There is solid empirical evidence of a strong correlation between language-learning motivation and language achievement (Edelenbos et al., 2006; Mihaljević Djigunović, 2012). At the same time, the school context has proven to constitute a powerful factor impinging on the motivation of young learners (YLs) (Muñoz, 2017; Ushioda, 2009). A key rationale for the implementation of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programs, therefore, was pupil motivation (Banegas, 2013; Doiz et al., 2014b; Sylvén & Thompson, 2015). However, there are very few studies examining motivation in this context, especially in primary schools (Heras & Lasagabaster, 2015; Pladevall-Ballester, 2019). Even less is known about motivation towards coexisting languages in multilingual areas, where the survival of regional languages (RLs) often depends on their presence in school immersion contexts, and where embedded foreign-language (FL) CLIL reduces such presence. To address these gaps, motivation towards the FL, English, and the RL, Basque, was analysed in 399 YLs of English (aged 10–12 years) in Basque immersion schools. The participants included i) a CLIL group (n = 230), who were exposed to five English as a foreign language (EFL) lessons and two CLIL lessons, and ii) a non-CLIL group (n = 169), who received five EFL lessons only. Results revealed significant differences between groups, with the CLIL learners displaying a more positive attitude towards the FL (English) and a lower motivation towards the usefulness of the RL (Basque). These findings suggest that an increase in the amount of exposure to the FL in immersion programmes by means of CLIL lessons improves motivation towards the FL at the expense of decreasing the instrumental motivation towards the RL.
References
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