Implications of Motivation and Engagement in French at the Secondary Level

This article reports on an investigation into the motivation and engagement of high school students studying French as a second language in Illinois, USA, aged 14-18, as well as their French teacher. It focuses on qualitative data from two groups of learners (40 in total) and the teacher as well. The responses from student survey and questionnaires completed post-French lessons display notions of engagement and motivation in the learning of French of students. For the teacher, a comprehensive interview indicates on an instructor level how motivation and engagement are assessed and implemented in the French classroom. This article concludes by acknowledging activities and instructional choices which might help students to be engaged and motivated in the learning of French, as well as how the two areas of research are unique in the context of teaching French as a foreign language.