How do you think the knowledge of the Korean language will shape your future?: A Q methodology study into Australian university student future language selves

The goal of this paper is to present a research on student’s future L2 selves, conducted in an Australian university on learners of Korean language by using Q methodology. Q methodology application in the field of language education has been extremely limited, and restricted to students of English as a foreign language (Irie 2014, Irie & Ryan 2015); however, Q-methodology has received positive reviews as a promising technique that can be used in the investigation of student’s individual differences, among them mainly learner’s motivation (Dornyei and Ryan 2015). The aim of this presentation is firstly to outline Q methodology and its characteristics and to critically consider which kind of applications it can have in the field of Korean as a second language education research. Secondly, it will present a research conducted with Q methodology in an Australian university and focused on the investigation of Korean and Italian language students’ future selves. The research will show how Q methodology can give deep insights into the construction of student’s future self-images which can in turn led to an understanding of student’s motivation.