Student motivation in Dutch secondary school EFL literature lessons

Abstract

Foreign language curricula worldwide have seen a revival of the inclusion of literary texts, promoting so-called language-literature instruction. Responding to the plea for more empirical research in this area, specifically in secondary education, this study investigates the student’s perspective by looking at the relationship between their level of engagement in literature lessons in English as a foreign language (EFL) and how they value these lessons. A total of 365 Dutch students from six secondary schools participated in the study. Data was collected via a four-point Likert-type questionnaire. The findings revealed that students primarily value EFL literature lessons for improving their language proficiency but no significant correlations were found between engagement and language aspects. Implications for curriculum development include a tripartite focus on language learning, literary study, as well as personal development.