Motivation and Engagement : a qualitative study of two EFL classrooms

Abstract

The main aim of this work relies on a qualitative study between two English Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in order to seek whether motivation and engagement are fostered by the use of the new technologies. According to Ema Ushioda (1996) the role of motivation gained importance in the field of education as leaners’ turned to be the centre of the learning action. Moreover, one of our main pillars of this study, engagement, is considered to be a crucial factor which may influence leaners’ learning success (Finn and Zimmer, 2012). As we have said before, new technologies play an important role as they can be considered a key factor in the field of education and as Warschauer and Healey (2009) state, they have been considered a relevant component regarding the learning and teaching process. To accomplish our goal, we will develop two teaching units to gather data which will give light upon this topic. As this paper consists of an educational research, it is mainly composed by four different parts: (1) a theoretical framework about the history of teaching methods, new literacies and new technologies, and motivation and engagement; (2) the study design and the research questions suggested; (3) the methodology; and (4) the analysis and discussion of the results obtained. In order to develop this study, two teaching units have been designed. Both units contain the same activities but each unit will be adapted to each group. Therefore, one group (1st of ESO C) will develop a teaching unit using the new technologies, while the other group (1st of ESO B) will develop a teaching unit without any technological support. As it is well known, leaners born between 2000 and on are more familiarized with digital devices than with printed books or encyclopaedias. This situation is produced by the technological advance, therefore, methodologies and educational techniques should be reconsidered in order to be adapted to this technological wave. Moreover, as this paper focuses on motivation and engagement in combination with the application of new technologies, we may consider this research as an open door to further investigation as technology is in constant development.