117 Motivating English Language Use by using the Benefits of Technology1 Motivar el Uso del Idioma Inglés a través de las Bondades de la Tecnología Adriana Maritza Rivera Barreto 2* Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia Abstract This paper shares the results of a small-scale research project focused on using technology to motivate the use of English. Tenth semester students from a University in Tunja was the target group to develop the project. It also had as an objective to promote a virtual learning environment to boost English as a foreign language. A field diary, an online forum, a survey, and students’ artifacts were used to gather information in this action research study. Findings revealed two categories, firstly, Collaborative work to instill motivation which explains why students tend to work better while working in groups and secondly The use of technology to enhance language learning where it is described how the use of technology makes students more confident to learn English. Key words: ICT, foreign language, collaborative work, motivation Resumen Este documento comparte los resultados de un proyecto de investigación a menor escala enfocado en emplear la tecnología para motivar el uso de la lengua extranjera inglés. Este proyecto se llevó a cabo con un grupo de estudiantes de décimo semestre de una Universidad en Tunja. Este tuvo también como objetivo promover un ambiente virtual para estimular el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera como el inglés. Un diario de campo, un foro, una encuesta y las actividades desarrolladas por los estudiantes fueron usados para recolectar información en esta investigación acción. Los resultados revelaron 2 categorías, la primera, Trabajo colaborativo para favorecer la motivación 1 Received: February 23rd 2017/ Accepted: June 5th 2018 2 riveraadriana10@gmail.com Gist Education and Learning Research Journal. ISSN 1692-5777. No.16 (January - June) 2018. pp. 117-140. RIVERACRITICAL LITERACY IN A1 STUDENTS No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 118 la cual explica por qué los estudiantes tienden a trabajar mejor en grupos; y en segundo lugar, el uso de tecnología para motivar el aprendizaje de un idioma donde se describe cómo el uso de recursos en línea permite que el estudiante gane confianza e interés por aprender. Palabras claves: ICT, lengua extranjera, trabajo colaborativo, motivación. Resumo Este documento compartilha os resultados de um projeto de pesquisa a menor escala, enfocado em empregar ferramentas virtuais de aprendizagem para motivar o uso da língua estrangeira inglês. Este projeto foi realizado com um grupo de estudantes de décimo semestre de uma Universidade em Tunja. O mesmo teve como objetivo empregar tecnologia para incrementar a motivação dirigida à aprendizagem de una língua estrangeira como o inglês. Um diário de campo, um foro, uma enquete e as atividades desenvolvidas pelos estudantes foram usados para coletar informação nesta pesquisa ação. Os resultados revelaram 2 categorias, a primeira, promover a motivação através do trabalho colaborativo a qual explica por quê os estudantes tendem a trabalhar melhor em grupos; e em segundo lugar, o uso de tecnologia para motivar a aprendizagem de um idioma donde se descreve como o uso de recursos em linha permite que o estudante ganhe confiança e interesse por aprender. Os resultados revelaram que, através das oficinas, os estudantes ganharam confiança para aprender inglês. Palavras chaves: ICT, língua estrangeira, trabalho colaborativo, motivação MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 119 Introduction The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in modern life has caused a transformation in fields such as education. In my particular case as a teacher, it is considered important to embrace new virtual tools to support teaching. The lack of appropriate ICT in classroom activities and the importance of adopting different teaching strategies highlight the need to increase interest in practicing a foreign language; hence, the objective of this study was to employ virtual learning tools in order to foster motivation in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The idea of the present research came from three issues: 1. The teachers’ lack of interest or disregard in developing the digital competence of students. 2. The teacher’s reflection and identification of the students’ needs as evidenced in the class. 3. The unsatisfactory experiences of university students while learning English. A potential solution was considered to be the new pedagogical materials offered by the Internet which increase interest in learning. Data was collected through a variety of research instruments. Firstly, a field diary was used in order to record information that was not visible in the written assignments. Secondly, students’ artifacts (e.g. written assignments), which showed the use of the virtual learning tools, were collected. Lastly, comments on the Discussion Forum revealed students’ perceptions after employing learning tools to foster their knowledge of English. Statement of the Problem Currently, some teachers of the Language Department in a University in Tunja, give traditional classes, where a book is the main resource used to teach. Other teachers use the Moodle Platform to share links where students can reinforce the language and grammar topics; it means students can autonomously go to the platform and develop exercises on their own. There is no interaction or feedback among the teacher and the students, and therefore their motivation to learn English is low. Based