The Study of Integrative and Instrumental Motivation of Students Learning English as a Second Language in Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract

The present article investigates the impact of two orientations - integrative and instrumental – on the motivation to learn English as a foreign language. It provides an empirical study based on a questionnaire answered by 197 middle and high schoolers in Lausanne, Switzerland. The focus lies on the analysis of the motivation orientations of these two groups of students according to three main variables: curriculum, plurilingualism and stay in an English speaking country. The study finds that for the informants integrative and instrumental  motivation  seem  of   similar  importance. Important other influences on motivation were multilinguality and stays abroad.