Foreign language learning motivation and the socioeconomic status of Czech lower secondary students: An analysis of mediating factors

Abstract

The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and students’ English as a foreign language (EFL) learning motivation is an under-researched topic. However, with growing concerns about how SES affects students’ academic behaviors and educational outcomes, an investigation of this topic is needed. Applying the L2 motivational self-system theory, we explore, on a sample of 664 Czech lower secondary students, the effect of SES on students’ EFL learning motivation and examine whether this effect can be explained by students’ attendance at elite schools and their families’ use of English while traveling abroad. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that SES plays an important role in both students’ L2 learning experience and ideal L2 self. We found that children of parents with higher SES levels are more likely to attend elite schools and experience trips abroad with their family where English is used to communicate, which can largely explain the effect of SES on students’ L2 learning experience and L2 ideal self. Future research into the factors that contribute to language learning motivation among students from different SES levels could further shed light on how the motivation gap can be closed.