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The most fundamental piece to learning a language is the willingness to learn that language. As a language teacher, it is our job to maintain a classroom environment that motivates each student in their process of learning English. The different ways to motivate a group of students largely depends on who the students are and their experience in the language. Teacher younger students poses different challenges than teaching older students. Motivations for a businessman may be drastically different than motivations for a college student. Regardless of who the student is, one thing is universally clear: reluctancy, boredom, or lack of motivation will quickly turn a productive language learning experience into a waste of time, not benefiting the student nor the teacher. Younger students are not as initially motivated as an older student might be. Maybe they are taking part in the course as apart of a requirement from their school, or because their parents put them in the class. Therefore it is very important for teachers to inspire motivation in the student themselves. Young students, particularly children, respond very well to affirmation and rewards. Positive responses inspire self-confidence and higher self-esteem, and kids love games with rewards making them more motivated to learn while also having fun. It is important to keep the activities in the classroom varied and fun, in order to maintain control of students attention. Once you have their attention, and the students are motivated to learn, the language learning process should come naturally to them, as younger students brains are able to take in information quickly. On the flip side, older students come into the classroom with initial motivation. They, themselves, chose to come to the class, demonstrating a strong desire to learn English. For the teacher, the question becomes: what is the best way to maintain motivation? The best way to do this would be to understand who the students are, and what their personal interests may be. Once a teacher has gotten their students motivated and interested in the material, the older students will be much more willing to take in the material. This could be through incorporation of interesting authentic materials, like news articles or films; this could be through understanding where the students come from, and incorporating things from their cultures into the classroom. Adult learners may also be in the class as ESP students, students learning English for a special purpose. It is important for the teacher to understand their motivations and personal objectives, like a lawyer wanting to learn the language of law, or a businessman wanting to learning how to make a presentation in English. Adults may be able to hold their attention for longer than younger students, but they are less malleable than younger students meaning that the more inspiring the material, the easier it will be for an already difficult group of language learners to learn. There is no universal lesson plan for all English teachers. There is no specific trick to motivating students. The key for a teacher to understand how to motivate their students, is understanding who their students are and the reasons for why they are in a classroom. Once a teacher has understood who their students are, they will be able to effectively motivate their students.
