This longitudinal qualitative study explores the motivation and identity development of
students in a comprehensive university who are learning English as a second language (L2). It
is set in the contemporary People's Republic of China where dramatic sociocultural political
and economical changes are taking place. Multiple research methods including interviews diary
studies and recorded interactions are employed. The author considers in her study both the
impact of broader issues such as globalization and more local social development on language
learners at tertiary-level in China and the effects of discourse and community in constructing
motivation. This study combines detailed linguistic analysis with sociocultural theory
together with the concept of communities of practice. In so doing the author investigates the
social historical linguistic and individualistic factors that combine dynamically over time
to co-construct learners' motivation. A critical discourse analysis approach to exploring
language learner motivation presents an enhanced understanding of the relationship between
motivation and interaction providing a line of enquiry and manifold new insights.
