IMPLEMENTING UDL PLANNING TO ENHANCE THE INTRINSIC

MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS IN EFL CLASSROOMS.

CONSTANZA PAREDES DÍAZ

PÍA PÉREZ LEIVA

FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN
PEDAGOGÍA EN INGLÉS

Santiago, Chile
2023

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Chapter 1: Introduction 3
1.1 Research Context 3
1.2 Research Problem 4
1.3 Justification 5
1.4 Research Question and Objectives 6
Chapter 2: Research Methodology 6
2.1 Takona, J. P. (2023). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Quality & Quantity, 1-3. 6
2.2 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education
(eight edition). Abingdon, Oxon, 532-533. 7
2.3 Creswell, JW., & Creswell JD. Research Design (Sixth edition) 7
2.4 Dorney, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research.
Construction, Administration, and Processing. 8
References 9

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 Chapter 1: Introduction

During our first years as pre-service teachers, we have been wondering

the following question: How would be the perfect class for teachers? Following
this question, it has been difficult and challenging to answer it, because in
Chile, education does not involve just teaching the language. Teaching
English in Chile must be guaranteed for all students and with the same
conditions to develop the skills appropriately.

Therefore, the purpose of this study will be the implementation and

exploration of the impact of UDL planning to enhance the intrinsic motivation
among 5th grade students in an EFL class at a subsidized Belen Educa
School in Puente Alto.

1.1 Research Context

This research took place in a catholic establishment that belongs to

Belen Educa Foundation, in which the English focus is the development of
receptive skills. Regarding the context of the students and classes, they are
composed of 35–40 students per class, they have basic knowledge about
English reaching the levels of A1/A2, and they are taught English in the L1.
Which decreases the input that the students are required to learn. Meaning,
learners struggle with the development of their English skills. Leading to the
lack of motivation from students regarding the subject. On the other hand, the
role of English does not have a great impact within the community, even
though activities such as the "English day" or the "Spelling bee day" are
attempted, these are mainly focused on those who present a high level,
leaving aside those who present greater difficulties.

1.2 Research Problem

During this semester, we noticed the emphasis on the structure of the

English class, which is focused on grammar, and vocabulary of each
corresponding unit. Due to this, the material, and activities are based on the
development of grammar skills and vocabulary. Leaving aside the
development of intrinsic motivation and suitable activities, that encourage and

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cover each one of the student's needs. Which is one of the main focuses of
the National Curriculum regarding the content, that it has to be authentic
material and has to have a relevance in the student's lives. To exemplify this,
the National Curriculum states that “La comunicación cobra mayor sentido y
significado cuando el mensaje es relevante, interesante y motivador. A través
del idioma, las y los estudiantes pueden establecer conexiones con otras asi
gnaturas y profundizar distintas materias. Within this, we want to highlight that
these problems have increased during the pandemic, both in Spanish and
English, which complicates the process of acquiring the foreign language.
The main consequences of this issue are how the educational gap increased
during the pandemic, because not all students benefited with the same quality
education.

Within the additional information that we were able to collect, we found

two extremely important factors. First, we could notice that the lack of
motivation and a poor perception of the environment affected their
performance in the subject. This goes hand in hand since students not having
the desire to excel in the subject, much less participate, leads them not to take
risks with those activities that reveal their level of the language. In fact, they
prefer to stay with the idea that they don't know or that they are not good.
Second, we were able to observe that teachers spend a lot of time using
rewards to motivate them to carry out the activities, then, after a while, they
use them to raise the students' grades on the tests.

We believe that the incident occurred due to a lack of intrinsic

motivation, but also because they do not feel that they are in a safe place to
express themselves or make mistakes. This can be added to the fact that the
classes held occupy a structure created by the foundation, which is the same
for all subjects, leaving no space for the implementation or realization of more
challenging activities for the students.

1.3 Justification

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 High proficiency levels in English are lacking in Chile. According to the
result of SIMCE (2017), 38% of 11th grade students reached basic or
intermediate levels, leaving 62% at beginner or even lower levels. Along with
this, it could be observed that students that belong to a higher economic level
obtain better results. This is proof of the importance of guaranteeing quality
education in the acquisition of English for all schools in the territory.

