Fee Approved TESOL

Motivation in the ClassroomWhat could arguably be the most important aspect of teaching and promoting success in the classroom? It is motivation, for the motivation of students is vital to their learning. A motivated student will learn far more than an unmotivated student, and be much more likely to reach their potential in english. Some students come into the classroom more motivated than others, and yet it is the teacher that lends much to this cause. No matter the class or the students in it, it is the teacher that creates or enhances the level of motivation. The teacher is by and large the most influential person in any classroom; they can either make or break it. There are definite ways to inspire more motivation in the students. First of all it is always important to establish a good rapport starting with day one between the class members and also between teacher and students. There are many small gestures one can do daily including smiling and appearing to have fun with your job will that make the class overall more enjoyable. If the teacher is liked and respected by the students there will be more inspired to work harder. Also it is the teacher’s responsibility to choose activities that are interesting and enjoyable so that everyone is happier to be there and work on their english. Always be consistent and fair in discipline and encouraging whenever students do something well. If they are rewarded for trying they will be more likely to continue their efforts because their efforts don’t go unnoticed. More often than not, especially with young learners, there will be at least one student who has no desire to be there and is basically unmotivated. In this case it is always important not to just ignore that student, but also try not to pay more attention to them than is fair to all the others. There can be many reasons that a student is uninterested like peer pressure, family problems, they want attention or many other possibilities. It is always good to be understanding and try to get them more involved, for example if they want more attention give them more tasks to do like helping you to pass out some papers. This will increase their interest in being there and perhaps their motivation to learn. A teacher may also pay attention to any signs that this student finds a certain activity interesting and do it again later, as long as they don’t overdo it. Remember there is a whole class to keep busy and motivated, so while every student is important, in the end the majority needs the most attention. When dealing with motivation, there is also a difference between age groups. Adult learners often choose to learn english for themselves, or even if they didn’t, it is for their job. Point being, they have their motivation coming from outside the classroom. Young learners rarely choose this for themselves, and therefore the teacher’s approval provides a majority of their motivation. Even with this difference the teacher should always strive to make their class as interesting as possible for all types of learners. No matter who is being taught, a good teacher should always want to be better and make the necessary adjustments to do so. Motivation is vital, and teacher cannot ignore the power it has in the classroom. In order to help all students reach their potential, a teacher should strive to inspire his or her students to learn.