Page 46 - Compétences plurilingues : perspectives et actions / Plurilingual competencies: perspectives and actions

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V. De Azevedo Camacho, M. Cervenkova, M. Seveckova: Motivation, ...
learning. From this perspective, the expected result was not fully achieved. This implies
the need to include much more preparatory tasks before starting such projects and also to
lower the expectations to a maximum of two didactic outcomes.
On the other hand, the project has at least succeeded in opening the way for students to
adopt an autonomous approach to language learning, so that in the future it may be pos-
sible to build on this. What has also been demonstrated during the project is the fact that
students are more motivated to learn a third language by regularly watching YouTube tu-
torial videos with appropriate content. And moreover, the collaboration and peer-to-peer
communication have proven to be effective in the environment of business students.

Research results

Results of the 1st questionnaire

The irst questionnaire was distributed to the students after the irst lesson, that is, after
explaining the objectives and description of the project. The questions were about the stu-
dents’ language level and pro iciency, their motivation to learn the language, and whether,
how often, and why they follow foreign language YouTubers.

More than 50% of students rated their language level as A2; more than 40% as B1; almost
10% as B2; and two students as C1. Around 85% of students wanted to continue study-
ing French/Spanish/Russian after the course and around 95% said they would like to use
their knowledge of the language in the future. In addition to English, most students had
previously studied Spanish, French, German, Russian, or Italian; some of them had studied
Japanese, Croatian, Slovenian or Korean.
About 90% of students said they found watching foreign language YouTubers bene icial for
improving their foreign language skills; however, only 2 students watched these videos reg-
ularly, 4 students sometimes, and 5 students rarely. The remaining students (80%) said
they do not watch foreign language YouTubers. Seven students said they follow YouTubers
who focus on teaching foreign language or culture and real-life situations. Their reasons
for watching these videos included: content/topic; comprehension training; vocabulary
enrichment; absorbing pronunciation and intonation; the personality of the YouTuber; in-
terest in the video; gaining motivation; learning grammar; and opportunity to learn more
about culture/everyday reality. Five students said they use subtitles when watching YouTu-
bers’ videos.
It is clear from the questionnaire that most of our students were not aware of LinguoYoutu-
bers – this generation may grow up surrounded by technology, but without the guidance
of an experienced educator, they are unlikely to learn about the possibilities of supporting
foreign language learning on YouTube.

Results and result interpretation of the 2nd questionnaire
The second questionnaire was distributed to the students after the completion and submis-
sion of the videos. Students were asked to answer 10 open-ended questions in a foreign

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