In order to achieve this, two important aspects must be taken into account;
address the educational needs of students and understand the concept of
motivation. Educational needs are understood as gaps in knowledge or skills, while
according to Minalia (2022), motivation affects students' performance when acquiring
English as a foreign language (EFL).

The concept of education has evolved to focus on diversity, recognizing the

needs of students day after day. This is why it is crucial to address the needs of
students with special educational needs, in order to be able to offer quality
education.(Cline, T., & Frederickson, N). Finally, to achieve this, an adaptation to the
national curriculum and the creation of integrated learning environments is needed.

According to Brown (2015), motivation can be divided into two, extrinsic

(motivated by rewards) or intrinsic (motivated by personal development and
enjoyment). Intrinsic motivation is what is crucial in the classroom, since it is what
drives the student to seek constant improvement and the development of social and
cognitive skills.
Universal Design Planning for Learning (UDL) appears as a pedagogical tool
that mixes inclusion with motivation. According to Courey et al. (2013), UDL is a
complete framework that serves to design increasingly diverse classes and that
supports co-teaching. The implementation of this framework will not only be a great
benefit for the SEN, but for the entire educational community.

1.4 Research Question and Objectives

Based on the previously described aspects, this research aims to

answer the following question: What are the beliefs of teachers and

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students towards the connection between intrinsic motivation, UDL
planning and EFL classroom?

● What are the beliefs of teachers towards the use of UDL planning in an EFL
classroom?
● What is the posture of students towards learning English in an EFL
classroom?
● What are the possible improvements in learning English when implementing
the UDL planning?

On account of the research questions, the objective of the study is to explore

the impact on 5th graders’ motivation using UDL planning in a EFL class to enhance
the intrinsic motivation.

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

2.1 Takona, J. P. (2023). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed methods approaches. Quality & Quantity, 1-3.

These authors in their book address the different types of research design
which are crucial for our research. Takona (2023) introduces the definition of what
qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research approaches. The purpose of
the book is to highlight the main components of the research approaches, such as,
the research design, and research methods. The paper is important for our
educational research because it provides definitions of the key elements that we are
going to be implementing in our research. These features will guide the conduction
of the study, and especially the definition of the elements of mixed method approach,
since our research is going to be based on all the factors involved in it. It should be
noted that because our research is going to be based on mixed methods, due to the
characteristics of our context as Chile teaching EFL. Because we want to know how
the implementation practices will be effective or not in the context in which the study
will take place. In addition, at the same time, we want to take into account how
efficient UDL planning is for the students in general, including PIE students, and the
teachers who are part of our research.

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2.2 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in
education (eight edition). Abingdon, Oxon, 532-533.

According to this paper, it is important to take into account why this approach
suits better for our study and our context. This book established new topics to
address in their 8th edition, such as, mixed methods research, the role of theory in
educational research, beyond mixed methods in education, etc. According to Cohen
(2018), it is worth highlighting the different research paradigms that it has and the
way in which it describes them. Because these authors describe what a paradigm is
and the types of paradigm that exist. The definition of this is explained as the values,
beliefs of a specific group; this also includes in our case the beliefs of the context in
which we are inserted. Taking into account what was mentioned above, having a
mixed method approach is indispensable for us as researchers is the pragmatist
paradigm defined in this book. This concept is described as the use of both
numerical and narrative approaches, by the use of qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Indeed, it is suitable to suit the needs of the research in order to
achieve the goal of the study. To sum up, the “pragmatist paradigm” is relevant for
our research because it provides the opportunity to make a change in our context,
make students participate in their own learning, and this view allows us to achieve
this.

2.3 Creswell, JW., & Creswell JD. Research Design (Sixth edition)

In this book (Creswell, JW. & Creswell, JD) the 3 possible methods for
collecting information in an investigation are explained in depth. Within them, it
explains the "Explanatory Sequential Mixed Method", which is based on obtaining
quantitative data and then explaining it with qualitative data collection. To understand
in greater depth why this qualifies for our research, we must understand the steps
that we will apply. In the first stage.

