A interculturalidade como fator motivacional no aprendizado de língua inglesa

Abstract

At the present time, much has been said and researched about motivation in the students’ learning process. These individuals inhabit a globalized world where they constantly have access to communication with people from other countries, whether through exchange programs, tourism, service company trips, or correspondence via Internet. The language commonly used for this exchange of information between individuals of different cultures is the English language, defined as an international language - since it has been the element that enables communication, exchange of experiences and business between peoples around the world for a long time. Even facing this opportunity of a precious cultural exchange, many individuals still refuse to learn the English language, either because they consider it an instrument of imperialist oppression or because they simply do not see the importance of learning it. Taking this information as instigation, we sought to reflect on the importance of intercultural studies in motivating individuals to learn English as a modern foreign language. In order to do so, a bibliographical survey was carried out on subjects related to student motivation in foreign language learning, followed by a research on cultural concepts and cultural exchange experiences in English language classes previously held. When reading the reports of the teacher and students involved, and articulating them with the knowledge acquired from the research on motivational aspects, it was concluded that intercultural studies have a strong influence on the motivation of learners of English as a foreign language, as well as making them more tolerant towards the culture of others and towards their own culture, contributing to the overcoming of stereotypes.