This document provides 5 strategies for motivating unmotivated English language learners: 1) Identify students' strengths and interests to make lessons more engaging; 2) Promote contact with English speakers and culture by having students interact with English icons; 3) Encourage students to set attainable goals to build self-efficacy; 4) Incorporate modern technology into classes to appeal to different learning styles; 5) Establish an effective reward system and acknowledge good behavior to show support. The document suggests teachers get to know their students better to plan relevant lessons, and use praise and small rewards to motivate reluctant learners.

1. 5 Ways to Motivate Unmotivated
English Learners
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2. 1. Identify your
students’ strengths
and areas of
interest
Are your students sporty or artistic? Extroverted or
introverted? Do they like classical or rock n’ roll? If you
are wondering why you need to know the autobiographies
of your students, well, chances are that they can help you
plan your lessons effectively.
One of the best ways of engaging students who lack
motivation is to couch their learning in contexts that
interest them (Wilson, 2012).
We all know that films, music and TV programmes can
somehow help ESL students learn English, but choosing
the right resource is the key. Showing a cheesy sitcom
from the 80’s is unlikely to get you anywhere if you’re
showing it to an avant-garde film lover. Your sporty
students may not enjoy your cookery podcast as much as
they’d appreciate a football commentary.
It’s time to do a little research into your students. Get to
know what learning tools are more likely to appeal and
make your lessons relevant to their lives.

3. 2. Promote students’
contact with English
speakers and their
culture
In other words, make your students like you.
Make them feel curious about you so that
they are eager to speak your language and
communicate with you.
If you find it hard to be popular among your
students, help them develop positive feelings
towards an English speaker, be it a famous
singer, a fictional character or Santa Claus.
You can even train their writing skills and
creativity by having them pretend they’re
writing to their English-speaking idols!

4. 3. Encourage your
students to set
attainable goals for
themselves
Help your ESL students build their self-
efficacy and sense of accomplishment by
allowing them opportunities to achieve goals.
These goals do not have to be big and
ambitious as long as they are specific,
realistic and achievable. They can be
something as simple as learning 10 new
words every day or winning a small-scale
inter-class scrabble competition.

5. 4. Incorporate modern
technology into your
classes
There’s nothing more disheartening than seeing your
students lose focus and start scrolling their smartphones
stealthily under the desks. Yes, your students do know
how to grind your gears sometimes, but don’t blame
technology and the Internet.
Children these days have been using mobile technology
since they could walk and talk. Mobile devices give them a
window into the world beyond the classroom. As a
teacher, it’s important to keep abreast of the times and
consider how mobile apps and different tech gadgets can
be carefully deployed as motivational learning aids.
Integrating technology into the classroom is in fact a good
way to connect with students of all learning styles. From
our experience, a moderate amount of IT elements can
spice up your English classes like magic. While technology
may not be suitable for every ESL classroom, its potential
is definitely something worth exploring.

6. 5. Establish an
effective reward
system and
acknowledge good
behaviour
Reluctant students need to be both
challenged and supported
(Phttps://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/r
esources/2/Principal/2004/S-
Op46.pdfrotherone, 2004). Show your
students your support! Encouragement from
senior figures can be a great source of
motivation.
Praise your students for their achievements
in class. For younger students, try to reward
them with small treats such as stickers and
stamps! Most students like to feel validated
for their efforts and appreciated by their
peers and teachers.

7. References
Protheroe, N. (2004) “Motivating Reluctant Learners.” Available at:
https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/resources/2/Principal/2004/S-Op46.pdf (Accessed on Aug
2018)
Wilson, K. (2012) “Motivating the Unmotivated: 10 ways to get your students to do something.” Available
at: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Seminars_motivating.pdf (Accessed on 30
Aug 2018)

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