System 80 (2019) 120e133

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

System
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/system

Exploring the L2 selves of senior secondary students in

English private tutoring in Hong Kong
Kevin Wai-Ho Yung
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Taipo, Hong Kong SAR, China

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a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

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Article history: Based on Do € rnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), this study explored senior sec-
Received 18 May 2018 ondary students' multiple L2 selves when they enrolled in English private tutoring (EPT)

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Received in revised form 18 October 2018 courses. Through narrative inquiry, this paper analysed 18 Hong Kong Secondary Six
Accepted 12 November 2018
(Grade 12) students' English learning experiences and their motivation for learning English
Available online 16 November 2018
and subscribing to EPT. Each participant completed a questionnaire, wrote three pieces of
reflective writing and responded to six individual interviews throughout the year of study.
Keywords:
The findings indicated that language learning converged from diverse activities to exam-
L2 Motivational Self System
Shadow education
ination drilling at senior secondary school years. The learners possessed insecure actual L2
Private tutoring selves, revealing a discrepancy with their future L2 selves consisting of dominant ought-to
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Narrative inquiry L2 selves and suppressed ideal L2 selves. This study contributes to research in language
Secondary education learning by unveiling EPT learners' formation of L2 selves in a context of high-stakes
Out-of-school learning experiences testing. The findings contribute to the development of the L2MSS by operationalising
the actual L2 self, its discrepancy with possible L2 selves, and the interrelationship be-
or

tween ideal and ought-to L2 selves. The study calls for further research to bridge the fields
of shadow education and language learning given the significant role EPT plays in shaping
learners' out-of-school L2 learning experiences.
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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1. Introduction

Private tutoring has become a popular out-of-school learning activity for students in recent decades. It is defined as the
paid service students used to supplement their learning of academic subjects at school outside school hours (Yung and Bray,
2017). It is known as “shadow education” because it mimics the mainstream school curriculum and changes its shape when
the mainstream does so (Stevenson & Baker, 1992). Around the world, a significant number of students receive some type of
private tutoring. In Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, more than half of the secondary students
have received private tutoring (see Bray & Lykins, 2012); and the number in the West is growing rapidly (see, e.g., Buchmann,
Condron, & Roscigno, 2010; Pearce, Power, & Taylor, 2018; S tastný, 2016). Among these countries, English language is found to
be the most popularly enrolled subject, particularly in places where English is learned as a second (L2) or foreign language
(e.g., Dierkes, 2010 in Japan; Kwok, 2010 in China; Park, Byun, & Kim, 2011 in South Korea; Zhan, Bray, Wang, Lykins, & Kwo,
2013 in Hong Kong). Considering the widespread of English private tutoring (EPT) worldwide, it is crucial to explore how the
L2 motivation of this growing population of learners is influenced by this important out-of-school language learning activity.

E-mail address: kevinyung@eduhk.hk.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.11.003
0346-251X/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 121

Studies (e.g., Chung, 2013; Hamid, Sussex, & Khan, 2009; Yung, 2015) have shown that students enrolled in EPT tend to
be motivated instrumentally because of their desire to get high examination scores, but the situation may be more
complex when considering the dynamic aspect of L2 motivation (Do € rnyei & Ryan, 2015). This study analysed the language
learning narratives of senior secondary students who received EPT in Hong Kong and explored their multiple L2 selves
based on Do €rnyei's (2009) L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). Given the recent paradigm shift of L2 motivation research
from a static and linear approach to the focus on self-related concepts and its dynamic perspective, the study takes into
account the importance of context and learners' prior English learning experiences in the formation of the L2 selves. More
importantly, it operationalised the relationship between the learners' current and future L2 selves, an aspect missing in
the L2MSS but considered crucial in conceptualising learners' self-discrepancies (Henry & Cliffordson, 2017; Higgins,
1987; Thorsen, Henry, & Cliffordson, 2017). Therefore, this study is practically and theoretically important in that it (1)
illuminates shadow education in the field of language learning to inform practitioners in mainstream schools about their
students' motivation of and experiences in attending EPT classes and (2) contributes to the ongoing development of L2
motivation research by taking into account learners' current L2 selves and the discrepancies they have with the future
self-guides.

2. Literature review

2.1. L2 Motivational Self System

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Do€ rnyei's L2MSS has been one of the most influential models investigating self-specific motivation in L2 learning

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(Do€ rnyei & Ryan, 2015; Liu & Thompson, 2018; Yu, Brown, & Stephens, 2018). Building on possible selves theory (Markus
& Nurius, 1986), self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and the development of L2 motivation research (e.g., Deci &
Ryan, 1985; Gardner & Lambert, 1972), Do € rnyei developed three components in the L2MSS: ideal L2 self, ought-to L2