First, we will carry out a test that measures the students' knowledge of the
subject, in order to be able to evaluate what level they are at. Second, once the test
has been applied and the results are ready, a questionnaire will be carried out to
collect the impressions that the students have about the subject. This will focus on

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questions related to their opinions, learning preferences and what they would like to
see during classes.

Finally, this author and the approach he explains regarding the collection of
information allows us to better understand the results that the students have, since
these can be affected by the perception and how they feel when participating or even
learning. Along with this, the information collected will help us in a future application
of activities or class development mostly focused on what the students mentioned.

2.4 Dorney, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research.

Construction, Administration, and Processing.

When conducting research, it is extremely important to use the necessary

tools when collecting the information we will use. It is for this reason that we believe
it is essential to highlight the use of questionnaires in our research. As the author
mentions, the use of these tools differs from what it is to conduct a test with what it is
to apply the questionnaire. On the one hand, it is understood that tests are oriented
to collect information related to the amount of knowledge that a student may have
about an area. On the other hand, questionnaires gather broader information that
may be related to opinions or preferences.

When we talk about the creation of the most appropriate questionnaire, the
authors mention that there are different types of questions. These are divided into 3
categories; factual, behavioral and attitudinal, which can be subdivided into other
categories. Therefore, we would apply the use of attitudinal questions. According to
the authors, attitudinal questions focus on attitudes, opinions, beliefs, interests, and
values about the specific topic. This is why the application of the aforementioned
type of questions will allow us to collect the opinions and ideas that the students may
have about the development of the subject and how they feel about it.

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 References

Agencia de calidad de educación, M. (2017) ‘Informe de Resultados Estudio

Nacional III Medio SIMCE’.

Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to

Language Pedagogy. P. Ed Australia.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (eight
edition). Abingdon, Oxon, 532-533.

Courey, S. J., Tappe, P., Siker, J., & LePage, P. (2012). Improved lesson planning
with universal design for learning (UDL). Teacher Education and Special Education:
The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional
Children, 36(1), 7–27.

Cline, T., & Frederickson, N. (2009). Special educational needs, inclusion, and
diversity. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Creswell, JW., & Creswell JD. Research Design (Sixth edition)

Dorney, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research. Construction,
Administration, and Processing.
Takona, J. P. (2023). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Quality & Quantity, 1-3.

Evaluation criteria

Content: 70%

Nearing proficient -
Criteria Proficient - 4 3 Sufficient -2 Novice - 1 Insufficient - 0
Students briefly Students introduce the
Students briefly and introduce the research research topic but this Students introduce the
clearly introduce the topic, providing some is slightly lengthy. research topic but this
research topic, background information, Students provide some is rather lengthy.
providing enough but some further details background information, Students provide some
background information are needed for the but some further details background information,
that helps the reader reader to get fully are needed for the but this is not focused
get familiar and familiar and understand reader to get fully or several unrelated
understand what the what the study is about. familiar and understand ideas are provided. The
study is about. This Yet this background is what the study is about. reader experiences
background is focused focused and directly Yet the background is difficulties trying to Students do not provide
and directly connected connected with the focused and connected understand what the a hook to introduce the
Hook with the research topic. research topic. with the research topic. study is about. research topic

9
 Students narrow the
study to one central
Students narrow the idea that is clearly
study to one central stated, including an
idea that is clearly and accurate action verb, Students narrow the Students struggle to
precisely stated, information about the study to one central narrow down the central
including an accurate phenomenon to be idea but with some idea of the study or the
action verb, information explored. However, difficulty. The action statement does not
about the phenomenon information about the verb and/or information accurately represent Students do not provide
to be explored, participants involved, or about the phenomenon their research a purpose statement
Purpose participants involved, research context is to be explored lack(s) intentions. They get off that explains what is to
statement and research context. missing. some precision. the main topic easily. be studied.

