Abstract

The application of new technologies and media has changed the concept of teaching and learning, offering effective and attractive possibilities to the educational system, particularly to the learning of languages in specific contexts. Educators in general will agree on the importance of motivation as a key to success in language acquisition as it is both a condition and a result of effective instruction. However, although research has recognized the positive effect of intrinsic motivation on learning and academic achievement, little is known about the impact of different technologysupported learning activities on students' intrinsic motivation, the most critical factor for success in language teaching through computers according to some scholars. In this paper we present a university course project carried out in the English class in a degree of Library and Information Management. By means of an integrated analysis which includes qualitative and quantitative research, we see the influence of a CMC (Computer-mediated Communication) genre, that of weblogs, in learning, and the way this new learning environment enhances motivation. In the project we present, students were asked to participate in blogs dealing with topics of their field of studies, a fact that constitutes the authentic learning environment suggested by some scholars in the field of education. Blogging was the key activity of their writing course. Students' participation in blogs implied exchanging posts, making comments, agreeing and disagreeing on what was discussed in the posts, asking for clarification, etc., always with the hope of raising the interest of other bloggers and starting a discussion. Questionnaires administered to the students and interviews have provided insightful data to the research about the students' perception of the experience, in other words, their levels of involvement in learning, their engagement in efficient and creative thinking processes, and their use of problem-solving strategies. Language achievement tests as well as daily one minute papers supplied information on the students' acquisition of the content dealt with. The innovative approach of this research is that it has allowed students to participate in real-world environments: blogs where students were able to apply theoretical knowledge acquired in the degree of Information and Management EducaMaterial published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. 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Keywords: motivation, language learning, computers for education, Library and Information Management Education Context The term Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) was coined at the end of the 1970's by In a previous paper The Use of Blogs in Educational Settings A blog has been defined as "a web application that displays serial entries with date and time stamps" (Thorne & Payne, 2005, p. 381). Blogs often include a comments feature which allows the reader to engage in discussion with the blog's writer and other readers by directly attaching a post to the daily or topical entry In this context, the major benefits of blogging in the language classroom have been reported as "the choice of more appropriate language on the part of the learners, the addition of new perspectives to the learners' thoughts, and the motivational aspect of realizing that one's voice echoes in distant parts of the globe and is heard by others" (Arena, 2008, p. 4). Sun's findings (2009) suggest that blogs can constitute a dynamic forum that fosters extensive practice, learning motivation, authorship, and development of learning strategies. The added value of using blogs means that students produce contents that are instantly accessible on the web, which can potentially attract comments from other users, whether they are classmates or anonymous bloggers (L. On the other hand, in other learning contexts, some researchers complain about the fact that the generalized use of web technologies in the classroom may have some drawbacks (Cole, 2009), since the incorporation of technology enhanced learning activities needs a sound pedagogical approach to be an effective learning tool. This new learning approach implies a radical change in the learning paradigm applied so far Motivation and Language Learning Achievement As far as motivation is concerned, it has been reported as the most critical factor for success in language teaching through computers Theories of language acquisition have considered external factors, i.e., input and social aspects, internal factors, i.e. cognitive, sociocultural and linguistic, as well as affective factors, all of them affecting second language acquisition (see Motivation in Library and Information Management Education Social and educational psychologists distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation implies doing something as a means to some separable outcome such as getting a job or gaining a qualification Ryan and Deci Justification for the Study Nowadays, CMC is common practice in education, particularly in tertiary education. Nevertheless, as some scholars have argued, the application of this technology in some fields, such as language learning in specific contexts, is in need of more research Aim and Hypotheses of the Study The objective of the course project presented was to study the motivation of university students of English for Library and Information Management following a methodology based on their participation in professional blogs as the key activity of their writing course carried out in 2010. In this paper, we describe the students' perception of the experience, in other words, their levels of involvement