Teach English in Chenqu Zhen - Jincheng Shi

Motivation is the reason for a student’s actions, willingness to learn and goals. This can be driven by friends, parents as well as teachers and personal convictions. They can encourage students to succeed but it is important to note that they can also be the causes of a lack of motivation in students. This essay will focus on general and specific problems that affect motivation in the classroom and how to motivate students. The home environment and parental attitude have a big impact on the motivation of the student. It has been suggested that when parents show an interest in a child’s student life such as visiting the school, going to PTA meetings and generally discussing school with the child then the child is already motivated to focus in class. However, if the child feels that the parents do not attach much value to education, then they might not have the ambition to succeed. They might show a lack of interest in the classroom and not perform as well as they could. Furthermore, the peer group of the student is very important at a certain age. If the dynamic of the group rejects school values and high achievements, then the student is encouraged to fit in the group instead of focusing on grades and performance. Sociologists have used the term anti school subculture to describe these peer groups. There is also a problem of bullying among peers, whereby they put pressure on each other or bully each other to go against the school rules. On the other hand, some peer groups encourage hard work and participation in the classroom, which in turn motivates them to do well. The socio-economic background of children also impacts their motivation and performance. An example would be material deprivation whereby the child cannot afford certain school supplies or materials or is wearing an old uniform. This can lead to low self esteem in the classroom and affect their motivation. Linked to this is the fact that some schools in some societies are organised on the basis of streaming and studies have shown that lower working-class students are over represented in the lower streams. Students can feel that they are already being labelled as failures and so do not put in much effort to succeed. Another school factor is the attitude of teachers. The interaction between student and teacher is a key element in influencing attitude and motivation of the student. Teachers may label some students as ‘lazy’ or ‘difficult’ and have low expectations of certain students. This in turn discourages the students to aim high in their studies. Regarding language teaching, students whose home language is not English for example, might feel intimidated in the classroom if they are surrounded by native English speakers. They may face cultural racism even if unintentional. They might not feel confident enough to ask questions or impose themselves in class. There are also many other factors that contribute to high or low motivation in the classroom as children come from different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and attend different types of schools but there are certain motivators that a teacher can use in order to counter the negative influences. Allowing creativity and variety like assigning a piece of writing. Allow students to pick their own genre, such as reports, poems, creative writing stories, plays, or songs when assigning a topic. When students can pick their favourite form of writing, they'll stay intrinsically motivated. Another factor could be holding class or even just a short discussion in a new environment, whether a park, museum, or the school library, is a great way to stoke student interest. When you return to your classroom, they may see a new approach to a problem or assignment. It can also help if the teacher creates a competition or makes them participate in a competition. As long as there is appreciation for everyone's best effort and not all attention is placed solely on the winner, a competition can be a great way to create excitement. Finally knowing that you'll have students of differing abilities in your classroom, craft your lessons for everyone and especially taking into consideration the different ability levels. Teacher attitude is very important in crafting student motivation. If the teacher shows the same interest in the weaker students and the stronger student, it is more likely that they will all be motivated to work better or at least try more challenging topics and not give up easily. It will also make them more willing to come to class every day as they know that the teacher is not looking down on their abilities but instead is willing to help.