1. Getting Inside Their Heads IH ELT Conference Barcelona, 4 Feb 2012 Jessica Mackay EIM, University of Barcelona jmackay@ub.edu

2. bored? frustrated? suspicious? insecure? defensive? uncomfortable? unhappy? tired? shy?anxious? ATTITUDE PROBLEM?

3. ATTITUDES..to the Target Language itself...to the Target Language Community...to the language learning process aesthetics difficulty experiences stereotypes ( lack of) success teacher peers materials classroom

4. TARGET LANGUAGE - - Do you like the language? - - Do you think it is difficult to learn? - - What exactly is language for you?

5. Q: If you could choose, which 3 language(s) would you most like to study? (2010, n = 98) 1. ………………. 2. ………………. 3. ………………. 4. ………………. 5. ………………. ItalianFrenchEnglishJapaneseGerman

6. Q: Do you think English is an easy language to learn? (2009 n = 826) YES…………… NO ……………. 45.8% 54.2%

7. GRAMMAR SPEAKING ACCURATELY SPEAKING FLUENTLY READING WRITING PRONUNCIATION LISTENING VOCABULARY

8. 1. British English is more correct than American English. 2. The earlier you start to learn a foreign language, the easier it is. 3. It doesnt help me to speak to other students in English, Im just learning their mistakes. 4. Your ability to learn a language is directly related to your IQ. 5. You should never translate into your own language. 6. The only way to learn a language really well is to live in the country where it is spoken. 7. Writing compositions is a waste of time, as its something I would never do in real life. 8. Studying grammar is always boring but necessary to learn a language. In groups, decide if you agree or disagree with the following statements. If you disagree, then modify the statement so that it represents the groups opinion.

9. THE TARGET LANGUAGE COMMUNITY / CULTURE Stereotypes Integrative motivation v Ideal L2 Self (Dörnyei 2005) Individual experience / preferences

10. HEAVEN is where …. The chefs are …. The mechanics are …. The police are …. The lovers are …. And its all organized by the …. French German British Italian Swiss

11. HELL is where …. The chefs are …. The mechanics are …. The police are …. The lovers are …. And its all organized by the …. British French German Swiss Italians

12. (10) Making friends Attractive? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) Attractive? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) Useful? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) Useful? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) Possible? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) Possible? 1)…2)…3)…4)…5) How will you be using your English in the future? Look at the situations below where people are using English in different contexts.

13. AUSTRALIACANADAENGLANDIRELANDSCOTLAND THE UNITED STATES 13

14. True or False? 1. Catalan students believe that the US accent is the least correct. 2. Australia is thought to have the most Mediterranean culture. 3. The better language learners are more likely to put Ireland as their first-choice destination. 4. Catalan students think people in Canada are friendly. 5. They think the worst thing about England is the food. 6. The most common reason for placing Scotland last was the accent. FALSE Australia TRUE FALSE Weather

15. http://youtu.be/zs_rXxi0zhM

16. THE LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE Group dynamics Experiences at school Success (Attribution theory) Motivation Objectives

17. Menorca 39 Green Sense and La Vilella Baixa Sensibility

18. ENGLISH & ME Experiences with English ENGLISH AT SCHOOL EASY? ENJOYABLE? HOW MANY YEARS? TEACHERS? STUDY PERIODS ABROAD? EXTRA CLASSES?

19. ENGLISH NOW WHY? DIFFERENT FROM SCHOOL? FRIENDS WHO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY? OUTSIDE CLASS? FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY? TRAVEL? HOMEWORK?

20. FUTURE ENGLISH LEVEL? EXAMS? THINGS YOUD LIKE TO DO ROLE MODELS? HOW MUCH TIME?

21. All of All of Most of us Most of us Some of those interviewed Some of those interviewed A few ofthe students in the class A few ofthe students in the class Hardly any ofEnglish students Hardly any ofEnglish students None ofthe participants None ofthe participants …..% of …..% of

22. ENGLISH AND ME PAST PAST school school extra classes extra classes study abroad study abroad PRESENT PRESENT motives / reasons motives / reasons pleasure or necessity? pleasure or necessity? contact outside class contact outside class FUTURE FUTURE objectives / plans objectives / plans role models role models

23. ENGLISH AND ME: ANALYSIS EIM Students N: 363 Mean age 22.7..... % of students found English classes at school repetitive. ….. % enjoyed English at school. ….. % have done one or more study periods abroad before starting university ….. % have English-speaking friends. ….. % feel they have to study English. ….. % would like to live and work / study abroad in the future. But NOT permanently. 93 57 29 89 11 82

24. Learning another language is… A journey?

25. Learning another language is… A holiday?

26. Learning another language is… A struggle?

27. Learning another language is… A race?

28. Learning another language is… WHY ?

29. Learning another language is… 50% A journey …because you learn something with every step. It never ends, but you see interesting places on the route. Its about visiting new cultures. It makes you a different person.

30. Learning another language is… A holiday 3% Its a way to escape from my daily routine.

31. Learning another language is… A struggle 8% … because I have to study and for me its not easy. …because I have studied for many years and I dont notice the progress. …because I dont like English but it is necessary to learn it.

32. Learning another language is… A race 25% I have an objective but I have to get over obstacles. If I dont learn it, (English) I will lose. Sometimes I feel very tired, but I rest and then I continue. People who have more skills get better things.

33. Learning another language is… 14% A plane taking off. Its scary at first then you start to relax and enjoy it A open door … because you can enter places you didnt know before. A passport A window Moving house, difficult at first but then you discover new things

34. interesting (53%) difficult / hard (47%) fun (22%) gratifying (19%) necessary (17%) challenging (8%) useful (8%) Learning another language is…

35. http://youtu.be/80QMkPiHcSg

36. THANK YOU! References http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com Cutting Edge Advanced