Motivation
Revisited
What my students taught me about
keeping the class motivated
http://community.eflclassroom.com/forum2/topics/motivation
D. Deubelbeiss
Why
do
babies
never
lack
motivation?
Let’s Start With A Challenge
The puzzle of motivation
What is motivation?
Motivation
……….. to move
The values, beliefs and conditions that cause
one to learn.
Good Teaching
Relationships
What this means ……
• Learn about your students
• Begin lessons with small talk
• Slow down.
Teach simply, simply teach
• Personalize the curriculum
• Class feelings before fundamentals
• Focus on community
Nothing breeds success
like success
What this means ……..
• Slow down
• 3Rs. Repeat, review, recycle
• Sequencing
• Set achievable, “visible” goals
• Formative assessments
• Celebrate, reward, emotivate
• Know the difference between praise and
acknowledgement
Expectations
What this means ……
• View each student as having potential
• Instill a growth mindset
• Explicitly show you care about students
• Set stanards and accountability
Team work
What this means …….
• Team building exercises
• Foster class identity
• Pay attention to the personalities in the
class and groupings
• PPD – Problem, Purpose, Destination
(St. Neot’s Margin – Colin Wilson)
Make it useful
What this means ……
• Know thy students’ needs
• Authentic materials.
• Have a rationale, purpose
• Real world tasks.
• Get out of the class!
or bring the world to you!
Why?
Get out of the way
Quote about
What this means ……
• Rethink your own role
• Don’t over teach
• Put the responsibility for learning plainly
in the hands of students
• Allow student leadership / teaching
Activity
What this means …….
• Rethink the space of the class
• Rethink how you deliver the lesson
• Plan activities where there is real practice
• Install – Activate – Experience
• Blended learning, increase student time
on task
Ask your students
What this means ……
• Take time out to talk about the lesson
and how it went
• Provide a way for students to give you
ongoing feedback
• Talk to students outside of class
• Participate in the wider school
Structure
What this means …….
• Use an agenda
• Have consistent parts to your lesson
• Reinforce and use routines
• Provide students with clearly defined
roles
davidde@nipissingu.ca
david@englishcentral.com
http://teachers.schooloftefl.com

Motivation revisited