This document provides an overview of motivation as it relates to language learning. It discusses what motivation is, the different types of motivation like intrinsic and extrinsic, and factors that influence learner motivation such as their society, relationships, and teachers. Successful learners are characterized as having a positive task orientation, ego-involvement, need for achievement, high aspirations, goal orientation, perseverance, and tolerance for ambiguity. Teachers can help motivate students by choosing engaging material, clear goals and instructions, cultivating trust, helping students identify intrinsic reasons for learning, and promoting learner autonomy.

1. THE KENNEDY INSTITUTE’S
TEACHING KNOWLEDGE TEST
PREPARATION AND CERTIFICATION COURSE
MODULE 1: MOTIVATION

2. MOTIVATION

3. “Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become
great.”
—Mark Twain
LANGUAGEREFLECTION

4. ABOUTMOTIVATION
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
It is acceptable for most fields of learning that motivation is
essential to success: that we have to want to do something
to succeed at it and haver powerful reasons for doing it.
Motivation is the
thoughts and feelings we
have which make us want
to do something,
continue to want to do it
and therefore do the
action necessary to
achieve our goal.

5. ABOUTMOTIVATION
WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR
MOTIVATION?
Many factors influence our motivation to learn a language.
Some of these factors may include:
• to get a job
• for courses of study
• getting good grades
• interest in the target
culture
• feeling good learning
the language

6. TYPESOFMOTIVATION
HOW DOES MOTIVATION AFFECT US?
There are different kinds of motivation*:
integrative: a desire to identify with and integrate
into the target language culture.
instrumental: wish to learn the language for the
purposes of study or career promotion.
Penny Ur, About Language Teaching
Motivation affects… why we do something.
how long we want to do it for.
how hard we are prepared to work.

7. ABOUTMOTIVATION
Factors that drive us to do something are:
Extrinsic motivation: the influence
of outside factors (grade, money,
etc.)
Intrinsic motivation: influence
comes from within the individual; a
personal desire for achievement,
even a fear of failure.
SOME TYPES OF MOTIVATION

8. SOURCESOFMOTIVATION
FACTORS OF MOTIVATION
The reasons that bring a student to the task of learning English
are affected and influenced by the attitude of a number of
factors:
the society we live in
significant others/immediate relations
the teacher
the method
the environment

9. LEARNERMOTIVATION
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNER MOTIVATION
A study (Neiman et all 1978) shows that successful learners are
not necessarily those to whom a language comes easily, rather
to those that show particular characteristics clearly associated
with motivation:
Positive task orientation:
The learner is willing to tackle tasks and challenges, and has
confidence in his or her success.
Ego-involvement:
The learner finds it important to succeed in learning in order to
maintain and promote his or her own positive self image.
Need for achievement:
The learner has a need to achieve, to overcome difficulties and
succeed in what he or she sets out to do.

10. LEARNERMOTIVATION
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNER
MOTIVATIONHigh aspirations:
The learner is ambitious, goes for demanding challenges, high
proficiency, top grades.
Goal orientation:
The learner is very aware of the goals of learning, or of specific
learning activities, and directs his or her efforts towards
achieving them.
Perseverance:
The learner consistently invests a high level of effort in learning,
and is not discouraged by setbacks or apparent lack of
progress.
Tolerance of ambiguity
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 that understanding
will come later.

11. TEACHINGFACTORS
WHAT WE DO AS TEACHERS AFFECT
STUDENTSTeachers can stimulate student motivation via the environment:
Provoke interest and involvement:
Choosing material that is age/level appropriate
and topics of interest to the students.
Choose activities that are dynamic and based on
the learner’ characteristics and styles.
Give clear instructions so that students know
what their goals are and follow up with examples
of “how to” so students understand how to
accomplish them.
Listen to your students. Their comments and
even questions will reveal their feelings their
language learning.

12. TEACHINGFACTORS
WHAT WE DO AS TEACHERS AFFECT
STUDENTS
Project a positive attitude to your learners that
encourages them and cultivates trust.
Help students identify their purpose or reasons
for learning so that intrinsic motivation is
cultivated.
Make English immediately useful in the students’
everyday life.
Expose students to English through self
discovery and learner autonomy.

13. ENGAGE YOUR
STUDENTS
Help them enjoy the process of
getting to the goal and they will get
there on their own.

14. extrinsic motivation
goal
intrinsic motivation
learner autonomy
motivation
personalize
self-confidence
target language cutlure
These are some important terms on the exam, but not limited to.
KEY VOCABULARY FOR MOTIVATION

15. END OF PRESENTATION
This presentation is designed for the exclusive use by
The Kennedy Institute for the
Teaching Knowledge Test
Preparation and Certification Course
All rights reserved. 2011