英语教学法期末论文

Application of Learners’ Motivation and Influence upon English Learners

and Learning Process

Abstract: Motivation has been accepted as a crucial and decisive factor for learning. Learning motivation is an interior power what can promote students’learning directly. Whether a student has initiative in learning process is very much related to the learning motivation.

Key words: learning motivation, English learners,

The learning motivation is an internal emotion stimulating and guiding learners’ study as well as a need satisfying one’s target. Learners may be driven by various motivations during their learning process. There are two main motivation types comprised of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation besides Integrative motivation and Instrumental motivation which were proposed by Lamber t and Gardner.

It is claimed that learners’positive attitude towards target language group is regarded as “Integrative motivation ”.While instrumental motivation is a preference demonstrated after seeking for the real value and advantages of learning a new language. Learners learning foreign languages with instrumental motivation aim at social, economic returns, such as passing an exam.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual and is considered to be more powerful and stable in learning. It generally refers

to motivation to engage in an activity because that activity is enjoyable and satisfying to do. Intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself. It aimed at bringing about certain internally rewarding consequences, namely , feelings of competence and self-determination. Intrinsic motivation occurs when an individual works simply for an inner desire to accomplish a task successfully. Intrinsic motivation is in evidence whenever students’natural curiosity and interest energize their learning.

Interest refers to a state of wanting to know or learn about something or someone; it is equal to curiosity and concern. It comes from the learner s’ inside, and can be explained to be a love of the target language and its culture. Internal motivation becomes very important in educational settings because learning is most likely to take place when the environment provides opportunities for the learners to satisfy their natural curiosity. Interest is the central emotion that accompanies intrinsic motivation. The learners perform the task because it is fun, interesting, useful, or challenging, and not because they anticipate some cognitive or affective rewards from the teacher. And also the persistence of learners is positively affected by having internal interest. If the learners love the subject itself and the learning process, the chances of succeeding in learning will be greatly increased. Therefore, teachers should try to activate learners’interest in accordance with delivering more attractive

information to learners.

Self-efficacy is also a fundamental aspect in intrinsic motivation. It refers to persons’beliefs in their own capabilities to exert control over aspects on their lives. I t is the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals, and has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to manage prospective situations. People with a high sense of self-efficacy have a strong confidence in their capabilities and handle difficult tasks as challenges to be accepted rather than as threats to be avoided. A sense of efficacy for performing well in school may lead students to expand effort and persist at tasks, which promotes learning. Hence teachers should provide meaningful and proper task for learners to accomplish so that they could experience success and their self-efficacy can be improved.

Another indispensable aspect accounts to attitude, which refers to an individual’s response tendency, favorable or unfavorable, to a person, an object, or a symbol. Attitude and motivation are closely related. Learners will benefit from positive attitudes while negative attitudes may decrease motivation and ultimately to unsuccessful attainment o proficiency. Therefore teachers are responsible for building a positive attitude for learners. This may depend on deliberate attempts to develop attitudes and the methods of instruction used properly.

Extrinsic motivation is caused by the motivating force from outside of

the learner. It comes from the desire to get a reward or avoid punishment, the focus of which is on something external to the learning activity itself. Environment in learning consists mainly of three aspects: school environment, family environment and social environment. At school some degree of extrinsic reward will always remain important in the language teaching, especially for those with no motivations. Also everything a teacher does in the classroom has a motivational influence on students, which makes teacher’s behavior a powerful motivational tool. Moreover, teachers’ value, beliefs, attitudes, as well as the general level of their commitment towards the students, their learning and the subject matter, constitute some of the most prevailing influences on students’motivation. Teachers are the designated leaders of the class groups and therefore they have a special responsibility for maintaining their own commitment to the teaching process. And they should provide students with extrinsic reward what can elevate learners’ inner interest.