Motivational Techniques

For instance, setting assignment and project deadlines is one of the important decisions that interests learners.  This collaborative decision making allows learners to feel that they set their targets themselves rather than someone else ordering them to do so. Furthermore, give learners a clear understanding of my expectations, leaving no room for ambiguity or missing information. This objective can be achieved by providing a detailed course outline, using a clear assessment rubric, and, most important, making adjustments to teaching plans according to learners’ reflective feedback.

• Create a Safe Atmosphere for Learners in the Class

For example, make regular contributions to a bulletin board in the classroom with welcome, happy birthday, and congratulations messages and encourage students to use the board to exhibit their projects. Additionally, make use of Web-based chat rooms for virtual interaction and mutual support. This motivational strategy also ties into my learner-centered approach in language teaching. Create a safe as well as supportive environment in which learners can learn and practice the language comfortably. Maintain this positive environment through good teacher–student working relationships. Learners experience and appreciate the supportive teaching environment in which they are encouraged to take risks in using language structures creatively and accept that the mistakes made in this effort probably will not impede their initiatives.

• Make Language Learning Enjoyable and Interesting

Making learning an enjoyable experience is crucial to maintaining learners’ motivation, which leads to the consideration of  motivation when preparing lesson plans. First, texts, audiovisual materials, tasks, and class activities should be related to students’ interests. Second, the teacher should always give learners choices in assigning a task, and learners’ preferences should get priority. Third, an extracurricular component in the course is a very desirable feature so that elements such as music and humor can be incorporated in teaching, thus increasing learning opportunities beyond regular lessons (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). These extracurricular activities can be simple speaking and writing acts such as sharing a cultural object from one’s country/region, giving a musical or dramatic performance, and having poster competitions.
Furthermore, it is important to promote learner autonomy through activities that involve peer support and feedback in addition to teacher commentary. The use of interesting icebreakers can help in overcoming classroom drudgery. For this purpose, I use cartoons and brief video clips related to the lesson. Moreover, sometimes changing the class venue to an open space or a corner in the school café can help break monotony, especially when a lesson does not require use of classroom equipment.

Reference
Abrar-ul-Hassan, Shahid. Learner Motivation in Language Teaching. TESOL 50 an International Association (March 2009).