Language learners’ attitudes towards the language and its speakers greatly influence the language learning process and the learning outcomes. Previous research and studies on attitudes and motivation in language learning (Csizér 2007, Dörnyei 2009) show that attitudes and motivation are strongly intertwined. Positive attitude towards the language and its speakers can lead to increased motivation, which then results in better learning achievement and a positive attitude towards learning the language. The aim of the present study was to get a better insight into what regards the language attitudes of students attending Hungarian minority schools in Romania. The interest of the study lies in students’ attitudes towards the different languages, the factors/criteria along which they express their language attitudes, students’ learning experiences and strategies that they consider efficient and useful in order to acquire a language. Results suggest that students’ attitudes are determined by their own experiences of language use, and in this sense we can differentiate between a language for identification – built upon specific emotional, affective, and cognitive factors – and language for communication.

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In recent years, there has been a growing body of literature focusing on teacher identity and teacher beliefs, which are key aspects in understanding classroom processes. While there is an increasing number of studies regarding the identity and beliefs of practising teachers, studies on trainees are rare, and studies aiming to compare and contrast different learning environments are even less frequent. The aim of the present study is to investigate the ways in which different socio-cultural contexts influence student teachers’ vision of their future professional identity and that of their future ideal lessons. Our participants are English-language teacher trainees from Szeged (Hungary) and Miercurea Ciuc (Romania). At the time of the data collection, they had not yet started their methodology courses or their teaching practice. As the first step of a longitudinal study, they were asked to create a visual image of their ideal future lesson by drawing or making a collage. Also, they were asked to supplement their images with a written explanation. The results indicate that pre-service teachers have very specific ideas about their ideal lessons, and their images reflect plenty of details and a great variety of different aspects.

Aim. The present research aims to explore the English language learning motivation of students at the Sapientia University, Faculty of Economics, Socio-Human Sciences and Engineering, Miercurea-Ciuc (Csíkszereda). Method. 103 students took part in the exploratory research where an online questionnaire containing 50 statements was used to find out students’ motivations to learn English, focusing on seven different motivational factors (instrumentality, desire to become a global citizen, ideal foreign language self, desire for self-satisfaction, attitudes towards learning English, cultural integration and ought-to foreign language self). Results and conclusion. Results show that instrumental motivation has a strong effect on the surveyed students as they are highly motivated by the idea of getting a well-paying job with the help of their English language knowledge. Moreover, we also found out that participant students do not want to integrate within a native English-speaking community; they do not want to speak the language as native speakers, they rather aim to become global citizens with English. Cognitive value. The results of this exploratory research might offer valuable insight into students’ language learning motivation. Therefore, the study might be helpful for university teachers to have detailed information and a clearer picture of their students’ language learning motivations.