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self, and L2 learning experience. The ideal L2 self includes integrative motives and internalised instrumental motives. In
the L2 learning context, the ideal self would be a person whom he/she would like to become in the future such as a
competent user of the L2. On the other hand, the ought-to L2 self would be a person who possesses attributes one
believes one is obliged to possess in order to meet expectations from others and society or to avoid potential negative
consequences. The third component L2 learning experience refers to context-specific motives related to the individual's
immediate learning environment. These can include the experience of success or failure, teacher-student relationships,
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the curriculum and the peers in the learning community.
Some studies on the L2MSS attempt to include other types of selves such as the anti-ought-to self (Thompson, 2017),
the rebellious self (Lanvers, 2016) and the dreaded self (Yu et al., 2018). While these additional selves can be incor-
porated into the L2MSS to better explain learners' L2 motivation, they can broadly be considered subsets of the ought-to
or

L2 self because they reflect how learners’ motivation is driven by external sources (e.g. being motivated by reaction
contrary to external sources in the anti-ought-to self and rebellious self, and avoiding negative consequences in the
dreaded self), in contrast to the internal dimension in the ideal L2 self. However, what is clearly missing in the L2MSS is
the actual or current L2 self. Although the two possible selves are concrete constructs guiding L2 learners to approach a
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desired end-state or avoid reaching a feared end-state, it is unclear how L2 learning experience interacts with these two
future self-guides since this component “is conceptualised at a different level from the two self-guides” (Do €rnyei, 2009,
p. 29).
To make L2 learning experience a construct in the “self” dimension compatible with the two possible selves, Taylor (2013),
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building on Higgins (1987), proposed that the actual L2 self be present in order to reveal the discrepancy between the current
and future selves. Lanvers (2016) also included the actual self in her Self Discrepancy Model for Language Learners when
modifying the L2MSS. Thorsen et al. (2017) argue that the current L2 self is a “missing person” in the L2MSS and that
highlighting the discrepancy with the presence of the actual L2 self is crucial in understanding the sources of language
learning motivation. In this regard, this study operationalised the actual L2 self in lieu of the L2 learning experience
component in the L2MSS as the attributes the L2 learner believes he/she currently possesses. Although these attributes are
shaped by the context-specific motives in the L2 learning experience, the focus of the actual L2 self is on the “person in
context” rather than the context itself (see Ushioda, 2009).

2.2. Research on L2 motivation in English private tutoring

Some studies on students' English learning experiences have mentioned learners' participation in EPT as an important
out-of-school language learning activity (e.g., Besser & Chik, 2014; Lamb, 2007), but they did not place EPT as a focal point
for discussion. Among the limited studies specifically focusing on EPT (e.g., Hamid et al., 2009; Lee, 2010; Yung, 2015), few
have focused on students' L2 learning motivation. Chung's (2013) study found that Taiwanese students attending cram
schools were highly instrumentally motivated because of their perceived “utilitarian benefits” of good results for uni-
versity admission and future career (p. 590). This study, however, treated motivation as a static construct without taking
into account its dynamic nature. It also did not consider learners' past experiences as a factor influencing their choice of
participation in EPT.
122 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

Some recent studies applying Do € rnyei's L2MSS have touched on EPT. One example is Irie and Brewster's (2013) longitu-
dinal study of three first-year university students in Japan. Two mentioned their EPT learning experiences in high school. One
of them was intrinsically motivated with an ideal L2 self since she enjoyed learning English grammar at a cram school.
Another learner was motivated extrinsically by an ought-to L2 self because learning English at cram schools helped her
perform better at English tests. Another study by Lamb (2007) found that junior high school students' motivation of learning
in formal schooling decreased due to their dissatisfaction with their schoolteachers, thus relying their English learning on
private tutorial courses. These studies, however, only mentioned students' experiences in EPT as small episodes without
exploring them in depth.
A study analysing motivation of learners specifically in EPT using the L2MSS was conducted by Kim (2011). A survey of
6301 elementary school students in South Korea found that those who attended hakwons were generally more motivated
than those who did not because they had more opportunities to activate their two possible selves in EPT lessons. These
motivations were largely instrumental (ought-to L2 selves) and slightly intrinsic (ideal L2 selves). However, because of the
purely quantitative nature of the study, it could not explain in detail where these future selves came from or how contextual
conditions influenced their L2 selves.
Informed by a recent shift in language learning research from the overreliance on survey to a more qualitative
approach yielding more contextualised pictures of learners' experiences (Gao, 2008; Yang & Kim, 2011), this study
analysed the L2 selves of students enrolled in EPT courses through narrative inquiry. This allows the researcher to un-
derstand the participants’ language learning trajectories, including their past and current experiences and their beliefs

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and goals of language learning. The study sought to answer the overarching research question:

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 Based on their English learning experiences, what L2 selves do senior secondary students possess when they subscribe to
English private tutoring?

