This study examined the cross-lagged relationships between students' autonomous motivations (intrinsic motivation and identified regulations) and approach goals (mastery and performance) in school. The sample included 449 students (52% girls) in Grades 7 and 8 (secondary 1 and 2). Results showed that intrinsic motivation (IM) positively predicted…

This article discusses "Score in French," an innovative football-related languages project designed by the University of Southampton to motivate boys in French at Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14). The article starts by explaining the rationale for the choice of football as the topic for a project aimed at motivating boys. It considers the main…

This study examined the relationships between decoding ability (the ability to relate graphemes to phonemes) in French as a foreign language, self-reported use of such decoding, and dimensions of motivation, specifically self-efficacy and attribution, among young-beginner learners in England. It investigated whether these factors were related to a…

This study investigated the development of language-learning motivation during short-term study abroad (SA) for six intermediate-level students of French. Taking an activity theory perspective, findings demonstrated that one of two orientations motivated participants to study or continue studying French at the college level: linguistic motives or…

As the number of Allophone students attending public schools in Canada continues to increase (Statistics Canada, 2008), it is clear that a need exists in English-dominant areas to purposefully address the integration of these students into core French. I report the findings of a mixed-method study that was conducted to assess and compare the…

The problem that this dissertation investigated is the insufficient representation of teachers' voices in the discussion of motivational characteristics of second language learners in middle and high schools especially with consideration of instructional information and communication technologies. The purpose was to determine the nature of…

The purpose of this research was to ascertain if the reading comprehension skills of English-speaking fifth grade students improve when they study a second language. The research was done in an inner-city elementary school in Rochester, New York. The researcher provided a weekly after-school workshop in foreign languages for a group of children…

This article reports the findings of a 2003 study involving 526 Hong Kong tertiary students, aiming to explore their motivation towards the learning of English, Putonghua and a chosen third language (French, German or Japanese). Based on Dornyei's and Csizer's (2002) work [Dornyei, Z., Csizer, K., 2002. "Some dynamics of language attitudes…

Simply taking foreign language courses and being exposed to the language does not guarantee successful and positive learning experiences. When examining factors that influence foreign language learning, motivation should be considered. To extend current foreign language literature, this study integrated self-efficacy and Gardners' AMTB variables…

This study investigated the relationship among new measures of motivation, such as persistence, attention, and goal specificity, and existing measures of motivation and achievement in 75 students enrolled in a francophone secondary school in Ontario. It concluded that these new motivational measures add to the understanding of the effects of…

Examined relationship between field dependence/independence and motivational factors in second language (French) learning for 414 Ontario (Canada) university undergraduates. Implied the relationship between degree of psychological differentiation and the second language acquisition task is multifactorial in nature. Suggested extreme field…

There is concern among second language educators in Canada that male students are losing interest in studying French as a second language (FSL). In response, in the fall of 2003, a study was conducted to investigate gender differences in second language (L2) motivation among Grade 9 core French students. Building upon the traditional model of L2…

Examined self-determination theory (SDT) in the language learning context. Involved the development of a valid and reliable instrument to assess different subtypes of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and explored the link between these motivational sub-types and various orientations to language learning. Showed instrumental orientation and the…

A third study on variables differentiating persisters from dropouts from French study was conducted to determine whether motivation mediates the influence of attitude on persistence. Learning motivation was found to be the most important determinant of persistence in second-language study. Study variables and the previous research are discussed.…

Motivation to study French was examined among first-year students using an extrinsic/intrinsic dichotomy approach to classify motivations. Students were found to be motivated by a wide variety of reasons, with personal or intrinsic reasons dominating. (Contains five references.) (Author/LB)