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This mixed methods study compares L2 learning motivation of Burundi simultaneous learners of French, English and Kiswahili, mainly focusing on L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). A total of 348 junior high school students participated in a 60-item questionnaire survey, and 12 of those learners participated in a follow-up semi-structured interview. The quantitative data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) while the interview data were analysed employing a thematic analysis method. The results support the validity of the L2MSS in comparing and explaining Burundi simultaneous multiple language learners' motivation. For all the three target languages, L2 Learning Experience appeared as the strongest predictor of the learners' intended learning effort, followed by the Ideal L2 Self only in relation to English and French learning. The role of the variable of International Posture on the three components of the L2MSS, which was assumed to be influenced by the Burundi socio-educational context, was also observed in the SEM analysis. The analysis indicated that the impact of International Posture on Ideal L2 Self was only significant in the models of both English and Kiswahili while its impact on L2 Learning Experience was only significant in the model of Kiswahili. The interview data also provided further insight into the quantitative findings. Pedagogical implications are provided based on these key findings.

This study investigated the motivation of Burundi junior secondary school students learning simultaneously three foreign languages: French, English, and Kiswahili. A 65-item questionnaire was employed to sample the views of 348 (grade 7 through 9) learners from state schools. Using L2 motivational self system developed by Dörnyei as the main theoretical framework, this study specifically explored temporal changes in L2 motivation of the participants over the 3-year period across the three target languages. The results indicated that there were significant differences in most of the measured motivational scales across the three languages with ninth grade students scoring significantly lower than their peers from lower school grades. Moreover, the results revealed that L2 learning experience and ideal L2 self were the two variables that, respectively, predicted most the students' intended effort to learn each language. One school grade-related difference was that international posture appeared as a significant factor among seventh grade students in relation to French learning and among ninth grade pupils regarding English learning. Another finding, which was unexpected, was that English (L3) appeared to be the most popular foreign language among these students. In the light of the results, pedagogical implications are discussed based on the socio-educational context of Burundi.