Promoting Motivation in the Foreign
Language Classroom



Motivated students are every teacher’s dream — they are willing to work hard, add
their own goals to those of the classroom, focus their attention on the tasks at hand,
persevere through challenges, don’t need continuous encouragement, and may even
stimulate others in the classroom, promoting collaborative learning. However, we all
know that the motivation behind our students’ learning varies widely, ebbs and flows
over the course of the year (or even during a single classroom activity), and stems from
various sources, internal to the learner, external, or both. As teachers we can generally
see who is motivated and who is not, and often we may wonder how or even if we can
harness the motivation of some and spread it out to others. Tapping into motivation is
crucial for language teachers because we know that motivation is one of the key factors
driving language learning success (Dörnyei, 2001; Ellis, 1994). In fact, teachers often see it as
their job to motivate students by creating classroom tasks that are interesting and
engaging and by using authentic materials to stimulate further interest in the language
and the people who speak it. Over the last twenty years, research on motivation for
foreign language learning has evolved considerably from focusing on describing what
composes student motivation to a detailed list of suggestions that help teachers initiate,
sustain, and further promote student motivation. This fall, as many of us are embarking
on a new academic year with bright, shiny, motivated students, we would like to
highlight learner motivation as a variable that not only students bring to the classroom,
but also as one that teachers can implement, cultivate and promote throughout the
year to enhance learning. I will first begin with a brief review of the concept of learner
motivation. Secondly, I will discuss a select group of three different publications that
deal with motivating language learners, and third, I will review some particulars that
may be involved in promoting the motivation of heritage language learners and learners
of less-commonly taught languages.


[ more.. ]

Promoting Motivation in the Foreign
Language Classroom



Motivated students are every teacher’s dream — they are willing to work hard, add
their own goals to those of the classroom, focus their attention on the tasks at hand,
persevere through challenges, don’t need continuous encouragement, and may even
stimulate others in the classroom, promoting collaborative learning. However, we all
know that the motivation behind our students’ learning varies widely, ebbs and flows
over the course of the year (or even during a single classroom activity), and stems from
various sources, internal to the learner, external, or both. As teachers we can generally
see who is motivated and who is not, and often we may wonder how or even if we can
harness the motivation of some and spread it out to others. Tapping into motivation is
crucial for language teachers because we know that motivation is one of the key factors
driving language learning success (Dörnyei, 2001; Ellis, 1994). In fact, teachers often see it as
their job to motivate students by creating classroom tasks that are interesting and
engaging and by using authentic materials to stimulate further interest in the language
and the people who speak it. Over the last twenty years, research on motivation for
foreign language learning has evolved considerably from focusing on describing what
composes student motivation to a detailed list of suggestions that help teachers initiate,
sustain, and further promote student motivation. This fall, as many of us are embarking
on a new academic year with bright, shiny, motivated students, we would like to
highlight learner motivation as a variable that not only students bring to the classroom,
but also as one that teachers can implement, cultivate and promote throughout the
year to enhance learning. I will first begin with a brief review of the concept of learner
motivation. Secondly, I will discuss a select group of three different publications that
deal with motivating language learners, and third, I will review some particulars that
may be involved in promoting the motivation of heritage language learners and learners
of less-commonly taught languages.


[ more.. ]

Promoting Motivation in the Foreign
Language Classroom



Motivated students are every teacher’s dream — they are willing to work hard, add
their own goals to those of the classroom, focus their attention on the tasks at hand,
persevere through challenges, don’t need continuous encouragement, and may even
stimulate others in the classroom, promoting collaborative learning. However, we all
know that the motivation behind our students’ learning varies widely, ebbs and flows
over the course of the year (or even during a single classroom activity), and stems from
various sources, internal to the learner, external, or both. As teachers we can generally
see who is motivated and who is not, and often we may wonder how or even if we can
harness the motivation of some and spread it out to others. Tapping into motivation is
crucial for language teachers because we know that motivation is one of the key factors
driving language learning success (Dörnyei, 2001; Ellis, 1994). In fact, teachers often see it as
their job to motivate students by creating classroom tasks that are interesting and
engaging and by using authentic materials to stimulate further interest in the language
and the people who speak it. Over the last twenty years, research on motivation for
foreign language learning has evolved considerably from focusing on describing what
composes student motivation to a detailed list of suggestions that help teachers initiate,
sustain, and further promote student motivation. This fall, as many of us are embarking
on a new academic year with bright, shiny, motivated students, we would like to
highlight learner motivation as a variable that not only students bring to the classroom,
but also as one that teachers can implement, cultivate and promote throughout the
year to enhance learning. I will first begin with a brief review of the concept of learner
motivation. Secondly, I will discuss a select group of three different publications that
deal with motivating language learners, and third, I will review some particulars that
may be involved in promoting the motivation of heritage language learners and learners
of less-commonly taught languages.


[ more.. ]