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This paper reports on a mixed method study that examined the motivation of 121 students in a 1-year intensive language course in German or French at a Chinese university. Drawing on Dörnyei’s (2009) theory of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS), a survey was conducted to explore their motivation to learn German or French. Regression analyses revealed that learning experience and promotion-focused instrumentality were the predictors for the German learners’ intended learning effort, while ideal L2 self was the predictor for the French learners’ motivation. Furthermore, ought-to self, culture/community interest and prevention-focused instrumentality were excluded in both regression models. In addition, 17 participants’ qualitative data in the interviews suggested that most of them had lower expectations for the value of German or French than for the value of English in improving one’s employability. Instead, they were much more oriented to learn and appreciate the cultural values of these languages. The results provided insight into the complexity of motivation to learn Languages Other than English (LOTEs) in the university context in China, and suggested future direction for research on LOTE learning motivation

This research work deals with the reasons why French students do not choose to learn Germanand tries to find out what makes the German language unattractive. Thus one tackles thequestion of promoting German among young pupils. Despite of linguistic needs and closerelationships between France and Germany, the number of pupils studying German hasconstantly decreased for twenty years. The loss of affection of French students for learning thelanguage of France privileged partner constitutes a fundamental paradox.The study focuses on the official statements and the actions put in place to support the learningof German to estimate the impact of the rhetoric of promotion on high school students. A surveyhas been conducted among 579 teachers, high school students studying German, their parentsand high school students studying Spanish in the “académie” of Orléans-Tours (Educationaldistrict). Comprehensive, quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals: a) the lack ofinformation on Germany; b) negative feelings associated with Germany; c) the mechanism ofthe non-choice of German to the benefit of Spanish.The research work concludes that: a) learning German suffers from Germany's poor imageamong young people; b) the survival of negative representations influences the linguisticchoice; c) the Franco-German understanding in the civil society is a misunderstanding; d) theintergenerational transmission of the national trauma of past conflicts is an inhibiting factor; e)the influence of emotions is underestimated in the mechanism of the choice of a foreignlanguage. The pupils’ way of thinking about Germany, its language and culture is not anecdotalbut rather representative of their choice to study other languages. Formal knowledge interactswith informal knowledge they get from their family, society and media environment to thedetriment of choosing German.Between objective reasons and affection, research avenues are proposed to take the heat outof the choice of the “hereditary friend’s” language. Therefore, taking into account emotionalfactors and intercultural support, French students should overcome symbolic psycho-emotional,socio-cultural, collective and personal boundaries.; Le présent travail de recherche porte sur le mécanisme du choix de l’allemand par le publicscolaire. Le manque d’attractivité de la langue du partenaire privilégié de la France pose laquestion de sa promotion auprès des élèves français. En dépit des besoins linguistiques et del’étroitesse des relations franco-allemandes, les effectifs des élèves germanistes ne cessent dechuter depuis une vingtaine d’années. La désaffection des jeunes Français pour l’apprentissagede la langue allemande constitue un paradoxe fondamental.L’étude repose sur l’examen des déclarations officielles et des actions mises en place poursoutenir l’apprentissage de la langue du partenaire afin d’évaluer l’impact des supports depromotion sur les élèves français. Une enquête fut menée à partir de questionnaires autoadministrésauprès de cinq cent soixante-dix-neuf professeurs, lycéens hispanisants, lycéensgermanistes et leurs parents dans l’académie d’Orléans-Tours. Une analyse compréhensive,quantitative et qualitative révèle : a) le déficit d’information sur l’Allemagne ; b) les sentimentsnégatifs associés au pays partenaire ; c) le mécanisme affectif du non-choix de l’allemand auprofit de l’espagnol.La recherche démontre que : a) l’apprentissage de l’allemand souffre du déficit d’image(s) del’Allemagne auprès du public scolaire observé ; b) les représentations socioculturellesinfluencent le choix linguistique ; c) la profondeur de l’ancrage de l’entente franco-allemandedans la société civile constitue un malentendu ; d) la transmission intergénérationnelle dutraumatisme national des conflits passés est un facteur inhibant ; e) le rôle des émotions dans lemécanisme du choix de la langue vivante étrangère est sous-estimé.Le positionnement des élèves envers l’Allemagne, sa langue et sa culture n’est pas anecdotiquemais représentatif de leur choix linguistique. Le savoir formel interagit avec le savoir informelde l’environnement familial, sociétal et médiatique au détriment de la langue allemande.Entre raison et sentiments, des pistes de réflexion sont proposées afin de dépassionner le choixde la langue de « l’ami héréditaire ». La prise en compte des facteurs émotionnels et la mise enplace d’un accompagnement interculturel dans le cadre éducatif permettraient de dépasser lesfrontières symboliques psycho-affectives, socioculturelles, collectives et personnelles.

