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MOTIVATION in Language Learning

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14 views2 pages

MOTIVATION in Language Learning

dasfaasdfas

Uploaded by

stu725914041
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Defining motivation

What is motivation?
- “… some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve
something” (Harmer, P 51). Factors contributing to motivation includes the need for
exploration, activity, stimulation, new knowledge, and ego enhancement. E.g. a person goes
to a gym: motivation- new and attractive body image. A person wants to learn English:
motivation- ….. (elicit from the ideas from the students.)
- Motivation has been identified as the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning
a second language (Crookes and Schmidt 1991).

Kinds of motivation:
- Extrinsic motivation (instrumental motivation) is caused by outside factors, such as, the
need to earn money, the hope to pass exams, the wish to get to the top, to get a good job etc.
(ask sts to give their own examples)

An extrinsically motivated student performs in order to receive a reward, like graduating or


passing a test or getting a new shirt from mom, or to avoid a penalty like a failing grade
(Lumsden).

- Intrinsic motivation comes from inside. This is usually caused by the desire to make the
person feel good, or the enjoyment of doing that job.

An intrinsically motivated student studies because he/she wants to study. The material is
interesting, challenging and rewarding, and the student receives some kind of satisfaction
from learning.( William T. Lile)

- Comments: Research shows that intrinsic motivation makes the learning process last longer.
“While both integrative and instrumental motivation are essential elements of success, it is
integrative motivation which has been found to sustain long-term success when learning a
second language” (Taylor, Meynard and Rheault 1977; Ellis 1997; Crookes et al 1991). This
implies that it is the teacher’s job to initiate intrinsic motivation for his student, making the
student come to love the learning process.

Sources of motivation
Where does motivation come from?
- The society we live in: That’s the way the society looks at the learning of English. Is it
considered important or not. Is it a compulsory subject in the school curriculum or not.
these attitudes whether positive or negative will affect the student’s motivation in his
language classroom.

- Significant others: refer to the people who are close to the student, such as, parents,
brothers, or sisters. Their attitudes towards English mean how much they care about it.
Do they think English is important or do they think it is not as important as math and
are more concerned with math than English?

The student’s peers is also one of the sources because they incorporate the learning
environment. If the peers are not supportive, laughing at him or criticize him, the
student will lose his motivation. If they are enthusiastic learners, they may take the
student along with them, making him feel enthusiastic too.

- The teacher: is obviously a major factor contributing to building up and maintaining


the student’s motivation. Her attitude to English, her enthusiasm and love for English
is crucial. (To be discussed later)

- The method: is vital for both the teacher and the student. it is necessary that both feel
comfortable about the methods being used.
Group 3: Initiating and sustaining motivation
How to build up and maintain students’ motivation?
- Goals and goal setting: Long-and short-term goals. Long term goal is a goal that you
can achieve in a long time, including the proficiency of English, passing an exam,
finding a future job … Short-term goal may be achieved in a short time, such as,
learning to use a new language item, ability to write an essay
Short-term goal is more realistic because it is closer to the student’s ability and easier to
achieve. If the student can get this goal, he can build up his motivation because it can be
seen clearly.

- Learning environment: We should work at 2 kinds of environment: the physical and


the emotional

- Interesting classes: to keep them engaged

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