Abstract:
This study investigates the motivation profile of the L2 undergraduates in the disadvantageous communities
in Sri Lanka based on L2 Motivational Self System. Undergraduates from rural and war affected (resettled) areas
were considered as disadvantageous learners due to the lack of human and physical resources for their learning.The
large scale questionnaire study was conducted among 918 Sri Lankan public university science undergraduates.
They were non-English major students who voluntarily participated for the questionnaire survey. The collected
data were analysed by using the Structural Equation Modelling and models were developed to emphasise the key
motivational factors. The results of the Structural Equation Modelling indicated the ideal L2 self as the strongest
causative factor for learning English among rural and resettled undergraduates. The findings of the study
reveal the strong ideal L2 self among the disadvantageous undergraduates in Sri Lanka. This study can be used
for the theoretical and pedagogical implications, and future research in the similar Asian and South Asian contexts.
