L2 Motivation in Language Revitalization Practice

This dissertation investigates the initial and ongoing motivations of language revitalization practitioners. This study extends our understandings of language revitalization from the programmatic and sociological levels to the level of the individual practitioner. It also extends theory in L2 motivation into a largely unstudied language learning context. I primarily engage with the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005) and Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to frame the findings, as well as drawing on Ushioda’s (2009) ‘person-in-context relational view’ of L2 motivation. The findings in this study arise from rigorous, inductive qualitative analysis of individual practitioner voices and experiences. I propose a model for conducting applied research that centers principles of respect, relationality, and reciprocity with language communities and community members. Built on this model, and with careful attention to interview and transcription methods, this study includes data from interviews with 28 revitalization practitioners as well as qualitative data from the Global Survey of Language Revitalization Effort (Peréz Báez et al., 2019). Key themes in the findings from these sources include: Goals, that is, practitioners’ diverse goals and trajectories towards those goals; Relationships, meaning the role of relations and relationship-building in sustaining motivation and effort; and Time, including how motivation and effort vary across periods of time, as well as how practitioners describe being motivated by perspectives on the past, experiences in the present, and visions of the future. From these findings I propose practical suggestions for practitioners looking for strategies to sustain motivation, and theoretical implications for our understanding of L2 motivation in general. Language revitalization is not an easy task; it requires significant effort on the part of many individuals, most of whom recognize they will not get to see the results of their work in their lifetimes. Individuals who learn these languages as second languages face enormous odds with enormous determination. My hope is that this dissertation might, in some small way, help those individuals stay motivated in their journeys, and might contribute in some small way to a future where all people have the chance to speak their languages