Using ICT in Generating Motivation for Foreign Language Learning: from Traditional to Virtual Classroom

Language teaching and learning today are dynamic processes that are marked with continuous interaction between the participants. Having employed adequate teaching methods, the lecturer can create a quality environment for teaching thus enabling students to be motivated, learn at an adequate pace and achieve the desired learning outcomes. Foreign language teaching and learning have been closely tied to using ICT tools in classrooms for many years, since using ICT tools generates motivation in students. Therefore, teachers usually integrate a wide array of tools into their lessons, ranging from audiovisual tools, interactive presentations, whiteboards, mobile applications etc. However, with the change of setting from the physical classroom to the online classroom in 2020, ICT tools have adopted an even more important role than they had in the traditional classroom: they have evolved from the means of facilitating the teaching and learning into the medium where teaching and learning take place. The aim of this paper is to explore how motivation and attitudes of students for learning foreign languages are shaped in a new synchronous virtual medium of teaching. To explore motivation and attitudes towards foreign language learning in a virtual classroom in great detail, in-depth interviews were conducted with a selected number of students who participated in a virtual Croatian Language and Culture course.