Student Perceptions of Foreign Language Study: A Qualitative Analysis of Foreign Language Autobiographies

Students’ perceptions of their foreign language (FL) learning classroom experiences have important pedagogical and programmatic implications and have been theorized as having an effect on linguistic outcomes. This study uses a unique form of data collection, the FL autobiography, to explore the perceptions of a group of adult FL learners ( N = 51) toward a broad range of issues related to classroom atmosphere and instruction. Qualitative analysis of student writings revealed 3 categories of data: classroom interactions, perceived level of success, and attributions of success and failure. In general, students believed that their instruction focused too little on oral communication, they reported low estimations of their level of proficiency, and they tended to attribute their failures to their own lack of effort in the FL classroom. Possible implications for instruction and placement of FL students are discussed.