Good Example Of How To Motivate ESL / EFL Learners? Essay

English has become indispensable for cross-cultural communication, thus people are encouraged to learn the language from the young age. It should be noted that learning English is a challenging and monotonous process, and yet a rewarding one. In this regard, motivation is of paramount importance; hence, the ability to effectively motivate students is crucial for teachers. Educators should be perfectly familiar with a range of practical ways to foster motivation, boost students’ confidence in terms of communication as well as sustain their interest in the language learning process. Thus, two strategies should be used, namely teachers should engage students in various riveting activities as well as create situations in which students can feel a sense of accomplishment.
It is worth noting that a sense of accomplishment is inextricably connected with positive feedback and reinforcement. Thus, students who encouraged and praised tend to be engrossed in the learning process. Nonetheless, not only positive, but also negative comments have a tendency to influence motivation, though positive feedbacks contribute to positive learning outcomes. Praise is a vital aspect, as it results in students' self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. However, positive feedback should always be accompanied with correction of mistakes along with detailed explanations. Unfortunately, some teachers are inclined to correct students' mistakes without explaining the reason for doing so. In this regard, firstly it is vital to point out the good aspects of a student's work, and only afterwards outline the weak points along with the clear explanation of mistakes. Such feedbacks encourage self-evaluation, since students do value teacher's pieces of advice when they truly feel that their work is appreciated.
It is essential to apply an array of compelling activities with moderate challenge in order to arouse students’ curiosity in terms of intrinsic motivation. Learning English does not necessarily entail boring activities in listening, reading and writing. The way learners perceive language is crucial, thus people should acknowledge that the learning process can be far from being burdensome. Combining English with recreation ensures students’ growing involvement, which is the key in terms of maintaining motivation throughout a lesson. When it comes to the younger students, games are always welcomed. Interestingly, well-chosen games are invaluable even for adult learners, as they make students relaxed, and at the same time allow them to master language skills. Besides, during games meaningful and useful language can be employed in real life contexts. For instance, guessing game or chain story game tend to increase collaboration, whereas some real situation discussions and creative activities are encouraged in higher grade in order to develop students’ communication skills and make them well-versed in various areas.
In conclusion, since motivation is a fundamental aspect of learning a foreign language, the ways to keep learners motivated are of the utmost importance. Teachers should be well aware of the methods how to arouse students’ interest and make them acquire new knowledge. Thus, educational psychology, in particular motivational rationale and efficient methodologies should be used so that teachers are able to come up with the new techniques to sustain students’ motivation.