"There's more to it": A qualitative study into the motivation of Australian university students to learn German

This article presents the findings of an interview study investigating the motivation of Australian university students to learn German. The aim of the study was to update, explain, complement and expand an earlier large-scale questionnaire survey on the same subject. The new qualitative data indicates that there is often “more to it” than having a general interest in German-speaking people and their culture, enjoying the learning process, wanting to travel to Germany, or seeing career advantages. While these motivational factors that were established from the questionnaire data are still existent in the interview data, the new data suggests that personal growth (Ideal L2 Self) is a strong element in students’ motivation. Furthermore, the new data has revealed that students consider learning German, and most likely a second language in general, as adding value to their primary degree subjects. This appears to be a particular strong motive for learners with English as their first language. The article concludes by discussing some of the study’s implications for curriculum design, student recruitment and student retention.