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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
Motivating students Motivation is a key factor when teaching English as a foreign language to students. If the students aren't motivated they no longer are interested in the class, therefore not willing to even try learning the material. Motivation is the base of any relationship between teacher and student. Everything else doesn't matter if there is no motivation.
There are ways to keep students motivated, especially young students. Adult learners are more likely to be self-motivated when starting an English-speaking course and take the class more seriously, but younger students often feel obligated to do so because it is required of them. Younger students therefore lack the motivation that adult learners have. Although younger students are not as motivated as adults, they are more likely to retain the information they do learn. It is much easier for younger students to absorb what they learn.
To keep young learners motivated, it's important to cater certain lessons to subjects they find interesting. A young student would prefer to learn about a subject that relates to their life and interests instead of being introduced to a subject by its technical term. By gradually introducing a student to a new topic through their interests, the teacher is keeping them interested in the topic. If they are interested, they are motivated to learn more. Would a student want to be introduced to a new lesson plan by a teacher saying "Today we are going to learn about future continuous tenses, so what are some examples of future continuous tense sentences?" or by asking each student "(student name), what will you be doing this weekend? I will be going swimming." I believe the latter is a more productive way to introduce a new lesson and it keeps the students interested because they are included as part of the activity. students enjoy being a part of something, even in the classroom. Being involved in the classroom helps students feel motivated. An entire lesson can be made to be relatable to the students by including popular topics with conversation along with games that will help them learn even more. Games help make the lessons fun, especially for younger children; games like Pictionary and hangman. This can all contribute to a student's motivation to learn more. Some students can even be motivated enough to want to spend more time than is required to learn the English language. One of the best feelings is knowing that one of your students is motivated enough to want to learn more about their new language during their free time. It is also important to not be afraid to receive feedback from the students as well. Ask students what they enjoyed about the last few classes. Of course, not every student will have the same answers since different students have different ideas that motivate them. Each student is unique and it?s important to recognize this and be able to be open-minded when it comes to designing lesson plans.
Although adult learners require less motivation, it doesn?t mean they don?t require any motivation at all. Adult learners can also loose focus and the teacher can be there to help. Teachers should also cater lessons to the interests of their adult learners as well. Adult learners can get bored with what they are learning. Interesting (and maybe controversial) subjects should help keep the class fresh. This helps the students stay motivated especially if the students are very opinionated.
Motivation is the root to learning. Making students active and a part of the lesson can contribute to a student?s motivation level. Motivation is what drives the student to want to come to class every day and want to learn something new. Something they know will be a great benefit to their future.
