MODULE 2 - THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION.

1. What is motivation?

Motivation is an “internal drive, which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve

something.” Motivation influences:

● Why people decide to do something;

● How long they will want to keep doing it;
● How they will work to achieve it.

Motivation is very important in language learning. It is one of the key factors that helps make
language learning successful.

How can teachers help students develop this kind of internal drive to learn English? They
have to:

● Be motivated to teach;
● Be interested in students’ learning;
● Teach very dynamic classes;
● Use simple examples.

2. Key concepts

Why were/are you motivated to learn a second language? List your reasons.

There are several different factors that can influence motivation.

⚫ Many people want to learn a second language because it can help them achieve
practical goals, such as finding a better job, taking a college course or booking a
vacation.

⚫ People are also interested in target language culture so they can understand an area
that produced their favorite artists and composers. Or maybe because they want to
visit the country where the language they want to learn is spoken. In this case, they
might be interested in aspects of the country’s customs and lifestyles, and see the
target language as a key to understanding and becoming part of that culture.

1
 ⚫ Feeling good about learning a language. If we are successful at something, that
success makes us want to continue doing it and achieve greater things. Managing to
communicate in a foreign language can make someone communicate more and
better. In gaining confidence and autonomy, a student wants to learn even more.

⚫ Encouragement and support from others. It is important that family members

encourage students to learn new languages and give them emotional support.

⚫ Interest in the learning process. Sometimes, students want to learn simply because
they enjoy their language class. They like the teacher, how she/he teaches.
Classroom activities and topics are very important in creating student motivation.

⚫ Learners may differ in motivation. Some may have strong motivation of one kind
but little of another. Other learners’ motivation may be a mixture of kinds. There are
also learners, of course, who are unmotivated (ie, who have no motivation or are
demotivated, meaning they have lost their motivation). And motivation can change,
too. A learner may, for example, be quite uninterested in learning a particular
language, then meet a teacher who helps them love learning it. Motivation can change
with age, too, or with some other factors, becoming more or less important as learners
to through life.

3. Types of motivation

A good deal of research has been carried out on how and why learners are motivated to learn,
and what teachers can do to enhance such motivation.

The terms integrative motivation and instrumental motivation are associated with the
work the work of the Canadian researchers Lambert and Gardner (Gardner, 1991).

Integrative motivation refers to the desire of the learner to learn the language in order to
integrate into the community of speakers of that language. Instrumental motivation, in
contrast, refers to the need to learn the language for material or educational benefit: to get a
better job, for example, or to progress to advanced study.

There is also extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. These concepts represent a rather
different, though overlapping, contrast. Extrinsic motivation is based on the perceived
benefits of success in learning and penalties of failure. So instrumental motivation, as

2
defined above, would be extrinsic, and so would the desire to pass exams or avoid getting
bad grades at school. Intrinsic motivation is that associated with the activity of language
learning itself: whether it is seen as interesting or boring, personally fulfilling or frustrating.

Another motivation-associated concept is that of self and personal identity: how we see
ourselves or wish to see ourselves in the future? A student who sees him- or herself as high–
achieving, for example, will invest more effort in learning. A student who wishes to see him-
or herself as a member of an international community will want to learn English in order to
fulfill his or her own personal aspirations.

TASK

Can you define what factors influenced your own motivation, positively or negatively,
when you were learning a new language? Can you relate these to the concepts?

4. Teachers can influence learners’ motivation in three different ways:

1. By taking every opportunity to show them how important it is for them to know
English. In today’s world, English provides many opportunities for further study and
possibility of employment, for leisure-time activities and entertainment.
2. By fostering their self-image as successful language learners. We can do our best
to make them succeed in tasks and give them tests only when we are sure they will
be able to perform well. Particularly with younger learners, we need to be careful to
provide corrective feedback tactfully and supportively, taking every opportunity to
praise and encourage the students.
3. By ensuring that classroom activities are interesting. It is not enough that tasks
are “communicative” or that texts are interesting, We need to employ a number of
strategies in task design and administration that can help to create and, more
importantly, maintain student interest in doing them.

5. Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

3
Two researchers in motivation, Z. Dornyei and K. Csizér, have suggested there are ten key
areas in which the teacher can influence learners’ motivation, and have provided a list of
strategies for motivating learners in these areas.

Read the strategies and check the ones that are most important for you.

1. Show a good example by being committed and motivated.

The teacher 2. Try to behave naturally.