on this, the researcher suggested creating a learning environment for tenth semester students from the Law Faculty, which included the use of technology in the teaching sessions in order MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 120 to answer the question “How might technology contribute to foster students’ motivation in the English class?” Literature Review In this section, the concepts that were considered in this study were ICT, collaboration, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and motivation. But firstly, it is worth mentioning that some research studies about motivational impacts of ICT already exist within a wide range of literature; to start with, there is a study called ¨The influence of ICT on learners’ motivation towards learning English¨ undertaken by Kreutz and Rhodin (2016), which was conducted in a Swedish school and investigated whether ICT influences students’ motivation and in what way that motivation was affected. In this regard, Andersson (2003), cited by Kreutz and Rhodin (2016), asserts that many students are bored since Swedish schools still keep old teaching traditions. The data was analyzed and collected through survey questionnaires and it showed that students’ motivation increased in a positive way while using ICT in different lessons in the EFL classroom. Based on the information provided, this study concluded that ICT increases motivation in order to learn another language. On the other hand, the research report entitled ¨The motivational effect of the ICT on pupils¨ developed by Passey, Rogers, Machell and McHugh (2004) intended to investigate the impacts of ICT on pupil motivation and consider the ways in which teachers could enhance motivational impact for pupils, therefore, 17 schools from across England were taken as a sample and interviews, observations, and questionnaires were implemented for this study. The findings advised that ICT definitely has a positive influence in the majority of students . It was also reported that, within an appealing environment, most pupils enjoyed using ICT and teachers widely reported that ICT supported learning through teaching. In this case, once again the idea of using technology in the classroom brings positive outcomes to adapt activities with which students could demonstrate their technological competence. To end up, the research entitled ¨The benefits of Using ICT in the EFL Classroom: From Perceived Utility to Potential Challenges¨ led by Azmi (2017) reveals that the use of ICT promotes autonomy, motivates learning and helps to better performance in the EFL classroom. This was a document review research which considered and examined the literature produced over the last two decades (1990-2014); the review of research documents unveil that the appropriate implementation of ICT in the classroom can make the difference. However, the study advise MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 121 the need to plan carefully and set well-defined objectives. Moreover, appropriate training in the use of ICT is required and the pedagogical planning is crucial to produce satisfactory results. In this case, the review done displays other important issues related to training in the use of ICT because it is not just matter of using an attractive tool from a multimedia point but to demonstrate mastery of it to really transform teaching. Therefore, the previous studies concerning ICT and motivation are relevant to the teaching field and as such they serve as the starting point for the commencement of a similar study, considering the context, content, and participants. Accordingly, technology makes part of our daily life, which has contributed to develop social and intellectual skills and, thanks to it, teachers may take advantage to increase motivation to learn a foreign language. Information and Communication Technology From the past, the human being has used different means of communication such as language, symbols, and other tools to transmit and transform information and then establish communication using different technologies as mechanisms to manage, transmit, and process all the information that is created and received. Some teachers now tend to propose a new methodology in the classroom and change the traditional class, where there were established customs to develop a class and it was focus on the traditional ¨chalk and talk¨ into an online learning environment as a way to communicate. However, virtual contexts can intimidate other teachers who are used to face-to-face sessions (Sarkar, 2012). These teachers may feel reluctant to adopt new teaching strategies ignoring that they could help students to learn more effectively and efficiently. UNESCO (2002) asserts that one of the main purposes of ICT is to unveil what we can do with it to improve education. For this reason, the tools developed on the Internet and the recent knowledge model generated by information technologies have produced several impacts on society. Then ICT looks for new means of how people can communicate, interrogate, make decisions, and solve problems; so to have access to all of the above, professional development in ICTs is crucial especially for teachers to acquire knowledge and skills that contribute to their work. Based on the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency , BECTA (2007) teachers lack competency with modern learning tools and this could be because new teaching strategies have not been fully explored. