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Extrinsic Motivation In The Classroom

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Motivation is the force that keeps us moving in order to perform our activities. Often, as teachers, we hear and witness that the students do not demonstrate any kind of interest for the academic matters and that they are not motivated. But, more often, what happens is that they are in fact motivated to do other kind of tasks, which are more pleasant for them. Motivation is the interest students have for their own learning or the interest for the activities that lead them to learn something. This interest can be acquired, maintained, or even increased in function of different factors (intrinsic and extrinsic) which need to be set apart from what is has been believed as motivation: what the teacher does to motivate the students. According to …show more content…

197) agree with the fact that intrinsic motivation is better that extrinsic motivation, and say that motivation generates a commitment that makes the students learn the language. They add that intrinsic motivation is present when external motives are inexistent. On the other hand extrinsic motivation is generated when the student is expecting some kind of reward after learning the language. The reward is usually observable. Intrinsic motivation is more important for learning English and achieves success. If at first the student is extrinsically motivated, the chances of reaching the desired goal rise if the student ends up enjoying learning …show more content…

The abilities of a teacher to motivate the students play an important role in their success. The lack of motivation leads to a lack of focus and effort, therefore to a lack of success. Teachers have to find the best strategies to motivate their students to improve their English skills. Keeping the students’ motivation is one of the most important tasks a teacher has. There are many ways in which students can be motivated to learn English. Many researchers and authors describe some of the activities or strategies that help the teacher keep the students motivated. Herrel and Jordan (2012, p. 17) say that students are more successful when they: learn language in context, relate the language with their own experience, get involved in real communication situations, do not get embarrassed if mistaken, and when their language level is taken into account when the activities are

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