Authentic Interactions with Native Speakers in Primary School: Investigating Motivation and Language Skills Development

This thesis investigates the educational impact of authentic interactions with native speakers in the primary English classroom, focusing on the effects on pupils’ motivation and emerging communicative skills. Grounded in the main theoretical principles of Second Language Acquisition, particularly comprehensible input, scaffolding, affective factors and the role of interaction, the study conceptualises language learning as a socially situated, experiential process in which meaning is co-constructed through cooperation and contextualised input. The research originated from a classroom project carried out in two fourth-grade classes in a primary school in Grisignano di Zocco (Vicenza) during the 2024/2025 school year. Three native-speaker encounters were designed according to communicative and task-based principles, offering pupils their first real opportunity to interact with English speakers in authentic communicative situations. The study adopts a qualitative methodology combining participant observation, systematic note-taking and analysis of pupil’s oral and written production. Findings show that authentic interaction significantly enhances pupils’ intrinsic motivation, willingness to communicate and confidence, while fostering negotiation of meaning, strategic competence and emerging listening and speaking skills. Affective involvement and novelty played a decisive role in sustaining engagement, although moments of over-excitement and varying levels of cognitive load also highlighted the need for careful preparation and mediation. The thesis concludes by outlining methodological implications for primary English teaching, emphasizing the value of structured pre-task work, inclusive task design, scaffolded support and reflective follow-up to maximise the educational potential of authenticity in young learner’s language development.