TESOL 29 Donna Barrington Motivation Essay

According to Wikipedia, motivation is considered to be a driving force that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. This definition is the closest to my own belief of what motivation is. Motivation is something I had never really thought much about until the last 5 years while doing different courses. Challenging myself to learn new things was a good way of learning about the real me and what motivates me. My decision to teach English to non-speakers of the English language was made over a six month period and during that time motivation to help others was what kept that decision clear. Doing the TESOL course can be challenging at times and without motivation none of us would get through. The end goal is what keeps us going and helps us to push forward through the tasks that may be fearful to us. All ages need motivation to keep them interested in learning. Any topic, regardless of how interesting it may be, will become boring if the teacher does nothing to keep the students motivated. As a TESOL teacher this is especially true due to the fact that the students speak very little English and therefore need to be kept focused on the lesson so as not to lose interest. Motivating the students is an important factor in their learning. I remember doing English at school and how boring I thought it was at the time. For non-English speakers it could be even more so if they are not kept motivated with tasks and activities that create a fun learning environment. In a TESOL learning environment, motivation begins as soon as I start planning a lesson. I need to think of the ages and learning levels of the students I will be teaching and what things will motivate them to learn. There are many websites that I can check to find lots of different learning activities. This is where my motivation also needs to be high so I can give my best to my students. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist in the early 1900s. His research found that there were 8 levels of need in human nature that need to be satisfied: 1. Biological and physiological needs air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc. 2. Safety needs protection from the elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc. 3. Belongingness and love needs work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. 4. Esteem needs self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, etc. 5. Cognitive needs knowledge, meaning, etc. 6. Aesthetic needs appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-actualization needs realising potential, self-fulfilment, personal growth, etc. 8. Transcendence needs helping others to achieve self-actualization. Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order. Aims and drive always shift to the next higher order needs. Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators, levels 5 to 8 are growth motivators. The thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress and is particularly so at level 4. I believe that being accepted by your peers and society is the most important thing to most people beyond the basic necessity to survive. This being the case, the motivation to succeed or achieve is very high in todays society. Therefore, I believe numbers 3 and 4 of Maslows theories are the most important motivators. Jerome Bruner, born in 1915, is a psychologist who has made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning theory in educational psychology, as well as to history and to the general philosophy of education. Bruner subscribes to the belief that people are active in the process of learning, continually structuring and restructuring their environment. Bruner believes that people selectively perceive certain aspects of their environment, represent those perceptions internally, and then act on those internal representations. Bruner wants motivation to be intrinsic, arising within the students. Bruner would not be inclined to motivate students with the promise of rewards. A key aspect of Bruners view on instruction is discovery learning because it produces higher levels of intrinsic motivation. I agree with Bruners views that intrinsic motivation is important. What he says about the students continually structuring and restructuring their environment also goes back to my previous comments about acceptance. Similar to keeping up with the Joness, if Bob gets a nice new car then chances are Dave will see it and think how nice it is and will imagine himself driving around in a nice new car too. This is a very strong motivator for a lot of people, especially the young who have not yet had the opportunity to buy things for themselves and therefore give their self-esteem a huge boost. I dont think it is until we get older that those things are not as important. Robert Mills Gagne, born 1916, was an American educational psychologist. Gagne's work is sometimes summarized as the Gagne assumption. The assumption is that different types of learning exist, and that different instructional conditions are most likely to bring about these different types of learning. He believes that we all seek to become more capable so, in a sense learning becomes its own reward.

Gagnes style is geared towards giving the student the objectives for a lesson and then explaining what the student will subsequently be able to do. Gagne would also appeal to students successfully completing a lesson. He would also stress the practical application of what will be learned as a way to further motivate students. I believe the above three theories all apply to TESOL teaching. Students learning a second language, especially in a lower socio-economic situation, would definitely tie in with Maslows theory of the 8 levels that need to be satisfied. Biological and physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, and esteem needs are all the basic needs of these people. As TESOL teachers we can help non-English speakers to then have the opportunity to go out into the world with confidence and the ability to achieve whatever they desire and have the motivation for. Bruners theory is applicable because as students learn English the environment around them changes because they can begin to think about the new opportunities available to them as English speakers which werent available to them as non-English speakers. Lastly, I believe Gagnes theory applies to the TESOL teaching situation because as the students learn some English, and become able to speak to native English speakers, this motivates them to learn even more. This can be seen in the parks of HCMC with students always wanting to speak to any foreigners they see so they can practice their English. As a TESOL teacher, creating a fun learning environment for the students will be the biggest motivator in my opinion. If people in any environment arent enjoying themselves they lose interest. The practice classes I have done have taught me a lot about myself. Being more assertive is probably my biggest hurdle. It is interesting when you plan a lesson and you think you have great learning activities for the students. You go into class feeling motivated to do a great lesson and wanting to give the students the opportunity to create a better life for themselves. Five minutes into the lesson everybody is sitting there with blank looks on their faces and you think to yourself what do I need to do to change this? Thinking on your feet is definitely a prerequisite for teaching and always having plenty of spare activities to fill in time or to change if an activity is not working is very important. Keeping myself and the class motivated will be my number 1 priority as a TESOL teacher. If my teaching can help these beautiful people create a better life for themselves I will be a very happy person. I find most of the older students already have the motivation to learn English because they know what opportunities they can have, whereas the younger ones dont understand why they are learning. They go to school all day and then have to go to

school at night and on weekends too. This makes it doubly important for me to keep the motivation level high in the class and to keep changing the activities to avoid boredom. In conclusion, motivation is such an important part of any teaching but for TESOL teaching where students may not understand a lot of what is being said, keeping activities simple and fun is of utmost importance. I have found a few different websites that have ESL activities so Im sure they will get plenty of use. I will make sure that I always have some extra activities so that if something seems not to be working I can change to something else. Keeping student and teacher motivation strong is the basis of good teaching, and creates excitement in the minds of the students to learn something new.

My favourite quotes:

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek. When nothing is sure, everything is possible. If you cant find a way, create one. Dont carry your mistakes around with you, instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones.