Publication details
Soutenir la motivation d’apprendre une autre langue : A la recherche des outils favorisant la compétence plurilingue
| Title in English | Supporting the motivation to learn other languages: Searching for tools promoting plurilingual competence |
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| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Maintaining motivation during long-term projects such as learning a foreign language is a challenging task, especially when dealing with LOTEs (languages other than English). Since English holds the privileged position of the vehicular language, the other languages are often shifted to the category of "additional languages" (Dörnyei, Al-Hoorie 2017). This is reflected also in learner representations and strategies where the motivation to learn other languages is impacted in complex and negative way by global English and stigmatised by the instrumentalist approach to language learning (Ushioda 2017). In the first part of the presentation, I will present the results of the survey conducted among my students on the motivation to learn French and their learning history, which illustrate an imbalance in the motivational system. The second part will be devoted to the analysis of different aspects and processes of portfolio evaluation that have a powerful potential to stimulate the motivation to persevere in the effort invested in learning. Theoretical reflections are based on student representations obtained through action research conducted in courses of French for academic purposes at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic) during the last three semesters. Portfolio assessment manifests clearly a great variety of attributes that are necessary for sustaining motivation to learn a foreign language, such as the possibility for learners to control their goals and progress, development of self-evaluation competencies, emphasis on effort, improvement of language skills, object of learning process, or teacher´s personalised approach to learners. In university courses of language for specific purposes, the portfolio creates the possibility to include, among others, pieces of work related to learners´ personal disciplinary orientation and reflections of their intellectual needs to the language development evaluation. Documenting learners´ progress on language standards based on such pieces of work during the entire semester not only reinforces the sense of coherence and authenticity of learning but also enables learners to shift to a more holistic and plurilingual view of language learning. |