Learn English

Generating Motivation to Learn English
Can Be Achieved Through Instruction Design and Teaching

by Kismet Oz, M.Ed. TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language), an English Horizons teacher

 Learner motivation has become more commonly recognized as perhaps the major determining factor for successful learning in general, whether one is an adult learner taking distance education courses, or a high school student pushing one's way through the battery of required courses needed to graduate. In any learning setting, the dynamics of motivation will be different. What will help a high school student sustain motivation may not apply to an adult learner, for example. Similarly, what factors affect and enhance learner motivation in the ESL or an EFL setting will differ as well. Furthermore, motivation for learners in a middle school or high school ESL class will differ from the experience of an adult ESL learner. The problem is that in many ESL/EFL learning environments, there is an attitude among educators and administrators that "it is up to the student" to be successful. When students fall behind, or are not progressing, they are considered to be lazy or lacking aptitude, but the deeper source of the problem is not considered. Instruction which the learner perceives to be incomprehensible or irrelevant to their learning goals will exacerbate affective issues which can hinder motivation. In spite of the realization by experts in the fields of second language acquisition and learning theory about the importance of motivation, instruction design in the formal classroom setting has been slow to catch up to current research indicating that student motivation can be generated through effective instruction design and teaching strategies.

It is important to understand the key concepts of motivation as they are understood in the realm of education. Motivation is an unconscious, psychological process that varies by individual over time. It is a social process which can be affected by past experiences and environment. (1) Intrinsic motivation refers to a source of motivation which emanates from within the learner. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation which is sourced by the expectation of a tangible reward. Ideally, the learner will have a healthy combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation working for themselves. The extrinsic element may help push the learner through tougher times by helping them keep their eye on the goal, such as a certificate, or a decent TOEFL score, for example. When concepts of motivation are applied to second language learning, further classification includes integrative motivation which is associated with the learners' orientation toward the target language and culture, and the presence of a desire to integrate into that culture. This would apply to an ESL learner integrating into an environment as well as any other language learner attempting to integrate into another culture. In contrast to integrative motivation, instrumental motivation (which closely correlates to extrinsic motivation) applies to the language learner who holds a specific, more isolated purpose for learning a second language, such as qualifying for a job, or achieving higher social status without any need or desire to integrate into a new culture. Integrative motivation is considered to have the most impact on long term language learning success, although the more utilitarian orientation of instrumental motivation, as with extrinsic motivation, can serve as an interim source of motivation for a learner who may be having difficulties in the learning environment.

We look now at some real life experiences of teachers who have shared their own thoughts about generating motivation through teaching strategies in the language classroom. Anthea Miller of City University, NY, maintains that the teaching method does not matter as much in language learning as motivation, but that instilling motivation is something that we know less about than methods. (2) Other teachers have found that the power of praise is a great motivator. Jim Cook writes, "praise is such a valuable motivator. It amazes me how little it is used. It's almost as if we teachers, who were once real people, have forgotten how we got to be English teachers. Somewhere along the way, some teacher or authority figure that we respected probably praised us." Cook is amazed at how students, even college level ESOL students, respond when they receive praise.(3) This seems to mean that we need to remember that all human beings need recognition and validation, especially when they are putting forth considerable effort in difficult circumstances. Teacher Katherine MacKinnon points out that it is very important not to get so caught up in error correction and getting things right that we forget to give credit where credit is due by focusing on "what unique contribution each student is making." (4)

An interesting point was made by Diana Turner of the University of Manitoba. She addresses declining levels of motivation in some students who near the end of their term in the learning environment, or who have achieved a higher level of proficiency. She theorizes that the decline in motivation may be due to outside factors the learner is dealing with such as deciding what to do once the course is completed, such as looking for a job or returning to the home country. Such affective issues will have an impact on motivation. If the teacher suspects that the learner is dealing with these external issues, the learner can be encouraged to talk or write about their concerns which may help them consider options they had not been aware of. (5)

