Pupils’ reflections on the primary to secondary school transition with reference to modern language learning: a motivational self-system perspective

Points of transition in life are accepted as times which impact greatly on aspects of the individual’s psyche, including motivation to learn. In spite of this, pupils’ views are rarely heard in discussions of transition from primary to secondary school in general and in relation to modern languages in particular. This exploratory study investigated the motivation of young learners of foreign languages in one region of the UK at time of transitioning from primary school to secondary school. Ten to 12 year olds shared their views of the experience of transition and provided motivational insights which test the applicability of Dörnyei’s L2 ‘motivational self system’ [2005. The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum] for learners in this age group. Eighteen students were interviewed in their final year of primary school and again one year later in their first year of secondary school. Pupils identified foreign language learning as a generally a positive experience but one which could include, in the primary school, a higher level of challenge, more ‘real’ work and evidence to facilitate a feeling of making progress. This provided the background for consideration of whether these experiences contributed to focal pupils’ vision of self. The pupils’ messages resonate beyond the confines of foreign languages to other subjects and other transition experienced by young people around this age.