Motivation in the Classroom

Motivation in the classroom

I believe that one of the most important things in learning/teaching a second language is motivation. Both sides have to be equally motivated to truly succeed. There are many teaching techniques that can be used to help motivate both students and teachers. Students are usually the ones that need the most motivation and it is my hope to explain some techniques and acknowledgement that is needed to be the motivator. Some students are naturally enthusiastic about learning, but for many, enthusiasm is all in the power of the teacher, what is being taught and how it is being taught. ‘Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher’s ability to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place.’(Ericksen, 1978.) Interest in the subject mater, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and patience, persistence is a major factor of motivation. 

To encourage students to become motivated independent learners, it may help the teacher to try the following suggestions. One main suggestion is to give frequent and early feedback of the student’s progress and understanding. It is very important that the students feel like they are a major role in their success. Always ensure opportunities for student’s success by giving tasks that aren’t too hard or too easy. Try and help each and every student find the personal meaning and importance in the material. Some general strategies in motivating students in the classroom are to capitalize on the students existing needs. Students usually learn best in the classroom when they feel that their own motivates for learning English is being satisfied. Some of the needs that the students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn English in order to complete an activity or task. They may have the desire to learn or seek new experiences. To capitalize on the students existing needs, try and design assignments, in-class activities and discussions to help satisfy those needs. Making students active participants in learning is also a major factor in motivation in the classroom. Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving. Being passive can dampen the student’s motivation and curiosity. Asking a lot of questions to the students will help them become more involved. Don’t answer questions that you asked the students, allow them to answer, if they need help they will ask. Working in pairs can help out a lot because it allows each and every student to help one another. It also can help the students feel more at ease because they can see that they are not the only ones that may be struggling with the given assignment. (Lucas, 1990)

One major role in motivation in the classroom is in the instructional behaviors of the teacher. Some key issues that need to be recognized are the following. The teacher should hold a high but realistic expectation for the students. To develop the drive to achieve students need to believe that the achievement is possible. This means that the teacher must provide opportunities for success. (Lowman, 1984) Teachers should also help student set achievable goals for themselves. By allowing the students to set their own goals in learning English, the teacher is allowing the student to evaluate their own progress. Telling students what they need to do to succeed in the course is important because it does not allow the expectations to be misunderstood. Avoiding intense competition between students is something that needs to be avoided by all costs. If a student feels that they are being undermined or ‘left’ behind, it can cause the student to ‘give up.’ And finally, the teacher needs to be enthusiastic about teaching English. The students can pick up from the teacher whether or not they (the teacher) want to be there. If they sense that the teacher doesn’t care about the subject, they won’t care to learn it. 

Another factor of motivation that needs to be considered is structuring the course to work with the student’s strengths and interests. If they are interested, they will learn. Making sure that you allow the class to increase in difficulty is also very important in motivation. Students don’t want to be learning the same thing over and over again. They will lose interest quickly if that is the case. And finally, to gain motivation in the classroom it is important to respond to the students work. Make sure you give feedback to the student as quickly as possible. Return tests as soon as possible and always give praise and rewards to the students as much as possible. Always make sure you announce good work done by other students in the classroom. This will help with the moral of the class. If negative feedback is needed make sure it is given with ease. It is important to let the students know when they have shown a weakness in learning English but it can be given with grace. (Cashin, 1979)

There are so many things that a teacher can do to motivate students in the classroom, almost too many to write about. The most important thing that the teacher needs to do to motivate the student is to always stay in control and keep it interesting. Students need a change of scenery once in awhile. It is up to the teacher to motivate the students and if the student is already motivated, it is up to the teacher to keep the motivation going. 

Motivation in the Classroom

Motivation is a vital key to learning and grasping any lesson. Students sitting in a classroom discussion or lesson can become very bored and disinterested, no matter the motivation for being there, if they do not understand how something relates to them, they will not care about that thing. This is why it is the teacher’s role to present the relevance of the material covered in the classroom and how it can not only be learned effectively and be fun, but also be relevant and useful to the students? lives in general. 

Motivation starts by capturing the student’s attention. However, this needs to be maintained throughout the duration of the course in order to effectively progress with the students. What is relevant for one will not be relevant to another. The levels of the students needs to be carefully determined as students at a higher level will become bored and de-motivated by a lesson that is too junior. Therefore it is of utmost importance for a teacher to hold the attention and the motivation of the entire class through creativity and planning and knowing which students need extra attention and which lessons need modification. Proper classroom explanation and instruction is needed by the teacher, so the students can understand what is expected of them for each lesson and activity that is expected of them. Building and maintaining a good rapport with the students as well as an element of suspense and expectation needs to be created to keep the students motivated. When the teacher shows self motivation, enthusiasm and energy in the classroom, this will rub off on the students.

