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Teach English in Magezhuang Zhen - Qingdao Shi

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While many students within a classroom setting have a zest for learning and a desire to explore new topics and ideas, not all students share this feeling about the same topics. As a result while some students are fascinated with certain topics and thus are highly engaged both within the classroom and outside the classroom, other students may be disinterested in the same topics and thus put forth lackluster effort within the class. The issue that arises when students put forth minimal effort towards a topic is that they are not only hampering their own learning but can sometimes negatively impact the learning their peers. This can be noted in an EFL class where some students are disinterested in language learning and thereby bring the entire class down through poor group work and poor participation. Situations such as these boil down to an issue of motivation and the role it plays in language acquisition. According to Linda Lumsden in order to better understand the role motivation plays in language acquisition, it must be first understood “how students’ attitudes and beliefs about learning develop and what facilitates learning for its own sake” (Lumsden 1). What Lumsden is referring to is how attitudes and beliefs towards learning directly affect the motivation levels of students within the classroom. Many of these beliefs and attitudes are established within a students’ home, largely driven by their upbringing and family life, as “children’s home environment shapes the initial constellation of attitudes they develop toward learning” (Lumsden 1). A study by Alexander et al. sought to better understand if the drag of poverty, family stress, and community decay had adverse effects on student’s achievement within schools. The study focused on summer break and the effects it had on students’ achievement levels based on socioeconomic status (SES). What Alexander et al. found was that many low SES students re-enter school in the fall having gained little during their summer break, as opposed to higher SES students which tend to improve in reading and quantitative skills over summer break. The results from this study by Alexander et al. indicates that students of higher SES have more child-parent interaction than students of lower SES which directly affects their learning achievement during the summer months. As a result, students of higher SES seem to have a more positive attitude towards learning and thus higher motivation levels and higher academic achievement levels. Attitudes towards learning as a factor of motivation came up in another study by Merce Bernaus and Robert C. Gardner. This study investigated teaching strategies and the effect of these strategies on motivation and English achievement in EFL classes. This study concluded that there were three variables that contributed positively to motivation, “integrativeness, attitudes towards the learning situation, and instrumental orientation” (Bernaus and Gardner 398). Further, results from the same study “supported the hypothesis that motivation and attitudes toward the Learning Situation had a direct influence on English Achievement” (Bernaus and Gardner 399). Given the results of these studies, it is clear that motivation towards learning a topic can come from a variety of places, both intrinsic and extrinsic. In addition, the study by Bernaus and Gardner indicated that motivation has a very important role in language acquisition, as they claim it has “direct influence on English Achievement” (Bernaus and Gardner 399). In an early study, Gardner and Lambert (1959) reported that motivation can be broken up into two different categories. The researchers claimed that motivation can be integrative or instrumental (Esser 6). Integrative motivation was defined by an aim in language study to learn more about a language group and meet more people (Esser 6). Conversely, instrumental motivation has reasons of study which “‘reflect the more utilitarian value of linguistic achievement’” (Esser 6). This study found that those students who were more integratively motivated were more successful than their instrumentally motivated peers when it came to language acquisition. Esser makes the observation that the commitment of instrumentally students can be lost if the “utilitarian aspect of learning a second language disappears” (Esser 6). Conversely, it seems that the integratively motivated students are more committed to their learning given that their learning is “less influenced by outside expedient forces” (Esser 6). Based on theses findings as well as the observations by Esser and Lumsden, it seems clear that motivation plays a major role in the effectiveness of language acquisition, but that the factors that affect motivation, such as home life, attitudes towards learning, and integrativeness can be varied between students. While not all of these factors are controllable, this research indicates that teachers can play an important role in ensuring the motivation of students within a classroom. Lumsden claims that motivation for learning can be fostered within a school setting, noting that the classroom climate and learning environment are important in helping foster motivation for learning (Lumsden 1). This seems logical as Bernaus and Gardner note the importance of attitude towards learning as part of motivation, therein a classroom with a positive attitude towards learning is likely to foster stronger student motivational levels. Further, in accordance with Gardner and Lambert’s claim regarding instrumental motivation, Lumsden discusses the importance of contextualizing learning which helps to bring language studies into real world settings, further encouraging learning and strong motivation among students (Lumsden 1). Thus is seems that it seems that motivation has a profound effect on language acquisition and can be intrinsic and extrinsic, the latter of which can be encouraged by teachers in the classroom. Esser, Cam. “How Does Motivation to Learn a Second Language Differ from Other Performance Skill Motivation?” n.d. http://www.gmu.edu/org/lingclub/WP/texts/3_Esser.pdf Bernaus, Merce, and Robert C. Gardner. "Teacher motivation strategies, student perceptions, student motivation, and English achievement." The Modern Language Journal 92.3 (2008): 387-401. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00753.x Lumsden, Linda S. "Student motivation to learn." (1994). https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/3313/digest092.pdf;jsess Alexander, K., Entwisle, D., & Olson, L. (2001). Schools, Achievement, and Inequality: A Seasonal Perspective. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2), 171-191. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594128


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