3. The study

3.1. The research context

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The study was situated in a large tutorial company in Hong Kong, a city having a high enrolment rate of private tutoring.
According to Zhan et al. (2013), among the surveyed 1646 Secondary Three (Grade 9) and Secondary Six (Grade 12) students
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in 16 Hong Kong secondary schools, 53.8% and 71.8% respectively reported that they had received private tutoring within the
previous 12 months. Like many other places, the greatest demand was for English, mainly because of its significant status
associated with academic success and career advancement (Yung, 2015).
Private tutoring takes various forms, including one-to-one, small-group, live lectures, video-recorded lectures, and
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online (Yung and Bray, 2017). The most prominent kind is lecture-type tutoring run by entrepreneurs with multiple
outlets which advertise their tutors as “stars” (Yung and Yuan, 2018). In this study, one large tutorial company was
purposefully selected because it was one of the top six companies operating as chains and offering lecture-type tutoring
(Synovate, 2011). This type of tutoring usually involved the largest number of learners (Zhan et al., 2013). Recruiting
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participants in this setting ensured a broadly homogenous sample who all experienced this type of EPT despite their
diverse backgrounds.

3.2. Participants
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A maximum variation sampling method was used to select the participants (Patton, 2005). First, a questionnaire was
distributed to 13 centres of the tutorial company at the beginning of the academic year. Two-thousand two-hundred and
sixteen students responded to the questionnaire and 547 consented to participate in the year-long study. Based on their
questionnaire responses (e.g., different schools, attitudes on learning English, reasons for enrolling in EPT courses, length
of EPT experience) and eliminating similar cases, I contacted 100 respondents with broadly diverse backgrounds for a
15-min phone interview, which also allowed me to gauge their enthusiasm in participating in the study. With an
attempt to balance gender and include a wide range of participants with different English proficiencies, I selected 20, a
manageable number for in-depth narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). In the end, 18 completed the whole
study (see Table 1).
All the selected participants speak L1 Cantonese and had learned English at school as an L2 since they were in kindergarten
at the age of three. They studied in the local senior secondary curriculum preparing for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary
Education Examinations (HKDSE), a high-stakes school leaving public examination. Sixteen schools were represented among
the 18 participants. Joanne and Sze were from the same school but in different classes, and Fay and Zoe were twin sisters
studying at the same school in the same class. Half of the sample studied in English-medium secondary schools and half in
Chinese-medium ones. I categorised the participants into high, medium and low English proficiencies based on my obser-
vations from their writing and speaking competence throughout the year of study and their HKDSE English Language results
obtained in the final interview.
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 123

Table 1
Participants’ backgrounds.

Participant Gender MOI at secondary school Overall result in HKDSE English Languagea English Proficiency
1 Nicola Female English Level 5* High
2 Zoe Female Chinese Level 5
3 Fay Female Chinese Level 5
4 Tina Female English Level 4
5 Charlene Female English Level 4

6 Ken Male Chinese Level 4 Medium

7 Luke Male English Level 4
8 Alvin Male English Level 4
9 Diana Female Chinese Level 4
10 Mark Male Chinese Level 4
11 Joanne Female English Level 4
12 Sze Female English Level 3

13 Baron Male English Level 3 Low

14 Vincent Male English Level 3
15 Peter Male Chinese Level 3
16 Wendy Female Chinese Level 2

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17 Yeung Male Chinese Level 2
18 Hong Male Chinese Level 2

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In HKDSE, candidates' performances are reported in five levels (Level 1 to Level 5), with Level 5 being the highest. Among the Level 5 candidates, those
with the best performance are awarded a Level 5**, and the next top group are awarded a Level 5*. Performance below Level 1 is reported as “Unclassified”.

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Apart from students, four tutors in the tutorial company and 13 parents and four schoolteachers of the participants were
also recruited. These stakeholders' behaviours and attitudes toward EPT were important factors influencing the learners'
experiences and beliefs. Their voices facilitated my understanding of how the learners’ experiences were shaped from
multiple perspectives.

3.3. Data collection

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Throughout the year of study, data were collected from the 18 student participants through an initial questionnaire, six
rounds of individual interviews and three pieces of reflective writing. These instruments aimed at understanding the par-
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ticipants' L2 selves at different stages of their learning experiences. I also conducted four rounds of individual interviews with
the four tutors, one round of individual interviews with the 13 parents and four schoolteachers, and 12 classroom obser-
vations at the tutorial centres. Fig. 1 shows the flow of data collection throughout the year. The narratives reported in this
paper are mainly based on the student participants’ questionnaire response, the first two interviews and the first reflective
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essay; although other sources of data facilitated the construction of their narratives.
The questionnaire elicited learners' background information such as gender, medium of instruction (MOI) at school,
how they rated their English standard, and their target grade in the HKDSE. These items facilitated the conceptualisation
of the participants' actual L2 selves (e.g., how they perceived their current English competence). Items related to their
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attitudes towards learning English and reasons for enrolling in EPT courses were aimed at understanding their possible L2
selves. The participants' responses in the questionnaire were followed up and elaborated in the first interview on the
phone. I then asked the participants to write a 400-word reflective essay about their English learning experiences before
we had face-to-face individual interviews. They wrote the essay in English and the content was verified in the interview,
in which I prompted them with more questions based on their writing and the interview probes (see Appendix I) to co-
construct their language learning narratives with them. Subsequent interviews served as the opportunity for me to fill the
gap for any unclear episodes, each lasting for around 1 h. The questionnaire was written in Chinese and all the interviews
were conducted in Cantonese to facilitate communication and avoid misunderstanding due to students’ low English
proficiency.

