Foreign language education is key to fostering global citizens able to comprehend and appreciate linguistic and cultural diversity (Haukås et al., 2021). However, in some European countries, the number of students wanting to study foreign languages in secondary school has seen a sharp drop (Norwegian National Centre for Foreign Languages in Education, 2021; Tinsley, 2019). Despite governing bodies' efforts to encourage student enrolment in foreign language classes, some students do not consider it necessary to study a foreign language (Tinsley, 2019). Moreover, when students choose to study foreign languages, there is a concern that the teaching is decontextualized and rarely authentic (Storch & Sato, 2020; Vold, 2022). These studies indicate a need for research focusing on students' own perspectives on multilingualism to understand how to bring about change.
In this paper, we present findings from the large-scale European LANGUAGES project. Drawing on student surveys (n=960), the presentation will focus on unpacking the student perspective on multilingualism; secondary school students' attitudes towards multilingualism and their experiences with foreign language lessons. We present findings among students who study English as a foreign language in France and Norway, and students who study French as a foreign language in England and Norway. The findings are based on analyses from two internationally validated student surveys: (1) the Ungspråk survey, where students express their attitudes towards multilingualism and views of their current multilingual selves (Haukås et al., 2021), and (2) the Tripod 7C's survey where the same students report their experiences with curricular support in foreign language lessons, in terms of how these lessons spark and maintain their interest in learning English or French, and the extent to which they find that their foreign language teachers have designed stimulating lessons that facilitate active student participation (Ferguson, 2012; Molway, 2021).
By comparing students' perspectives on multilingualism and foreign language education in widely different countries and contexts, we are able to highlight trends across two foreign language subjects and identifying key factors for students' attitudes and experiences with multilingualism. These findings will help identify what it might take to change learners' perspectives towards multilingual education across very different school settings.
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