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Language Learning ISSN 0023-8333
OBITUARY
Zoltán Dörnyei (1960–2022)
Ali H. Al-Hoorieaand Phil Hiverb
aRoyal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia bFlorida State University, USA
Professor Zoltán Dörnyei (1960–2022) was a Hungarian-born applied linguist
who had an immense impact on the field of second language acquisition includ-
ing individual differences and motivation and attitudes. Besides these substan-
tive contributions, he also educated generations of applied linguists about re-
search methodology through his now classic research methodology books Re-
search Methods in Applied Linguistics: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed
Methodologies (Dörnyei, 2007) and Questionnaires in Second Language Re-
search: Construction, Administration, and Processing (Dörnyei, 2010). This
impact saw him deservedly listed as one of the most important and influential
leaders in applied linguistics (de Bot, 2015).
Zoltán was associated with the Language Learning family for a good num-
ber of years, attending Board meetings and journal anniversary celebrations in
Ann Arbor. His official association with the journal was marked by his service
as Assistant Editor of Language Learning from 2002 to 2005, under then Jour-
nal Editor Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig. This position, which was created for him,
has evolved into the four Associate Editors that Language Learning presently
engages. Thus, Zoltán witnessed the exponential growth of the journal and con-
tributed directly to that growth with his immense stature and positive influence
in the field.
Beginning as an undergraduate studying English and History of Art in
Hungary in the 1980s, Zoltán was drawn to language teaching in the evenings
and wrote his first book Words on Your Own (Dörnyei et al., 1986). This
book, affectionately known as “WOYO” by learners at that time, was a self-
study vocabulary-building book inspired by his early teaching experience. The
book became an instant hit in Hungary, selling more copies than all of his
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ali H. Al-Hoorie, Royal Com-
mission for Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Email: hoorie_a@jic.edu.sa
Language Learning 72:4, December 2022, pp. 896–898 896
© 2022 Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan.
DO I : 10. 1111 / l a ng . 1 2 51 9
14679922, 2022, 4, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lang.12519 by Florida State University, Wiley Online Library on [24/11/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
subsequent books together. While Zoltán was initially of two minds about his
major and considered history of art to become an art dealer, the success of this
book made him decide to major in applied linguistics and become a language
scholar (Dörnyei, 2016).
In 1985, Zoltán went on to do his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof.
Csaba Pléh in the Department of Psychology at Eötvös Loránd University. As
applied linguistics was not available as a major at the time, he had to ma-
jor in psycholinguistics. Seeing his interest in practice rather than theory, his
supervisor suggested that Zoltán look at language learning motivation as he
had just attended an international conference where “a Canadian psychologist
called Robert Gardner gave an interesting talk on the topic” (Dörnyei, 2016,
pp. 122–123). Zoltán found himself in that area, defending his Ph.D. thesis
titled Psycholinguistic Factors in Foreign Language Learning in 1988.
He joined the University of Nottingham at the start of the new millennium.
His intensely productive career involved authoring around 60 journal articles,
40 book chapters, and close to 30 books—two of which were still in press
when he passed away. The topics covered in his research included not only mo-
tivation, but also research methodology, communicative competence, student
engagement, and complexity theory. His interest in engagement and in com-
plexity theory ensured that both have become mainstream topics in the field.
This productivity also earned him several well-regarded awards, such as the
TESOL Distinguished Research Award, the Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize,
the Ben Warren International House Trust Prize, and the Henry Osborn Award
from Cornerstone University.
Besides this, Zoltán was also an open science advocate, long before open
science gained traction in various fields. He maintained a well-organized web-
site where users could download all his articles and book chapters for free,
as he maintained that paywalls were an impediment to many readers around
the world. He was also well known for responding promptly and graciously to
emails from students, prospective students, and colleagues from all around the
world, whether or not he knew them personally.
In 2008, Zoltán’s passion led him to enroll in undergraduate studies in a
completely different area, theology. In addition to his prolific research in ap-
plied linguistics, he pursued his graduate studies in theology until he earned
a Ph.D. in theology from Durham University in 2017. His doctoral thesis was
titled Progressive Creation and the Struggles of Humankind in the Bible: An
Experiment in Canonical Narrative Interpretation. This new-found interest led
him to publish two theology books based on this additional work and a third is
currently in press.
897 Language Learning 72:4, December 2022, pp. 896–898
14679922, 2022, 4, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/lang.12519 by Florida State University, Wiley Online Library on [24/11/2022]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
Above all, Zoltán was an exceptional teacher and mentor. He supervised
dozens of master and doctoral students, all of whom will admit his profound
influence on their work, and many of whom have gone on to be notable figures
in applied linguistics. Indeed, he always considered himself a teacher. In his
own words, “In the 1980s, I started out as a language teacher and then a teacher
trainer, and although I have by and large become a full-time researcher since
then, I am still a teacher at heart” (Dörnyei, 2016, p. 131).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Sarah Dörnyei for her comments on an earlier
draft of this obituary.
References
de Bot, K. (2015). A history of applied linguistics: From 1980 to the present.
Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative,
and mixed methodologies. Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2010). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction,
administration, and processing (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. (2016). From English language teaching to psycholinguistics: A story of
three decades. In R. Ellis (Ed.), Becoming and being an applied linguist: The life
histories of some applied linguists (pp. 119–135). John Benjamins.
Dörnyei, Z., Salamon, G., & Szesztay, M. (1986). Words on your own. International
House.
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