3.4. Data analysis

All the interview data were transcribed verbatim and relevant excerpts pertaining to the research question were translated
into English. Throughout the year of co-construction of stories about the participants’ English learning experiences, I kept a
research journal to record immediate thoughts and reflections from interviews and observations so that I could engage in the
process of “immersion” in the data and “become intimately familiar” with the content from time to time (Braun & Clarke,
2013, p. 204).
The narratives were analysed based on the framework proposed by Clandinin and Connelly (2000). Specifically, they were
framed by the three-dimensional inquiry space, such as the different stages of schooling (temporality), learning inside and
outside school (place), and interactions with peers, teachers and/or tutors (sociality). Contrary to the linear approach in
124 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

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Fig. 1. Flow of data collection.

quantitative research, the process was “iterative”, “emergent” and “interpretative” (Barkhuizen, Benson, & Chik, 2014). I
moved back and forth between data collection and data analysis. I read and re-read the data of learner experiences which
mainly came from the first reflective writing and the first two interviews, but slices of experiences mentioned in other in-
terviews or reflective writing were also taken into consideration. I sorted the experiences chronologically and wrote a
narrative of each participant. These narratives became the participants’ “life stories”. The initial narratives tended to be
descriptive which were “close to experience” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 132). They formed interim texts which were sent
to each participant for member checking and further negotiation and co-construction of their stories. Then I added more
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 125

reflective notes relating their experiences to contextual elements (e.g., competition, pressure from the curriculum) and
dominated L2 selves.
I wrote an approximately 660-word narrative for each participant, contributing to a total of 11,898 words from the 18
narratives (see Appendix II for an example of analysed narratives). I identified similarities and differences across the nar-
ratives, with a focus on how their learning experiences shaped their L2 selves which drove their participation in EPT in the
senior secondary school years. The identified themes were negotiated with an academic in English language education for
inter-coder check to ensure the trustworthiness of the interpretation of the narratives.

4. Findings

The questionnaire, interviews and reflective writing deployed in the study were aimed at understanding learners’ L2
selves. Based on the data collected through these instruments, the lived stories of the 18 participants reveal complex and
dynamic L2 selves before and when they subscribed to EPT during the senior secondary school years.

4.1. Converging diverse learning experiences to examination drilling

The participants’ English learning narratives reveal that they engaged in different kinds of activities at different stages and

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their L2 motivation varied. Before and during primary school years, the participants had a wide range of English learning
experiences. For instance, Nicola and Tina read novels, Zoe and Fay learned English from their elder sister, and Charlene
communicated with her domestic helper in English. Tina and Sze also mentioned that their parents occasionally “switched

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languages” at home. These opportunities of using English may be attributed to the English-rich home environment. At school,
while the majority of the participants reported that their teachers predominantly focused on grammar and vocabulary, some

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participated in a variety of English learning activities such as listening to songs and watching videos in English, reading story
books, and chatting with native English-speaking teachers (NESTs). They also participated in different forms of out-of-school
English learning activities. For example, Nicola, Charlene, Tina, Luke, Joanne and Sze attended English conversation classes to
use English authentically for communication with native English speakers; and Zoe, Fay, Ken, Mark, Alvin, Diana, Joanne,
Baron, Vincent received EPT which offered homework guidance and grammar training. At this stage, participants engaged in a
wider range of English activities tended to express more interest in learning English than those who generally confined
English learning to classrooms. Other participants who expressed no interest or even hatred in learning English tended to
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regard English simply as a school subject or feel demotivated by external forces or ought-to L2 selves such as pressure from
parents, schoolteachers or unsatisfactory school results. Baron shared an example:
When I was young I thought whenever I did not perform well in something, you beat me up. Then how could I like that
or

thing? Even when I had tried my best, you would still scold me and punish me. Then I gradually disliked that thing.
[Baron, Interview II]
Baron told me that his parents had high expectation on him, and always told him good English was necessary for being
competitive in the future. Therefore, English learning was highly instrumental for Baron.
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Transitioning to junior secondary school, the participants seemed to have more opportunities to use English authentically.
Some of them started participating in activities which involved cultural exchange and social networking. Nicola participated
in joint-school activities in which she made friends and communicated in English with elite students in other schools. She
explained:
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I was influenced by their culture. They talked about how funny some YouTube videos were, and I also wanted to watch.
The videos they watched had no subtitles, so I trained myself to watch without subtitles and gradually I liked those
videos. [Nicola, Interview II]
The videos created topics for Nicola to get into the social circle of competitive peers. Likewise, Zoe and Fay started partying
with friends from international schools and getting obsessed with Western cultures. For Fay, this was a critical moment in her
English learning journey:
I had been very weak at English. That friend made me get access to a lot of things in Western culture. At that moment, I
started watching movies, reading and speaking in English. Then I transformed from not being able to speak English to
speaking English quite fluently. [Fay, Interview II]
Other participants also experienced a sudden surge in English learning motivation, like Vincent and Yeung who joined
overseas study tours in which they used English as a lingua franca. At school, Hong had the opportunity to communicate with
native English speakers through the American culture scheme, and Alvin started falling in love with English when his NEST
taught him interesting English words. Sze enjoyed English-related extra-curricular activities such as English festivals at
school. These participants expressed a surge of interest in English learning because of these activities and were motivated
with an integrative orientation, forming ideal L2 selves. On the other hand, Ken, Luke, Mark, Joanne, Baron, Peter and Wendy
lamented that school lessons were dominated by grammar drilling and “textbook English” which they found boring and
126 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

