TEFL Ontonagon Michigan

"Motivation is the key to all learning." (Lile). Motivation, the reason that causes a person to act in a specific way, can be broken into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest in the task and exists within the individual; whereas, extrinsic motivation involves the performance of an activity in order to attain a desire outcome, such as good grades or monetary rewards. Within a classroom, a student's motivation may vary between intrinsic or extrinsic. It is the teacher's responsibility to motivate students in the classroom. Students may be motivated to learn english for a number of reasons, including: future career prospects, traveling purposes, improving grades at school, studying and/or living in an english speaking country, communicating with other english speakers, and out of a natural interest in the language (International, p. 8). Regardless of the reason for learning the language, a good teacher is able to motivate his or her students to learn english. There are several ways a teacher can motivate students. The teacher can provide the students with achievable, relevant material to help them reach their educational goals. The teacher should give proper, clear instructions to assist the students in understanding the language. The teacher must be caring, patient, and fair to motivate the students' creativity and improve the students' confidence. The teacher should develop relationships with the students to determine their motivation or lack of motivation for learning the language. These class factors stimulate the students' interest in the language and their motivation to learn the language (Lile). The teacher should consider the age of the students to better understand their motivation levels. It is generally true that younger learners are unable to make the choice to learn or not learn english; therefore, younger learners are often less motivated than adult learners who have made the choice to learn the language (International, p. 6). The level of motivation tends to increase in correlation with the increase in the student's age. Another topic that the teacher should consider when trying to understand the students' motivation in the classroom is the reason why the student may not be motivated. For example, students may lose motivation when they are having family problems, experiencing peer pressure, feeling inadequate by the teacher, or demonstrating a lack of confidence. The teacher should act accordingly to diminish these factors, when possible, to increase the students' motivation level for learning. Furthermore, the teacher must consider the way materials are being presented to the students. As a former student, I recall boring, repetitive lessons that revolved around black and white worksheets and writing tasks. I also recall interesting, varied lessons that engaged my attention with creative introductions, presented relevant studying material for learning, and encouraged diverse activities to activate students' knowledge from the study phase. The latter lessons motivated me more than the former lessons. When the teacher uses creative, fun activities, games, and lessons to teach the students, the students are more likely to find an interest in the language. Moreover, motivation in the classroom can cause several effects on how students learn and how they feel towards the subject matter. For example, motivation can direct behavior towards particular goals, lead to increased effort and energy, increase persistence in activities, and lead to improved performance (Wikipedia). Students who understand the benefits of motivation in the classroom may be motivated by the anticipated results. "Motivation is the backbone of any classroom." (Lile) teachers have the ability to alter the classroom to increase the students' motivation. When the students are interested in the learning topic, the teacher is able to more easily teach the substance of the lesson, rather than attempting to keep the students on task or actively participating. Therefore, the students' motivation is an essential piece of a successful classroom dynamic. Sources International TEFL and TESOL training. "120 Hour Teaching certification." Unit 1. teachers and Learners. 2002. W. T. Lile. "Motivation in the esl Classroom." The Internet Tesl Journal VOl. VIII No. 1. Jan. 2002. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. . Wikipedia. "Motivation." 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. .