Students provide Students provide Students provide

relevant information that relevant information that relevant information that
helps to characterize helps to characterize helps to characterize
the local context. This the local context. This the local context. But
characterization characterization this characterization
includes information includes information lacks some information
about the school, class, about the school, class, about the school, class,
relevant English relevant English relevant English
teaching and/or learning teaching and/or learning teaching/learning Students provide
practices and the practices and the practices or participants general information
participants involved in participants involved in involved in them to fully about the local and
them. The description of them. However, the comprehend where the broader context in
the broader context (i.e. description of the study takes place. The which the study takes
sociohistorical and/or broader context needs description of the place. This information
pedagogical) has a some further details to broader context also can be unrelated at
clear and explicit fully comprehend its needs some further times or not enough
relation with the relation with the details to fully details are provided for Students do not
description of local description of local comprehend its relation the reader to fully characterize the context
context in which the context in which the with the description of characterize the context where the study takes
Context study takes place. study takes place. local context. of the study. place.

Students state the

research problem in
one single proposition,
Students state the but with some difficulty.
research problem in The reader needs to
one single and clear infer some information
proposition. They to be able to appreciate
provide evidence from the problem. Students
their observations to provide evidence from
explain the problem their observations to
observed, and the explain the problem
observations are observed, and the
Students state the confirmed with observations are
research problem in information obtained confirmed with Students struggle to
one single and clear from other participants information obtained state the research
proposition. They involved and/or relevant from other participants problem. The reader
provide evidence from documents. However, involved and/or relevant experiences difficulties
their observations to some of the evidence documents. However, trying to understand the
explain the problem provided is indirectly some of the evidence problem identified in the
observed, and the related to the research provided is indirectly classroom. The
observations are problem stated and the related to the research evidence and
confirmed with observation process is problem stated and the observation provided
information obtained sometimes observation process is are not clear or they do
from other participants disorganised and some usually disorganised not relate directly to the
Research involved and/or relevant relevant details are and many relevant research problem Students do not state
problem documents. missing. details are missing. stated. the research problem.

Justification Students thoughtfully Students justify the Students justify the Students struggle to Students do not state
justify the importance of importance of the study importance of the study justify the importance of the justification of the
the study based on based on evidence but with some difficulty. the study. The reader study.
evidence taken from taken from relevant and The reader needs to experiences difficulties
relevant and current current literature. infer the connection trying to understand
literature, such as Students explain the between the arguments how the arguments
official government contribution of the and the evidence respond to the
documents, previous study, elaborating on provided. Students characteristics of the
studies, and/or how the intended explain the contribution research problem.
theoretical insights. outcomes of the project of the study, but
Students clearly explain could be used to experience some
the contribution of the advance in the difficulty to elaborate on
study, elaborating on understanding and/or how the intended
how the intended development of their outcomes of the project
outcomes of the project local pedagogical could be used to
could be used to practices. However, advance in the
advance in the some of the arguments understanding and/or
understanding and/or or contributions stated development of their

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 local pedagogical
practices. There are
several ideas or
arguments that are
are indirectly related to indirectly related to the
the problem statement problem statement or
development of their or the characteristics of the characteristics of
local pedagogical local context where the local context where the
practices. study takes place. study takes place.

The research The research

question(s) is clear and The research question(s) is too
precise and in direct question(s) is in The research vague, too simplistic
congruence with the congruence with the question(s) is and needs refining. The
research problem research problem but it somehow related to the connection between the
stated. It can be needs some refining. It research problem but it research problem and
answered in the time can be answered in the is simplistic or vague, research question is not
allotted. Research time allotted. One of the and needs refining. Two clearly deduced. All
question (s) and elements from this elements of this section elements from this Students do not present
Research justification are section is not rigorously are not rigorously section are not a research question or
questions rigorously aligned. aligned. aligned. rigorously aligned. this is not researchable.

