L2 selves, motivation, and willingness to communicate: Assessing the motivational self-system model in L2 Spanish learners in Portugal

The L2 Motivational Self System (L2 MSS), proposed by Dörnyei two decades ago, has become the hegemonic model for explaining the motivational elements operating on second language learners. However, how these learning dispositions stimulate different types of motivation in favour of willingness to communicate (L2 WTC) remains largely unknown. This study investigates how the L2 Ideal Self and the Ought-to L2 Self, two of the key aspects of the L2 MSS, influence L2 WTC in Portuguese university students learning Spanish as a foreign language. Analysing a sample of 182 participants, and using structural equation modelling, the effects of these two aspects of the L2 MSS on L2 WTC, both direct and mediated by instrumental and integrative types of motivation, were examined. The results showed a positive and significant effect on both types of motivation, especially integrative motivation, which translated into an indirect effect on L2 WTC. The Ought-to L2 Self showed a positive direct effect on L2 WTC not mediated by either type of motivation. These findings emphasise the importance of fostering integrative motivation in the development of educational policies and pedagogical practices to encourage L2 use.