Physical activity and motivation for learning English as a foreign language in young children in Ecuador

Abstract

The exploration of English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction in public elementary schools in Ecuador shows the necessity of improving teaching and learning methodologies, where instructors have limited experience working with young children.This study set out to investigate the usefulness of dancing and singing to increase young children's motivation for learning EFL vocabulary.This work used the paradigm post-modern and mixed research approach. The participants were 75 people, sixty-five students, and ten instructors from 3 elementary public schools located in the province of Manabí, Ecuador.They took part in an educational intervention that combined the national curriculum for English as a Foreign Language subject and theTotal Physical Response methodology during 2019-2021. Data for this study were collected using semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and the assessment vocabulary learning rubric ofWindi (2017).The results offer some important insights into meaningful learning when students had physical movement in their classes.There were significant differences between pretest and post-test in motivation for learning and vocabulary acquisition when instructors expose learners to dancing and singing supported with lyric videos in the English language.This investigation results show that dancing as part ofTotal Physical Response activities could contribute positively to the participants' motivation for learning new vocabulary. However, it persists in the parent's and schools' administrators the preconception that traditional methodologies allow keeping the class control.