Quick Question

I find it difficult to motivate my learners because I teach an exam preparation class, and the material is boring. What can I do?

It can be difficult to increase learner motivation in an exam preparation class. One solution is to try to personalise the material. A teacher can manipulate some exam content by making it more relevant to learners' personal life. When the teacher responds to learners as people, not just as testtakers, motivation levels will increase.

The Bigger Picture

Motivation is what makes us want to do and continue to do something. It influences why people decide to do something, how long they keep wanting to do it, and how they work to achieve it. So in a language learning context, motivation provides the driving force that is responsible for why learners decide to make an effort in a classroom activity, how long they are willing to keep working on an activity, how hard they are going to work on it, and how connected they feel to the activity. Therefore, motivation is very important in language learning, and without it not much learning will happen.

Motivation to learn a language can be influenced by different factors, such as the value of learning the language—learners might want to learn a language for very practical reasons such as improving their job prospects, getting accepted into a university course, achieving high scores in the class or simply communicating with speakers of other languages, and to understand the target language culture (the culture of the language we are learning)—learners might want to get really good at French, for example, so as to read books about French wine, or understand French films.

What's more, motivation in the language classroom can be the difference between your students learning and not learning, so it's very important for teachers to understand and appreciate the role and importance of motivation. We could even make the bold statement that if learners are highly motivated, they will learn even if the teaching isn't very effective; while unmotivated learners will struggle to learn even in a classroom with good teaching.

Teachers can use a variety of strategies to motivate learners:

● using different interaction patterns (e.g. pair work , group work )

● considering varying seating in the classroom

● using error correction sensitively

● using a variety of media (e.g. stories , visuals , videos )

● considering the balance of L1/L2 use in the classroom

● engaging in social conversation with learners (not related to lesson content)

● giving learners some involvement in deciding what is learned and how it is learned

● selecting materials and topics that are relevant to the learners' interests

● personalising tasks and activities

● using praise appropriately to build confidence

● encouraging learners to set learning goals themselves

● displaying motivation and passion yourself

Key Vocabulary

goal 目标

learner independence 自主学习能力

self-confidence 自信

target language culture 目标语言文化

Tricky Terms and Concepts

Target language culture —A learner might be motivated to learn some language since he is interested in the target language culture. For example, someone is motivated to learn Chinese so that he can study Kung Fu—an aspect of the Chinese culture, in China.

Learner autonomy/independence —Sometimes a learner has well developed learning strategies. Such learners are often able to study or learn without the help of a teacher. This kind of learner is described as having a high level of learner autonomy. It is sometimes called self-directed learning .

Personalisation —When you personalise language, you use it to talk about your knowledge, experience and feelings. An example of personalisation in the classroom is when the teacher or course book says, “ Now write five sentences about yourself .” or “ Now tell your partner about your last holiday .”

In Your Class

Many teachers think motivation is simply praising and giving rewards. The truth is that learners soon become indifferent to constant praise and reward systems like awarding stars or points. Teachers need to consider a wide spectrum of techniques to keep their learners motivated.

Try It Out

Before you teach your next class: Consider whether the materials you plan to use are relevant to your learners. Will these materials engage and motivate?

While you're teaching your next class: Watch your learners while they are doing a task. Do they need your encouragement or guidance to stay motivated? Are any learners losing motivation to complete the task? Why might this happen?

After your next class: Decide on a score of 1～10 how motivated your learners seemed as a group? What were the factors influencing this? What could you do to increase the score?

What You Might Be Tested On

TKT questions might ask you to:

» Match the teacher's actions with the strategies for motivating students.

» Match statements about motivating students with options for completing the statement.

» Match learner comments on motivation with classroom activities.

Find Out What You Know

Match the teacher's actions with the strategies for motivating students listed A～F. There is one extra option which you do not need to use.

Strategies for motivating students:

A. personalising learning

B. promoting learner autonomy

C. increasing learners' self-confidence

D. helping learners keep track of their learning

E. promote interest in the target language culture

F. creating interest

Teacher's actions:

1. The teacher selects topics and tasks that directly appeal to the students' age group.

2. The teacher provides positive feedback and encouragement to the students.

3. The teacher gets students to plan and arrange their own learning process.

4. The teacher maintains learner portfolios and allows them access to these.

5. The teacher asks learners to consider the opinions in a text according to their own experiences.

Key: 1. F 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. A

Inspiration

Find Out More