An alarmingly big portion of students eventually stop studying French. : The main factors determining the motivation of a student and his/hers willingness to learn French.

A language didactic study was conducted regarding the motivation of students ranging from the age of 12 up to the age of 19 using correlative surveys and interviews as empirical foundation. Previous research has indicated an alarming rate of student dropouts from modern language learning whereas this study tried to explain the different factors that determined the motivation of a language student. The findings seem to have concluded that the number of factors that determine the level of motivation are numerous and correlative in their nature. This study suggests that it is the student that has the biggest influence over their own intrinsic motivation that in turn determines his willingness to learn, but that the school system and the social relations around the student also play a determining role.