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 122 Today young people and adolescents have a natural affinity for technology because we can observe them doing up to five tasks at once, such as sending text messages, uploading and downloading videos, watching movies, among other activities. The above leads to a change in the pedagogical model where the apprentice is recognized as the center of the class. In this regard, Tapscott (2009) states that a big change happened 20 years ago when the computer, the Internet and other technologies appeared along with what is known as the Net Generation. In this manner, childhood starts to assimilate technology as one environment more and adults become accustomed to it; we can clearly observe how easily teenagers fit into this new environment so that it becomes part of a daily routine of an individual and indicates the need to dominate emerging technologies and change the paradigm people have about the weakness of learning due to age. On the other hand, it can be indicated first, that information and communication technologies have become a tool of daily use for the individual who has in some way become dependent on them for the usefulness that they provide as they facilitate the connection with other learning environments. Second, ICT provide a variety of devices that increase storage capacity, and third, emerging technologies have provided different means through which the person receives and analyzes all the information they obtain. Finally, these emerging technologies such as wikis, blogs, and interactive boards, among others, offer progress to the community despite the barriers that can be identified either from hardware or software, but no matter what these barriers are, because ICT demands a transformation of the classroom to have a transcendence in students’ lives and, in this way, change the traditional concept of education. Collaborative Work Collaborative work is the means by which knowledge can be shared and enriched in the academic process; in this way, teachers and students have the possibility to analyze different opinions from different perspectives. Oxford (2011) asserts that collaborative learning focuses on ‘social constructivism’ whose purpose is to invite apprentices to take part in a community. Then, once the sense of community is created and sensitized, it is essential to offer the apprentices a pleasant environment to potentiate their learning and thereby, the teachers could avoid the absence of commitment. This is where the teacher plays an important role where they must be actively involved in the process of orientation of the apprentices providing them with learning opportunities considering MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 123 their motivations and expectations. Hence, bearing in mind the above assertion the most important aspect while working with others to achieve the same goal is that this goal can be reached if there is a guide that assures the group is working in the right direction. Additionally, collaborative work requires individual transformation that leads to participation and contribution. Blatchfors, Kutnick and Baines (2007) assert that the relationship among the members of a group plays an important role seeing that it provides a more effective working group, and consequently, an effective classroom context. Thus, based on the assertions made by the previous authors, it is stated that smaller groups single–sex or friendship-based relationships with the purpose of exchanging meanings and learning from the same group of friends. Consequently, learning can be strengthened through social interaction the role of the teacher is essential for having a meaningful experience. In short, it is necessary to raise awareness about the importance of implementing collaborative tools in the classroom that point to communication and make students active members of a community; therefore, some responsibility must be assigned to students to identify when and where to seek guidance, and reinforce autonomous learning. Computer Assisted Language Learning Levy (1997) adopted the concept of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and defines it as the exploration and analysis of the application of computers in the teaching and learning process of language learning. In addition, Warschauer (1996) suggests that computer assisted learning offers a wide range of uses for language teaching and mentions that the teacher is in charge of stimulating the practice of the activities through the Web, interaction, and research. Consequently, training in the use of learning environments is crucial to renew abilities and competencies, considering that technology provide great opportunities to create and present significant contexts to new pupils who come to the classroom with previous competency in technology and are at the forefront in the use of virtual learning tools. For the mastery of new technologies, it is necessary to lead the students and increase their interest in learning by using new educational strategies. Thanks to CALL, teachers have the opportunity to implement pedagogical advances and new concepts related to digital competence into practice; likewise, teachers have the opportunity to design materials to improve language learning or to adopt materials by using technology, for example, videos, didactic products, and several tasks considering the learners’ needs. