The main purpose of this study is to investigate grade nine and eleven studentsâ€™ attitude andrnmotivation towards local languages in education. The study was carried out in BishofturnSecondary and preparatory school. To this end, a descriptive survey method was employed torncollect and analyze data. The sources of the data for the study were 316 students, 14 teacher, andrn24 parents. Informal discussions with various persons were also essential. The samplingrntechniques applied in the study were simple random, purposive sampling and availabilityrnsampling (techniques). The data collecting instruments were questionnaire, interview, andrnobservation. The data collected were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. To analyzernthe quantitative data collected using questionnaire mean, grand mean, counts, and percentagernwere computed. T test was employed to see if there is statistically significant difference betweenrnmale and female, Amharic and Afan Oromo speaker and grade 9th and 11th. The data gatheredrnthrough interview and observations were analyzed using descriptive statements and/orrnexplanations.rnAs the result indicated, students have high proficiency in Amharic and low proficiency in AfanrnOromo. Students have negative attitude towards local languages in general either Amharic orrnAfan Oromo. And also they are instrumentally motivated. The result of this study revealed thatrnstudents had positive attitude towards English. Respondents have negative attitude towards theirrnsecond language. As to their motivational orientation, they are both instrumentally andrnintegratively motivated in learning their second language. The finding of this study also showedrnthat there is some statistically significant difference between sexes. However, there is nornstatistically significant difference between languages and grade level.rnBased on the findings, in many ways the successfulness of the language policies in education isrndetermined more by the attitudes of the people towards the language. Thus, a clear knowledge ofrnsocietal attitude towards the language of education needs to be investigated before a language isrnused for education. Moreover, further in-depth investigation of the problem at regional level isrnrecommended.