Teach English in Lucheng Zhen - Linyi Shi

A common struggle TEFL/ESL teachers face at some point in their careers is trying to encourage and motivate their students, especially younger students who may be forced to take English learning classes by their school or parents. However, there are a multitude of different tools and techniques teachers can implement to engage unmotivated students and spark in them a fire for learning. Sevtap Karaoglu notes that “motivation plays a significant role in the process of learning a language” and a student’s passions, or personal desires and goals, is at the core of it (Karaoglu). Additionally, unmotivated students may not want to engage, which can negatively affect the class experience for other students. Therefore, this topic is highly important to understand and address in order to ensure that students are receiving the most out of their courses. The first step to motivating students includes identifying the levels of motivation of each student, and determining what motivates them, in general and in regards to learning English. There are multiple tactics, which can easily be modified according to different levels of learning, teachers can implement to accomplish this first step, and they will also help establish a good rapport between the teacher and students. For example, the teacher can have students fill out a simple questionnaire asking about motives for taking the course, hopes for learning English, and general interests. Or if the teacher wants to actively engage with the students, he/she can lead a discussion or play an activity asking similar questions. For this dialogic approach, the teacher would need to pay careful attention to quieter students and encourage their participation. Once the teacher has identified the students’ reasons for taking the class and their different interests, it is important to incorporate this information into his/her lesson plans, activities, and teaching approach. For example, if a majority of the students are taking the class simply because their parents or school require it, then the teacher can facilitate a class activity where all of the students develop personal goals for the course. The goals do not have to apply strictly to improving English skills, but can be general as well, such as turning in homework assignments on time. This way the students create personalized reasons for taking and attending the class, as opposed to only participating for external reasons, which can greatly hinder motivation. Secondly, the teacher should always try to mix things up by integrating a wide variety of activities in lesson plans and by incorporating the students’ interests into most, if not all, of the activities. For example, if students demonstrate a high affinity for drawing, the teacher should include drawing activities in the lesson plan. This can be done in a number of ways such as having students draw maps of their homes or neighborhoods, or simply having students draw images to elicit vocabulary. The final and arguably the most essential aspect of motivating students is the teacher’s attitude during a lesson. The energy and mood the teacher brings to the classroom will undoubtedly affect the motivation levels of the students. If the teacher leads class activities in an impatient manner or constantly corrects students’ mistakes then the students will feel discouraged and unmotivated to actively participate. On the other hand, when the teacher actively engages with the classroom with a positive attitude then the students will feel more inspired to participate. As demonstrated, student motivation plays a very large role in TEFL/ESL courses. Unmotivated students can have a negative impact on a class overall, especially if they refuse to engage. However, rather than punishing those students who feel unmotivated, it is much more beneficial to identify from where this lack of motivation stems. The teacher can then prompt the students to set themselves goals in order to establish a sense of commitment and personalized motivation for the class. Additionally, the teacher should strive to implement a variety of activities throughout the course that integrate the students’ interests in order to keep them engaged with the course material. Lastly, it is important to realize and understand that student motivation levels can fluctuate greatly throughout the duration of a course due to a number of reasons. Therefore, it is highly critical for the teacher to maintain a positive attitude and always encourage students. Works Cited Karaoglu, Sevtap. “Motivating Language Learners to Succeed.” TESOL International Association, June 2008, www.tesol.org/read-and-publish/journals/other-serial-publications/compleat-links/compleat-links-volume-5-issue-2-(june-2008)/motivating-language-learners-to-succeed.