Reshaping attitudes and perceptions towards ELL in ninth graders by including subcultures in the classroom

Abstract

This research depicts the results of an action research developed with the students of 9th grade from a public school in Bogotá. The aim of this research was to find out the different subcultures or trends students followed and how they could be included in the contents in order to reshape students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the English class. Surveys and questionnaires were applied to students in order to identify the perceptions and attitudes they had towards the ELL. After these subcultures were identified, a series of activities were implemented in the classroom in order to analyze if they were effective to reshape students’ attitudes towards the foreign language learning. These results were proved through classroom observation based on video recordings where students showed their attitudes towards the foreign language class and how their perceptions and attitudes were gradually reshaped through the implementation of those activities. With the implementation of activities related to subcultures (music specifically), a change in attitudes and perceptions in students towards the foreign language learning became noticeable in the way they performed these activities, and it could be identified in the class observations based on video recordings.