Abstract

The research reported here concerns the voluntary decision of New Zealand (NZ) students, at the end of Year 10, to continue or not to continue with their hitherto voluntary study of Japanese, commencing at the beginning of Year 9 (n = 546). This decision is taken to be a clear indication of persistence, one of three fundamental aspects of motivation, and was investigated in relation to student attitudes towards seven different dimensions of additional language (AL)* learning and certain background variables. Analyses involved the validation of an attitude scale, multivariate testing for associations between persistence, attitude factors and certain background variables, including student ethnic background. Discussion of results included the positing of a multidimensional self-determinative orientation factor, comparisons with similar studies, practical implications and limitations.