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English is today learnt in multitudes of settings worldwide, making it difficult to characterize relationships between motivation and context in generalized terms (Ushioda 2013). In settings where students have extensive encounters with English outside school, a reluctance to invest effort in formal learning has been observed. To investigate ways in which out-of-school encounters impact on motivation, questionnaire data was obtained from 116 upper secondary students in Sweden. Structural equation modelling was used to test a series of hypotheses generated from emerging research into language learners identities, beliefs and self-authenticity appraisals. Results revealed that, compared to reference studies from settings where English lacks similar prominence, the Ideal L2 Self accounted for substantially less of the explained variance on a criterion measure. This can be accounted for by the limited discrepancy between current and ideal L2 selves. Results also indicate that beliefs about the efficacy of learning in natural environments have a negative impact on motivation in school, and that appraisals of self-authenticity may have a similar effect, although methodological challenges make this contention difficult to substantiate.
