Enhancing Language Learners’ Motivation: the Use of Routine Breakers with Undergraduates Learning English Linguistics
Abstract
An in-depth investigation is currently being conducted regarding English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ motivation and its relationship to academic performance; these learners are all undergraduate students in Malaga University, pursuing a degree on English Studies. As part of this in-depth study, a comparative analysis was made between two student cohorts: a control group and an experimental group; the research instrument used was a questionnaire. This instrument measured students’ motivation and perceptions on the subject of English linguistics. While the control group attended their usual linguistics lessons, the experimental group learners were exposed to different activities in the middle of the lessons (the so-called routine breakers in this paper). Comparison between both groups shed some light on the issue of language learners’ motivation, indicating the positive effects of attention calls and group dynamics in the classroom. Likewise, various routine breaker ideas are offered and their benefits to the learners are explained.
Keywords
routine-breakers, motivation, attention, class dynamicsReferences
Gardner, Howard. (1993). Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, R. & Lambert, W. (1972). Attitudes and Motivation in Second-Language Learning. Rowley: Newbury House.
Hall, G. & Rodríguez, G. (2010). Attentional Learning. In. C. Mitchell & M. Le Pelley (Eds.) Attention and Associative Learning (pp. 41-70). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Holland, P. & Maddux, J. (2010). Brain Systems of Attention in Associative Learning. In. C. Mitchell & M. Le Pelley (Eds.) Attention and Associative Learning (pp. 305-350). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Huang, S. (2012). Learning Environments at Higher Education Institutions: Relationships with Academic Aspirations and Satisfaction. Learning Environments Research 15(3), 363-378.
Hull, Philip V. (1984). Community Language Learning: Is It a Method? RELC Journal 15(2), 15-25.
Krashen, S. (2008). Language Education: Past, Present and Future. RELC Journal 39(2), 178-187.
Lambert, T. (2003). Visual orienting, learning and conscious awareness. In L. Jiménez (Ed.) Attention and Implicit Learning (pp. 253-276). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Le Pelley, M. (2010). Attention and Human Associative Learning. In. C. Mitchell & M. Le Pelley (Eds.) Attention and Associative Learning (pp. 187-215). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mirici, I. (2010). Influence of Prestudy on Foreign Language Learning Attitude. Social Behaviour and Personality, 38(2), 187-196.
Oladejo, J. (1992). Studies in Language Learning in Large Classes: A Critical Appraisal. RELC Journal 23(1), 48-61.
Oppenheim, A. (1992). Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. Londres: Continuum.
Shanks, E. (2003). Attention and Awareness in Implicit Sequence Learning. In L. Jiménez (Ed.) Attention and Implicit Learning (pp. 11-42). Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Styles, E. (2005). Attention, Perception and Memory: an Integrated Introduction. Hove and New York: Psychology Press.
Tartwijk, J. & Hammerness, K. (2011). The neglected role of classroom management in teacher education. Teaching Education 22(2), 109-112.
Yu, M. (2011). Learning How to Read Situations and Know What Is the Right Thing to Say or Do in an L2: a Study of Socio-Cultural Competence and Language Transfer. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(4), 1127-1147.
