Why students persist in foreign language learning beyond academic requirements: A qualitative examination of the learner experience

Few Americans finish college with much foreign language proficiency. Research has uncovered reasons students give for terminating foreign language study but has not illuminated the student perception of the foreign language learning experience.; This study aims to know the experience of the undergraduate who chooses to study foreign language beyond requirements. Students were solicited for interview through campus communication channels. Participation in this study was limited to undergraduates who had exceeded the foreign language requirements of their degree program, who had completed K-12 in the United States, and whose native language is English.; Each participant's interview began with the request to narrate his or her foreign language experience from the earliest memory until the present. The investigator and transcribed all interviews verbatim, and analyzed them by the constant comparison method.; Emergent data suggest that the accidental and unplanned initial foreign language encounter emerges as a shared theme. These students who exceeded language requirements did not begin their foreign language until high school or late middle school. Even then, they enrolled because of its status as a requirement for graduation or college admission, not because of other goals, nor did they begin with expectations concerning the coursework, the teacher, or what they might achieve.; The circumstances of their foreign language learning and their comments are provided in detail in the text. Analyses of findings suggest that students, who start with little motivation to learn a foreign language can do so, despite late beginnings, provided they complete coursework that is competently conducted. The participants varied in their ease of learning and the techniques they used to achieve success. With time, however, they built on successes and developed confidence in their ability to communicate in the language of their study. Learning had been bolstered through teacher modeling, peer work, repeated success in manageable class challenges, and encouragement and recognition. The resulting self-efficacy was confirmed during experiences abroad in which participants overcame momentary anxiety and realized that they successfully negotiated foreign language exchanges. Further study is needed to investigate what contributes to learner self-efficacy and motivation.