In this contribution I look at the motivation behind the choice of foreign languages in upper secondary school and whether different foreign languages are linked to various gender stereotypes. We know that gender influences the selection of foreign languages in school, and especially French has a distinct gender profile with many girls and few boys. I aim to establish whether there is a correlation between the weak recruitment of boys into French and whether French is perceived as a more feminine language. In this contribution, I have used a digitized survey that was distributed to students in several schools in Norway. The survey asked students about their choice of foreign languages, motivation and perceptions of masculine and feminine traits associated with these languages. The results of the survey confirm much of what we find in previous studies on motivation, where students studying Spanish and French are largely affectively motivated, whilst German has more instrumentally motivated students. Furthermore, French is perceived as the most feminine language, while German is perceived as the most masculine. From the student’s own comments an underlying pattern emerges; the students believe that almost only girls choose French and that the languages themselves are perceived as feminine or masculine rather than qualities related to the culture and the people. This contribution can give a better understanding of what it means for students to perceive French as a feminine language which is important to continue the work of recruiting boys to the French language programme and ensure that French continues to have a future in the Norwegian school system.
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