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Learning a language is a creative process. It involves novelty and imagination. While curiosity can be highly beneficial, research is limited. Studies so far conducted have explored epistemic curiosity as a trait-like disposition. In contrast, the current study focuses on perceptual curiosity (PC). PC is a situational response evoked by novelty, complexity and ambiguities in sensory stimulation. PC generates attention and prompts visual inspection and discovery. The purpose of the study was to develop a scale to measure PC in the context of foreign language learning. The scale was administered to a sample of 208 upper secondary students in Sweden learning a foreign language (French, German or Spanish). Reliability was assessed and validation procedures were conducted. Results of confirmatory factor analysis revealed a one-factor structure, indicating that the FLPC scale captures a unitary phenomenon. In future research using the FLPC scale, adaptation to fit contextual circumstances, and ongoing validation are highlighted. The broader value of PC is also considered. Three areas of applied linguistics are identified: (a) younger children's encounters, (b) orientations in linguistic landscapes, and (c) engagement with linguistic content in digital gaming. Design possibilities are discussed, and the limitations of the current research are identified.

Motivation can be a decisive factor in students’ learning of a foreign language. At the same time, motivation is complex, dynamic, and context sensitive (Papi & Hiver, 2020). Language teachers encounter a wide spectrum of motivational profiles among their students and need to understand the motivation process to find strategies to address students' varying levels of motivation at a given time. This chapter presents dimensions of motivation in language teaching and learning based on the factors of vision, goal setting, and self-regulation. The aim of the chapter is on the one hand to contribute to knowledge about what influences motivation when learning a new language, and on the other hand to offer ideas, inspiration, and support to language teachers who want to work didactically with students' desire to learn foreign languages.

Motivation kan vara en avgörande faktor för elevers inlärning av ett främmande språk. Samtidigt är motivation en komplex, dynamisk och kontextkänslig fråga (Papi & Hiver, 2020). Språklärare möter ett brett spektrum av motivationsprofiler bland sina elever och behöver förstå motivationsprocessen för att hitta strategier för att hantera elevernas varierande motivationsnivåer vid en given tidpunkt. I det här kapitlet presenteras dimensioner av motivation i språkundervisning och språkinlärning utifrån faktorerna vision, målsättning och självreglering. Syftet med kapitlet är dels att bidra till kunskapen om vad som påverkar motivationen när man lär sig ett nytt språk, dels att erbjuda idéer, inspiration och stöd till språklärare som vill arbeta didaktiskt med elevernas vilja att lära sig främmande språk.

The purpose of this study is to better understand conditions for foreign language (FL) learning in Sweden. Research suggests that foreign language learners benefit from informal target language (TL) exposure and use outside the classroom (e.g., Peters, 2018; Sundqvist, 2009). While studies conducted in a Swedish context show that there are rich opportunities to come in contact with the English language outside the classroom, little is known about the learners’ extramural exposure to and use of other FLs. In analogy with the term ‘Extramural English’ (Sundqvist, 2009), this study explores ‘Extramural French’. The study includes 59 university students enrolled in a French language course. Using the survey method, we investigated the participants’ engagement in Extramural French (frequency and type), and the relationship between language learning motivation, self-assessed proficiency, and frequency of Extramural French. The results showed that about half of the sample engaged in Extramural French on a relatively frequent basis. The most frequent extramural activities included listening to music, watching TV and films, and browsing online. About a third of the sample had regular access to social interaction in French. In addition, language learning motivation increased the likelihood to spend time on Extramural French activities. Overall, the study provides insights into the conditions for FL learning in a Swedish context.

Hur främmandespråkinlärning kan stimuleras med hjälp av elevernas framtida självbilder studeras sedan några decenier (Dörnyei and Ushioda, 2009, 2011). Forskare har konstaterat att studenter som ser sig själva som användare av det inlärda språket i framtiden (Ideal Language 2 Self) känner en högre motivation att anstränga sig för dess inlärning (Intended Effort) än de som inte gör det.

Syftet med den semi-longitudinella studien som presenteras i kapitlet är att undersöka hur tre särskilt utformade pedagogiska aktiviteter påverkar elevers "Ideal French self" och deras vilja att anstränga sig att lära sig franska. Aktiviteterna syftade till att stimulera elevernas självbilder kopplade till deras framtida användning av det franska språket. Två interventionsklasser och en kontrollklass på högstadiet deltog i studien som pågick under fyra månader. Efter varje aktivitet mättes elevernas "Ideal French Self" och "Intended Effort" med hjälp av en enkät, en elevloggbok och semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Studiensresultat presenteras och diskuteras i kapitlet.

The power of imagined reality has proven to have positive effect on learning outcomes. Foreign language learners with a vivid Ideal L2 Self (i.e. the vision of the language user one wants to become) that is regularly maintained and activated will feel more motivated when learning a foreign language (Dörnyei, 2009, 2011,Magid and Chan, 2011).

The semi-longitudinal intervention study presented in this chapter investigates how three specific classroom activities affect the learners’ Ideal L3 Self and their intended effort to continue to learn French. The study has been conducted in two Swedish 9th grade classes (n= 30 and n= 15 respectively) and also includes a control class (n=14). The three activities in the experiment classes were a) to compose an Ideal L3 Self stimulating text, b) to intervene in an online French-speaking forum and c) to complete a webquest. After completion of each classroom activity a questionnaire, a logbook and a semi-structured interview were used to tap the effects of the activities on pupils' Ideal L3 Selves and Intended effort. The results of the study are presented and discussed in this chapter.

