Language Attitudes and Their Influence on French Oral Production in the Classroom: A Study in Enugu and Anambra States

The relationship between learner language attitudes and oral production behaviour in the French classroom is theoretically significant, as negative attitudes toward a target language or its speakers may inhibit speaking participation and diminish communicative effort. This study examines the relationship between language attitudes and French oral production among secondary school and university French learners in Enugu and Anambra States, testing both direct and mediated attitudinal effects. A quantitative survey design was employed, with a validated language attitude scale and observational oral production measure administered to 280 secondary school students and 195 university students across the two states. Oral production was assessed through structured speaking tasks rated by trained raters on fluency, accuracy, and interactional initiative. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the hypothesised relationships between attitude dimensions, speaking anxiety, self-efficacy beliefs, and oral production behaviour. Results confirm that affective attitude toward French speakers is the strongest direct predictor of oral production quality at secondary level, while instrumental attitude becomes more influential at university level, suggesting a developmental shift in attitudinal drivers. Language learning anxiety fully mediated the relationship between attitudinal negativity and speaking task performance in the secondary school sample. Oral self-efficacy beliefs emerged as a significant positive predictor independent of attitude. The study recommends attitudinal interventions incorporating francophone cultural content and positive contact experiences as a precondition for communicative pedagogy effectiveness. Keywords: language attitudes, oral production, French language, Enugu State, Anambra State