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Motivation is a very commonly studied area regarding language learning. It has been widely proven... more Motivation is a very commonly studied area regarding language learning. It has been widely proven that motivated learners achieve better results than those who lack motivation. This study attempts to analyze the motivational profile of Year-6 students of two Catalan schools. To do so, a Likert scale questionnaire was administered, and focus groups were carried out. The factors evaluated in this study are: attitude, opinion of EFL speakers, motivation, current L2 self, ideal future L2 self, family attitude and school English lessons. The results of this study show that regardless of the differences between the students of the two schools (in terms of L1, home language, socioeconomic level and extracurricular English activities), factors such as motivation or attitude appear to be similar in both schools. Analyzing the correlations between the seven factors that may affect motivation, the two schools show slight differences on the influences of these factors on motivation and attitude. However, there appear to be some factors that are important in one school and not in the other (e.g., opinion of EFL speakers and family attitude).
Phonological awareness (PA) is considered to be key in the acquisition of pronunciation and the d... more Phonological awareness (PA) is considered to be key in the acquisition of pronunciation and the development of other abilities in language learning. However, not much research has been done to determine its importance in the acquisition of English as a Foreign Language in very young learners. The aim of this research is to measure the level of phonological awareness of 5-year-old Catalan learners of EFL, through a PA test designed taking into account the participants characteristics. Furthermore, an analysis of the Catalan education legislation was done and, using this analysis and the PA test results; a focus group was carried out with professionals of education (2 Preschool teachers and an English teacher) in order to discuss and determine the importance and role of PA for EFL very young learners. The results of this study show that the PA level of the participants is average probably due to a lack of instruction and that in order to achieve better results in phonological awarenes...
Motivation is a very commonly studied area regarding language learning. It has been widely proven... more Motivation is a very commonly studied area regarding language learning. It has been widely proven that motivated learners achieve better results than those who lack motivation. This study attempts to analyze the motivational profile of Year-6 students of two Catalan schools. To do so, a Likert scale questionnaire was administered, and focus groups were carried out. The factors evaluated in this study are: attitude, opinion of EFL speakers, motivation, current L2 self, ideal future L2 self, family attitude and school English lessons. The results of this study show that regardless of the differences between the students of the two schools (in terms of L1, home language, socioeconomic level and extracurricular English activities), factors such as motivation or attitude appear to be similar in both schools. Analyzing the correlations between the seven factors that may affect motivation, the two schools show slight differences on the influences of these factors on motivation and attitude. However, there appear to be some factors that are important in one school and not in the other (e.g., opinion of EFL speakers and family attitude).
Phonological awareness (PA) is considered to be key in the acquisition of pronunciation and the d... more Phonological awareness (PA) is considered to be key in the acquisition of pronunciation and the development of other abilities in language learning. However, not much research has been done to determine its importance in the acquisition of English as a Foreign Language in very young learners. The aim of this research is to measure the level of phonological awareness of 5-year-old Catalan learners of EFL, through a PA test designed taking into account the participants characteristics. Furthermore, an analysis of the Catalan education legislation was done and, using this analysis and the PA test results; a focus group was carried out with professionals of education (2 Preschool teachers and an English teacher) in order to discuss and determine the importance and role of PA for EFL very young learners. The results of this study show that the PA level of the participants is average probably due to a lack of instruction and that in order to achieve better results in phonological awarenes...