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 124 Lastly, technology has a high potential in the field of language learning and instruction, however, these advances are in an initial state of agreement; Higgins (1993) claims that the full development of CALL in education, among other things, depends on the change in the concept of technology as assistance to instruction for the adoption of technology as a support for learning. Motivation Considering that motivation influences learning and it is recognized as a fundamental factor for teachers and researchers in any area of study, the teacher’s work is to stimulate and increase students’ interest and help them meet the established goals. Dörnyei (2006) states that without sufficient motivation, individuals with extraordinary abilities could not meet long-term goals. In the specific case of learning a language, Dörnyei et al. (2016) indicate that a more complex situation is presented due to the nature of the language itself, which involves the incorporation of the culture of a second language (L2); in other words, the student is immersed in a new context to get in touch with the reality of other countries to learn about customs, food, celebrations, and everything that deals with a new culture and that is why the importance of motivating them to use another language other than the mother tongue. In different learning environments, it is possible to identify unmotivated students who are not involved in activities and act in a passive manner by performing tasks that do not make sense to them. Based on Noels (2009), lack of motivation can be generated by several aspects, for example, when they do not value the type of activity to perform, the feeling of inability to carry out an exercise, or when they underestimate the quality of their work. Therefore, it is necessary to study how to address and increase motivation in the students towards the learning of a foreign language as in this case; so there is a need to offer authentic material and contextualize real situations to show the importance of employing another language. Additionally, another factor that can influence students’ motivation is the methodology adopted by the teacher where a throwback to the 50s can be achieved and mainly the board and chalk came first. That is why Chen (2010) argues that in many ways technology offers a wide variety of tools for teaching and learning without limitations of place or time and due to the aforementioned, today’s student finds it more motivating to learn. Consequently, it is crucial that teachers adapt their methodology according to students’ interests and promotes lifelong learning. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 125 Methodology Type of study The type of study conducted was action research, which is a kind of research that emerges from the classroom itself. According to Sagor (2005), action research is an investigation conducted by someone who is able to take steps concerning their own actions, with the purpose of improving their future practices. He proposes an action research process which consist of four stages: Firstly, clarifying your vision/ target, whose purpose is to identify the problem and think about a solution; secondly, articulating your theory, to plan how to achieve the outcome; thirdly, implementing your theory, which means taking action and collecting data; and finally, reflecting on results to see what the data tells and decide how to act on it. Research Instruments In order to collect the data, a field diary, students’ documents, an online forum, and a survey were used to gather information. The research diary was used to collect information in case the researcher forgot or did not include important details that occurred during a class or specific session, bearing in mind the teacher could reflect on the notes later and state new ideas for future lessons. Students’ documents show the process students have followed during a period of time and give the opportunity to check what students create, in this case, activities developed by using virtual learning tools; this contributed to identify their interest in and improvement of the language used. Moreover, the forum can be considered as an efficient tool, which contributes to collaborative learning and the construction of knowledge, given that students could comment on each other’s work and receive feedback about their assignment. Finally, a survey was applied to obtain more relevant information from students where a few questions are asked. Setting and Participants For the present study 16 students from the Law Faculty at a private University in Tunja were involved in the project; they belonged to tenth semester and the English classes were taught twice a week. English is currently a compulsory subject which is included in their curriculum, classes are developed taking into account the communicative approach. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 126 Research stages To start executing the study, students were surveyed to identify their insights towards the use of technology to learn English (stage 1); it helped to set out the current study; during the implementation of the small-scale project, the MOODLE platform let students share their activities and the comments they wrote for their classmates in the forum (stage 2). In this way, the researcher could review students’ performance in every assignment they uploaded (stage 3). Eventually, a survey to analyze students’ perceptions after using technology was administered. To end up, the researcher started examining the data by analyzing it and revising theory in order to plan future actions (stage 4). Following the third stage offered by Sagor et al. (2005), two activities were planned to carry out this study, thus students received a list of virtual learning tools and the topics of the activities were selected based on the content included in the syllabus to respect