in learning, the students' engagement in efficient and creative thinking processes, their use of problem-solving strategies, and the interaction and effective knowledge of the content studied. Thus, our main hypothesis is that students engaged in blogs in authentic environments Methodology Sample Population The experiment was run in a group of 32 students of English writing in a Spanish university degree in Library and Information Management over the course of a semester. The average age of the students was 22.8. The group was formed by 24 male students and 8 female from different backgrounds: 20 Spanish students, 8 Erasmus from several European countries, and 4 students whose parents are immigrant from Ecuador and China (the imbalance between men and women observed, although of scholarly interest, is out of the scope of this research). Students had a wide range of language proficiency levels. They were experienced in the use of new technologies. Classes met 3 hours a week. This group was chosen because the sample reflects the current cultural and linguistic diversity of higher education in Spain: a high percentage of Erasmus students per class and the first students from an immigrant origin arriving at university, a culturally heterogeneous learning environment similar to universities worldwide The subject English writing is taught in the fourth year of the degree in Library and Information Management. The objective of the course is to develop not only fluency but also accuracy, quality, and correctness in writing in English. In 2010, up to this point in their studies, the students had mainly received instruction in the traditional face-to-face format. The students had never had the chance of using the language in an authentic environment, i.e., environments that provide an authentic context that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real life Finally, we should mention that the authors of the study have been the teachers of the subject during the last ten years, so the accessibility to the study and data from former courses is complete. The Experiment In order to frame class blogs within an authentic context, students were provided with a list of 150 blogs for Library Science where a world of information specific to their field of study is available and discussed. Following Farmer (2004), we chose blogs that enabled comments and could generate discussions because of the novelty of the issues, sometimes even controversial, dealt with, i.e., blogs that could be a medium to effectively facilitate the successful formation of a community of inquiry. Students got engaged in the required assignments, which consisted in participating in blogs: exchanging posts, making comments, agreeing, and disagreeing on what was discussed in the posts, asking for clarification, etc., always with the hope of raising the interest of other bloggers and starting a discussion. As part of the writing tasks, on a weekly basis students were required to dedicate an hour in groups to elaborate on the posts and to respond in class. In parallel, students daily checked their blogs and followed the thread of the discussions in the blogs outside the English classroom, either at home or in the computer room. Motivation in Library and Information Management Education Average number of words per portfolio 2000 The teacher's attitude towards the activity plays a primary role in the success of the experiment as some of her/his enthusiasm will be transmitted to the students, who will be more likely to become interested in the tasks being carried out. Therefore, teachers explained in detail what was expected on the activities and how blogs worked, insisting on the versatility of the tool. Moreover, some introductory tutorials on collaborative work, formal writing focusing on paragraph structure and coherence, and blog interaction were devised. These tutorials were carried out in the first week of the semester and included information about ethics on team work so as to involve members in an equal contribution of the work, the use of formal vs. conversational writing, and an analysis of the comments exchanged in the thread of a blog, taken as an example, so as to familiarise students with the tool and value the style used and the quality of contributions. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis To study motivation, an integrated methodology was put into practice. This implied a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection. Quantitative research consisted in the measurement of students' course participation by recording class attendance, homework submission, and participation in learning activities. In parallel to the quantitative study, a qualitative study on the students' background, attitudes, and motivation was carried out. In Creswell's (1998) words, qualitative research is "an inquiry process of understanding" where the researcher elaborates a "complex, holistic picture, analyzes words, reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting" (p. 15). Thus, data were collected from a questionnaire with open questions which was administered at the beginning and end of the semester to provide feedback from the learner's perspective. The questionnaire was distributed in the second class and the week before the final class in order to identify changes over time; all participants completed it. The experiment also included the teacher observation in the classroom. Our initial idea of administering questionnaires on a monthly basis to provide more feedback was discarded because students are often reluctant to answer repetitive questions on the same issue. Consequently, we considered that these two questionnaires could provide enough fruitful information for the study. Moreover, they were complemented by abundant interviews throughout the semester. All students were individually interviewed to provide feedback from their perspective on their perceived interest, challenge, difficulty, and on their intrinsic motivation (enjoyment, sense of challenge, skill development). The rationale for the interview questions was to gather information. The transcriptions of the interviews and the students' reflections on the portfolios were organized, categorized, interpreted and synthesized. The subsequent analysis allowed us to cluster data into two meaningful categories: the blogging process and language improvement. 