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Motivation - Why and How?

February/March 2005
Workshops for Upper Secondary School teachers in Ba Ria -
Vung Tau, Binh Dinh, Da Nang , Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh, Khanh
Hoa, Kien Giang, Nghe An, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang,
Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien Hue and Yen Bai

On Day One, participants were asked to discuss the
importance of motivation in language learning and
teaching and to share the problems and solutions of how
to motivate their teenage students

Why?
It is widely agreed that motivation plays an important role
in language teaching and learning because if students are
motivated, they will learn the language that teachers are
trying to deliver. If they are not motivated, learning and
teaching will stand still and the outputs are likely to be
disappointing for both students and teachers. Our
participants see its importance as follows

Positive motivation signs
         • l Students actively and willingly participate with one 
         another in learning activities.
         • l They are attentive to what the teacher and other 
         peers say.
         • l They do their homework regularly and prepare the 
         next day’s activities.
         • l They find input material interesting.
         • l They are willing to cooperate with each other and with 
         teachers when practical difficulties arise.
         • l They come to class with well - organized notes.
         • l They are willing to have a go even if they find an 
         activity difficult or unfamiliar.

How?
In terms of successful language learning, motivation clearly plays a crucial role and so deserves special attention. Feedback from most of the provinces indicated that teachers agree that in order to increase motivation in our classrooms, teenagers themselves should be taken into consideration. Here is what teenage students like doing in their classes:
l activities that are related to their context ( their village, district, school …..)
l activities relating to music, songs, sports
l games, quizzes, riddles, competitions, pictures, jokes…..
l working in pairs, groups, teams for guessing activities or problem-solving activities
l physical activities or movements
l activities talking about themselves
l things that give them opportunities to explore and discover their surroundings
l being praised, treated fairly and respected, but not criticised….
l doing something funny, creative, adventurous
l something not too demanding but challenging enough
l making contributions in learning

Thus, teachers should make learning activities reflect students’ interests and needs - then they will be motivated. Try this is your classes!

Activities for motivation

Pictionary
Thanks Ms Kim Anh – a trainer from Quang Ninh for demonstrating this at the workshop.

1. Prepare a list of ten words or more (up to teachers).
2. Put the class into 4 groups then ask them to number from one to ten within each group.
3. Instruct students that when the teacher calls out a number, for example number one, four number ones from four groups will come to the teacher and they will be shown a word. As soon as they get the word, they go back to their groups and draw so that other group members can guess the word. The group who works out the word first will get one point.
4. Do the same with the rest of words and feed back to see who is the winner.

This is a very interesting activity as students are involved in drawing, guessing, moving and competing and it is also a fun way to revise vocabulary.

My machine
Ms Hoai An demonstrated this successfully in Quang Tri.
1. Put students into groups ( 4 groups) and ask them to brainstorm a list of machines that are useful in their lives.
2. Get feedback from all groups and make a class list on the board.
3. Ask each student to choose a machine which is most like him/her. Example: I am like a popcorn popper because I think q uickly and have many ideas.
4. Ask students to talk to peers in their groups about why they are like a certain machine. Then feedback from one or two students from each group to the whole class.
(This is a very good activity to motivate students. It is also good for mixed ability classes. Teachers can do the same with animals, instead of machines)

Star of My Life
Many thanks to the Khanh Hoa team for reminding us of this activity and to all VTTN trainers for trying it out at the workshops.
1. Draw a four, six or eight point star on the board.

2. On each point of the star write something that is important for you such as a date, name, number, likes/dislikes. Don’t tell students why you have written them.
3. Students have to ask questions and try to guess the meaning of what you have written. You can set a time limit to make it more interesting.
4. When you have finished, ask students to make their own stars and work in pairs or mingle to guess information from one another
(This activity is great for ice breaking and allows students and teachers to get to know each other quickly)

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