There’s nothing like authentic motivation to raise a language learner’s learning quotient. Well-motivated ESL students learn faster, retain lessons better, discover opportunities to apply lesson principles more frequently, and express themselves more fluently in English than students who lack adequate motivation.

Early learners are naturally curious and are often forced to explore and participate in their environment. However, as people age, this natural curiosity diminishes substantially so that many students in a conventional classroom setting find it difficult to focus on the lesson.

As countless studies have shown, motivation in very young children is almost always very high. This enables cognitive, associative, assimilative and imitative learning at an unprecedented rate. At this stage, language learning is among the areas in which children exhibit unusual affinity and speed of learning. However, as children get older, the intrinsic motivation to learn new skills is eroded by different external stimuli. Bullying, fear of being ostracized by peers when an attempt fails, and excessive parental restrictions are just some of the factors that can hinder the learning rates of young students. Eventually, the experience of learning, a process that previously generated pure excitement among young children, becomes something more associated with boredom in a four-cornered classroom. Given this scenario, intrinsic motivation to learn among many adults is understandably low and subconsciously de-prioritized in favor of externally induced motivation (learning something to help pay the bills being the most prominent).

That being said, motivation, regardless of its origin, is critical to overcoming the challenges associated with language learning. The more motivated ESL students are, the better they will absorb and apply the principles of the lesson. Therefore, it is important that ESL educators not only understand the nature and properties of motivation, but also adopt approaches that help motivate students to learn English.

Nature of motivation

In order to motivate language learners most effectively, ESL educators must first fully understand the concept of motivation. Different students participate in ESL lessons differently. On the one hand, the desire to participate in the classroom dynamics differs from one student to another, and each one has their own reasons or objectives for getting involved in the learning process.

Cognitive experts believe that students can be motivated in at least three fundamental ways:

1. Intrinsically Motivated: Students who are intrinsically motivated engage in a learning interaction for their own good. Intrinsically motivated students genuinely enjoy the learning interaction and feel some kind of accomplishment once the learning process is complete.

2. Extrinsically motivated: Students who are extrinsically motivated participate in a learning interaction primarily as a result of, or in pursuit of, an external factor. Commonly, this factor is a variant of the reward-punishment principle. This is clearly established in animal training, where rewards (such as food or tangible expressions of affection/affirmation) and punishments (whipping, electric shocks, and confinement) are used to entice an animal to perform an activity or task designed by it. your human trainer. In human students, rewards include high grades or acceptance into a state university, while punishments include fear of parental retaliation.

3. Motivated to Learn: Learners who are motivated to learn are driven to participate in a learning interaction by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Generally, students who are motivated to learn are more mature in terms of their awareness of the value of learning something and tend to continue learning regardless of whether or not a subject gives them personal pleasure. In research, being “motivated to learn” implies deep involvement and a strong commitment to learning a specific topic.

Methods to establish and increase motivation

As competent ESL educators know, being aware of the nature of motivation in the context of language learning is only half the journey. It would be great to teach in a classroom full of intrinsically motivated students, but that’s really rare and unlikely. A language teacher is much more likely to have a class where the roots and level of motivation vary between students. Almost always, there will also be students whose learning progress is hampered by a severe lack of motivation. Therefore, to help students complete the learning journey, ESL educators must take the right approaches to increase student motivation.

Before delving into specific approaches, it is imperative that ESL educators understand that their own motivation and energy inevitably affect that of their students. First of all, how motivated and committed is the ESL teacher to instruct the language learners? Does the ESL educator really understand what he is trying to teach? Situations in which ESL teachers are not properly motivated end up negatively translating into the learning progress of students. Simply put, if a language teacher lacks commitment or motivation, students will be less motivated to learn. Second, engagement without the right skills is inappropriate. ESL educators need to enter classrooms equipped with the right teaching skills, tools, and resources to be able to effectively share new knowledge. Finally, language teachers must be aware of the specific needs of their students in order to engage them in a more meaningful way. Taking advantage of students’ cultural, political, and economic backgrounds will help second language teachers design relevant lesson plans and achieve more positive learning outcomes.

Once ESL educators have fully appreciated and prepared their roles in the learning dynamic, they can proceed to apply the different approaches. The techniques are fairly straightforward and can be easily adopted and customized to the needs of specific classes by any ESL teacher who has been involved in the profession for some time. If you are an ESL educator, following these basic guidelines will help you better motivate your students.

1. Exude your own enthusiasm for the topic. There is nothing like learning from a teacher who is genuinely excited about the lesson and exhibits this enthusiasm in class. Energy is contagious and displaying positive energy will speed up the pace of learning in any class.

2. Make each individual lesson relevant to students. Depending on class size and other factors, you may want to consider the students who have the lowest level of motivation and align your lessons to be most relevant to these students. If this is not plausible, making the lesson meaningful to the largest number of students is the safest way to go.

3. Avoid giving assignments and homework that are irrelevant to students’ personal lives (ie, outside of the classroom). As much as possible, assign tasks that excite them or attract their interest.

4. Be proactive in building relationships with struggling students. Probe your weaknesses and identify the factors that impede your learning. Determine the things that inspire and excite. Based on the information you have collected, create learning bridges that overcome difficulties and help them appreciate the lessons.

5. Practice variety and rhythm in teaching approaches. The use of computers, rich media, and group dynamics must be interspersed with out-of-class engagements and traditional teaching methods.

6. Do not be sparing in the use of humor. Studies have shown that people learn more in relaxed and positive environments than in stressful environments.

7. Encourage students to talk more in class.

8. Create scenarios for collaborative learning.

9. Never skimp on giving praise and positive comments. Demonstrable recognition of students’ efforts and achievements will help reinforce their motivation to learn.

10. Regularly collect feedback from students and their opinions on how they think and how the learning process can be improved.

conclusion

For ESL educators, the most important contribution to motivating students is to show them that you yourself are really motivated in the lesson and really care about their learning progress. Once this has been established, you can proceed to apply the different guidelines that encourage language learners to become more involved and involved in classroom activities. Knowing the specific background, needs, and learning difficulties of students will help ESL teachers align lesson plans and methodologies to achieve the best learning outcomes.