In the modern era, we observe a significant increase in sedentary lifestyles, which negatively affects the physical activity of children, crucial for their holistic development. Despite this, traditional teaching methods are still often found in the school environment, where students spend most of their time sitting. All the while, research at home and abroad continuous to demonstrate the benefits of innovative pedagogical approaches, such as incorporating movement into the learning process. With this aim, we decided to delve into this area more precisely and examine how the learning environment can influence children's motivation to learn, considering the increasing stress in the school environment and the growing popularity of informal learning approaches. In the theoretical part of the master's thesis, we described the significance of movement and movement play for children. We introduced the approach of learning through creative movement, supported by numerous domestic and foreign studies. We described the introduction of a foreign language in the first educational period and presented various arguments for early foreign language learning. Additionally, we presented innovative approaches to teaching a foreign language and supported them with research results on the effectiveness of movement methods in language learning. Furthermore, we defined three types of motivation - learning, internal, and external - as well as the specific motivation in learning a foreign language. Finally, we presented formal and informal learning approaches. The empirical part of the master's thesis involved action research that took place over four weeks in May and June 2022. The research involved 40 students who attended the first grade of primary school and an English language elective in the school year 2021/22. One research group consisted of 19 children from a dance school, while the other group comprised 21 students from a first-grade class of primary school. The purpose of the research was to determine how learning through physical games affects children's motivation to learn a foreign language. We were also interested in whether differences in motivation occur between the two environments, the formal and the informal, the school and the dance school environments, and how students perceive learning in one environment compared to the other. We found that students from both primary and dance schools showed a greater interest in learning through movement-based games compared to traditional teaching methods. In analysing the influence of the environment on motivation, we found no significant differences in motivation between the two learning environments; however, students from the dance school expressed slightly higher motivation to learn English through movement-based games compared to students from the primary school. The majority of students from both the dance and primary schools expressed a desire for further learning of a foreign language with incorporated movement activities. The results of our study indicate a significant impact of the environment on the perception of learning among students in formal learning environments (primary school) and students in informal learning environments (dance school). During English classes with movement-based methods, the majority of primary school students perceived that they primarily engaged in learning a foreign language, while a larger number of students from the dance school experienced English classes as enjoyable and relaxing. We also found that the majority of students from the dance school are more interested in learning English in an informal learning environment, such as a dance school, compared to learning in a primary school setting. For the purpose of the study, we developed a program for teaching English using movement-based games, which will assist classroom teachers and foreign language teachers in teaching English. Through the analysis of the results, we confirmed that students desire more play and more physical activities during lessons, therefore we encourage teachers to use such teaching approaches more extensively.
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