Modern foreign language learning: The impact of parental orientations on student motivation

Abstract

This study investigates the possible relationships between parental orientations towards language learning and their child’s motivation to learn a foreign language at school. Data were collected from 495 students and 107 parents in four secondary schools in the wider West Midlands conurbation of England. A mixed-methods research design encompassing both quantitative and qualitative data collection was adopted with the aim of gaining a multidimensional view. Questionnaires were given to both parents and students, measuring six motivational constructs: general motivation; sense of achievement in modern foreign language (MFL) learning, internal/external attribution of performance in MFL learning, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The mean values for parents and students for each construct were correlated to see if there was a relationship between them. The findings indicate that, for four of the five constructs, there are moderate to strong positive relationships that were statistically significant. Furthermore, the data suggest that parents are less motivated when it comes to MFL learning than their children. This study is part of a wider doctoral research project, the next stage of which involves the collection of qualitative data through semistructured interviews in order to explore the nature of the relationships found in the quantitative analysis.