demotivating. Baron and Peter participated in EPT as their parents required because they did not perform academically well at
school. Tina also enrolled in an EPT course aiming to boost her English result for a higher chance to be allocated to an elite
senior secondary class. These may have increased their instrumental motivation to learn English and formed ought-to L2
selves.
In senior secondary school years, English learning tended to be examination-driven and motivation was dominated by
ought-to L2 selves. To maximise their time to prepare for HKDSE, Zoe and Fay decreased the frequency of socialising with their
friends in English, and Nicola spent less time watching YouTube videos. At school, all participants reported that their lessons,
to different extent, focused on drilling examination papers. Although Nicola's teacher still adopted “active learning” occa-
sionally, Tina kept learning English through poems and songs, and Joanne listened to English radio programmes at school;
when HKDSE was approaching, they tended to feel that these non-examination-oriented tasks were not worth the time. Even
if their teachers solely concentrated on examination drilling, many participants bemoaned their teachers' lack of skills in
teaching to the test. For example:
The teacher could spend three to four lessons working on just one Reading passage. Those who attended tutorial classes
would rather revise vocabulary, read tutorial notes or do our own stuff. After finishing the reading paper, she would just
let us check the answers, and then we did our own stuff again. [Yeung, Interview II]
This perception caused many participants to enrol in EPT courses which they considered “more professional” in teaching
examination skills. Therefore, EPT became a major out-of-school English learning activity for the participants at this stage.

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4.2. English learning driven by instrumental reasons

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When the participants enrolled in EPT courses in Secondary Six, they had a mixture of motivation for learning English.
Their questionnaire responses on their reasons for learning English are summarised in Table 2.1 They were verified and
explained in Interview I and followed up in subsequent interviews.

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As shown in the vertical comparison of responses in Table 2, the participants' reasons for learning English were dominated
by external sources (ought-to L2 selves), although the horizontal comparison within individual participants reveal a mixture
of possible L2 selves. The participants with high English proficiency tended to also learn English with an integrative orien-
tation such as cultural exchange and social networking, thus being motivated by ideal L2 selves. They were also driven by an
interest in English. Some with medium or low English proficiency also indicated their interest in English in the questionnaire.
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Alvin's passion in learning English was extended to his wish to pursue a degree in Linguistics, and Sze regarded learning
English as part of her life-long learning goal for self-fulfilment. However, based on our conversations in interviews, Luke,
Diana and Yeung seemed to have expressed less interest in English. For example, Luke gradually disliked English because of
the “boring” school English lessons, and English was considered a means to enhance his self-esteem through increased social
or

status:
[I can] communicate and get to know more people and it seems that the social class of one person would be higher.
[Luke, Interview I]
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Similarly, Diana perceived that good English could lead to a sense of excellence over others. She added:
I hope in the future my job and my life can be better. I don't want to be discriminated or looked down upon. [Diana,
Interview I]
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This could be explained by their lack of self-confidence, forming ought-to L2 selves.

Participants with lower English proficiency (except Yeung) noticeably lacked ideal L2 selves. They generally showed less
interest in learning English and considered it largely an obligation or social need, so learning was driven primarily by ought-to
L2 selves. For example, Baron highlighted the fulfilment of his parents’ expectations:
My family has rather high expectation on my English and me. [They said] without understanding or learning English
properly, how are we supposed to compete in society in the future? [Baron, Interview I]
Joanne expressed pressure from her mother who compared her with her cousins who spoke good English, so she felt
obliged to learn English well or she would be looked down upon. Peter lamented that he studied English simply because it
was a compulsory subject. Yeung and Hong had rather low self-esteem and were motivated to study harder for fear of failing
HKDSE. Even though Yeung chose some items related to internal sources, he told me his “learning motivation fluctuated
frequently” [Interview I], and most of the time those sources of motivation were externalised because of the anxiety and
pressure from his family members. These show a prevention focus, generating ought-to L2 selves.

1
In Tables 2 and 3, the numbers at the top indicate the items shown on the questionnaire, which can be found in the key. The chosen options are
indicated by ticks (✓) and the most important reason asterisked (*). The items chosen by more than half of the participants are shaded. For Tables 2 and I
briefly categorise the items into goals from internal sources (more likely generated by ideal L2 selves) or external sources (more likely generated by ought-
to L2 selves). Some items can fall between the two categories because of the degree of internalisation of external sources and the different purposes (with a
promotion or prevention focus) of communication, life-long learning, career development and social networking through English (see Do €rnyei, 2009;
Taguchi, Magid, & Papi, 2009).
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 127

Table 2
Participants’ reasons for learning English from questionnaire.

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4.3. Subscribing to English private tutoring for higher grades

While most of the participants started EPT at earlier stages as required by their parents, all of them made their own
decision to join EPT in senior secondary school years. Table 3 illustrates their questionnaire responses on the reasons for
participating in EPT.
Almost all the participants regarded the desire to get a higher grade in public examinations (item 10) as a key factor of
receiving EPT, and most of them considered it the most important reason. In this aspect, what I heard most in the interviews
was that the participants expected to learn examination skills in EPT. Ken explained:
Learning English has a different format from receiving tutoring. I think to learn English we should start from everyday
lives […], but when it comes to tutoring, it is exam-oriented. Ultimately this is the goal e to know what questions [the
exam authority] tests you, where the traps are, how we can get marks, how to satisfy the markers. [Ken, Interview I]
This excerpt is typical among the participants who perceived examination performance and language proficiency not
necessarily correlated. They tended to regard examination skills as ways to help them avoid losing marks and meet the
markers’ requirements, and simply having high English proficiency might not be enough in tackling tricky questions.
Schoolteachers who did not teach directly to the test could be negatively evaluated:
128 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

Table 3
Participants’ reasons for receiving English private tutoring.

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Because my school teaches me grammar and other stuff, but cannot really teach me the skills for DSE. … However, [the
tutor] can do so. He also provides oral practices for us, which the school lacks. Our school lacks the time and resources
to let us do such training, so tutoring acts as a supplement. [Fay, Interview I]
This excerpt explains why half of the participants chose item 13 (I like the tutor more than my schoolteacher). They might
need EPT to supplement mainstream schooling to fulfil their pragmatic needs to perform well in the public examination.
The desire to learn examination skills in EPT for better results was closely related to university admission. EPT was seen as
a pathway leading secondary school students to higher education, and students regarded it as an investment for a better
future. In order to get admitted to university, students who did not perform well at school might attend EPT for remedial
purpose. This is evidenced by the selection of item 8 (I think my English is below the standard of my class) by some of the
participants categorised as having low English proficiency. One of them was Baron:
After all, my foundation was not that solid, be it grammar or vocabulary. I could not really meet the DSE requirements.
Also, if I am to enter university, I need to have a certain level of English, which I would need to meet up with via
tutoring. [Baron, Interview I]
Nevertheless, EPT was not exclusive to low achievers. Some high flyers such as Nicola also participated in EPT with an aim
to reach the highest grade possible:
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 129

We should try to get the highest grade possible and we're capable of. So that's why although I should be able to get a
decent grade in English without tutoring, I'd aim for a better grade. [Nicola, Interview I]
Nicola's reason for joining EPT reveals students' need to gain confidence or a sense of security in tutoring even though they
may already have the ability to secure a place at university. This echoes the selection of item 9 (I want to be a top student
although my English is not bad) by all high proficiency and some medium proficiency participants. Their initiative to
participate in EPT may come from their sense of insecurity or fear. Diana was one example:
After I have gone through the past exam papers, I feel really anxious. If we only learn simple things at school, I'm afraid I
can't handle it when I'm taking the DSE. Because of this fear, I go to tutorial classes. [Diana, Interview I]
Diana chose both item 8 and item 9, which seem to be contradictory options. She explained that while she was the top
student in her school, she considered herself far less competitive than students from other schools. Such social comparison
led to a sense of insecurity in their actual L2 selves, driving secondary school students to attend EPT.
Surprisingly, more than half of the participants chose item 2, thinking that EPT would let them learn “real English” for
authentic communication in daily life. Alvin was interested in English syntax, thus joining EPT to “learn better English
skills, language and linguistic stuff” [Alvin, Interview I]. He did not expect to only learn examination skills in EPT but also
English grammar for his own interest. Despite the participants’ choice of item 2, getting higher grades are still counted as
a more important reason for enrolling in EPT, including Alvin, as indicated by the asterisks on their questionnaire

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response. Yeung was the only one who did not choose item 10. He pointed out that he wanted to learn English in EPT as a
language per se and ultimately better understand other cultures. In fact, through our later conversations, I realised that
Yeung did not have much hope to get into university, so he did not regard getting higher grades as the major reason for

p
receiving EPT but learning basic English so that he could pursue further studies overseas and survive in the job market
after graduation.

