Global Educational Experience and L2 Learning Motivation of Korean College Students

The aim of this study is twofold: first, to investigate the effects of global educational activities on college students’ L2 learning motivation in a Korean EFL context; second, to illuminate the relationship among motivational components more clearly. Quantitative analyses were conducted with 59 Korean college students who joined 2 different kinds of global activities: volunteering work programs and an English language program. The results of this study suggest that both groups showed a significantly enhanced level of international posture, ideal L2 self, and intended effort toward learning English, even though there were differences of degrees in the ideal L2 self and intended learning effort, but not in the international posture. It is speculated that the different durations of the programs made these differences. In addition, a conclusion was drawn from this result that international posture, the attitudinal openness to foreigners, is an antecedent of visualizing a more clear future L2 self image, and ideal L2 self was the stronger predictor of being a successful L2 learner who put forth more intended L2 learning effort than international posture.