Language curriculum transformation and motivation through action research

Abstract

This article describes part of a larger action research study carried out in 2018 with secondary school learners and teachers of English in southern Argentina. The study was guided by two aims: (1) improving English language learner motivation, and (2) transforming the English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum through teacher and learner engagement. The project also sought to help teachers develop professionally and exercise they agency as curriculum makers and developers through the support of teacher research. The study involved the participation of 920 learners in the design and implementation of EFL lessons which responded to their beliefs, expectations, and experiences. Data were collected through a survey, group and individual interviews, reflective journals, and whole class discussions. Drawing on thematic analysis and descriptive statistics, findings also show that learners moved from demotivation to motivation as they noted that they could contribute to curriculum enactment and transformation through active participation in teachers' pedagogical decisions. Findings also reveal that the enactment of a context-responsive and bottom-up curriculum led to motivational synergy, and teachers' agency enhancement through collaborative lesson planning, materials development, and research engagement for professional development. However, teachers experienced lack of confidence regarding teacher-made materials.

Eylem araştırması aracılığıyla program geliştirme: Uygulayıcılar için bir model önerisi

“…Fourth, the proposed model can be used as an effective tool for ensuring practitioners' professional development. It is even claimed in the literature that action research and professional development processes are synonymous (Banegas, 2019;Capobianco & Joyal, 2008). In this respect, action research offers educators significant opportunities in different positions (general education, special education, elementary education, or secondary education) to socialize professionally and learn from one another (Schoen, 2007).…”

“…Dördüncü olarak, önerilen modelin uygulayıcıların mesleki gelişimini sağlamada etkili bir araç olarak kullanılabilme potansiyeli bulunmaktadır. Öyle ki, alanyazında eylem araştırması ve mesleki gelişim süreçlerinin aynı anlama geldiği bile iddia edilmektedir (Banegas, 2019;Capobianco & Joyal, 2008). Bu yönüyle eylem araştırması, farklı konumlardaki (genel eğitim, özel eğitim, temel eğitim veya ortaöğretimde görev yapan) eğitimcilerin birbirleriyle mesleki açıdan sosyalleşmek ve birbirlerinden öğrenmek için önemli fırsatlar sunmaktadır (Schoen, 2007).…”

Creative writing for publication: An action research study of motivation, engagement, and language development in Argentinian secondary schools

“…In early 2018, the Ministry of Education carried out a series of teacher meetings to discuss an internal report which revealed that English was the subject that most secondary school learners failed as they found the subject demotivating (Banegas, 2019). According to the learners' answers included in the report, the main demotivating factor was the lack of genuine, meaningful and communicative practices in the English lesson.…”

“…Motivational dissonances might create tensions in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom when English study is mandatory, as is usually the case of teenagers in secondary education. Lamb (2017) calls for research projects which investigate language learning motivation in contexts where English is a mandatory school subject and where it is not socially used in daily activities, and this call has been met in recent publications (e.g., Banegas, 2019;Pavelescu, 2019). While these studies provide insights into teenage learners' needs for authentic topics, tasks, and materials, they do not address how specific language skills such as creative writing can be supported by engaging learners in motivating activities.…”

Integrated Academic Writing Assessment Model to Support The Implementation of OBE Curriculum

“…As ministry of education has release new curriculum guideline, higher education tries to organize and establish how teaching and learning process should be approached by every department, for (Banegas, 2019) highlight that authenticated curricula in language teaching is frequently top-down and hierarchical. It is acknowledged that the application of curriculum primarily becomes lecturers' responsibility and its success relies on their knowledge and ownership of what the curriculum has proposed (Huizinga et al, 2014).…”