My future, my favourite passion or a path to ancient culture... The meaning of motivations in learners of Modern Greek as a second language

The study of motivation as an individual variable in language learning has produced an extensive body of contributions in the recent decades in relation to the success in language learners’ performance and to teaching and learning processes. However, the majority of studies have focused on the acquisition and teaching of English in different contexts. In the framework of the LETEGR2 project, the present exploratory and qualitative study seeks to analyze the meanings that learners of Modern Greek as a second language (n=102) associate with Greek and how the relationships of these meanings interact with motivations towards learning this language. The processing and categorization of the participants’ responses by inter‑judge validation and their thematic analysis highlight four main aspects associated with language as (a) instrument, (b) attitude, (c) personal bond and (d) culture. The preliminary results reveal, firstly, positive and very positive attitudes towards the Greek language; secondly, the relationship between learning Greek and other extralinguistic aspects, such as intergenerational links and the role of the historical and cultural legacy of this language.