MOTIVATION STRATEGIES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING/ LEARNING - A COMPARISON OF STIMULATING FACTORS IN FACE-TO-FACE VS. ONLINE STUDY

• Published in: The International Scientific Conference eLearning and Software for Education Vol. 3; p. 150
• Main Authors: David, Irina, Grosu-Radulescu, Lucia-Mihaela
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Bucharest "Carol I" National Defence University 01.07.2016
• Subjects: Collaboration; Distance learning; Language Acquisition; Language Proficiency; Language Skills; Learning Processes; Online instruction; Student Motivation; Teaching methods; Training
• DOI: 10.12753/2066-026X-16-199

Like all the other fields of activity, higher education is a constantly changing area, trying to keep up with the new requirements and expectations of all the stakeholders. Foreign language teaching makes no exception to this rule. With so much focus on the importance of having graduates who are proficient in at least one foreign language - according to EU Commission directives - teachers have to acknowledge the main challenges and deal with them effectively. When it comes to English, a language that nowadays Romanians start studying since kindergarten, trainers are often faced with challenges related to the class participants' previous experience with the study of this language. There are many students who think that after studying the language for so long they know enough English and they don't need to dedicate time to their business English classes. On the other hand, there are those who due to unpleasant experiences or failed trials have given up learning it and become even more demotivated when faced with the much better proficiency of some of their colleagues. Another major challenge is brought by students' increasing reliance on technology. By the time they join university many students have become more aware of the benefits and strategies of technology use than their university teachers and they expect the latter to integrate e-learning in their course planning. Motivating all the students, irrespective of their language proficiency, expectations and previous contacts with the study of the language is prerequisite to helping them develop their communication skills in English. As traditional teaching/ learning is losing ground in favor of new knowledge enhancing methods under the pressure of technological advancement in all fields of activity and of young people's confidence in its benefits, new methods of foreign language learning are replacing or enriching traditional face-to-face interaction between trainees and language trainers. Since the role of e-learning has become essential, this article will advocate for the significance of strategies which increase e-learners' motivation and it will analyze their impact on the learning process. The present study will also compare these strategies to motivation techniques acknowledged as effective in traditional face-to-face training to improve the overall experience of foreign language acquisition.