The transition from elementary to secondary school is a crucial juncture for early foreign language learning’s (EFLL) long-term success. Few studies investigate the transition from student perspectives. Teacher-focused research demonstrates stark differences between elementary and secondary education. While elementary school curricula mainly build on implicit, playful language learning that focuses on oracy, secondary curricula rather emphasize explicit grammar knowledge and literacy. This cross-sectional, quantitative study seeks to answer (1) whether students perceive the transition as a disruption or continuation from their EFLL elementary school experience, (2) how students’ self-concepts impact their perception of the transition, and (3) explain its relationship with reading and listening comprehension. Year 5 students (N=763) in twelve German schools were asked about the transition after eight weeks at their new secondary schools and their self-concepts for English. These students started learning English in Year 1 and transitioned to secondary school after Year 4. Reading and listening comprehension were tested using standardized, validated instruments. Learner characteristics (e.g., gender, age, cognitive abilities, SES) were controlled in statistical analyses. Descriptive results showed that only 11% of students perceived the transition as a disruption from the methodology in elementary school. Logistic regression showed that students with higher self-concepts (Odds Ratio (OR)=0.34, p< .001) and higher cognitive abilities (OR=0.96, p=.028) were less likely to perceive the transition as a disruption. Linear regressions demonstrated that students’ perceptions of the transition did not explain their listening and reading scores, whereas self-concept for English was the strongest predictor for both skills (β=.25 and β=.29, p< .001, respectively). These results have implications for EFLL during the transition to secondary education. The impact of students’ self-concepts and cognitive abilities, for example, on their perceptions of the transition suggests that the shift from implicit to explicit language learning is highly influenced by individual learner characteristics rather than pedagogical differences.
