This study investigates how Vietnamese English-major students construct their Ideal L2 Self as English users. Semi-structured interviews with 34 university students were analyzed using grounded theory. The findings show that students’ Ideal L2 Self initially emerged from vivid, positive visions driven largely by external motives such as career aspirations. Over time, this vision was refined through influences from their educational and living contexts, including classroom learning and near-peer role models, which encouraged concrete action plans for English improvement. Social media and broader social experiences also shaped students’ imagined participation in global communities of practice, further sustaining their motivation. The analysis indicates that depending on the degree of internalization, external motives may evolve into either an Ideal L2 Self or an Ought-to L2 Self. This study contributes to understanding L2 motivation in Vietnam by highlighting how the Ideal L2 Self develops across contexts and supports long-term engagement in English learning.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
    2.1. Motivation and Ideal L2 Self
    2.2. Studies on Ideal L2 Self Across Diverse EFL Contexts
    2.3. L2 Motivation Research in Vietnamese EFL Context
3. METHOD
    3.1. Participants
    3.2. Data Collection Procedures
    3.3. Data Analysis
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
    4.1. Students’ Ideal L2 Self is Formed by a Concrete Future Vision
    4.2 Students’ Ideal L2 Self is Developed Through the Media and SocialExperiences
    4.3. Global Economic Integration Contributes to Students’ Idealized Selfimage
5. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

• Thi Thuy Thu Nguyen(Lecturer, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Vietnam Maritime University)
• Mun Woo Lee(Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea) Corresponding author