Creative Forms of Motivation in Mother Tongue and Foreign Language Teaching Cover Image

Kreativni oblici motivacije u nastavi materinskoga i stranoga jezika
Creative Forms of Motivation in Mother Tongue and Foreign Language Teaching

Author(s): Katarina Aladrović Slovaček, Željka Knežević, Maša Rimac Jurinović
Subject(s): Language studies, Education, Foreign languages learning, South Slavic Languages, Pedagogy
Published by: Hrvatsko filološko društvo
Keywords: drama techniques; language play; motivation; Croatian language classes; German language classes; learning;

Summary/Abstract: Motivation is an exceptionally important factor in the process of learning and teaching in general, and it is equally necessary in the process of language teaching (Vizek-Vidović et al., 2010). Considering the fact that language is an abstract system of signs in which there are numerous grammatical and orthographic rules to acquire, it is often difficult for students to understand the content, which sometimes results in a bad mark or, for some, in a negative attitude towards the content of the subject and the subject itself. Therefore, it is essential that teachers use various forms of motivation in their classes. Activities in teaching the mother tongue and foreign languages should be varied, creative, motivating and in accordance with students’ age and interests. Language role play and drama techniques are especially beneficial forms of motivating students in this context. (Aladrović Slovaček and Rimac Jurinović, 2021). The goal of this research was to examine to what extent teachers of Croatian and German languages use language play and drama techniques in their classes as creative forms of motivation. One hundred teachers from the whole of the Republic of Croatia participated in the research and the results were compared with regard to the length of their service and their work experience, attitude towards their job, their subjects, and teaching forms (class or subject teachers). The results show that both groups of teachers use creative forms of motivation in their teaching, with Croatian teachers using dramatic techniques more often than German teachers do. Although both groups of teachers use language games, mostly lexical, teachers of German use them more often. On the other hand, classroom and Croatian language teachers more often use dramatic techniques in the motivational part of the lesson, which is connected with their initial education. Also, younger teachers more often use digital tools as motivation, while teachers with more experience prefer dramatic techniques

  • Issue Year: 70/2023
  • Issue No: 4-5
  • Page Range: 155-170
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Croatian
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