5. Discussion

co
Based on the participants’ narratives and reasons for learning English and subscribing to EPT, I address the research
question which explores their multiple L2 selves during their senior secondary school years. The findings suggest that
learners receiving EPT possessed dominant ought-to L2 selves, suppressed ideal L2 selves and insecure actual L2 selves. Their
low self-efficacy and/or high aspirations to perform well in the public examination in their actual L2 selves created
's
discrepancy between their current and future L2 selves.
In senior secondary school years, the participants’ future self-guides were dominated by ought-to L2 selves because of
their desire to perform well in the public examination. Despite their diverse prior English learning experiences, a converging
or

phenomenon was that English learning became highly instrumental during senior secondary school years when students
needed to prepare for the public examination. This washback of high-stakes testing is typical in examination-oriented
contexts (Au, 2009; Carless, 2011). Hence, the participants tended to feel the necessity to participate in EPT for more ex-
amination training when HKDSE was approaching. Such external instrumentality of English learning may have formed vivid
th

ought-to L2 selves.
Some learners, particularly those with higher English proficiency, might also possess ideal L2 selves when they saw the
relevance of English learning to daily life. This may be attributed to their wide variety of English learning strategies and
exposure to the language in authentic contexts (Henry & Cliffordson, 2017). On the other hand, those with lower English
Au

proficiency tended to mainly possess ought-to L2 selves, perhaps with very weak ideal L2 selves, probably because of their
negative learning experiences at school, lack of interest in English and/or limited opportunities to use English in authentic
out-of-class contexts. This observation echoes the findings in the study by Csizer and Kormos (2009) suggesting that sec-
ondary school students who lack international posture and regard English simply as a school subject possess weak ideal L2
selves. It also resonates the finding in Liu and Thompson's (2018) study that lower English proficiency learners had stronger
ought-to L2 selves than ideal L2 selves.
Despite the possession of ideal L2 selves among some learners, they seem to have been suppressed by the dominant
ought-to L2 selves during their senior secondary school years. This is revealed in their dominating instrumental motives
for learning English. For instance, even though some participants such as Nicola and Charlene expressed an interest in
English and preferred using English in daily life such as watching YouTube videos and listening to songs, they perceived a
need to suspend these activities because they were not considered relevant to the public examination. Zoe and Fay
enjoyed socialising with their English-speaking friends, but they had to reduce partying with them when HKDSE was
approaching. Hong had to stop joining the American culture scheme to concentrate on examination preparation. Other
participants might have long lacked the opportunities to use English for non-assessment purposes, so they might not
even have vivid ideal L2 selves.
At school, at least for some learners, although a variety of teaching strategies were used in primary and junior secondary
school years, teachers tended to focus more on examination drilling in class during senior secondary school years. Teaching at
this stage generally became strategically catering for the public examination, and activities not related to the examination had
to be minimised. This aspect of English teaching at school was reported as a source of demotivation among Indonesian junior
high school students in Lamb's (2007) study, but interestingly, this was welcomed by the senior secondary students in this
130 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

study. Some learners even found their schoolteachers not examination-oriented enough and demanded more drilling
through attending EPT classes. This can be attributed to the contextual change at different stages of schooling, as the
increasing examination pressure in senior secondary school years may drive students to subscribe to EPT which explicitly
teaches to the test, even though it was less intrinsically motivating. This again shows how learners' dominant ought-to L2
selves suppresses their ideal L2 selves.
Insecurity is found to be a key attribute in the participants' actual L2 selves. Even though some participants had high self-
efficacy on their English proficiency, they did not necessarily feel confident to perform well in the public examination. They
tended to consider communicative competence and examination competence different, in part because they perceived a need
to know how to avoid traps and write what markers expected in examinations. This finding resonates previous studies
showing learners' ambivalent attitudes towards EPT in that EPT was not considered necessarily effective in enhancing stu-
dents' English proficiency due to its excessively examination-oriented focus (Chung, 2013; Yung, 2015). In this regard, the
participants generally perceived that they needed examination skills which were not well provided by their schoolteachers,
and they would not have the time or competence to develop those skills on their own. This may have led to insecurity in
learners’ actual L2 selves.
Another characteristic in the participants' actual L2 selves is their perceived lack of competitiveness in the public ex-
amination due to social comparison. Such a perception, as Silvia and Phillips (2013) suggested, is generated through self-
evaluation and comparing the self to others. Garcia, Tor, and Schiff (2013) found that such a comparison is a source of
competitive behaviour in which “people evaluate their present state relative to others” (p. 634). This situation was noticed in

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some participants’ narratives. For example, Nicola compared herself with her friends in the joint-school association, and Zoe
compared herself with students from other prestigious schools. Diana also lamented that she always felt looked down upon

p
when she saw students from other elite schools because she studied in a low-banding school. This “upward comparison” in
which “actors compare their performance […] with targets who are somewhat better” generates competitions (Garcia et al.,
2013, p. 635; see also; Kong et al., 2018).

co
The participants' insecurity in their actual L2 selves generated from a perceived lack of examination competence and social
comparisons in the context of competition creates a discrepancy with their future L2 selves. This is evidenced by their desire
to get a higher grade in the public examination as the key reason for subscribing to EPT, among other reasons, although high
and low proficiency learners may not be motivated by the same kind of insecurity. For example, the low achievers may be
afraid of failing the public examination, and the high flyers had a “can be better” attitude to get the highest grade possible. The
participants had different targets for their examination results and aimed at different university programmes based on their
self-efficacy. Those with lower confidence aimed to cross the hurdle to secure a university place, and those with higher
's
aspirations competed for a place in top or prestigious university programmes. This echoes the “keep on chasing” attitude
observed in Thorsen et al.‘s (2017, p. 2) study, generating an ongoing discrepancy between the students' current and future L2
selves as these learners, regardless of their different English competence and targets, always wanted to attain “better” results
or

through attending EPT.

