MOTIVATION

Self-study 2 Methodologists, e.g. Jeremy Harmer, distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. What do you understand under these two types of motivation? Can you continue the lists?

Extrinsic Motivation(caused by outside factors)

• need to pass an exam;
• hope of financial reward;
• possibility of future travel;

Intrinsic Motivation (comes from the individual)

• enjoyment of the learning process;
• desire to make oneself better;

Read the descriptions of some motivating factors. (Taken from Jeremy Harmer. The Practice of English Language Teaching, pp.52, 53, 54. Longman.) What type of motivation do they refer to: internal or external?

The society we live in: outside any classroom there are attitudes to language learning and the English language in particular. Learners bring with them attitudes from the society they live in, developed over years, whether these attitudes are thoroughly positive or somewhat negative.

Significant others: apart from the culture of the world around students, their attitude to language learning will be greatly affected by the influence of people who are close to them. The attitude of parents and older siblings will be crucial. The attitude of a student’s peers is also crucial. If they are critical of the subject or activity, the student’s own motivation may suffer. If they are enthusiastic learners, however, they may take the student along with them.

The teacher: A major factor in the continuance of a student’s motivation is the teacher. His/her attitude to the language and the task of learning is vital. Obvious enthusiasm for English and English learning seem to be prerequisites for positive classroom atmosphere.

The method: it is vital that both teacher and students have some confidence in the way teaching and learning take place. When either loses this confidence, motivation can be disastrously affected, but when both are comfortable with the method being used, success is much more likely.

Interesting classes: if students are to continue to be intrinsically motivated they clearly need to be interested both in the subject they are studying and in the activities and topics they are presented with. We need to provide them with a variety of subjects and exercises to keep them engaged. The choice of material to take into class will be crucial too, but even more important than this will be the ways in which it is used in the lesson.

Goals and goal setting: motivation is closely bound up with a person’s desire to achieve a goal.

Teachers need to recognize that long-term goals are vitally important but that they can often seem too far away. When English seems to be more difficult than the student had anticipated, the long-term goals can begin to behave like mirages in the desert, appearing and disappearing at random. Short-term goals, on the other hand, are by their nature much closer to the student’s day-to-day reality. It is much easier to focus on the end of the week than the end of the year. If the teacher can help students in the achievement of short-term goals, this will have a significant effect on their motivation. After all, ‘nothing succeeds like success’!

Learning environment: although we may not be able to choose our actual classrooms, we can still do a lot about their physical appearance and the emotional atmosphere of our lessons. Both of these can have a powerful effect on the initial and continuing motivation of students. When students walk into an attractive classroom at the beginning of a course, it may also help to get their motivation for the process going.

If the classroom is not “ours”, we can change the atmosphere through such things as the use of music; even the immovability of furniture can be ameliorated by having students get up and walk around the room when this is appropriate. All of these are less important than the emotional atmosphere that teachers are able to create and sustain. There is a need for a supportive, cooperative environment to suit various learner types. Above all, the teacher’s rapport with the students is critical to creating the right conditions for motivated learning.

Self-study 2 LONG TERM MOTIVATIONAL MEASURES

1. MAKE THE AIMS AND GOALS OF THE COURSE CLEAR well in advance and draw the attention of the students to the achievement of these.
2. SHOW INTEREST IN THE STUDENTS AND ENCOURAGE/BE OPEN TO THEIR INTERESTS.
3. INTEGRATE THE CULTURAL DIMENSION OF THE LANGUAGE
4. INVOLVE STUDENTS IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT YOUR APPROACH AND RESPOND FLEXIBLY TO THEIR EXPECTATIONS.
5. IDENTIFY YOUR LEARNERS NEEDS AND TAKE THESE INTO ACCOUNT.
6. DEVOTE TIME AND ATTENTION TO GROUP DYNAMICS (Choose activities not only for reasons of language learning, but also because they may foster positive communal feeling)
7. REGULARLY DEMOSTRATE PROGRESS THROUGH REPEATING ACTIVITIES/EXERCISES/TESTS OR SHOWING THEM WHAT THEY DID SOME TIME BEFORE.
8. PURSUADE/CONVINCE THEM THAT HAVING TRUST IN INITIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES WILL LEAD TO ‘SUCCESS’