Azam Badrkoohi

With the growing understanding of the process of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), more and more emphasis has been put on the learner factors that affect the success or otherwise of SLA. These factors have come to be studied under the general title of " Individual Differences " (ID) (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015). These factors determine not only the success of an individual second language learner but also the inter-individual variation in second language acquisition. This study is an attempt to shed more light on the relationships among L2 motivation, visual learning style, mental imagery, ideal L2 self, and L2 learning experience in the Iranian context. Exploratory factor analysis was run to ascertain the validity of the questionnaire which was used for data collection. The results revealed that visual learning had its highest correlation with L2 motivation. On the other hand, it had only small to moderate correlations with ideal L2 self, mental imagery, and L2 learning experience. In addition, from among the variables investigated in this study, L2 motivation had the largest correlation with L2 learning experience. Furthermore, the ideal L2 self had the second highest positive correlation with L2 motivation. Finally, mental imagery had the lowest correlation with L2 motivation. The implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed accordingly. Keywords: individual differences, L2 motivation, English as a foreign language 1. Introducation With the growing understanding of the process of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), more and more emphasis has been put on the learner factors that affect the success or otherwise of SLA. These factors have come to be studied under the general title of " Individual Differences " (ID) (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015). These factors determine not only the success of an individual second language learner but also the inter-individual variation in second language acquisition. It has been argued that language teaching should take into account individual differences and that language teachers must tailor their teaching to the particular needs and characteristics of his/her students (Lightbown, & Spada, 2013). Hence, it seems that rigorous research should be conducted into these factors and how they affect language learning. This study was conducted to examine the relationship among a number of ID factors. In the next section, some background is provided for the various factors examined in this study. Then, the main problems addressed in the study and its significance will be explained in detail. 2. Review of the related literature A plethora of factors have been identified as having an influence on learning a second language. Undoubtedly, motivation can be considered as one of the critical elements of successful second language learning. Thus, the concept of motivation and what would influence the students' motivation has received much attention in the area of second language learning. Although different theories have been tried to explain motivation, only some aspects of motivation have been fully investigated and there are a lot of untapped aspects. In fact, no single theory can explain all human motivation because human beings are very complex creatures with various and complex desires and needs. With respect to students, no learning or even little learning can take place without motivation. In the same line of argumentation Dornyei (1998) " Motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate learning foreign language and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process " (p.117). In fact, no long term purposes and sustainable learning and teaching can occur. On the other hand, high motivation can make up for deficiencies and limitations in one's language aptitude and learning conditions. Flourishing Creativity & Literacy