Learners are more motivated, and successful, if they can have a voice in the constructon of language learning, especially the purpose and nature of language learning in the classroom.
This article focuses on one aspect of a larger research project carried out in a secondary school in England, which explored the relationships between motivation and learner autonomy in language learning. After a brief contextualisation and description of the research, the article turns to a rich description of learners’ constructions of language learning, in particular the nature and purpose of language learning as they believe it should be and as they experience it in their classrooms. The article concludes that we have much to learn from listening to our learners‚’ voices, and that we need to find ways of involving them much more in their language learning experiences.
LAMB, T., 2006. Listening to learners’ voices; on task knowledge in language learning. Scottish Languages Review, (14)