We all have learners that come to class but just don’t seem to be that motivated to be there. Don’t worry, it’s got most of the time nothing to do with you. In general, making learners stay focused and motivated is one of the biggest challenges (Healey, 2021). According to Scheidecker and Freeman (cited in Dörnyei, 2001:p1) “motivation is, without question, the most complex and challenging issue facing teachers today.” Just so you know, this quote was written in 1999… without the added complexity the use of technology and online teaching bring!
Of course, there will always be some disengaged learners who are not on task and this shouldn’t be a surprise. All learners are unique and bring their own interests, competencies and mental state to the lesson; what motivates one learner today, might not motivate another or even the same learner tomorrow. And I’m under no illusion that there is a golden key to solving this complex challenge, but I hope this blog can provide some useful insights.
Defining motivation
Motivation theories have received considerable attention in educational psychology throughout the years. One of the reasons research into motivation has been so popular is that a strong correlation between learners’ academic motivation, their attitude toward learning, and their overall performance (McGee & Fraser, 2012) was identified. Whilst there are many different theories, basically, they all aim to explain why we decide to act; how much effort we are willing to put in and how long for in order to achieve a certain goal.
Motivating teachers or motivated learners?
Motivation is often easier to observe in the actions learners take, or don’t take, than to understand exactly what drives it. Early theories of motivation explained motivation with a ‘carrot and stick’ approach: decisions to act are driven by fulfilling basic needs (Dörnyei, 2001). For example, upon completing a task the teacher gives praise, a reward or a high grade, which motivates learners. This approach is closely aligned with behaviourism, where motivation is being regarded as ‘anticipation of a reward’ and externally controlled by the teacher. Over the years this view has shifted more towards the belief that motivation is influenced by cognitive and affective processes from within the individual. One of the most well-known learner-driven theories is Deci and Ryan’s (2002) self-determination theory (SDT), which builds on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Unfortunately, these concepts often end up being contrasted as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ motivation and intrinsic motivation seems to be the one underutilized (Hartnett, 2016). In general, more powerful and sustained learning happens when learners are motivated from within, intrinsically. However, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are useful. There’s nothing wrong motivating learners with your enthusiasm, praise or rewards. When learners are not intrinsically motivated (doing something because the activity itself is interesting and satisfying) it is better to get some motivation extrinsic stimuli, rather than no motivation at all! And positive experiences like this could shift learners’ motivation over time from extrinsic (I want that reward!) to more intrinsic as they start to enjoy engaging with the language. This highlights that motivation is not static, it can change.
Recent research (Holzer et al., 2021) found that intrinsically motivated learners were more positive about the online learning experience which affects students’ overall well-being. So how can we create the conditions to ignite that motivational fire from within?
Let’s be clear about 3 important points.
- As a teacher you can only do so much. There is no one size-fits all approach nor is motivation in learners ‘on’ or ‘off.’ Motivation moves along a continuum, it’s fluid.
- The best motivation is learner-driven. According to Ryan and Deci’s SDT learners 3 psychological concepts need to be met before the motivation engine can start firing from within. Our role is to design learning experiences that offer relatedness, autonomy and competence.
- Motivation is situated. Besides learners’ inner-drive, contextual factors such as learner’s physical and emotional state, experiences and life beyond the ‘classroom’ all influence learner’s actions (Williams et al., 2015).
So what does all this mean for us language teachers?
In a nutshell, when planning a lesson we need to think about designing students’ learning experiences from a more student-centred perspective, taking their context and need for relatedness, autonomy and competence.
Putting it into practice
The role of the teacher, the relationship with peers, and the learning activities provided influence motivation to learn within a given context. The below suggestions are by no means all-inclusive nor are they ‘the solution’ to getting and maintaining learners motivated. However, these suggestions might help refocus motivation so we can get learners to a place where ‘the magic happens’ and motivation can come from within.
Competence – Does the learning experience enable students to feel competent?
One of the factors that enables motivation is the belief in their competence; that they can succeed. Particularly in online learning, we need to make sure that the learning environment and activities are set up in such a way that activities can be completed successfully.
Autonomy – Does the learning experience give students a feeling of being in control?
Organising a learning environment that makes learners feel they have some control over their learning journey enhances self-determined motivation (Deci and Ryan, 2002). Being able to actively use their current knowledge in class is one way, another powerful way to enhance the feeling of autonomy is to provide the perception of having a choice, by giving them options.
Relatedness – Does the learning experience give students a feeling of being valued and connected to their learning community?
Learners need to feel that the learning activities are valuable, relevant or, in other words, connected to their social setting. Besides relating to the task content and tools, learners also want to feel connected to each other and the teacher; their learning community. Building relationships is one of the key necessities for motivation as without feeling a sense of belonging little significant learning will happen (McGee & Fraser, 2012). Also, try to enhance the relevance of the content, eg. provide a short quiz before teaching to test learners’ prior knowledge and make the learning gap visible to learners and include opportunities for personalization.
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you some food for thought and will inspire you to build more student-driven motivation in your teaching and learning context. But there is no magic pill to get all our learners motivated from within. We can only do our best to create the conditions for igniting that motivational fire. Expecting all learners to be 100% motivated, 100% of the time is not realistic either as motivation is a complex concept and each of our learners and their context is unique (Dörnyei, 2001). Be realistic, don’t strive for perfection but strive to increase learners’ motivation!
For the full article go to MET, volume 30 Issue 4. www.modernenglishteacher.com
References
Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (eds.). (2002). Handbook of Self-Determination Research. NY: University of Rochester Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Hartnett, M. (2016). Motivation in Online Education. Singapore: Springer
Healey, D. (2021) Insights into Distance Teaching & Learning Global Research Report. Retrieved from https://www.macmillanenglish.com/us/insights-index accessed on June 23, 2021
Holzer, J., Lüftenegger, M., Korlar, S., Pelikan, E., Salmela-Aro, K., Spiel, C. & Schober, B. (2021)
Higher Education in Times of COVID-19: University Students’ Basic Need Satisfaction, Self-Regulated Learning, and Well-Being. Sage Journal. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211003164 accessed on July 29, 2021
McGee, C. & Fraser, D. (2012). The professional practice of Teaching. Cengage Learning Australia.
Williams, M., Mercer, S. and Ryan, S. (2015). Exploring psychology in Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press