the requirements of the course and the level; students could work in groups or individually. As mentioned previously, it was important to make an informed choice of ICT tools then, the researcher strove to find manageable online tools of easy access and tried to select those resources which could attract students’ attention. The first activity was related to the environment then, students had to create their presentations and once they had the link to the online resource they used, they shared it on the Moodle platform. In the discussion forum, students wrote about how appealing the use of virtual tools was and any other perception they had during the development of the first activity. Likewise, the students had to comment on each others’ work, and finally, the tutor wrote an encouraging comment for each group to motivate them to keep working. For the second activity, students had the chance to explore some online resources to make a decision about one. Finally, they decided to work with MIND42 which is free online mind mapping software that lets students collect ideas in a graphic way and visualize connections between different topics. In this case, students created a mind map to foster the topic related to cybercrime and once again they shared the link and participated in the forum. Results This study adopted the grounded data analysis approach; hence, the processes of disassembling and reassembling data considered by Freeman (1998) were taken into account during the whole process. In general, the data collection displayed two categories. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 127 Category 1: Collaborative work to instill motivation This category analyzes the results of how collaborative work instills motivation after employing technology. The data shows that students prefer to work in groups, in terms of organization and content, when they receive support and an objective is set. McGrath (2003) says that working in groups lets students solve problems which may arise during the development of an activity. When students explored the online resources they felt confused and given this situation, different groups started collaborating among themselves by sharing the easiness of some virtual learning tools and in this way tried to solve which tool could be better to use. Subsequently, Johnson, Johnson & Smith (2014) point out the importance of every group member because, as a group, it is crucial to strive hard for encouragement in the completion of a task, hence, they also mention that the purpose is to make each member stronger to perform and complete a given assignment. It can be said that interpersonal relationships among students help with the outcomes that come from collaborative efforts. At the beginning, students explored different online resources to deliver the class assignment and in this way identify which learning tool was the most appealing to use. Beforehand, the teacher explored the different online resources and became familiar with them in case the students inquired about how to use the tools and she could lead them in the process of choosing the most interesting. This study also demonstrated that, with the teacher and group’s support, learning is more comfortable; for instance, in the first activity about the environment, students were asked to research an environmental problem our country was facing, to describe the situation, explain it, and illustrate the actions taken to tackle the problem and what Colombian law says specifically about the environmental problem. Once they had the information, they needed to select an online resource to create their presentation with the information collected. In the following sample, the product created by one of the groups for the first activity is evidenced. The online resource used was Piktochart; in this application the user can create infographics, then, graphics, gifts, images, and videos can be included. Teamwork was essential, students not only discussed about the presentation, but also about the information; it is evident, students got familiar with the online tool what motivate them to deliver an outstanding assignment. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 128 Figure 1. The crisis water (Pérez & Moreno, 2014), Sample # 1 The sample reveals how this group managed to employ an online tool, what led to discuss what kind of information they could share and at this point language use became important. Consequently, Blatchford, Kutnick, and Baines (2007) demonstrated that relationships are fundamental for effective group work because all members can contribute to the group interaction, support each other, and deliver good work on time. Although, sometimes students are seated or working in some form of grouping and these groupings probably inhibit learning and the interest to learn. For this reason, group work can be more effective when students have the chance to select the members of the group. The next annotation acknowledges students’ confusion and evidence that students chose the tool based on ease of use; however, it is important to remark the purpose of the study was to employ technology to boost motivation while learning English as a foreign language more than the potential these resources could provide. Excerpt No.1 ¨ Students look confused and indecisive about what online tool they could choose. Some online tools look appealing for them at the first sight but when they explore them students think the online tools are difficult to handle. The teacher tries to lead the different groups and suggest them to see a tutorial about the online tool they