Abstract:

The paper deals with problematic of teaching adults a second foreign language. The article has focused on the groups of young soldiers who attended French courses for a period of two to four weeks during the fall semester of 2020 in the COVID pandemic situation. The main objective of the paper is to help teachers better plan teaching for specific groups of students. In this paper, the motivation of course participants has been examined. The paper suggests that the intrinsic motivation of the students allows participants to learn the language better. It has been observed that neither previous education in French nor career development is significant for student success. The findings suggest that students who were intrinsically motivated before the start of the course (for personal or professional reasons) tended to work more in their free time, therefore they master French sooner. The findings helped the researchers gain a better understanding of student failure and helped them in the adaptation of offered courses. The paper could be useful for anyone teaching adults a second language.