2 and L3, their motivational research needs to be constantly updated to present cutting-edge findings. It could underpin educators and even policymakers to work out measures and layouts abreast of the time in cultivating more multilingual to match contemporary personal and social development.