The methodology is The methodology is The methodology is not

suitable for the research suitable for the research entirely suitable for the The methodology is not
question. question. research question. suitable for the research
question. There is an The methodology is
There is a clear There is some clear There is a general incomplete definition of missing as many
definition of it and definition of it and some definition of it and few it and effective options are presented
Methodolog effective arguments for effective arguments for effective arguments for arguments for the use but none of them
y the use of it. the use of it. the use of it. of it are missing. defined properly.

Use of English: 20%

Note for graders: Half points should be given when a combination of elements across dimensions is present.

Criteria Outstanding: 3 Competent: 2 Basic: 1 Unsatisfactory: 0

Grammar and syntax Consistently correct use Mostly correct use of Some of the sentences Sentences are
of grammar. grammar. are grammatically ungrammatical.
correct.
There is a wide range of There is a range of
sentence structures. sentence structures. There is a limited range The syntactic
of sentence structures.. conventions of the
Consistently correct use Mostly accurate use of the target language are not
of the syntactic syntactic conventions of Some of the syntactic followed.
conventions of the target the target language. conventions of the target
language. language are followed.

Vocabulary & Consistently correct use Mostly accurate use of There is some accuracy in There is no accuracy in
Mechanics of collocations. collocations. the use of collocations. the use of collocations.

Uses a wide range of Uses a range of Uses some vocabulary Vocabulary is not
vocabulary that is always vocabulary that is mostly that is appropriate for the appropriate for the
appropriate for the appropriate for the register. register.
register. register.
Spelling, capitalization Spelling, capitalization
There are no mistakes in Spelling, capitalization and/or punctuation are and/or punctuation are
spelling, capitalization and/or punctuation are sometimes correct. always incorrect.
and/or punctuation. mostly correct.

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 Organization The writing is always The writing is mostly There are some problems The writing is organised
organized in a logical, organized in a logical, of organization that halt in a way that fully halts
clear, coherent and clear, coherent and comprehension. comprehension.
accurate manner that accurate way, but it
makes reading presents some difficulty to Ideas are very limited
effortless. the reader. Cohesion between and consistently
sections, paragraphs, repeated across
sentences and clauses is sentences, paragraphs
Cohesion between Cohesion between sometimes appropriate and/or sections.
sections, paragraphs, sections, paragraphs, and accurate.
sentences and clauses sentences and clauses is Cohesion between
is always appropriate mostly appropriate and sections, paragraphs,
and accurate. accurate. sentences and clauses
is never accurate.

Style Claims and assertions Claims and assertions are Claims and assertions are Claims and assertions
are always properly mostly supported and/or sometimes supported are not supported nor
supported and/or documented, but there are and/or documented, but documented. There are
documented. a few arbitrary assertions. there are various arbitrary only arbitrary
assertions. assertions.
The writing is always
concise (straightforward The writing is mostly The writing is often wordy The writing is always
but comprehensive), concise, but there is some and/or vague. wordy and/or vague.
avoiding vagueness. vagueness.

APA format: 10%

Criteria Outstanding: 3 Competent: 2 Basic: 1 Unsatisfactory: 0

Consistently follows Partially follows APA 7th Vaguely follows APA 7th Report doesn’t follow
APA 7th edition edition guidelines. edition guidelines. APA 7th edition
guidelines. guidelines.

Format The guidelines are The guidelines are applied The guidelines are
(APA 7th edition) applied consistently to predominantly in a followed in an inconsistent
aspects of document consistent manner to manner in aspects of
layout, such as front aspects of document document layout, such as
page, headings, page layout, such as front page, front page, headings,
numbers, indentation, headings, page numbers, page numbers,
alignment, spacing, indentation, alignment, indentation, alignment,
figures, and tables; in- spacing, figures, and spacing, figures, and
text citations, and tables; in-text citations, tables; in-text citations,
references sections. and/or references and/or references
sections. sections.

There may be A few of these mistakes Many of these mistakes

occasional mistakes in are consistently repeated are consistently repeated
some of these aspects, or recurrent. or recurrent.
but they are not
consistently repeated or
recurrent.

70 20 10 Total

5.7 6.4 7 6.0

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