Teach English in Xiyan Zhen - Linfen Shi

Motivation In The Classroom By: Olivia Emele For this summative task I chose to discuss motivation in the classroom, involving units throughout the lesson. Motivation fuels student learning, throughout their time in a classroom setting. Teachers can create motivation among students, by providing an engaging, encouraging, and positive classroom environment. Throughout this essay I will discuss the important factors of motivation within many aspects of the classroom. These aspects of the classroom include; the teachers role, lesson planning tools, and how motivation achieves productive student learning. A teacher’s personality when stepping into a classroom can drastically increase or decrease motivation in various ways. For example, when looking back on unit 10; “Video Lesson”, it is obvious how the personality of the teacher affects the students willingness to learn and involve themselves in class. One of the most obvious differences between the two videos from unit 10 was the personality of the teacher. In the first video the teacher had a very stern, negative attitude, whereas in the second video the teacher arrived with a smile and friendly introduction to the class. This positive personality from the second video carried throughout every aspect of the lesson, and therefore students were more comfortable with being involved and participating in classroom activities. Because the second video allowed motivation through the positive role of the teacher, the classroom was more willing to listen and participate in the TEFL classroom. Another way to motivate students through the teachers personality, is to take on the role of the prompter, as discussed in unit 1. When students become stuck within their learning and ideas, it is important for the teacher to gently encourage students along. The prompter is responsible for using the right amount of sensitivity and encouragement to motivate students to do their best, without giving up on lessons or themselves. Motivation can also be seen in the way teachers create lesson plans. By encouraging students to discover the english language they can then be confident and ready to fully conceptualize direction in the classroom. ESA (Engage, Study, and Activate) is one of the main methods for developing lesson plans that encourage students to learn a new language. The first part of every ESA lesson is engagement. Engagement goes hand in hand with motivation by creating interest in students by getting them immediately involved in every lesson. The Engage step allows lessons to take on a more fun and interesting theme, creating a productive language learning environment. Tools used in lesson planning are also fundamental to creating motivation in the classroom. These tools can be defined as games/discussions, interaction, and the use of authentic reading materials. For example, authentic reading materials provide students with real world scenarios in which they would speak English. For example, setting up a classroom as a restaurant and using a menu as an authentic reading material will motivate students to use their English outside of the classroom, and inspire them to learn useful English for the future. Other examples, include games such as role-playing and hangman, are great ways for students to start their day for an interactive and motivating classroom experience. Motivation in the classroom is important in more ways than one, for creating a productive language learning environment for students to participate in. Without a positive role of the teacher, students would shy away, and become discouraged from learning. Without tools such as authentic materials and learning games students would be without the important first step of ESA that motivates students throughout the rest of the lesson. Motivation can change the way a classroom operates, as long as the teacher is thoughtful and encouraging throughout each aspect of her lessons, teaching English as a foreign language is possible.