want to use. Finally, most of the groups agree in the use of Calameo because it is easier to use [sic]¨ (Teacher’s diary, August 4, 2017) MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 129 Once students had finished the assignment, they had to share their link in the discussion forum available in the platform students were using to share their assignments, to answer some questions about the group work, and finally, to express whether the activity was engaging. The purpose of the forum was to make students interested in the activities, receive feedback from their work, as well as encourage them to keep working and improving students’ interaction. Below are some comments from the students: Excerpt No. 2 ¨.the Working Group was held according to the thematic view in class and each complement our work [sic]. it is exciting because it offers different tools for sharing information [sic]¨ (Forum # 1, activity #1, August 24, 2017) Excerpt No. 3 ¨It was very interesting work, where we work as a team and bring each of us with documents that had to do with the theme. this tool motivates us to explore, investigate and interact with new ways to do work of a more dynamic and creative way [sic]¨. (Forum # 1, Activity 1, August 25, 2017) Excerpt No. 4 ¨The work as a group was excellent… The virtual tool motivated us because it´s innovative form, not using the same things, like a pen and paper like it’s common [sic] ¨ (Forum # 1, Activity 1, August 25, 2017) Excerpt No. 5 ¨The work at group was good… it was a motivation to write because we were interested in the way of using the different tools [sic]¨ (Forum # 1, Activity 1, August 27, 2017) As is evident in excerpts 2, 3, 4 and 5 the experience of using technology is described as interesting and positive thanks to the group MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 130 work. According to the previous information, it was a successful experience that provided the reinforcement of competencies such as technological competence. García, Basilotta, and López (2013) state that collaborative learning methods involve group work among students, and therefore, they help each other to work together to reach the same objective. This also lets us consider the activities from different perspectives and create an environment where students can practice their social abilities and leadership. Moreover, it is said that Information and Communication Technology offers the possibility of social intervention to open collaborative environments which allow students to execute the activities planned. A survey was applied as the last instrument of data collection. Questions were written in English and students kept the same language while answering them. It helped to support the empathy students experienced by working collaboratively and it provide them confidence and scaffold motivation; the last question was about how different English classes were after using technology to deliver the assignments. Excerpts No. 6, 7 and 8 demonstrate that the use of technology increases students’ motivation. Excerpt No. 6 ¨Rarely we use virtual learning tools because we spend more time reading, English is difficult and technology helps increase interest.[sic]¨ (Survey, question # 3, October, 04, 2017) Excerpt No. 7 ¨is motivating the use of computational resources in English learning [sic]¨ (Survey, question # 3, October, 04, 2017) Excerpt No. 8 ¨the virtual tools facilitate the classwork because helps understanding of the topics [sic]¨ (Survey, question # 3, October, 04, 2017) Hence, it can be affirmed that once an activity is set, it is crucial that the group supports it, considering that it can possess complexity, MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 131 and given its nature, it may require the whole group to work together to achieve the same purpose. On the other hand, it is evident the use of language in students’ writings; the online tools became an excuse to make students learn vocabulary about their program and reinforce grammar structures. Importantly, group work took students into a discussion about current environmental problems, what can be considered as a meaningful learning. Category 2: The use of technology to enhance language learning The teacher-researcher concludes from the collected data that ICT use plays an important role for language learning, given that technology is a source of motivation that helps to capture the interest of students and support learning through teaching. It definitely provides a space to negotiate learning and scaffold language through reading and writing. About the benefits that the technology offers inside the classroom, Gordon, Wesley, Grites (2011) comment that technology is a potential means of producing a positive attitude towards learning. Thereby, apart from the emotion that managing a virtual tool can elicit, substantial interest is added, which takes us to new academic experiences; additionally, the teacher needs to know how to manage the online tools they propose, in case the students become confused. Therefore, the resources must be carefully chosen in order to suit a particular teaching situation and to meet the specific needs of students. Technology also lets teachers provide a significant context for the communicative activities and, in this way, involve students through real and authentic experiences, which favor motivation and the learning process. In the following sample, the development of the second activity is evidenced. It was suggested to use MIND 42, because last time students took a lot of time trying to decide what online tool they could