As regards, in particular, Algerian learners from French, who attend language courses on a continuous basis in public schools, in a multilingual environment, this article asks about the relationship between ‘attitudes, representations, politics’ and the ‘teaching’ of languages. With the help of a survey, conducted among pupils residing in Tizi, a predominantly kabyl-speaking city, he tries to identify the reasons why they are (or are not) motivated by the teaching and learning of French foreign language, which is used daily by most speakers. While motivation is a necessary condition, the attitude to the target language of the subject makes it possible, at the same time, to strengthen (or compromise) the acquisitional process (Klein, 1989, Castellotti and Moore, 2002). Our research, based particularly on the concept of representations, is placed at the crossroads of language and sociolinguistic education, which is why we will also ask: — the reality of the ground in which learners operate; — the content and objectives of the school curricula. These are the questions that form the guiding principle of our reflection. We assume that the success of school language learning depends on the representations and practices of learners. Here we will provide some answers based on an analysis of a question and debate with a group of high school students from the city of Tizi, ou.