| Summary: | The linguistic environment in Iceland has changed in recent years due to extensive exposure to English. Many Icelanders use English almost daily in a wide variety of situations in Iceland, although Icelandic remains their first language. English is a necessary feature in a broad spectrum of employment contexts, in tertiary study and for entertainment, sports and hobbies. As well as using English frequently, young Icelanders also spend years studying English at school both at compulsory and post-compulsory level. Anecdotal evidence suggests that young Icelanders may have limited understanding of the proficiency level and register differences that they will need after school and lack motivation to put effort into studying English. Exploring learner perceptions about classroom learning and English needs after school and taking student views into account offers the possibility of isolating undeveloped areas of language learning and thus of preparing young Icelanders better for using English successfully in the future. The thesis addresses how students’ perceptions of learning English at school affect their study motivation, and what relevance formal study has for them in a context of extensive exposure to the language outside the classroom. The traditional view of motivation in second-language learning allows for a division between using the language for practical purposes and becoming part of the native speaker community. More recently motivation has been seen as envisaging one’s future ‘possible self’ as a competent language user. Although many studies of second-language learning motivation use quantitative methods, recent qualitative research has stressed the importance of participants’ individual contexts. Little research has been done into compulsory language learning at school in a context of extensive exposure outside the classroom. Similarly, the concept of relevance has not been studied as an aspect of second-language learning motivation. The theoretical perspective of this qualitative study is that of ...
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