Role models can exert considerable influence in shaping individuals’ values, attitudes, and beliefs. A large body of work in the social sciences has investigated the influence of celebrity role models, and in the context of education, several disciplines have a rich research history in this area (e.g. medical education). However, in the context of second language acquisition, research centred on role models has largely remained on the periphery. This study presents a large-scale international survey investigating the role models of English language learners. With data collected from 8,472 participants, analysis investigated whether these learners had English language role models, who the role models were and what characteristics learners valued in them, and investigated systematic variation among subgroups. Results showed that 68 per cent of respondents reported having an English language role model, and four key role model dimensions emerged: overall command of English, paralinguistic features, personal attributes and accent/variety of English. We argue that role modelling may be a highly influential component of the psychological context of second-language acquisition, and conclude by highlighting several valuable areas for future research.

中文翻译：

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语言学习中的榜样：大规模国际调查的结果

榜样可以在塑造个人价值观、态度和信念方面发挥相当大的影响。社会科学领域的大量工作调查了名人榜样的影响，在教育方面，有几个学科在这方面有着丰富的研究历史（例如医学教育）。然而，在第二语言习得的背景下，以榜样为中心的研究在很大程度上仍然处于边缘。本研究提出了一项大型国际调查，调查英语学习者的榜样。通过从 8,472 名参与者收集的数据，分析调查了这些学习者是否有英语语言榜样、榜样是谁以及学习者重视他们的哪些特征，并调查了亚组之间的系统变异。结果显示，68% 的受访者表示有英语语言榜样，并出现了四个关键的榜样维度：英语的整体掌握、副语言特征、个人属性和英语口音/多样性。我们认为角色建模可能是第二语言习得的心理背景的一个非常有影响力的组成部分，并通过强调未来研究的几个有价值的领域来总结。