218 Pérez-Sabater & Montero-Fleta Results and Discussion What can be drawn from the analysis is that students in the project showed a highly favourable reaction to the experience and related motivation with language achievement and behavioural outcomes such as classroom participation or persistence in learning, a positive result that is not always found in web-based learning environments in tertiary education (Cole, 2009). As aforementioned, the qualitative part of our analysis clustered data into the following meaningful categories: a) The blogging process: students' motivation correlates strongly with their perception of appropriate level, content interest, and ease of use, as suggested, following Kurt Lewin's basic concept of 'level of aspiration', in Firstly, it is interesting to point out that most students agreed on the fact that the level of the tasks carried out was appropriate. Secondly, interviews also showed that the group's high motivation was enhanced by their active engagement in authentic communication in their field of studies in English and their participation in a social network based on their professional interests. Participants were satisfied at being able to express themselves freely, a clear parameter that enhances intrinsic motivation in technology supported activities according to Likewise, their motivation to participate in the blogging process correlates highly with the time dedicated to the activity outside the language class (Arslan & Sahin-Kýzýl, 2010). On average, students spent an extra hour per week on the activity, a clear parameter to measure students' interest. Since they devoted a lot of time and energy to getting feedback, they felt greatly motivated at the reception of an answer to their comment and complained when they got zero reactions from the audience. Sometimes, they felt that too much time and effort was being put in with the only hope of getting a response, an important motivational factor in online communication through blogging Finally, as can be seen in Appendix A, ease of use was also considered a positive motivational factor by students. The following opinions are representative examples of the whole classroom perception. An Erasmus student, Aurelien, explained the advantages of this learning experience: "It is interesting to exchange opinions and points of view not only with classmates but also with people all over the world, always in English" (the examples are shown in the original; students explicitly agreed on the use of the data obtained in the study for research and dissemination of results). However, some students were disappointed when they didn't receive an answer to their posts: Miguel, a Spanish student, commented, "After my experience I don't believe too much in the blogs and the interaction with them, at least with the blogs from over the ocean". In this concern, Marta, a Motivation in Library and Information Management Education Spanish female, complained that although the activity was really encouraging, the fact that they didn't receive many responses to their posts was a bit disappointing. Her opinions about the activity changed when she started to write more aggressively and disagreed with other bloggers; then, more answers to her posts arrived and she could express herself. As for the extra time taken, René, an Erasmus student, commented that he enjoyed getting involved in the threads so much that he dedicated some of his free time to the activity. Students felt intrinsic motivation in being able to participate in the "English-dominated on-line world"; they felt inherent satisfaction in doing the activity which has moved them "to act for the fun or challenge" (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 56). The students' positive attitude towards Internet activities confirmed that intrinsic motivation occurred because of its appeal of novelty, challenge or aesthetic value that Ryan and Deci consider critical in raising students' motivation, and what's more, they appeared to retain their positive motivation over the 14-week semester. b) Language improvement: another factor studied was the students' own perception of their improvement in language skills. Data have been clustered in Appendix B. When posting blogs, students were mostly concerned in using the English language accurately. Students strongly agreed on the fact that their writing fluency, grammar accuracy as well as correct use of vocabulary had increased as they spent a long time writing their texts in order to produce attractive posts to raise attention from other bloggers. Online participation may entail a more proficient use of the language as regards non-native speakers of English. The fact that their language level could be judged by the whole online community may force students to write more carefully when participating in the blogosphere, as Montero-Fleta (in press) observed. This extra effort was not always welcomed by all the participants; in the interviews, students with a low level of