Overall, the findings suggest that the ideal L2 selves of senior secondary students subscribing to EPT are embedded in their
ought-to L2 selves because they tend to be suppressed by the dominant ought-to L2 selves due to the pressure from the high-
stakes public examination. Fig. 2 visualises the relationships of the learners' multiple L2 selves. The ideal L2 selves are
th

presented in a dotted line because they tend to be weak and the vividness varies among different participants. On the other
hand, the ought-to L2 selves are shown in a solid line because they vividly exist in all the participants' future self-guides. The
ought-to L2 selves are larger and embed the ideal L2 selves because the dominant ought-to L2 selves suppress the ideal L2
selves. Actual L2 selves generally show the participants’ insecurity due to competition through social comparisons and a
Au

perceived lack of examination competence at the current state. The gap between the future and current L2 selves shows the
discrepancy which may have driven senior secondary students to subscribe to EPT in the hope of actualising their future L2
selves.

6. Conclusion and implications

This study employed Do €rnyei's L2MSS to understand the complex and dynamic L2 selves of 18 learners who subscribed to
EPT through their English learning narratives. It also conceptualised how the learners' multiple selves interact with one
another to drive students to enrol in EPT. Its findings make several contributions to research in shadow education and
language learning, both theoretically and practically. First, this study operationalised the actual L2 self in the L2MSS as an
important component forming the discrepancy with learners' future L2 selves. This discrepancy is conceptualised as a key
factor driving students to subscribe to EPT. A noteworthy point is that while learners' anxiety and insecurity are exhibited in
their actual L2 selves, leading them to enrol in EPT to reach their desired future state (getting higher grades in the public
examination), tutors at the same time may exploit the discrepancy by reinforcing students' anxiety and insecurity through, for
example, advertisements and tutors' teaching (Yung and Yuan, 2018). This aspect needs further research about how mar-
ketization of EPT and the tutoring process may affect the dynamics of the learners' current and future L2 selves.
Another theoretical contribution of this study is the conceptualisation of the interrelationship between the ideal and
ought-to L2 selves in the L2MSS. This dimension has seldom been investigated, since studies using the L2MSS tend to compare
whether the ideal or ought-to L2 selves have more impact on learning effort or their relationships with other variables (e.g.,
Kong et al., 2018; Liu & Thompson, 2018). This study reveals an embedding relationship between the ideal and ought-to L2
 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133 131

p y
co
's
Fig. 2. L2 selves of senior secondary students subscribing to English private tutoring.
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selves, with the dominant ought-to L2 selves suppressing the ideal L2 selves, as evidenced by the convergence of diverse
learning activities to examination drilling during the senior secondary stage. This conceptualisation illustrates the complex
th

dynamic nature of the L2MSS. Studies of learners at other learning stages in other sociocultural contexts may yield different
kinds of interrelationship and this warrants further investigation.
Pedagogically, this study unveils the L2 motivation of a prominent group of learners in a highly examination-oriented
context. The finding is not only relevant to Hong Kong but also many other education systems which increasingly empha-
Au

sise performance goals. By investigating the motivational orientations of students subscribing to EPT, this study further shows
the strong washback of high-stakes examinations, leading to the suppression of learners' ideal L2 selves. For schoolteachers, a
dilemma is that when they teach to the test, they may not be helping students to achieve the curriculum goal of learning
English for communication. When they are not being examination-oriented, students will seek EPT to fill the gap. Since the
findings of this study vividly show that senior secondary students' L2 motivation is dominated by the ought-to L2 selves of
getting “higher” examination grades, schoolteachers may take advantage of learners' ought-to L2 selves to actualise their
ideal L2 selves. A possible way is to use examination training as a “package” to engage students in the authentic use of English,
for example, relating the examination questions to students’ daily life. Tasks which serve these dual purposes may increase
the chance for students to see the real meaning of learning English and ultimately rely less on EPT.
Despite the expanding literature of shadow education worldwide, this field of research is still “at an early stage of
development” (Bray & Kwo, 2015, p. 272), particularly in language learning research. Given the infant stage of research on EPT,
this study, to my best knowledge, is the first attempt to analyse L2 motivational selves of EPT learners through their language
learning narratives. This is an important contribution to the existing literature both in shadow education and language
learning in bridging the gap between the two fields. Since EPT plays a significant role in students’ out-of-school language
learning experience, it is hoped that this line of research will be continued and become an important research agenda in
Applied Linguistics and language education.

Declarations of interest

None.
132 K.W.-H. Yung / System 80 (2019) 120e133

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.11.003.

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