Students’ Motivation and Attitudes in Language Learning Autonomy

Abstract

The study of Language Learning (LL) has been increasing during the last decades and, as consequence, a great number of approaches emerged to teach languages such as English. For instance, the Task-Based Approach (TBA) which employs real-life activities in order to develop language competence. Furthermore, a trend called Educational Innovation (EI) appeared in the late 1990s. This trend promoted a change in the way of teaching languages by introducing new methodologies and resources like Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ICTs could improve learner‟s features like autonomy. Autonomy in LL could be defined as the degree of independence a student has when learning a language. Thus, autonomous learners would not need the help of their instructor to a great extent. In addition, few factors could affect the learner in LL. For example, motivation and attitudes, which have been linked to LL success (Gardner, 1985). Hence, taking into account those aspects already mentioned, the focus of this dissertation is the preparation of a didactic proposal for the English subject in a 4th ESO class. This proposal combines ICTs, motivation, and autonomy by asking the students to prepare a biography and to expose it in front of their colleagues. In order to motivate the students, they would be free to choose the topic of the biography and the colleagues they want to work with. After the presentations, students will play a brief game in order to retain the knowledge acquired from their colleagues‟ expositions. As a conclusion, it has to be taken into account that this proposal has not been introduced yet. Nonetheless, it appears that this proposal could be a great opportunity to improve learners‟ digital and linguistic competence and autonomy while they are motivated towards LL.