Motivation
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| http://www.corhq.com/blog/post/friday-fun-homer-simpson-on-motivation/#.UjmzuMakpqM |
Every semester brings a roomful of fresh and eager students ready to learn. Their enthusiasm can be harnessed by focusing on course and individual goals for your class. Teachers should maintain their enthusiasm by considering their motivation to learn. According to Dulay and Bert, motivation is the most influential factor in learning a new language. It will determine how persistent learners will be and the direction of their behavior during their tenure as your students. Motivated students make good choices and put forth more effort. A good way to start off each semester is to pose the question; Why should you study a foreign language? This gives students the opportunity to reflect on the reason they have registered for Spanish class and what they expect to learn. Gardner has divided motivation into two categories based on the factors that influence students.
Instrumental motivational factors can include getting a better job or meeting an academic requirement. Many students and their parents believe that learning a foreign language will provide more career opportunities for them. “Monolingualism is a disadvantage in the global economy”. (Russell Berman, president of the Modern Language Association). On their school’s website, the University of St. John’s in Minnesota encourages students to study a foreign language to increase their job opportunities. They provide examples of careers in which students can expect to use the language they study. The United States government gives preference to Americans with foreign language skills when hiring for the IRS, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department, the DEA, and the Armed Forces. Business leaders have more opportunity for advancement in U.S. companies that market or manufacture products abroad. There is always a need for teachers who can teach at elementary, middle, and high school. And finally, there is a demand for people with the ability to communicate with non-English speakers in service occupations such as public relations, social services, health care, law enforcement, and judicial systems. Competition for jobs in our economy is great, but students with language skills will have an advantage.
Students, administrators, parents, and others involved in education may wonder if learning a foreign language should be a graduation requirement in which a district and the the student make monetary and time commitments. Studies have shown that students who study a foreign language score higher on standardized tests, including college entrance exams and not just in language and verbal scores, but also in mathematics. Studying a foreign language can also help in the other classes that students take.
According to Therese Sullivan Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), learning a language enhanced cognitive development by developing the concept of “object permanence”. The brain will be better able to understand that even if there is more than one name for an object, the object itself does not change. Learning another language also helps students develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Studies show that second language acquisition delays the onset of Alzheimers. Caccavale describes a program in Europe where the elderly have become language students. Karin Ryding, Arabic professor at Georgetown University, believes that learning the structure of language develops cognitive ability.
Another reason that St. John’s University in Minnesota encourages all of their students to study foreign language is because they believe it will expand their view of the world by exposing them to different ways of thinking and viewpoints. Students who are exposed to different cultures understand that there are different ways to think and to view the world. This leads them to become better at problem-solving because they begin to look for alternative viewpoints and solutions. They become more willing to take risks.
Most students will produce instrumental motivational factors, but as teachers we want to expand their list to include integrative motivational factors such as fitting in with native speakers. Students armed with these factors will be more likely to have a positive attitude. They are more likely to work hard. Teachers can enhance integrative motivation by providing opportunities to use the language. Motivation factors should be integrated into the course goals.
