From “Who I Want to Be” to “Whom I Am” A Review of the Empirical Research on Motivation and Identity of L2 Learners

This paper synthesizes and evaluates the empirical studies on the relationship between motivation and identity construction of L2 learners in the process of SLA.It begins with the explorations of the definitions of identity and then its relevant research in the field of SLA.After that,the article explores the empirical studies from perspectives of both within and outside China Mainland.Based on comparison and contrast,some implications on both future research and instructions are offered.