The study on which this article is based investigated reasons for learning a foreign language at university in a predominantly English-speaking environment (the UK). It examined the relative importance of motivational variables as theorised in the field of second language (L2) motivation, and the effect of first language (L1) and linguistic…

The study described here is grounded in naturalistic inquiry, a research methodology that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings. The goal of the study was to identify the beliefs about developing language proficiency of a group of North American French-as-a-foreign language teachers in the specific context of a three-week,…

While language learners and teachers have long known that individual differences (IDs) among students result in differential learning, we still do not know how traditional ID variables interact or the specific impact each one has on language learning. The present study proposes that instead of looking at isolated variables, researchers should…

In these days of ubiquitous tweeting, language teachers must consider whether microblogging is an activity that will bring benefits to the learning experience. Recent research (Junco et al., 2010; Messner, 2009, among others) indicates that Twitter is becoming increasingly popular in classrooms, but few studies (see for example, Borau et al.,…

The present study examines the relative ability of variables from three motivational frameworks to predict four non-linguistic outcomes of language learning. The study examines Action Control Theory with its measures of (1) hesitation, (2) volatility and (3) rumination. The study also examined Pintrich's expectancy-value model that uses measures…

This paper examines the development of strategy use over 6 months in two lower-intermediate learners of L2 French in secondary schools in England. These learners were selected from a larger sample on the basis of their scores on a recall protocol completed after listening to short passages at two time points: one was consistently a high scorer;…

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…

This study examined the relationship between the metalinguistic reflections produced by French-speaking elementary school students and their actual learning of ESL. Using a before-after design, data was collected at the beginning (Time 1) and at the end (Time 2) of a 3-month period during which the participants kept a metalinguistic journal.…

This paper reports on the findings of an investigation into the perceptions held by English students aged 16-18 years regarding listening comprehension in French and how they view the reasons behind their success or lack of it in this skill. The study suggests that listening comprehension is the skill in which students in the post-compulsory phase…

Foreign language anxiety in classroom-based language learning has a long history of research, but there are fewer studies examining this particular phenomenon with respect to the distance language learner. The isolated context and the physical absence of tutor and peers suggest that FL anxiety might be intensified in a distance setting. A…

This study explored the beliefs about language learning of Lebanese English as a Foreign Language university students, compared their beliefs about learning different target languages, namely, English and French, and investigated within-group variation in these students' beliefs. A modified version of Horwitz's "Beliefs about Language…