LICEO CULTURAL BRITANICO - SEMINAR SEASON 2008

Prof. Gladys Noemí Baya and Myriam Martingano = September 13

, 2008

THE STICK OR THE CARROT?Making your classes eager to learn

Abstract

: Most teachers agree student motivation is essential if they are to succeed at learning. Unless theyfeel motivated, they will not even make the necessary effort... Is there anything we teachers can do to enhanceour classes' motivation? Are all students motivated in the same way? How can motivation be sustained? Andwhat can teachers do to sustain their own motivation?In this seminar we will work together to develop our understanding of motivation, and look for tips thatenable us all to make our students really want to try and learn!

TASK 1: What is motivation?

Tick the correct column:

I agreeI disagreeNot sure

Motivation is the difference between success and failure.Motivation can't be acquired; it is just "there".All students are motivated to learn under the rightconditions.Rewards and punishments are too often the only toolspresent in the motivational arsenal of many teachers.Student anxiety created by a tense classroom climate is anecessary element to encourage learning and motivation.

Now compare your answers with a partner!

TASK 2: Says who?

In only 5 minutes, your favourite radio programme “

Psychology for the EnglishTeacher

” is starting on

Radio Education

. Today, a behaviourist and a cognitiveresearcher will be answering questions from callers on how you can motivate your classes best. Get ready to call and ask them for tips!After the programme,

vote

: who won the debate?

TASK 3: Motivated learners

"Most successful learners are not necessarily those to whom alanguage comes easily, they are those who display certaintypical characteristics, most of them associated withmotivation." (Naiman et al)

LABEL THE PARAGRAPHS WITH THE OPTIONS IN THE BOX:

HIGH ASPIRATIONS GOAL ORIENTATIONPERSEVERANCEEGO- INVOLVEMENTPOSITIVE TASK ORIENTATIONTOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITYNEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT

1. ______________________________________________ The learner finds it important to succeed in learning in order to maintain and promote his or her (positive) self-image.2. ______________________________________________ The learner is ambitious, goes for demanding challenges, high proficiency, top grades.

3. ______________________________________________ The learner consistently invests a high level of effort in learning, and is not discouraged bysetbacks or apparent lack of progress.4. ______________________________________________ The learner is willing to tackle tasks and challenges, and has confidence in his or her success.5. ______________________________________________ The learner has a need to achieve, to overcome difficulties and succeed in what he or shesets out to do.6. ______________________________________________ The learner is clearly aware of the goals of learning, or of specific learning activities, anddirects his or her efforts towards achieving them.7. ______________________________________________ The learner is not disturbed or frustrated by situations involving a temporary lack of understanding or confusion; he or she can live with these patiently, in the confidence thatunderstanding will come later. Now let’s a watch a scene from the movie “Educating Rita” (1983;starring Julie Walters and Michael Caine)Which of the characteristics of motivated learners can you observe inRita?

TASK 4: Sustaining motivation

"Motivation is essential to success. We have to want todo something to succeed at it."

Jeremy Harmer

What can influence the motivation students bring to the task of learning? Check those itemsin the list below which you believe are likely to affect your learners’ motivation:1. The importance that English is given in their communities2. Their own attitude to learning in general and to language learning in particular.3. The attitude of the people who are close to them.4. The teacher plays a key role in the student’s sustained motivation.5. Their confidence in the way teaching and learning take place in your classroom6. Your confidence in the way teaching and learning take place in your classroom7. Their personal interest in English as a subject they are studying8. Their personal interest in the activities and topics they are presented with.9. Their degree of choice of material to work with.10. Their degree of choice of when or how to deal with a task.………………………………………………………………………….

TASK 5: “I, the motivator”

Now we’d like you to reflect upon a moment in your teaching at which your students wereespecially motivated. Just follow the instructor’s guidelines!After the visualization: Using the list below as a checklist, reflect upon that teachingexperience you’ve visualized.Identify:

•

2 strengths in the task or the way you conducted it that contributed to enhancingmotivation

•

1 aspect in which you would like to improve your skills as a motivator

Checklist of Intrinsically Motivating

Techniques

(adapted from Brown; 2006:80 - 81)a. Did your lesson appeal to your students' interests? Was it relevant to their lives?b. Did you present your lesson in a positive, enthusiastic manner?c. Were the students aware of the purpose of the lesson?d. Did students have some choice in:1. choosing some aspect of the lesson?2. determining how they go about fulfilling the goals of the lesson?e. Did the lesson encourage students to discover by themselves certain principles or rules(rather than simply being "told")?f. Did it encourage students in some way to develop or use effective strategies of learningand communication?g. Did it contribute -at least to some extent- to students' ultimate autonomy andindependence (from you)?h. Did it foster cooperative negotiation with other students in the class? Was it trulyinteractive?i. Did the lesson present a "reasonable challenge"? j. Did students receive sufficient feedback on their performance (from each other or fromyou)?

Share your conclusions with the group! As you listen, think of:* something you have in common with the speaker OR * something you like about what the speaker is sayingWhen each participant finishes, let them know what you thought of!

TASK 6: Arousing learner interest

Penny Urr (1991:281) lists the following ways of creating learner interest in doing a task.Working in threes, discuss:

WAYS OF AROUSING INTERESTS IN TASKS

1.Clear goals2.Varied topics and tasks3.Visuals4.Tension and challenge: games5.Entertainment6.Play-acting7.Information gap8.Personalisation9.Open-ended cuesWhich of the items on the list are used most and which least in teaching situations you arefamiliar with? Can you single out those which (in your opinion) are under-exploited andyou would like to try more yourself?

"Ten commandments" for motivatinglearners

:(Brown2006: 81)1. Set a personal example with your ownbehaviour.2. Create a pleasant, relaxed atmospherein the classroom.3. Present the tasks properly.4. Develop a good relationship with thelearners.5. Increase the learners' linguistic self-confidence.