Motivating Secondary Students to Speak in Spanish Outside of Structured Classroom Activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine what motivates students to speak Spanish outside of planned classroom interactions. These desired instructional and motivational methods, in theory, would lead to the goal of intrinsic motivation in students to interact in the target language whenever possible (with the teacher, with classmates, and with others outside of Spanish class). In addition, this leads to an analysis of how teaching techniques affect student engagement. The completion of this study has proven that student motivation rests in their abilities to relate the language to their own interests. Furthermore, various prompting strategies can promote a more extensive use of the target language. Over time, this combination of strategies will lead to an unprompted and authentic conversation that extends beyond the planned classroom activities.