Unit 9 · Motivation

Motivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to do something and continue to want to do it, and which turn our wishes into action. It influences why people decide to do something, how long they keep wanting to do it and how they work to achieve it, and it is one of the key factors that help make language learning successful.

◆What is motivation?

MotivationMotivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to and continue to want to do something and which turn our wishes into action. click to keep open · see glossary is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to and continue to want to do something and which turn our wishes into action. Motivation influences:

• why people decide to do something
• how long they keep wanting to do it
• how they work to achieve it.

Motivation is very important in language learning. It is one of the key factorsSomething which has an effect on the result of a situation or event; e.g. motivation is one of many factors which have an effect on whether someone learns a language successfully or not. click to keep open · see glossary that helps make language learning successful.

◆Key concepts

Why were/are you motivated to learn English? List your reasons.

There are several different factorsSomething which has an effect on the result of a situation or event; e.g. motivation is one of many factors which have an effect on whether someone learns a language successfully or not. click to keep open · see glossary (things that influence) which can influence motivation. They include:

• The usefulness to us of knowing the language well. Many people want to learn a language because it can help them achieve practical things such as finding a (better) job, getting onto a course of study, getting good marks from the teacher, or booking hotel rooms.
• Our interest in the target language cultureThe traditions and culture of the country whose language is being studied. For example, a learner studying Japanese might want also to learn about things like Japanese festivals, Japanese food, Japanese music etc. click to keep open · see glossary (the culture of the language we are learning). We might want to get really good at Russian, for example, so that we can read books by famous Russian authors, or understand the world which produced their great artists and composers. This is learning a language because of interest in culture with a capital C, i.e. high culture. Many people are also interested in culture with a small c. They want to learn Japanese, for example, so they can understand Manga comics better, or learn English to read about their favourite celebrities. We may also be interested in the target culture because we actually want to become part of that culture, perhaps because we are moving to the country. In this case we might be interested in aspects of the country's customs and lifestyle, and see the target language1. The language which is the focus of the lesson or a part of the lesson. It could be grammar, lexis, functions or pronunciation, e.g. the present perfect, or vocabulary for parts of the body, or giving advice. 2. The language being studied (often called the L… click to keep open · see glossary as a key to understanding and becoming part of that culture.
• Feeling good about learning the language. If we are successful at something, that success makes us want to continue doing it and achieve greater things. Managing to communicate in a foreign language can make us want to communicate more and better. ConfidenceThe feeling someone has when they are sure of their ability to do something well. Teachers often do activities that help learners to feel more confident about their own ability. click to keep open · see glossary (feeling that we can do things successfully), learner autonomy/independenceWhen a learner can set his/her own aims and organise his/her own study, they are autonomous and independent. Many activities in coursebooks help learners to be more independent by encouraging them to find out more about things in the book and helping them to o… click to keep open · see glossary (feeling responsible for and in control of our own learning) and a sense of achievementSomething you succeed in doing usually by making an effort; something done successfully, e.g. Sarah worked hard and passed her exam. This was an achievement. Something which is achievable for learners is something they can succeed in. click to keep open · see glossary (being successful at something we have worked at) are all part of feeling good about learning a language. If we think we are good at something, we want to do it.
• Encouragement1. To give someone confidence to do something. When a teacher helps learners to succeed by giving them confidence, e.g. Of course you can do it! You’re doing very well. See confidence. 2. To tell someone to do something that you think would be good for them to… click to keep open · see glossary and support from others. We may live in a country or family or go to a school where learning a foreign language is highly valued and much encouraged. This helps us to realise the importance of the foreign language and gives us emotional support as we learn. People who live in a country where people can't see the point of learning a foreign language may have little motivation to learn a foreign language.
• Wishing to communicate fully with people who matter to you. People may have friends, boy or girlfriends, business partners, etc. who speak another language. They want to develop their relationship with them. This is a strong motivation to learn a language.
• Our interest in the learning process. Sometimes we want to learn a foreign language simply because we enjoy our language class; we like the teacher, how he/she teaches, the classroom activities, the coursebookSee book. click to keep open · see glossary or maybe the topics the class deals with. All these are factors related to learning itself, which come from the classroom.

We can see that there are different kinds of motivation. Some come from inside the learner and some come from the learner's environment.

Learners may differ in their motivations; some may have strong motivation of one kind but little of another, other learners' motivation may be a mixture of kinds. There are also learners, of course, who are unmotivatedSee motivation. click to keep open · see glossary, i.e. who have no motivation or are demotivatedHaving lost motivation; no longer interested in or willing to make an effort with learning. click to keep open · see glossary, i.e. they have lost their motivation. And motivation can change, too. A learner may, for example, be quite uninterested in learning a particular language, then meet a teacher who helps them love learning the language. Motivation can change with age, too, with some factors becoming more or less important as learners get older.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Two researchers in motivation, Z. Dörnyei and K. Csizér, have suggested there are ten key areas in which the teacher can influence learners' motivation, and have provided a list of strategies for motivating learners in these areas.

Read the strategies and tick the ones which are most important for you.

(adapted from 'Ten commandments for motivating language learners: results of an empirical study' by Z. Dörnyei and K. Csizér, Language Teaching Research, Hodder Arnold 1998)

Some of these strategies will work better in some learning contexts than others. For example, with young learners, it can be very helpful to give praise and positive feedback as well as bring examples of the culture into the classroom. Some classes may love games and competition while others may react badly to them. The teacher can choose from the list the strategies for motivating students that are likely to work best for their learners in their learning context.

See Units 31–33 for how motivation influences classroom management.

✎Follow-up activity

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🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.