employ; therefore, this tool let students create mind maps and was simple to use and fast to learn. They read about cybercrime, types of cybercrime, causes, history, and summarize the information to share it online MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 132 Figure 2. Students’ artifacts Unlike activity # 1, this online resource was considered easier to handle since there are only a few options to create a mind map offered by MIND 42. When using this tool, students felt comfortable because they learnt, for example, how to upload an image or delete it in case they wanted to change it. Motivation was displayed while developing the assignment because students could master the online resource. However, the teacher’s support helped to solve doubts. Based on BECTA’s ICT Research Network (2003), it is evidenced that ICT has a positive effect on students’ learning and strengthens their feelings of responsibility towards their established assignments. Likewise, ICT boosts independence and motivation for the self-directed learning which allows the teacher to maximize students’ self-confidence and explore new opportunities to improve their pedagogical practice, particularly in the creation of more stimulating and pleasant lessons. Once participants did their mind maps, they had to share the link and describe briefly whether the chosen tool was appealing and interesting to know the perceptions and support the idea that ICT is convenient for pedagogical practice. The activities planned provided the opportunity to put into practice, students’ writing and reading skills to foster the foreign language. Based on the above mentioned, one of the perceptions gained by one of the groups was the following: MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 133 Excerpt No. 9 ¨This application is an easy way to understand a text is what your goal, and more importantly shows a specific topic [sic]¨ (Forum # 2, September, 18 2017) Excerpt No.10 ¨The motivation for using a virtual tool is wanting to make an innovative activity [sic]¨ (Forum # 2, September, 18, 2017) Excerpt No. 11 ¨The classes were different because one learns to use other learning tools that as a group were unknown, what contributes to the learning of students [sic]¨ (Survey, question # 3, October, 04, 2017) Considering the previous samples, the members of the groups had a highly positive response when using technology; it is noticeable that students also cared about the content of the assignment by highlighting the importance of understanding it. Therefore, it demonstrates that students are fostering the language by using ICT and raising interest in developing their other skills and that is why it is fundamental to explore other learning environments which might help teachers. Based on Harmer (2001), motivation is essential for success; accordingly it is fulfilled in the execution of the second activity because students were not as blank as in the first activity; moreover, their success could not be achieved without working in groups where they had the chance to combine their strengths and learn from one another, bearing in mind that a student can have different abilities in the same area. Subsequently, excerpt 12 evidences students’ change of, considering they did not look confused, but sure, while using the online resource. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 134 Excerpt No. 12 T: ¨In the planned activity for today class, students show a more trustful attitude towards the new online tool set to work on Unit 2 that is about Cybercrime… Some groups start asking how to insert a node or images and once the teacher gets closer they seem to have the solution…: [sic] (Teacher’s diary, August, 30, 2017) It is demonstrated in the use of the online resource taking into account students’ attitude and skills to solve doubts and understand how to include or delete information. Lastly, the results of the first two questions stated in the third research instrument are exposed, which contributed to the data analysis. Is it important to include ICT in English language classes? Figure 3. Survey Results, Question # 1 Based on the first question, it is clear that for the 18 surveyed students more than 50% of them consider the incorporation of ICT in English class to be very important. This once again demonstrates the positive impact that ICT has on the academic performance of a large number of students and the justification for this second category. On the other hand, the 18% of the participants considered the implementation of ICT in English classes to be important; they also noticed the pertinence of changing the way in which classes are delivered. Bearing in mind the results and considering the context in which this strategy was applied, it is possible to muse on the idea of adopting ICT in different language levels. In that regard, Frydrychova (2014) mentions that languages teachers try to employ ICT in their teaching to make a MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 135 more effective and motivating learning process, that is why he suggests using several web sites to strengthen the different language skills; to keep communication with native or non-native speakers through the use of e-mail, Skype, chat, or other web applications and the creation of an online course. Additionally, analyzing the answers of the second question: Do English language classes change when implementing ICT?, all participants are leaning towards a positive attitude, which makes it evident that if one decides to opt for another teaching strategy, the teacher can captivate students in their