Zoltán Dörnyei

Zoltan Dornyei (1960-2022) was a Hungarian-born British linguist and professor of psycholinguistics at the University of Nottingham, known chiefly for his work on motivation in second language learning. He developed the L2 Motivational Self System, a model built on the concept of possible selves that treats a learner's vision of their future language-speaking identity as a driver of motivation, and a process-oriented model of motivation explaining how motivation evolves dynamically through preactional, actional and postactional phases rather than remaining fixed. He also theorized Directed Motivational Currents, intense and focused surges of energy-producing effort that sustain learners toward language goals, and researched how classroom group psychology, cohesiveness and teacher leadership style shape learner motivation and behavior. His work shifted the field's view of motivation from a fixed trait to a dynamic, evolving process central to successful language acquisition.