Abstract

Although evidence has shown that psychosocial factors have a decisive influence in second language learning, it has not been highlighted the importance they have regarding educational practice, the design of learning programs or teacher training. The model known as Willingness to Communicate, developed by MacIntyre et al. (1998) from numerous empirical works, points at the factors that favor authentic use in the learning of a second language and the relationships among them. The goal of a language course can not be limited to developing communicative competence but has to be aimed at increasing the willingness to communicate actively. Following this theoretical model, one of its authors, Zoltán Dörnyei (2001), has devoted one of his books to the development of practical strategies of motivation in the language classroom. These approaches are specially useful for contexts of linguistic concurrence like ours, especially at a moment in which school multilingualism is promoted.

Abstract

Movies are one of the objects of study for Social Psychology because they are not only art or industry; they are a way of socialization. Therefore, movies show behaviour models, social values and norms, and make people react: movies are persuasive. A psycho-social analysis of films is necessary because movies can sometimes display prejudiced negative contents, which could be both explicit or very subtle, and therefore quite dangerous. The authors analyse ten well-known Dis-ney films from the gender perspective: How are men and women shown? What roles do they impersonate? Specifying contents and valuing subtle prejudiced stereotypes will help families to watch them from a different point of view.