Research Symposium

BIO

Hello! My name is Seth!

I am currently an undergraduate student at Florida State University pursuing a B.S. in Public Health

I am a New York City native with a passion for integrative health & science-communication

My path and drive to medicine is personal. Having navigated the complexities of mental health and seeing how lifestyle interventions can drastically improve outcomes, I became fascinated by the gut-brain axis and integrative medicine. Too often, systemic physiological issues are dismissed as purely psychosomatic. I want to change that narrative

As an aspiring MD-PhD candidate, my goal is to specialize in preventive medicine for chronic diseases. I am particularly committed to relaying reliable health data to marginalized communities, ensuring that the next generation of medical breakthroughs reaches those who need them most

Beyond the Chronological Age: Subjective Age, L2 Motivation, and Perceived Working Memory Among People Aged Over 60 years old

Abstract

While Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research increasingly focuses on non-WEIRD
(Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) populations, studies of older
learners are often based on chronological age alone. This study challenges that
convention by investigating age identity (one’s subjective sense of age) as a more
accurate indicator of L2 motivation and cognitive perception. Using a mixed-methods
design, researchers surveyed 120 L2 learners (aged 60+) from China and the United
States. The study measured the relationship between age identity, the L2 Motivational Self
System (Ideal, Ought-to, and Anti-ought-to selves), and perceived working memory.
Quantitative regression analysis was complemented by semi-structured interviews to
capture cultural variations in the aging process. Key findings indicate that age identity
outperformed chronological age in predicting both L2 motivation and perceived working
memory. Qualitative data further revealed that cultural factors significantly influence how
elderly learners manage cognitive challenges and maintain motivation. By advocating for a
shift from chronological to subjective age, this paper contributes to the goals of equity,
diversity, and inclusion (EDID) in SLA. It emphasizes the need for nuanced, less
standardized approaches to adult education that recognize the psychological diversity of
the third age stage learner.

Keywords: Aging, L2 Learning, Subjective Age, Memory, Social Psychology