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Motivation & Goal Setting: You Can Do It!Motivation and goal setting (& attainment) is not as easy as just saying 'You can do it." No, it requires a lot more than that. Check out the lecture and read the following tips to help you get a better understanding of what impacts motivation.
After that, why not head on over to our Resources page and spend a little more time reading up on the subjects of motivation and goal setting/attainment - or on any other subjects that you might be interested in - to help expand your knowledge so you can help your students more effectively. (Go on - you know you want to.). Please watch the mini-lecture at the bottom of the page. |
Josh and Theo's SLA Motivation Tips - (For Teachers)
1. Motivation is dynamic: Be prepared to reassess and refine goals along the way. What motivates your students now may not motivate them in the future.
2. There are three stages: Let’s get started; Let’s keep going; Let’s reflect and set the next goal
3. It might be out of your control: Extrinsic factors (a student's home environment, job, access to materials etc.) that affect your student's motivation levels may be beyond your control. Try to manage and address external factors to the best of your ability.
4. Practice what you preach: Set a personal example with your own behavior.
5. Enthusiasm is contagious: Teach with passion (Booya!!! - Is that still hip?).
6. People matter: Develop a good relationship with your students. Care for them, their goals, and their dreams.
7. Confidence matters: Develop ways to enhance the learner's linguistic and personal self-confidence.
8. Who is in charge? Promote learner autonomy by empowering the students to take control of their own language learning journey (especially important for adult students).
9. Person in the mirror: Help your students see their future selves by reminding them (or getting them to think of) the person they will be once they achieve their goals.
10. Do not be generic: Personalize the learning process for your students as much as possible. Our students are not just students; they are real people with real dreams (See point 15 below).
11. Boring people do boring things: Make your classes fun, interesting and engaging (no one wants to study with a boring teacher).
12. Eye on the prize: Work with your students to help keep them focused on their goal.
13. Motivation ebbs and flows: Help your students understand the dynamics of motivation and reaching goals. It really is not as simple as ABC.
14. Reward a job well done: Yes, intrinsically motivated students might be easier to teach in theory, but there is nothing wrong with providing a little motivation in terms of extrinsic rewards. Just make sure it is a reward and not a bribe.
15. Identity matters: The concept of ‘identity’ (how people define/see themselves) is crucial to both in-class and out-of-class learning. This is because “identity has important implications for how we as language teachers engage the motivation, interests and identities of our students” (Uhsioda, 2011, p.199).
Josh's (extra) Thinking Points To Help Keep Goals SMART!
1. SMART: Make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic (but challenging), and Time-bound.
2. Where is the target? Help the student set clear goals. What do they want to achieve?
3. How do I get to the target? Help the student plan how they will achieve their goal. Discuss it, write it down, and agree on it.
4. Failing to plan is planning to fail: Having a goal is not enough. We need to map out the concrete steps we will take to reach our goals. Placing a high level of importance on the ‘how can we get to our goal’ component of goal setting will help your students achieve their goals. (For me, this is arguably the most important part of achieving one's goals. Get a plan in place, and stick to it.)
5. Praise and reward effort: Reward and praise the efforts made by your students. (Yes, I am saying it again!) It might also be a good idea to teach your students about the benefits of positive self-talk (see references below).
6. Failure is inevitable - so embrace it: Guys and gals, you are going to fall off the wagon and/or make mistakes at some point in time. This is of no consequence as long as you understand that it is just part of the process - just don't give up. Oh, and teach this very important point to your students. If they know it is all part of the process, they will be less likely to give up at the first obstacle. (See point 13 above.)
7. Readjust when needed: Sometimes we need to reassess our goals. Doing this at regular intervals helps keep us on track.
1. Motivation is dynamic: Be prepared to reassess and refine goals along the way. What motivates your students now may not motivate them in the future.
2. There are three stages: Let’s get started; Let’s keep going; Let’s reflect and set the next goal
3. It might be out of your control: Extrinsic factors (a student's home environment, job, access to materials etc.) that affect your student's motivation levels may be beyond your control. Try to manage and address external factors to the best of your ability.
4. Practice what you preach: Set a personal example with your own behavior.
5. Enthusiasm is contagious: Teach with passion (Booya!!! - Is that still hip?).
6. People matter: Develop a good relationship with your students. Care for them, their goals, and their dreams.
7. Confidence matters: Develop ways to enhance the learner's linguistic and personal self-confidence.
8. Who is in charge? Promote learner autonomy by empowering the students to take control of their own language learning journey (especially important for adult students).
9. Person in the mirror: Help your students see their future selves by reminding them (or getting them to think of) the person they will be once they achieve their goals.
10. Do not be generic: Personalize the learning process for your students as much as possible. Our students are not just students; they are real people with real dreams (See point 15 below).
11. Boring people do boring things: Make your classes fun, interesting and engaging (no one wants to study with a boring teacher).
12. Eye on the prize: Work with your students to help keep them focused on their goal.
13. Motivation ebbs and flows: Help your students understand the dynamics of motivation and reaching goals. It really is not as simple as ABC.
14. Reward a job well done: Yes, intrinsically motivated students might be easier to teach in theory, but there is nothing wrong with providing a little motivation in terms of extrinsic rewards. Just make sure it is a reward and not a bribe.
15. Identity matters: The concept of ‘identity’ (how people define/see themselves) is crucial to both in-class and out-of-class learning. This is because “identity has important implications for how we as language teachers engage the motivation, interests and identities of our students” (Uhsioda, 2011, p.199).
Josh's (extra) Thinking Points To Help Keep Goals SMART!
1. SMART: Make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic (but challenging), and Time-bound.
2. Where is the target? Help the student set clear goals. What do they want to achieve?
3. How do I get to the target? Help the student plan how they will achieve their goal. Discuss it, write it down, and agree on it.
4. Failing to plan is planning to fail: Having a goal is not enough. We need to map out the concrete steps we will take to reach our goals. Placing a high level of importance on the ‘how can we get to our goal’ component of goal setting will help your students achieve their goals. (For me, this is arguably the most important part of achieving one's goals. Get a plan in place, and stick to it.)
5. Praise and reward effort: Reward and praise the efforts made by your students. (Yes, I am saying it again!) It might also be a good idea to teach your students about the benefits of positive self-talk (see references below).
6. Failure is inevitable - so embrace it: Guys and gals, you are going to fall off the wagon and/or make mistakes at some point in time. This is of no consequence as long as you understand that it is just part of the process - just don't give up. Oh, and teach this very important point to your students. If they know it is all part of the process, they will be less likely to give up at the first obstacle. (See point 13 above.)
7. Readjust when needed: Sometimes we need to reassess our goals. Doing this at regular intervals helps keep us on track.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Theo Dainis, my friend and sounding board, for taking the time to talk with me about motivation and second language development.
Search terms: josh esl, josh efl, efl josh, esl josh, www.joshefl.com, teaching English in Korea, how to teach English, TESOL, eslblog, eflblog, efljosh, esljosh.com, efljosh.com
I would like to thank Theo Dainis, my friend and sounding board, for taking the time to talk with me about motivation and second language development.
Search terms: josh esl, josh efl, efl josh, esl josh, www.joshefl.com, teaching English in Korea, how to teach English, TESOL, eslblog, eflblog, efljosh, esljosh.com, efljosh.com