One question I posed to TESL-K12 was regarding unmotivated students at the middle or high school level. During recent classroom observations, I came to the conclusion that there is a severe lack of motivation among students to complete daily assignments in class and homework. In the middle high school system I was observing in, students can not be held back, so they know that no matter what they do, they will go on to high school and be in the protective ESL environment. In the high school system, students know that they can graduate with just bare minimum effort. Some feel that there is no point in pushing themselves if college is not an option due to their immigrant status or lack of financial support. Some students just do not realize the potential opportunities that exist for them. Helping them become informed, suggests Gail Cappaert of Dekalb, Illinois, can have a motivating affect. Some things that she has tried in this area: Bringing in professionals who speak the language of groups of students to talk about jobs in different fields, and inviting in former students who are in college to talk to students about how important hard work is in attaining their goals. She says that "sometimes seeing another person from their own background who is successful can be quite motivating." (6) Jim Cook offers suggestions for motivating "recalcitrant" students. He says that he "tries to find activities that lead students to learn" by appealing to students' curiosity. Sometimes students are attracted to learning even if they didn't intend to be. (7) I found very interesting a comment posted by Alice Harman of Seattle University who described a student who wanted to know the bare minimum requirement for passing and failing her class. It seems that he wanted to fail so that he could return to his country. Alice said, "He was motivated to a very different goal. His being very direct about his motivation helped me a lot as a teacher to deal with it. I didn't get frustrated." (8) There will not always be easy solutions. Chemene Gecewicz, an ESL Specialist explains that in high school, students must often pass very academically challenging tests with written components in English. "With so many obstacles to success, my students want to give up. Keeping them motivated and hopeful is difficult. Sometimes they feel it doesn't matter how hard they try. The cards are stacked against them." (9)

What more can we as teachers do to assist our learners to generate motivation through instruction design and teaching strategies? The ARCS Model developed by John Keller (1987) describes four motivational concepts and characteristics which can be easily adapted to the language classroom: (A) Attention, (R), Relevance, (C) Confidence and (S) Satisfaction. Keller explains that by integrating these four elements into classroom lesson plans, the teacher may be able to “over-ride” less than optimal learner motivation. The teacher must gain the learner’s attention by planning stimulating activities and using a variety of teaching strategies. The learner must perceive the content of the course as relevant to their current situation. Learning objectives must be designed in such a way as to make them achievable to continually instill learner confidence. Finally, the learner must feel a sense of satisfaction about his/her accomplishments and experiences.(10)

In designing instruction to generate motivation, it is important to understand both the intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientations of the learner. The following table, adapted from Improving Learning Outcomes: The Effects of Learning Strategies and Motivation, (Olgren, 2000) shows both intrinsic and extrinsic orientation of motivation in vocational, academic, personal and social settings.(11)

Learner outcomes depend largely on motivation. For this reason, instructional designs should include goals to:

· Foster mental involvement in learning - by using a variety of interactive and collaborative activities "to involve students in the kinds of analysis and synthesis processes essential for deep understanding and application." (12)

· Foster emotional involvement in learning - "that help learners identify the value of the material and their own intrinsic purposes for learning by creating links to the learner's needs, interests and knowledge." (13)

· Develop learning skills in using cognitive (which learners use to mentally process information) and metacognitive strategies- which refers to "learners' awareness and knowledge of their own learning processes as well as their abilities to control those processes." (Derry & Murphy, 1986) (14) "Metacognition might be thought of as an 'inner coach' that guides the learner in making decisions about how and what to learn." (15)

· Assessment methods - which use authentic, informal-formative assessment methods (as opposed to objective testing methods which focus on specific pieces or sub components of course content) including case studies, projects, portfolios, investigations, interviews and problem solving episodes (McLellan, 1993) (16) which allow students to "express themselves, apply their knowledge and engage in active and reflective learning processes." (17)

Dr. Michael Rost (2004) explains some specific approaches teachers can take to generate motivation. He describes layers of motivation which the teacher can "tap" into to become a motivating teacher. Rosts' first layer, what he considers to be the "central core" of motivation is for the learners to identify their passion which helps them connect their learning to what is important to them. The teacher can facilitate this by having students bring in items, songs, photos, etc. to share in the classroom. Class activities can be organized around students' self expression using techniques such as personalized tasks or idea journals to show learners that learning is personal and that the teacher will respond to them as people, not just as "language learners. The second layer of motivation in Rosts' view is that students need to change their reality which means that if they are not in an environment where they receive enough input and meaningful input of the target language. The teacher can facilitate this by helping the learner seek out opportunities for input and interaction outside of the classroom such as language learning websites, audio, video sources and other meaningful homework assignments which expand upon classroom learning. The idea is to get students thinking about how they can make self directed choices which moves them toward language learning in a purposeful way. The third layer of motivation, connecting to learning activities, is described by Rost, as the action of the learner's intention, attention, and memory of the learning activity. Students often need to develop strategies to consciously make this happen. He suggests using personalized warm up activities which show the relevance of the activity to learners, and to use materials which are vivid and tangible to engage student attention. It is also important to include a variety of activities to appeal to various learning styles. The teacher should also provide opportunities for learners to discover things on their own (inductive learning), and for the teacher to provide meaningful feedback which addresses issues of motivation. (18)

