Money talks: financial worries as shapers of foreign language learning outcomes

This study is prompted by the recent economic situation in Europe, calling for special attention to the relationship between family economic problems and the well-being of adolescents. It seeks to shed more light on the experiencing of fi nancial concerns in adolescents who face the challenge of the foreign language learning process in the context of formal education. The participants of the empirical research were 609 students from 23 randomly selected classes of the six secondary grammar schools in Opole, southwest Poland. The results prove that fi nancial strain and worries are negatively related to achievement in the fi eld of foreign language learning. However, the social nature of language learning, as well as the students’ personality pro fi les, attachment patterns or perception of social support in adolescence also play a role. This paper examines foreign language attainment from the perspective of the student’s fi nancial worries. Speci fi cally, it details the results of an empirical study that focused on the comparison of forms of foreign language attainment ( fi nal grades and self-assessed foreign language skills) in students with high and low levels of fi nancial concerns. Potential implications for the foreign language classroom