Socioeconomic Status and Language-Learning Motivation: to what extent does the former influence the latter?

Abstract

While the influence on language-learning motivation of other macro-level factors, such as gender, have been extensively investigated, there has been comparatively little written about an association between socioeconomic status and language-learning. Given the relationship between socio- economic status and mobility (access to foreign travel), and subsequently mobility and language-learning (Carr & Pauwels, 2006; Wright, 1999), deeper exploration of this variable seems equally worthy. Eleven high school teachers were interviewed: four in Scotland, four in Germany and three in France. The three learning contexts were compared, in order to ascertain any differences in the influence of socioeconomic status on language-learning motivation when English was the pupils' mother-tongue, and when English was the pupils' foreign language. Results indicated that in all three contexts, socio-economic status was indeed linked to language-learning via a pupil's mobility. It is hoped that this study will enhance the as yet rather limited work carried out on an association between socio-economic status and language-learning motivation, and encourage a greater focus on this macro-level variable in the future.

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