English complained about the amount of effort involved in the activities. Relatedly, the teacher's perceptions of the language outcomes of the students also corroborated the improvements in their writing skills. These quantitative data of the experiment were obtained from different sources: Firstly, the use of the one-minute-paper carried out at the end of every class, as well as opening a line of communication with the students, helped them carry out an individual writing task through which the teacher could assess their improvement. The variables measured were simple sentences, words in complete sentences, word order, connectors, verb tenses, punctuation marks, and spelling on the one hand, and paragraph structure, coherence, and argumentation, on the other. Secondly, we considered the results of a test administered at the end of the course, a common practice in Spanish universities. In this test, students were required to write an essay. They were assessed on their ability to communicate ideas clearly and concisely in writing. The evaluation was based on the degree to which each essay addressed the writing task effectively and insightfully, was well organized in paragraphs with ideas fully developed, was appropriate in style and tone, and showed the students' competence in grammar, syntax, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling. This test showed good results in writing fluency, accuracy, overall text organization, and in grammar use: the grades of the final test were 16.2 % higher than those obtained in previous courses. While in 2009 the average grade was 6.2 out of 10, in 2010 the mean grade obtained in the final exam was 7.2. Secondly, another revealing fact is that the students' level of achievement, measured annually by the university teaching board, also manifested this improvement: in 2009 the level of achievement of this subject was 67.74%, implying that this percentage of students passed the subject. In 2010, the level of achievement was 86.21%. These positive outcomes are similar to those obtained by Pérez-Sabater & Montero-Fleta It is noteworthy that these results coincide with some studies on motivation and computer assisted language learning, which report that to initiate discussion on the web motivates students more than teacher-initiated discussion. Students also produce more output and the learning results tend to be better (see, for example, Qualitative research does not always show the general results quantitative research often shows. However, in this project, students agreed on the fact that writing for a purpose had been very motivating and they valued the opportunity to develop writing skills in a real environment. Harris (1991) reaffirms this idea when he suggests that: Students will be much more committed to a learning activity that has value for them, that they can see as meeting their needs, either long term or short term. They will, in fact, put up with substantial immediate unpleasantness and do an amazing amount of hard work if they are convinced that what they are learning ultimately meets their needs. Nevertheless, although these activities can be very motivating for language learners, we share Warschauer's (2000) opinion when he affirms that: The Internet does not constitute or prescribe a particular teaching method; rather, it is an important new medium bringing together tens of millions of people throughout the world. The existence of the Internet provides the potential for purposeful, powerful use of online communication in language and writing classes. It is up to us to give life to that purpose and thus achieve the full potential of computer networks in second language teaching. (p. 57) Conclusions New technologies such as blogging can help to overcome the difficulties involved in keeping motivation in the second language classroom. The innovative contribution developed by the project was the challenge of participating in real-world environments, blogs where students were able to apply theoretical knowledge acquired in the degree in the medium of English. This truly novel component of educational application of blogs used in the present approach has resulted in a positive attitude of the students and, thus, motivation enhancement. Our future research will focus on the teacher's role. Future studies could also examine the role of extrinsic motivation in language learning. Moreover, as observed in the sample population of this study, the scarcity of women in technology education is a problem in our university and in Western tertiary education (Cronin & Roger, 1999; C. Pérez-Sabater & M. L. Pérez-Sabater; in press). In this concern, future research can address the imbalance noted and its implications in language learning in the specific context of Library and Information Management studies. On balance, in the course project described, new values are put into practice; as far as the students are concerned, the approach entails a more challenging learning situation as they have to adapt their learning to a new social and professional environment in which they must get an answer to their posts in their effort to participate in their professional community. Students' enthusiasm and fun are translated into higher levels of motivation, which in turn have a positive effect on their academic results. It is also interesting to point out that, although the Internet embodies high and strong values such as equality of access, public service and empowerment of the individual, the 221 Motivation in Library and Information Management Education fact that the posts can be modified by the blog's writer has made students aware of the dangers of believing everything they read on the Internet.