WHEN GRADE IS NOT A MOTIVATIONAL FACTOR IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING… YOU MAY WANT TO FLIP

What motivates students to learn a foreign language? A question that has obtained multiple answers and which keeps stimulating research on the topic. Although most recent studies seem to deny the effectiveness of grades on motivating students, traditional literature sees a significant relation between grades and extrinsic/instrumental motives, at least in second and foreign language achievements. But when you teach a Pass or Fail University Language Course whose exam outcome won’t affect students’ year-end results, finding a way to increase students’ motivation to score more than the minimum required to pass the final test becomes a course priority. This paper will examine the pros and cons of different classroom activities used in a blended learning environment to engage students, trigger their interest and make language learning intrinsically motivating in an ESP university-level writing course taught in a 5-year period. It will then compare their effectiveness with more positive results and feedback obtained by flipping the classroom so that students can become teachers for a day.