Motivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to and continue to want to do something and which turn our wishes into action. Motivation influences students’s decisions, and also the time and effort they put in learning a foreign language.
Motivation is very important in language learning. It is one of the key factors that helps make language learning successful. There are several different factors which can influence students’ motivation in learning English or other foreign languages.
- The first is the usefulness to them of knowing the language well. Many students want to learn English language because it can help them achieve practical things such as getting good marks from the teacher, getting onto a course of study, finding a better job when they finish school, or booking hotel rooms for holidays.
- The second factor is the students’ interest in the English/American culture. Many students learn English to read about their favourite celebrities, to play and interact in video games, or to read or study the latest discoveries in science and technology. They may also be interested in the English/American culture because they actually want to become part of that culture, perhaps because they are moving to the country. In this case they might be interested in aspects of the country’s customs and lifestyle, and see the English language as a key to understanding and becoming part of that culture.
- A very important aspect is feeling good about learning the language. If we are successful at something, that success makes us want to continue doing it and achieve greater things. Managing to communicate in English can make students want to communicate more and better. Confidence, learner autonomy/independence and a sense of achievement are all part of feeling good about learning a language.
- Encouragement and support are essential in the process of learning a foreign language. Students may live in a country or family or go to a school where learning foreign languages is highly valued and much encouraged. This helps them to realise the importance of foreign languages and gives them emotional support as they learn. Students who live in a country where people can’t see the point of learning a foreign language may have little motivation to learn a new language.
- Wishing to communicate fully with people who matter to them is another factor that can influence motivation. Students may have friends, cousins, family etc. who speak English language. They want to develop their relationships with them. This is the strongest motivation to learn a language.
- Sometimes students want to learn a foreign language simply because they enjoy their English language class, they like the teacher, how he/she teaches, the classroom activities, the coursebook or maybe the topics. All these are factors related to their interest in the learning process.
We can see that there are different kinds of motivation. Some come from inside the learner (intrinsic motivation) and some come from the learner’s environment (extrinsic motivation). Learners may differ in their motivations, 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 who are unmotivated, who have no motivation or are demotivated, they have lost their motivation. Motivation can change with age, too, with some factors becoming more or less important as learners get older.
Two researchers in motivation, Z. Dörnyei and K. Csizér, have suggested there are ten key areas in which the teacher can influence learner’s motivation, and have provided a list of strategies for motivating learners in these areas.
1. The teacher
The teacher must always show a good example by being commited and motivated himself/herself. He/She has to try to behave naturally while being sensitive and accepting.
2. The classroom atmosphere
The teacher also has the role to create a pleasant, calm, secure and ordered atmosphere in the classroom. To boost intrinsic motivation the teacher should bring in humour, laughter and smiles, do fun things in class, and have game-like competitions.
3. The task
Purpose provides students with a reason to engage and learn. Showing how knowledge applies in real life the teacher points out the purpose and usefulness of every task. It is recommended that teachers give clear directions, provide guidance about how to do the task, and state the utility of every task.
4. Raport
Treating each learner as an individual can increase the learners’ self-esteem. The teachers make sure the students feel confident about what they do and have the right resources to complete their tasks. Sometimes the key is to develop a good relationship with the learners.
5. Self-confidence
Despite a popular misconception, motivation is not all about praise. It is more about providing honest and instructive feedback. The teachers should focus on the learners’ strengths rather than on their weaknesses, accepting mistakes as they are a natural part of learning. Giving positive feedback encourages the students to continue the process of learning.
6. Interest
The teachers should use learners’ personal interests rather than tests or grades to encourage learning. Selecting interesting tasks and topics and offering a variety of material and activities bring innovation and motivation. Moving the class outside the classroom, making use of e-Learning techniques, taking the students for a stroll or to a museum are ways of making tasks challenging.
7. Autonomy
First of all, each teacher should teach the students how to learn. Sometimes, it’s not only the course that matters but the entire process of knowledge acquisition and retention. Once the learners are ready to take responsibility for organising the learning process, they enable the intrinsic motivation mechanisms. Students should be encouraged to ask questions, to check online and offline resources and come up with creative and imaginative ideas.
8. Personal relevance
Activities such as listening to and considering the student’s viewpoint, giving them control and choice regarding how they approach the task, and providing supportive feedback are all positive aspects of learning. The teacher may try and personalise the tasks to make them more relevant.
9. Goal/Target
Goal setting is a useful tool for motivating someone to achieve something valuable or important. After doing a needs analysis of the learners’ goals and needs, the teacher encourages the students to set goals and work towards them. He/she ensuresthe goals are clear, realistic, and achievable. The teacher breaks larger goals down into manageable chunks of work, setting up several specific learning goals.
10. Culture
To make students familiar with the cultural background of the target language teachers should use authentic materials in class and occasionally invite native speakers to some classes. Finding penfriends/e-friends for the learners it is also appropriate.
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 the classroom. Some classes may love games and competition while others may react badly to them. The teacher can choose from the list of the strategies for motivating students that are likely to work best for their learners in their learning context.
Bibliography
Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, The Teaching Knowledge Test Course, Second edition, Cambridge University Press, 2011
Jeremy Harmer, Essential Teacher Knowledge, Pearson Education Limited, 2012
positivepsychology.com/intrinsic-motivation-students/
teach.com/resources/how-to-spark-intrinsic-motivation-in-your-students/