Language and meaningful content to motivate the learners of foreign language

The following study arises from a need in curriculum development in a Spanish as a foreign language class at a university in the United States. It aims at exploring the synergies between a Spanish class that adopts the methodology Content-Based Instruction (CBI) and its impact on motivation. The participants in the experimental group's Spanish class followed the CBI format, and the class consisted of familiar topics relevant to students' Master's degrees in International politics, environment and business. The students in the control group followed a more traditional format of learning and used a well-known textbook. The results demonstrated that students who followed the CBI class experienced higher motivation than those in the control group. They also showed the relationship between a positive attitude towards L2 learning and course content related to their professional concentrations. The contribution of the study brought about changes at the curricular level in the Spanish courses in low/mid intermediate level (ACTFL, 2012)