Using Technological Tools to Boost Motivation and Interest in Students Studying Marathi as a Foreign Language - A Case Study in Mauritius

Abstract

In Mauritius, it was found that students find it hard to learn the foreign language in Marathi which is an optional language. The main reasons were that these students do not have outside exposure to the language after school classes; they learn and practice the language only in their classroom. Moreover, since the subject is being taught though the traditional teaching method, students were not motivated. The researchers have observed that many students failed in this subject. Thus for this research project, NVU Composer freeware was used to develop the learning content on the topic 'weather' in Marathi Language for students in their fourth year of study at primary school (8 to 9 years old). The implementation of the learning tool in Marathi was carried out in a class comprises of 18 students. The ARCS model of motivational design was used to design the learning lesson using NVU Composer. For evaluation purposes, i-Spring Quiz Maker was used in the form of multiple choices questions and true and false questions. Many activities were included in the learning lesson such as recorded audio, viewing videos, reading activities, and designing covers for a story in Marathi Language and completing a story in writing sentences in Marathi. The assessments would cater for the three types of learners namely Kinesthetic, Visual and Auditory learners. The results from the assessments showed a slight improvement and students showed more interest in the subject.