This study aims to find whether the language background of a group of upper secondary school students affects their motivation in language acquisition. Based on a previous study which aimed to see the differences in attitudes between boys and girls, a similar questionnaire was distributed and, according to the students’ language background, they were divided into two groups, M and B. The focus has been to see if there would be any difference between the two groups in their attitudes and motivation toward L2 and L3 learning. Since the common assumption is that bilinguals are better at learning languages, the expectation has been that group B, the bilinguals, would automatically be more positive and motivated to learning languages. It was also expected that group M, monolinguals, would be more motivated to learn English, since it is a familiar language and culture. After processing all the numbers obtained from the survey, no significant difference between the two groups appeared. In fact, the levels of motivation for English were high for both groups, as well as for other foreign languages. However, the students in group B showed a slightly more positive attitude towards foreign languages.

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Motivation and Attitudes in Language Acquisition among Upper Secondary Students