Intensity of CLIL exposure and L2 motivation in primary school: evidence from Spanish EFL learners in non-CLIL, low-CLIL and high-CLIL programmes

Abstract Preliminary studies suggest a positive effect of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) on young learners’ (YLs) L2 motivation. However, much more research with larger samples is necessary to gain a more detailed understanding of the interaction between CLIL exposure and L2 motivation. This study specifically explores the effect of different levels of CLIL exposure on YLs’ L2 motivation. To do so, five measures of motivation were analysed in 895 L1-Spanish YLs of English (mean age = 10.61) comprising a non-CLIL group ( n = 289) who had received five EFL weekly lessons; a low-CLIL group ( n = 152) who had received five EFL and two CLIL weekly lessons, and a high-CLIL group ( n = 454) who had received five EFL and seven CLIL weekly lessons. Normality, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn-Bonferroni post-hoc tests were conducted. The results revealed significantly higher motivation levels for the high-CLIL learners over the low-CLIL group in all five measures, and higher motivational levels of the high-CLIL group over the non-CLIL group in four of the measures. The study provides evidence of the motivational benefits of high-CLIL exposure and underscores the need for further research on the motivational implications of low-CLIL programmes.