Young foreign language learners’ motivation – A slovenian experience

Abstract

Hace unos años los programas centrados en el alumno hicieron que una parte del debate en didáctica de lenguas extranjeras discurriera en torno al nuevo papel del profesor. Los cambios metodológicos introducidos han hecho su labor mucho más compleja, de manera que se ha impuesto una nueva discusión sobre cómo desarrollar la competencia docente para abordar las nuevas tareas. Este artículo pretende revisar los cambios producidos y aproximarse a las propuestas de la enseñanza reflexiva para enriquecer el conocimiento profesional mediante la toma de conciencia por parte del docente de su propia concepción de la enseñanza. Palabras clave: papel del profesor, creencias del profesor, enseñanza reflexiva, competencia docente. New Tasks for the Teacher of Spanish as Foreign Language: a Reflection on Teaching Beliefs ABSTRACT: Some years ago, the student-centered programs caused part of the debate related to the teaching of foreign languages to focus on the new role of the teacher. The introduced methodological changes have made the work of the teacher much more complex and resulted to a discussion on how to develop the teacher competences in order to allow tackling the new tasks. This paper aims to review some of the changes and to discuss the reflective teaching and enrich professional knowledge by making teachers aware of the learning-teaching process conception

Language Learning Attitudes of Young Learners: Differences between Syrian Refugee Learners and Turkish Learners

“…The majority of the students in both groups claimed that they learn English just because it is a school subject, the ratio being higher in the Turkish group. In a similar study, Slovenian young learners' claims indicated that they learn it to speak, watch cartoons, and read books, while learning English just because it is a school subject was the least important reason (Juriševič & Pižorn, 2013). Turkish participants' responses in the present study for the reason of learning English also contradicted those of the previous studies, including those discussing Turkish young learners (Akçay et al, 2015;Asmalı, 2017a).…”

“…The students' attitude toward English was also represented in their responses regarding how important and difficult it is for them. The majority of the young learners in both groups reported that learning English is quite easy for them, which is also supported by younger Slovenian students (Juriševič & Pižorn, 2013) and Turkish young learners (Asmalı, 2017a).…”

“…The instrument that was used to gather data from young learners was a combination of the ones that were used in studies to investigate the foreign language learning attitudes of young learners (Asmalı, 2017a;Juriševič & Pižorn, 2013) and their reasons to learn English (Akçay, Bütüner-Ferzan & Arıkan, 2015). Closed-ended questions used in the study of Juriševič and Pižorn (2013) for Slovenian young learners and items used in the study by Asmalı (2017a) for Turkish young learners were revised and adapted in the present study to examine the learners' attitudes. In addition, interview questions used in the study by Akçay et al (2015) were transformed into a questionnaire format to investigate the young learners' reasons to learn English.…”

“…Additionally, as most of the young children suffer from severe trauma due to displacement and losing their family members, language learning may relieve their distress through creative activities, games, storytelling, and other activities (British Council, 2018). However, young learners' attitudes and reasons to learn English have been reported to be essential components of learning English (Arda & Doyran, 2017;Asmalı, 2017a;Juriševič & Pižorn, 2013;Sougari & Hovhannisyan, 2013;Yolageldili & Arıkan, 2011). Although these significant aspects of language learning have been investigated in the context of Turkish young learners and teenagers (Arda & Doyran, 2017;Asmalı, 2017a;Kızıltan & Atlı, 2013;Maviş & Bedir, 2015), young refugee students' perspectives as well as their comparison with those of Turkish young learners have been neglected.…”

Relationship between Anxiety in Second Language Learning and Motivation Orientation: The Case of Young Filipino Learners

“…Most foreign researches have focused on secondary and tertiary education, but comprehensive studies for younger learners are not given much attention (Jin, et al, cited in Jin, Jiang, Zhang, Yuan, Liang, & Xie, 2014). It is of great interest to focus on young learners since teaching them is a very challenging consideration which has become an expanding activity across the globe (Asia Society, 2009; European Commission, 2008 as cited in Jurisevic & Pizorn, 2013); thus, it is imperative that young learners' motivation and anxiety levels must be taken into consideration as they are significantly correlated to foreign language achievements (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003 as cited in Jurisevic & Pizorn, 2013).…”