Motivation to learn languages strongly correlates with language achievement, and the school context has a great influence on the motivation of young learners (YLs). A key rationale for the implementation of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programs, therefore, was pupil motivation. Very few studies have measured motivation in this context, especially in primary schools. Even fewer have done so in bilingual areas, where the continuation of widespread use of the regional language often depends on its presence in the school system and where CLIL reduces this presence. To address these gaps, motivation towards the foreign language (FL), English, and the regional language, Basque, was measured in 399 YLs of English (aged 10–12 years) in Basque immersion schools. The learners were divided into a CLIL group (n = 230), with English as a foreign language (EFL) and CLIL lessons, and a non-CLIL group (n = 169), which received only EFL lessons. Results showed that the CLIL learners had a more positive attitude towards English and a slightly lower motivation towards Basque. This suggests that increasing the amount of exposure to the foreign language (FL) via CLIL lessons improves the motivation towards English but could decrease the instrumental motivation towards the regional language.

学习语言的动机与语言成绩密切相关，学校环境对年轻学习者 (YL) 的动机有很大影响。因此，实施内容和语言综合学习 (CLIL) 计划的一个关键原理是学生的积极性。很少有研究测量这种情况下的动机，尤其是在小学。在双语地区这样做的人更少，在这些地区继续广泛使用地区语言通常取决于它在学校系统中的存在，而 CLIL 减少了这种存在。为了解决这些差距，在巴斯克浸入式学校中，对外语 (FL)、英语和地方语言巴斯克语的动机进行了衡量，其中包括 399 个 YL 的英语（10-12 岁）。学习者被分为 CLIL 组（n= 230)，英语作为外语 (EFL) 和 CLIL 课程，以及非 CLIL 组 ( n = 169)，仅接受 EFL 课程。结果表明，CLIL 学习者对英语的态度更积极，对巴斯克语的积极性略低。这表明通过 CLIL 课程增加外语 (FL) 的接触量会提高对英语的动机，但可能会降低对区域语言的工具性动机。