Triggering Incarcerated Students’ Use of the Target Language and Reducing the L1 Interference in Class Through Positive Reinforcement

Conference: The European Conference on Language Learning (ECLL2020)
Title: Triggering Incarcerated Students’ Use of the Target Language and Reducing the L1 Interference in Class Through Positive Reinforcement
Stream: Learning Environments
Presentation Type: Virtual Presentation
Authors:
Olga Jannid Chaves Mendoza, National University, Costa Rica

Abstract:

The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate that teaching and learning a foreign language in social sensitive populations such as incarcerated students is always possible despite the technological limitations both professors and students are subjected to. The use of the dollar technique not only triggers the students’ use of the target language but also motivates them to learn in an enjoyable environment. This is possible by providing them positive stimuli with a technique called “the dollar technique” which consists in giving students the chance of keeping some fancy dollars during the entire class by avoiding the use of the L1; also by giving the students the opportunity to recover them by providing a short speech in class or participating in problem-solving situations. Methodology was based on twenty-four students from Liberia, Guanacaste Costa Rica’s jail and the results were shown through their oral performance progress. Results emphasize that coercive methods of discipline can trigger counter-aggressive behaviors in students.

Virtual Presentation

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