In Portugal's monolingual school system, foreign students are expected to succeed just like Portuguese native students, despite their linguistic and cultural needs and differences. This study characterized the attitudes and motivation of four 9th grade foreign students toward Portuguese and English language classrooms in two Portuguese public schools, noting the affective and motivational factors associated with second language learning in a monolingual school context. The study focused on interest in language classroom activities, involvement in classroom activities, and feelings toward the teacher and peers. Data collection included interviews with students, interviews with teachers, and classroom observations. Data analysis indicated that participating students developed negative attitudes toward language learning and classroom work in Portuguese as well as English classrooms. These attitudes were associated with their interest in the tasks and learning activities they were asked to do in class, their language proficiency (in Portuguese classrooms), and the relationship contexts allowed by the teachers. Students were slightly more motivated in and positive about English language classrooms, mainly due to their high English language competence and English cultural knowledge. (Contains 26 references.) (SM)