3. Be as sensitive and accepting as you can.

The classroom 4. Create a pleasant, calm, secure and ordered atmosphere in the
atmosphere classroom.

5. Bring in humor and laughter.

The task 6. Give clear instructions.

7. Point out the purpose and usefulness of every task.

Rapport 8. Treat each learner as an individual.

9. Give positive feedback and praise.

10. Make sure your students experience success.

Self-confidence
11. Accept mistakes – they are a natural part of learning.

12. Select interesting tasks and topics.

Interest 13. Offer a variety of materials and activities.

14. Make tasks challenging to involve your students.

15. Use learners’ interests rather than tests or grades, to encourage.

16. Encourage creative and imaginative ideas.

Autonomy 17. Encourage questions and other contributions from students.

18. Share as much responsibility for organizing the learning process with
students as possible.

Personal relevance 19. Try and personalize tasks to make them relevant.

Goal/Target 20. Set up several specific learning goals for learners.

(aim for learners or 21. Encourage learners to set goals and work towards them.
teachers)

4
 22. Do a needs analysis of the learners’ goals and needs.

Culture 23. Make learners familiar with the cultural background of the language
they are learning.

24. Find key pals for your learners.

Some of these strategies will work better in some learning contexts than others. For example,
with young learners, it can be very helpful to give praise and positive feedback as well as
bring examples of the culture into classroom. Some classes may love games and competition
while others may react badly to them. The teacher can choose from the list the strategies for
motivating students that are likely to work best for their learners in their learning context.

6. Strategies for motivating students

Here are some research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.

● Become a role model for student interest. Deliver your presentations with energy
and enthusiasm. As you display your motivation, your passion motivates your
students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.
● Get to know your students. You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the
students’ concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire
their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students’ learning and a
faith in their abilities.
● Use examples freely. Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique
is useful before they want to study it further. Inform students how your course
prepares students for future opportunities.
● Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. These activities directly engage
students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.
● Teach by discovery. Students often find it satisfying to reason through a problem
to discover underlying principles on their own.
● Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide
positive social pressure.
● Set realistic performance goals and help students achieve them by encouraging
them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately
challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.

5
● Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading. Tests should be a way of
showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the
curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.
● Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. Negative comments should
pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental feedback
on students’ work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to stimulate
advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.

● Give students as much control over their own education as possible. Let students
choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways
(eg, tests, papers, projects, presentations) to give students more control over how
they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these
assignments are weighted.

7. Tips to help teachers

⚫ Teachers who are enthusiastic can help motivate students.

⚫ Tell students that they are going to succeed.

⚫ Students have to take responsibility for their own learning (autonomy).

⚫ Select learning materials that are attractive and interesting.

⚫ Praise students for their work.

⚫ Tell students to use the target language at every opportunity.

⚫ Keep your expectations high. Tell students that they are able to speak very well.

⚫ Make sure your teaching method is enjoyable and stimulating.

⚫ Tell students to find a group of classmates that takes language learning seriously.

⚫ Build up confidence level by reminding them about their successes.

6
“Motivation is the backbone of any classroom. When students are motivated, the teacher can
perform his/her job the best. A teacher can do a lot to improve the students’ motivation, and
the effort involved is an essential part of the teaching profession”

REFERENCES
● Harmer, J. 2007. How to Teach English, Edinburgh: Longman.
● Harmer, J. 2012. The Practice of English language Teaching: Person.
● Spratt, M, Pulverness, A & Williams M. 2012. The TKT Course modules 1,2 and 3:
Cambridge University Press.
● Thornbury, S. & Watkins P. 2013. The CELTA Course: Cambridge University Press.
● Brown, H.D. 2001. Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy: Person.
● Ur, P. 2012. A Course in English Language Teaching: Cambridge University Press.
● Celce, M. & Murcia E. 2001. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language:
Heinle, Cengage Learning.
● Harmer, J. 2012. Essential Teacher Knowledge. Core Concepts in English Language
Teaching: Person.
● Holden, S.& Roger M. 1997. English Language Teaching: DELTI
● Thornbury, S. 1999. How to Teach Grammar: Longman.
● Oxford, Rebecca L. 1990. Language learning Strategies. What every teacher should
know: Heinle&Heinle.
● Chamot Anna U& O’Malley, Michael, J. 1994 The CALLA handbook. Implementing
the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach: Longman.
● Tudor, Y. 2001. The Dynamics of the Language Classroom. Cambridge University
Press.
● Holen, S & Nobre V. Teaching English Today. Contexts and Objectives. HUB editorial.

7
8