Why do some young learners drop foreign languages? A focus on learner-internal variables

The present study focuses on 79 young teenagers enrolled in foreign language (FL) classes in a London school. Having to decide whether to pursue the study of FLs, three groups emerged: those wishing to pursue FL classes, those having decided to abandon FL classes, and those still undecided about further FL study. A comparison of the three groups on a range of learner-internal variables (i.e. sociobiographical and psychological variables) revealed that those who had decided to abandon further FL instruction were more likely to have English as a first language and suffered from significantly higher levels of Foreign Language Anxiety. The findings and some implications for FL teaching are discussed.