Methods and Strategies for Engaging Disengaged Students in the Digital Language Classroom: An explorative and dialectical study based on educational and socio–psychological theory and teacher’s lived experience

Sammanfattning: Disengagement is a phenomenon that exists to some degree in all levels of education. Socio-psychological in nature, it manifests in a wide array of behaviours, from inactivity to disruptive behaviour. This thesis is an explorative and dialectical study of the methods and strategies used to engage disengaged students, focusing on the digital language classroom. Using qualitative research methods, this thesis explores previous research on the term disengaged students and the methods and strategies suggested to engage students. The discussion interweaves, analyses, and compares empirical material collected via two semi-structured interviews and personal teaching experience. This thesis suggests that implementing preventive measures, such as relationship building, differentiated instruction, and efficient communication between teacher and student, is the most efficient way to tackle disengagement. This nurtures a mutual understanding between teacher and student, allowing the student to feel comfortable in the classroom and equipped with the necessary tools to create a sense of agency in their learning process. In addition to these challenges, the term disengaged students is loaded with negative connotations and does not accurately describe the complex socio-psychological phenomena that is disengagement.