The effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners

This article describes a classroom research project to investigate whether authentic materials increase the classroom motivation of learners, a claim often made but rarely, if ever, tested. A definition of motivation relevant to teachers was adopted-learner interest, persistence, attention, action, and enjoyment. Two beginner-level EFL classes participated, and both used authentic and artificial materials alternately. Results from two observation sheets and a self-report questionnaire indicate that while on-task behaviour and observed motivation increased significantly when authentic materials were used, self-reported motivation only increased over the last 12 of the 20 days of the study. However, learners also reported authentic materials to be significantly less interesting than artificial materials.

Перевод пока недоступен