Cooperative learning strategies can be incorporated into classroom activities. According to Katherine Rippberger, Letters Department Chair at MiraCosta College, "making students responsible for their own learning has awakened them." She relates that she had tired of being an enforcer in the classroom and that through cooperative learning, students "have to answer to their peers in study groups" if they fail to complete an assignment which impacts the group. She also suggests giving students opportunities to provide feedback to the teacher about what progress they feel they have made, what they feel is or is not working and what they hope to learn which helps keep the lines of communication open between the teacher and student. (19)

Motivation and Motivating in EFL (Thanasoulas, 2004) explains how important it is that learners have realistic expectations about how much progress they should expect to make, and to help them eliminate preconceived notions about what they "should know or be able to do". To facilitate this, teachers can help learners develop an understanding of the nature of second language learning, and how attitude, motivation and learning environment can help or hinder progress. Maintaining and protecting motivation is important to prevent regression. This can be achieved by helping learners to increase self confidence by fostering realistic ideas about competence, encouraging learner contribution, reducing classroom anxiety, and providing encouraging feedback. Additionally, it is important to help learners develop skills of autonomy by showing them how to use a variety of resources to their advantage and to take control of their own learning. (20)

Students who are not academically oriented present a different set of motivation issues. In this case, it is even more important to create a learning environment which is entertaining and pleasurable for learners, and to present material which is directly relevant to learners' lives at the present time. Performing learner profiles at the onset of a course to determine level of proficiency as well as the learner's reasons for wanting to learn a second language can help the teacher establish goals for learning with students. Joanne Pettis, Coordinator of Adult ESL Programs in Heritage & Citizenship in Manitoba, Canada advises that teachers should "select appropriate activities, techniques and materials and try to incorporate authentic materials that students will encounter in the real world". She also suggests that teachers "develop curriculum around those needs students have identified, using your professional expertise to identify the linguistic, discourse, socio-linguistic, strategic knowledge and skills students will need to meet their goals." (21)

In conclusion, the source of motivation will differ based on learning goals, learning environment and individual learner variables. Teachers who are aware of this can design instruction and employ teaching strategies which override the unpredictable nature of learner motivation. Teachers can generate motivation by using strategies such as learner centered activities, cooperative learning, informal/formative assessments, and open communication. They can maintain and protect motivation by fostering self confidence and learner autonomy. It is important to talk with colleagues to get support and feedback, to learn from other's experiences, to be open to trying new strategies, and to seek out professional development opportunities which provide teachers with fresh ideas about instruction design and strategies.

[1] Increasing Student Motivation, BCIT Learning Resources Unit, Retreived 1/16/05 from http://www.id.bcit.ca/pdf/ht-motivation.pdf

[2] TESL-L
Thu, 3 Feb 1994
Anthea Tillyer <ABTHC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Subject: Methods and Motivation

[3] TESL-L
Wed, 8 March 1995
JIM COOK <E7C8C00@TOE.TOWSON.EDU>
Subject: Motivation

[4] TESL-L
Thu, 9 Mar 1995
M. Katherine MacKinnon <eslmkmx@GSUGSG12.GSU.EDU>
Subject: Motivation and Praise

[5] TESL-L
Wed, 5 July 1995
Diana Turner <umturne5@CC.UMANITOBA.CA>
Subject: Bored Students

[6] TESL-K12
Fri, 18 Feb 2005
Diane Cappert The Cappaerts [cappaert4@COMCAST.NET]
Subject: Motivation of Students

[7] TESL-L
Wed, 15 Mar 1995
JIM COOK <E7C8C00@TOE.TOWSON.EDU>
Subject: Motivation

[8] TESL-L
Wed, 15 Mar 1995
Alice A. Harman <aaharman@SEATTLEU.EDU>
Subject: (Un) Motivation

[9] TESL-K12
Wed, 16 Feb, 2005 12:17p.m.
Chimene Gecewicz <Karen.gecewicz@usm.edu>
Subject: Motivation of Students

[10] Keller, J.M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of motivational design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2-10.

[11] Olgren, Christine, H. (2000). Improving Learning Outcomes: The Effects of Learning Strategies and Motivation. Learner Support Services Course Manual,University of Wisconsin, Madison Graduate Program in Continuiing and Vocational Education.

[12] ibid.

[13] ibid.

[14] Derry, S. J. & Murphy, D. A. (1986). Designing Systems That Train Learning Ability. Review of Education Research, 50(10), 1-39.

[15] Olgren, Christine, H. (2000). Improving Learning Outcomes: The Effects of Learning Strategies and Motivation. Learner Support Services Course Manual,University of Wisconsin, Madison Graduate Program in Continuing and Vocational Education.

© Copyright, Kismet Oz 2005.  All rights reserved.  This material is not to be republished or reproduced in any form without the express consent of the author.