Exploring the Perspectives of Undergraduate Students and Teachers on Student Investment in Language Learning

Abstract

Learning languages alongside their studies offers undergraduate STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) students the opportunity to broaden their cultural awareness, improve their communication skills, and expand their career prospects. It also supports building social connections and enhancing cognitive abilities. This qualitative research explores students' and language teachers' perspectives at a UK university focused on STEMM, using interviews and questionnaire analysis to understand why learners choose to invest time and effort in learning an additional language. This research links learner motivation and identity to the concepts of the ‘ideal-self’, ‘ought-to-self’ and consider learner ‘investment’ and gaining of cultural capital in Anderson’s imagined communities. Despite focusing on their disciplines and operating in a context of high competitiveness and limited time, students still dedicate time to languages and view language learning as a pathway to broader cultural understanding, intercultural competence and a potential future identity.

This study discusses the role of social factors in second-language acquisition and offers recommendations for engaging and sustaining investment in the target language. This study suggests that language centres and Institution-Wide Language Programmes can help learners develop a meaningful, long-term plan that outlines the educational steps needed to achieve their language goals.