Monologues and dialogues in the language classroom: a study of students' experience in trying to learn English as a compulsory component at a Mexican university

This thesis investigates students’ perceptions towards English classes in a Mexican public university. I argue that the lack of engagement of a small group of students taking part in English classes which are a compulsory component in their tertiary program is not a product of a lack of interest or ability as would normally be argued. This thesis establishes an alternative possibility.

Through an interpretive approach to research using several ethnographic techniques and discourse analysis to make sense of the data, the thesis suggests that in order to sustain an engaged position as language learners, students and teachers should construct dialogical spaces that could lead to a better understanding of each other and as a result a more conscious position as engaged learners of a foreign language. The data demonstrate that contradictory discourses within the institution’s policies and those from different departments contribute to a disengaged attitude towards learning English where learning a second language competes with other subjects that are considered central for future professional practice within their disciplines of interest. Data also reveal that aside from the marginalized position that English appears to have, there are issues of students’ marginalization at classroom level which could be the result of monologic positions the teachers and students that participated in this study appear to construct. To better sustain an engaged attitude towards the subject, I suggest that safe spaces could become arenas to raise the awareness of what being a language learner takes. I also suggest that many of the practices within a language classroom stem from monologic discourses and might be considered the source of many of the issues raised in this study. This research challenges some views currently held about motivation as these do not fit with understandings emerging from this study.