This thesis contains two studies focusing on motivation in learning and teaching French as a foreign language in Sweden. In the first study, the effect of three specifically designed pedagogical activities on learners’ Ideal French Self (IFrS) and Intended Effort (IE) was examined in a group of 15-year-old Swedish pupils. No significant difference could be found between the two intervention classes (n=45) and the control class (n=14) after the intervention (z=0,56, p=.924). However, a positive and significant effect was observed in one of the two intervention classes (Class M: t(23)=-2,33, p=.029). Moreover, the interviews and open questionnaires indicated that the activities increased the learners’ awareness of the possibility of French becoming a part of their future. After the intervention, students mentioned they realised that (teenage) French speaking cultures were closer to their own and they considered the school subject “French” to be more “real”. The students found the activities’ authenticity and the fact that they connected directly with French speaking cultures very stimulating. The study also confirmed a strong link between the variables IFrS and IE (rs=.71**).

The second study proposes a new concept, the Teacher Motivator Self (TMS), to examine French teachers’ perception (n=294) of their role as a motivator. The TMS is built on teachers’ beliefs which in turn are based on their experiences and knowledge gathered from their past experiences, their current situation and their vision of a future and an ideal teacher situation. The responding teachers reported a strong and increasing TMS over the years. Cluster analysis revealed two major teacher profiles: in the first cluster, teachers had a generally high and stable level of TMS over the years and a weaker Ideal TMS whereas in the second cluster, teachers had a general weaker TMS over the years but a stronger Ideal TMS. The variables I had motivating teachers during my schoolyears (rs=.35**) and I perceive my work as meaningful (rs=.32**) had a moderate and positive effect on the TMS’s strength. The three motivational strategies reported as mostly used in the classroom were adapting the lessons’ content to individual student needs, reinforcing the link between lessons’ content and the world outside and using authentic material.

The two studies highlight the complexity of the process of motivation and the close relation between learners’ and teachers’ psychology. They also underline the need to, not only inform pre- and in-service teachers about their important role as motivator, but also to help them reflect upon their own teacher beliefs and give them tools to support language students with different levels of motivation in the classroom.

Motivating French Students in Sweden: Teachers’ Perception of Classroom Motivational Strategies

This paper examines Swedish teachers’ perception of motivational strategies in the French as a Foreign Language classroom. The results, collected through a questionnaire (n=294), show that a variety of methods/activities, students’ individual support and direct links between lessons and the French-speaking world are considered as the most motivational strategies. Factors such as considering teaching as meaningful and having frequent contact with the French-speaking world have a significant effect on the teachers’ use of motivational strategies. However, factors such as gender, teaching level, and the number of working years had no significant effect on the use of strategies. These results underline the importance of offering lifelong training to keep teachers up to date with pedagogical innovations and with the French-speaking world.

Cet article étudie la perception qu’ont les professeurs de français en Suède des stratégies motivationnelles qui stimulent l’envie d’apprendre des élèves. Les résultats, issus d’un questionnaire (n=294), montrent que proposer des méthodes/ activités variées, un soutien individuel et un lien direct entre les cours et le monde francophone sont considérés comme les stratégies les plus motivantes. Les facteurs penser que son métier a du sens et avoir des contacts fréquents avec le monde francophone influent sur l’utilisation de stratégies. Le sexe des enseignants, le niveau d’enseignement et le nombre d’années dans l’enseignement n’ont pas d’effet sur l’utilisation de stratégies motivationnelles. Ces résultats soulignent l’importance de la formation continue qui permet aux enseignants d’être à jour des nouveautés pédagogiques et de rester au contact du monde francophone.

Despite the vast research on motivation and foreign language acquisition during the last decades, little is known about the motivational effects of concrete pedagogical activities in the classroom. The work of, among others, Z. Dörnyei shows that imagined reality can have positive effects on language learning outcomes. Foreign language learners with a vivid Ideal Language Self (i.e. the vision of the language user one wants to become) that is regularly maintained and activated will feel more motivated when learning a foreign language than learners with a less vivid view of themselves as future foreign language users.

This semi-longitudinal intervention study investigates the effects of three specific classroom activities on the pupils’ Ideal L3 Self and their Intended Effort to continue to learn French. The study was conducted in two Swedish 9th grade classes (n= 30 and n= 15 respectively) and also includes a control class (n=14). The three activities in the experiment classes were a) to compose an Ideal L3 Self stimulating text, b) to interact in an online French-speaking forum and c) to complete a webquest. In order to find out the pupils' level of Ideal L3 Self and Intended Effort before intervention began, an introductory text, a closed-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview was used. Data from these three instruments were triangulated to establish a baseline level for each pupil in the three classes. After completion of each classroom activity the same questionnaire, an open-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used to tap the effects of each activity on the pupils' Ideal L3 Selves and Intended Effort.

The results confirm that pupils’ Ideal L3 Self is stimulated when, on the one hand, activities reinforce positive images of the pupils’ view of themselves as future users of French and, on the other hand, when an on-line activity makes the students experience the target cultural context almost as in real life. The results also revealed the importance of including such activities as early as possible in the curriculum. For some of the learners, it was already too late in 9th grade. The findings also include a strong correlation between the learners’ Ideal French Self and their Intended Effort in French, which is another convincing argument as to why teachers should include Ideal Self-stimulating activities in their foreign language classrooms.