Internal factors include the individual characteristics or dispositions that students bring to their learning, such as their interests, responsibility for learning, effort, values and perceived ability (Ainley, 2004). It is important for the teacher to get to know the students, their cultures and what is relevant and of interest to them, this will allow the teacher to also plan and design lessons that are creative.

One needs to have achievable, relevant and purposeful material that is well thought out and prepared. Teachers must be kind and listen fairly to the students, and be patient when they don’t understand. Being harshly corrected by a teacher can cause a student not to progress in their learning, as they will feel humiliated and intimidated to participate next time.

The teacher needs to engage students in setting learning goals. Make sure that goals are challenging, but achievable. Encourage students to take ownership for their learning, and to reflect on what they have learned and accomplished. But remain involved enough to guide the students to achieve their learning objectives.

Motivation comes in many forms, there needs to be a certain amount of competitiveness in the classroom in order for the students to feel that there is a reward for achieving goals above other students, but it needs to be administered in a healthy way. Evaluating students fairly allows the students to see for themselves how they have progressed, learnt and understood the lesson, this can be a great motivator. 

Make real-world connections and examples that will assist the students in identifying with what they are learning, in this way learners are motivated because they have achieved and succeeded even in the smallest way. 

Teachers need to reward with care though. Some students can be motivated only to avoid failure, as students find it difficult to progress in stressful environments, so the teacher needs to monitor that the achievements are realistic and that the students are in fact progressing. It is the teacher’s responsibility to create the right environment for the students to feel confident, comfortable, non-intimidated, interested and motivated.

Motivation is the backbone of a classroom. When the students are motivated, the teacher can perform their job the best. 

Motivation in the Classroom

Perhaps the most important aspect of successful teaching is the ability to motivate. Motivating students can be especially difficult if the students are not attending class willingly or if the subject matter is dry. Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors affect a given student’s motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. Yet regardless of the challenges, every teacher needs to find effective methods for inspiring pupils to learn. Though teaching techniques vary, I believe there are three critical practices that one will find in any class of motivated students. 

Helping students find value or personal meaning in the material being taught is the first step in getting the attention of students and motivating them to learn. In the popular ESA (Engage, Study, Activate) teaching approach, the teacher must first engage the students with a discussion, visual aide, or other prop to focus attention. An effective teacher will choose an engage topic that leads directly to the forthcoming lesson plan. This technique establishes immediate relevance to the student because the student can relate the content to be learned to his own life. Explain how the content and objectives of your course will help students achieve their educational, professional, or personal goals. (Sources: Brock, 1976; Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990) This is important because a student will be much more motivated to learn something that assists in the function of their daily lives than to learn dry material that they cannot see value in. 

The next strategy for creating a motivated class is to assign tasks that challenge, but do not overwhelm a student?s abilities. There is nothing that depresses attitude more than failure. If a student attempting tasks meets with failure too often it is a virtual certainty his motivation will decline. It is therefore vital that the teacher assign tasks that challenge the boundaries of student learning while giving ample opportunity to succeed. To develop the drive to achieve, students need to believe that achievement is possible -which means that you need to provide early opportunities for success. (Sources: American Psychological Association, 1992; Bligh, 1971; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991 -1 Lowman, 1984) Finding the right balance can be difficult, but building upon successes breeds confidence in a student and encourages him to learn more. 

Giving frequent, positive feedback is perhaps the most important aspect of creating motivation in the classroom. A student needs to know that his skills and knowledge are developing in order for him to want to continue. As the acknowledged expert, a teacher should not underestimate the effect his feedback will have on a student. The teacher must take care that the feedback given is constructive, not negative. Whenever you identify a student’s weakness, make it clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a person. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about aspects of the task in which the student succeeded. (Source: Cashin, 1979) If the feedback is consistently negative, it will only make a student want to give up. Instead, giving feedback that focuses on strengths while gently correcting mistakes encourages students and makes them feel good about the progress that is being made. The ability to motivate students successfully is a challenge every teacher must face. Unfortunately, motivation in a student is not something that can be forced; it can only be encouraged. First, teachers should make a point of demonstrating that the topic at hand has relevance and meaning to the student in their daily lives. Next, ensure the activities assigned are challenging enough to stretch the student’s abilities, but not overwhelm them. Students need to feel they can succeed in order for them to desire to continue. Consistent with a student achieving success, a teacher should also provide regular, positive feedback that focuses on strengths and gently redirects mistakes. Of course, creating a sense of motivation in students is not an easy thing for any teacher to do, but following these simple guidelines give teachers their best chance of success.