Behind the mask: Using a drama-based English-as-a-foreign-language program to explore and develop second-language identity and motivation in a Japanese undergraduate context

The second-language motivational self system has not only served to explain language learning motivation in a wide range of contexts; it has also offered the potential for guiding motivational interventions in institutional learning contexts in particular. Although multiple studies have trialed interventions designed to train learners in creating powerful visions of their ideal second-language self, such approaches have not only shown varied success, but have either ignored the second-language learning experience component or limited its construct to attitudes to the second-language learning process. In contrast, the current study, adopting a broader conception of the second-language learning experience as second-language autobiographical memory, explored the utility of an English-through-drama program not only as a lens for exploring second-language identity and motivation from a holistic second-language narrative identity perspective, but also as a tool for developing it through self-awareness promotion. Thematic analysis was conducted on the participants’ reflective journal data in response to the program’s three main drama-based task sequences, triangulated by a parallel analysis of the instructor’s reflective journal entries. The program was found to be effective in terms of: (a) clarifying, transforming, and reinforcing the participants’ sense of second-language self; (b) fostering near-peer relatedness and inspiration; and (c) enhancing language learning motivation through (a) and (b), as well as through experiences of novelty and agency.