Este trabalho fundamenta-se em estudos sobre a tradução como recurso metodológico no ensino e na aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras. O contexto de pesquisa é a fase inicial de aprendizagem da língua alemã no 1º ano de um curso de Letras. Os estudantes produziram um texto autodescritivo em língua alemã, comentado e corrigido pela troca de e-mails com a professora-pesquisadora. Na sequência, os textos foram distribuídos aleatoriamente aos membros do grupo, que os traduziram para o português. Para a análise, os textos-fonte foram alinhados às traduções com auxílio de um software gerenciador de memória de tradução. Com base em CACHO E BRANCO (2014) e em critérios elaborados a partir de AUBERT (1998), SCOTT (1998 apud LIMA 2004) e CHESTERMAN (1997 apud CACHO; BRANCO 2014), observou-se a aproximação das traduções com a língua-alvo (normalização)ou a manutenção de características da língua-fonte, bem como problemas tradutórios. Tais critérios mostraram-se adequados para verificar como os aprendizes compreendem vocabulário e estruturas da língua alemã. Com objetivos semelhantes, outros aprendizes de alemão compararam os textos nas duas línguas, comentando as traduções. Observou-se que atividades de tradução motivam os aprendizes e auxiliam a aprendizagem, permitindo abordar questões linguísticas e culturais. This work is based on studies on translation as a methodological resource in teaching and learning foreign languages. The research focuses on the initial phase of learning German in the 1st year of a Language and Literature course. The students produced a self-describing text in German, which was commented and corrected through the exchange of e-mails with the teacher-researcher. Afterwards, the texts were randomly distributed to group members to be translated into Portuguese. For the analysis, the starting texts were aligned to the translations with the aid of a translation memory software. Based on CACHO E BRANCO (2014) and on criteria drawn from AUBERT (1998), SCOTT (1998 apud LIMA 2004) and CHESTERMAN (1997 apud CACHO; BRANCO 2014), the approximation of the translations with the target language (normalization), or the continuance of characteristics from the source language, as well as translation problems were analysed. These criteria proved adequate to verify how learners understand the vocabulary and structures of the German language. With similar objectives, another group of German learners compared the texts in both languages, commenting the translations. We observed that translation activities motivate learners and support learning, allowing the contact with linguistic and cultural issues.

New technologies including digital game-based language learning have increasingly received attention. However, their implementation is far from expected and desired levels due to technical, instructional, financial and sociological barriers. Previous studies suggest that there is a strong need to establish courses in order to support adaptation of game-based learning pedagogy through helping teachers experience digital games themselves before they are expected to use them in teaching. This study was conducted to investigate educational digital games in foreign language teaching, to identify the determining reasons behind the pittfalls in applications and to explore the contribution of a serious game to the development of professional language skills of pre-service teachers. Pre- and post-tests were applied to measure the contribution of the game to the development of their language skills. In addition, a game diary and semi-structured interviews were used to elicit information about the problems pre-service teachers had and their perceptions on the whole process. The analysis of the data illustrated that there was great improvement in pre-service teachers’ professional language skills and attitudes towards using these games while teaching in the future. This is important in foreign language teacher education in terms of enhancing digital game-based language learning pedagogy for teachers.