subject. From the results, the participants’ satisfaction after incorporating technology to boost English language learning is 100%. There were no negative responses. This could imply that students felt motivated and knew that using technology to learn English is at least not a negative change and the classes would definitely change, some of the explanations given by the participants in this same question are revealed. Excerpt No. 13 ¨Se hace un poco más fácil el aprendizaje y hay mayor acceso a herramientas que contribuyen al enriquecimiento por ejemplo del vocabulario [sic]¨ (Survey, Question # 2, October, 04, 2017) By using ICT, learning seems easier and there is a wider access to online tools which contribute to motivate language enrichment for example regarding vocabulary. Excerpt No. 14 ¨Si porque las TIC brindan nuevos métodos para aprender el idioma, para los estudiantes es una herramienta dinámica y permite una nueva relación entre los estudiantes y el profesor [sic]¨ (Survey, Question # 2, October, 04 2017) Yes, because ICT provide new methods to learn a language; for students ICT is a dynamic tool which allow a new relationship among students and the teacher. After analyzing excerpts 13 and 14, it can be said there is an interest for the inclusion of new Information and Communication Technologies as a didactic and pedagogical strategy. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 136 Technology permits the development of technological competencies, which allows students to be prepared for the challenges of the modern world; likewise, it helps with the acquisition of vocabulary when the students are performing a given task and increases motivation through the use of technology, providing learning opportunities for the practice of a language. This could indicate that if most of the students have positive attitudes towards ICT, the rest could be affected and develop a more positive attitude towards ICT. Conclusion Based on data collection instruments, it is identified that ICT motivated students to work collaboratively and they could also foster their language skills through the use if vocabulary related to their program.. When there is commitment to learn and develop an activity, it is because students show a different attitude while developing class activities. Technology has made teachers reflect about how to increase students’ interest and how to focus their attention; so, throughout discussions and negotiations students can scaffold their learning and foster critical thinking skills. Consequently, the context where learning takes place must be considered bearing in mind the type of learners we have in the classrooms. To boost lifelong learning, and considering students were about to finish their major, I considered that it was important and appropriate to show them how they could keep developing their technological competence by being familiar with some online tools. Besides this, it was important that the teacher involved students in activities that caught their attention to empower them in their learning process. The teacher, as a part of any learning process, supports their students to make sure they build their own knowledge, promote autonomy, initiative and creativity. Then, in this case, the students were invited to become involved in their own learning process by keeping an active dialogue with the different groups which enhanced collaborative work and fostered language learning. Collaborative work was evidenced when the different groups shared their knowledge about the use of the online resources, found new information about the topic proposed in class, but most importantly, strove hard to achieve the same goal, which was to present their final product. Subsequently, learning was reinforced through social MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 137 interaction, which had a positive effect while exchanging meaningful experiences. Based on the data analysis it is also recognizable that there is a lot to understand about the mixed environments that strengthen not only the foreign language but the use of technology in the learning and teaching practice. In this manner, it can be affirmed that the integration of a foreign language and technology can be generated if they are inside the contents of the area considering the creation of mixed courses through the use of technology leads to an increase in the interest towards learning and reinforces, as in this case, a language as English. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY RIVERA No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018) 138 References Azmi, N. (2017). The benefits of Using ICT in the EFL Classroom: From Perceived Utility to Potential Challenges. Journal of Education and Social Research. 7 (1), 111-118. Basset, P. Baines, E. Rubie-Davies, C. (2006).The effect of a new approach to group work on pupil-pupil and teacher-pupil interactions. 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In Fotos S. (ed.). Multimedia language teaching (pp. 3-20). Tokyo: Logos International. Retrieved from http://www. ict4lt.org/en/warschauer.htm Author *Adriana Maritza Rivera Barreto is PhD student at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, she holds an MA in English Language Teaching Autonomous Learning Environments from Universidad de La Sabana and a MA in eLearning from Universidad Camilo José Cela. Currently, she is a full time English teacher – researcher at Universidad Santo Tomás – Tunja. MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE USE AND TECHNOLOGY No. 16 (January - June, 2018) No. 16 (Janaury - June, 2018)