This article concerns language learner motivation: a comparison of French class attitudes of Scottish and Canadian secondary pupils. Findings indicate that Canadian pupils showed a higher interest in foreign languages which may be linked with socio-political differences between Canada and Scotland in the perceived value of learning another language. Further, Canadian pupils’ attributions of success and tendency towards negative attitudes to teachers suggest an overall higher degree of teacher dependency.
A survey and interviews conducted with 150 pupils (13 to 15) studying French in a Scottish and a Canadian secondary school revealed many commonalities in the motivational profiles that emerged. However a stepwise discriminant function analysis also revealed some differences. The Canadian pupils’ attributions of success and tendency towards negative attitudes to teachers suggest an overall high degree of teacher dependency. They also showed a higher interest in foreign languages consistent with higher ratings for instrumental orientation, which may be linked with socio-political differences between the countries in the perceived value of learning another language. Group interviews conducted with volunteers from each sample provided quantitative data for the differentiated and the non-differentiated variables. Findings of the study, it is suggested, reinforce the importance of addressing the social aspects of foreign language study particularly among adolescents.
Diffey, N., Morton, L. L., Wolfe, A., & Tuson, J. (2001). Language learner motivation: Comparing french class attitudes of Scottish and Canadian secondary pupils. Scottish Educational Review, 33(2), 169-182