Setting the Scene

Abstract

Besides arguing for the importance of conducting research on the affective determinants of language learning, this chapter deals with two topics. It provides an overview of the Hungarian educational context that is needed for a more insightful appreciation of the empirical studies presented in later chapters of the book. The description of the educational context mainly highlights issues in relation to the learning of foreign languages in schools. The chapter also contains a brief summary of the larger study which served as a source of data for the empirical chapters of the book, thus providing an overview of how the empirical studies are linked.