Teach English in Wulanbuhe Nongchang - Bayannao'er Shi — Bayan Nur

In the English classroom, one of the most important factors in educational outcomes is student motivation. Quality materials and well-planned lessons may go to waste if the students are unable to or unwilling to engage with them. Therefore, it is the teacher’s responsibility to understand why and how their students are motivated, and to adapt and take whatever measures they can to keep student motivation as high as possible. Student motivation is often classified as either extrinsic or intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the student’s own desire to learn the target material, because they are personally interested in it and want to master it. Extrinsic motivation is more external and includes various rewards and punishments from authority figures or society, such as grades, certifications for a job, and social ramifications of success and failure. A good teacher needs to understand which of these are in play in their classroom and how to interact with them. Extrinsic motivation is usually the more practical for educators to work with. Grades are perhaps the most widespread extrinsic motivator, and in some cases students will work diligently just for a good grade, whether or not they are truly interested in the subject matter. Students studying for a certification or specific exam are typically highly motivated as well. However, in many cases, especially when English is being taught as a compulsory subject, the teacher may want to provide additional extrinsic motivation. Examples of this include giving special points or rewards such as stickers. These can be particularly useful with younger students. Teachers may also want to appeal to students’ sense of competition by using many competitive activities. However, some strategies for extrinsic motivation must be used cautiously. For example, if students are used to working for certain rewards from the teacher, the teacher may eventually find that the students will not participate much whenever those rewards are not offered. This is a dependency on the reward program. With praise, care must be taken to be as fair as possible, and not to praise too much or without proper cause, lest students come to disregard it. Intrinsic motivation is often even more valuable in the classroom, and teachers are always trying to find ways to foster it in students, or to maintain that which they have brought to the classroom in the first place. The teacher should always be modeling interest in the subject matter, seeming enthused about the topic of the day and what concrete communication applications it has. Students who take a keen interest in participating should be praised and rewarded, which should be done in a fair and consistent way that leaves it clear that other students are welcome to join in at any time. Additionally, the teacher should ideally allow students to make meaningful decisions and connect their learning to their own interests, such as letting them choose their own paper or presentation topics. One of the biggest threats to student motivation is stress. Stress can come from the classroom environment, the difficulty of learning a second language, test anxiety, and more. Factors outside the classroom may be hard or impossible for the teacher to address, but for those areas under the teacher’s control, there are many techniques available to alleviate stress. The classroom must be a comfortable environment for all students, with bullying and disruptive behaviors managed as best as possible. It should not be a loud, chaotic, or dirty place. It should be clear to the students that mistakes are fine, especially in spontaneous output activities common to Engage and Activate phases. Students who are preparing for critical examinations could be given practice tests and clear progress reports. Shy or uncertain students should be gently encouraged to participate, and welcomed in when they are ready to try. Ultimately, solutions will vary by individual class, though there are some general best practices. The teacher should consistently demonstrate why it is valuable for their particular students to learn English, and use what techniques they can to accomplish the goals set for the classroom. While intrinsic motivation is often valued over extrinsic, there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the latter when it will yield positive results. A good teacher finds the right balance while keeping negative factors like student stress to a minimum. These are all applications of the teacher’s social and interpersonal skills, highlighting how important it is for educators to develop such skills, as well as a good rapport with the student group in question.