5.2.4 Motivation

Participants in this study expressed the belief that OLEs had an influence on the motivation of students learning French. Teachers noted that students are "more interested in doing research this way than from books", that they "get very actively involved and interested", that they tend "to be more positive about French", and "find it fun and interactive". The Internet "makes the student more interested" and "increases motivation." In general, as one teacher noted about students: "I find that they are more interested in French class and learn more when i (sic) assign Internet activities". Another teacher concluded similarly and remarked that students "seem to respond a little more enthusiastically when you say the information came from the net". The experiences of one teacher led her to conclude that, not only are her students motivated by working online, but that they have an opportunity to learn how much French they understand while doing research online: "My students seemed to be motivated in a big way by the Internet technologies. They seemed to want to know how to use all these technologies, not only in French classes but across the curriculum. However, they have been very interested in doing research in French and very surprised at how much they understood in the second language."

The following teacher explained just how positively her students responded to online learning experiences: "I have a much more enjoyable time with these youngsters because they are so positive in their response to my class. They are eager to learn and are willing to try any type of new activity. Even if the activity is a "disaster" they are supportive". Students will exert a special effort in order to learn how to use the technologies and may show more interest in doing research in French when they do it online. The extra effort can be particularly motivating for those who may normally encounter difficulties with learning:

...students always display an interest in using computer technology regardless of the purpose. I have witnessed students putting more effort into assigned tasks simply because they are using a computer. They are always enthusiastic participants and most of my students are quite proficient with computer use which provides them with feelings of success when they are able to successfully complete assigned tasks. This is especially important to student (sic) who usually struggle with their regular class work. They often seek out extra assignments when they are finished.

Students’ high levels of motivation can result from having instant feedback, being able to visit exotic destinations and doing interactive exercises. In the following excerpt, one teacher describes how she incorporates these sorts of online activities into her teaching and how, as a result, her students are motivated to use more French than normal:

I love using the internet for my French classes and my kids do too! I have taken them into the University of Texas first year French files and they have participated in interactive grammar exercises where they type in answers and at the end of 10 questions, they get an instant correction page. They love having the instant feedback and it is more interesting than a worksheet. I have also done guided travel tours, that I must research myself first, and the kids visit all kinds of exotic destinations-searching for the answers to questions on the guide sheet. We have explored comic strips, written letters to Santa, listened to French Radio-looked up the kids' favorite music groups -- Spice Girls, Blur, Hansen etc, the possibilities are endless!! .... My grade 12 immersion did "Le Petit Prince" this semester and to break up the monotony, we came to the internet lab to read the book on-line. The kids also were able to read reviews of the book. They thought that was kind of neat, even though they still didn't want to read the novel!! I love this medium. It keeps their attention and they are reading and conversing 100% in French, something they wouldn't do in the classroom.

Students’ motivation may well derive from the fact that they have an audience for their work, thus making them more responsive and generally more interested:

In general, this tool is a great motivator for the students, and I see this as probably its greatest benefit, at least given the amount and the types of uses to which we are limited. The students want to discover the answers to the questions posed or follow up on activities they have been engaged in because it involves someone in another community or country even. It lends a certain amount of exotic flavour.

The "exotic flavour" may help motivate students who would otherwise not be motivated to learn French. Lack of motivation may be observed amongst second-language learners particularly when there may be competition to learn other second or foreign languages such as English. For students living in areas geographically removed from Francophone areas, and where other languages may have a greater influence than French, OLEs can play an important role in motivating students to learn French:

J'avoue que nos étudiants ne sont pas très motivés pour apprendre le français. D'abord parce que l'anglais s'impose de plus en plus, deuxièmement parce que la deuxième langue qu'on étudie maintenant est le portugais (du Brésil) à cause du Mercosur (marché commun de l'Amérique Latine qui a comme principaux partenaires le Brésil et l'Argentine). Le français n'est plus pour nos étudiants ce qu'a (sic) été pour leurs parents ou grand-parents. Il y a beaucoup d'influence française en Argentine, surtout à Buenos Aires. Les générations du début du siècle jusqu'aux années 50 se formaient en France, ou en Europe en général. C'est à cause de cette démotivation pour l'apprentissage du français que j'ai commencé à travailler sur le projet d'introduire le français par ordinateur.

Lack of motivation may be more common, not only as a result of geographic isolation, but also as a result of the student’s age. Allowing students to learn in OLEs may counteract the lack of motivation particularly when they can have fun doing so:

I have two reasons why I wish to use the internet in my second language classes. First of all, it allows students to experience another place where French exists. As well, students at the intermediate level are not particularly motivated to do much work in their other classes, let alone French which "sucks" as they so eloquently put it. They need motivation and I feel if they can have fun while still encountering the target language either through comprehension or production activities, then they are more likely to put an honest effort into the activities I choose for them.

Motivating students may also be accomplished by focusing more specifically on students’ particular needs and by generally improving or enhancing the learning process. The beliefs described in the next section highlight ways in which use of OLEs can allow teachers to concentrate more specifically on the needs of their students and improve the learning process in general.