An Investigation of Possible Relationships Between Parent and Child Motivation Towards Foreign Language Learning in UK Secondary Schools

Abstract

The decline in foreign language learning in UK secondary schools is well-researched, particularly from the point of view of language attitudes and motivation. The rationale for my research comes from my own personal experience of interacting with parents and their children during parent-teacher meetings and open days. Many parents openly say in front of their children that their experiences of learning a language at school were not positive and that their motivation to learn a language was poor. I have always had concerns about the possible transmission of these thoughts and experiences to their child and the implications for me as a language teacher when encouraging them to learn French or Spanish at school. This presentation will give an overview of the quantitative analysis of the relationships between parent and child motivation towards foreign language learning in four secondary schools in the wider West Midlands region. This is part of a larger mixed methods doctoral study which aims to provide a multi-dimensional view of parent/child motivation as well as addressing the need for more mixed methods research within the field of motivation studies. It is hoped that the findings from this project will support the creation of a more effective dialogue between policy makers, school leaders, teachers, parents and students on the importance of language learning in today's multicultural and multilingual society.



Author Information
Christopher Martin, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom

Paper Information
Conference: ECLL2019
Stream: Psychology of the learner

This paper is part of the ECLL2019 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon