When Difficulty Motivates (and When It Doesn’t): What Identity-Based Motivation Theory Can Offer to Second Language Acquisition
A lecture for the 2026-27 invited lecture series on identity and language learning
Dr. Sophia Strietholt
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3:00-4:00 pm, Thursday, October 8, 2026
1418 Van Hise Hall
About the lecture
Why do learners who clearly imagine their future selves still struggle to act on that vision? Second language motivation research is in the middle of a major rethink, as the field’s leading framework faces serious questions about its validity. This talk introduces identity-based motivation (IBM) theory, developed by psychologist Daphna Oyserman, which explains motivation through a simple but powerful idea: people act when a task feels like something “people like me” do, and they read difficulty as either a warning sign or a sign of growth depending on which identity is active in the moment. Backed by a strong body of research in education and health, IBM offers fresh insight into why learners persist, stall, or give up. The talk situates IBM against other leading theories in the field’s search for a more solid theoretical foundation, showing what this new approach adds and where it can take L2 motivation research next.
About the presenter
Sophia Strietholt is Assistant Professor of German Linguistics and German Language Program Director in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research explores how learners develop a sense of who they are, and who they hope to become, through language learning, focusing on the relationship between identity and motivation as learners imagine future possibilities and make decisions about engagement, persistence, and achievement. Her scholarship, situated at the intersection of applied linguistics and language education, connects theories of learner development with the realities of language classrooms.
Sponsors: The Language Institute, with the Second Language Acquisition PhD Program.
Contact: Dianna Murphy
The UW-Madison Language Institute is committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Language Institute associate director Jana Martin three business days in advance.