Moticion In The Classroom

Intrinsic Motivation

In the field of Education, motivation is primary since it should be kept from the beginning to the end of the learning process. Motivation is the interest of the students for their own learning and it is within the student, therefore, motivation should be the starting point for the learning process in order to get success in the teaching – learning process. However, students’ interest for learning may acquire, hold or increase depending on intrinsic and extrinsic elements.

On the one hand, according to Jeremy Harmer intrinsic motivation depends on what happens in the classroom since there are several factors that affect intrinsic motivation such as physical conditions, method, the teacher and success (5-6).

First, the physical conditions of the classroom have much to do with teaching-learning process since the students spend their school time in that place. The classrooms should call students’ attention and teacher should make it a pleasant place for students (Harmer, 5). It means that teachers should decorate the classrooms with postcards, pictures, etc in order to not discourage students. For example, if a classroom does not have adequate infrastructure, students will feel unmotivated but the teacher could be the one who could make an enjoyable learning space where students can work and feel free.

Second, the method used during the lessons is the most difficult area of the teaching process. Jeremy Harmer claims that “the students’ confidence in the method is largely in the hands of the most important factor affecting intrinsic motivation, the teacher (5).” This means that the teacher is the person who should look for techniques, methods, and activities that encourage students to understand what they are learning and to motivate to learn the target language. Moreover, the activities used for the classes should be challenging and rewarding so the students could receive some kind of satisfaction from learning.

Third, the teacher plays a significant role in students’ learning. The teacher should not only sympathize to the students but the teacher should possess several qualities:

The teacher has to make his classes interesting.

The teacher must be fair, threat his students equally and as far as possible understand and act on the worries and aspirations of his pupils.

The teacher must offer a good model as the target language user.

The teacher must be a good technician: his students should understand what is wanted of them, be able to pronounce correctly, and be stimulated into activity in the target language (Harmer, 6).

Lastly, the last factor is the success. Success depends on the challenging activities that the teacher offers to his students. If the activity is easy then students may lose motivation they have (Harmer, 6). Therefore, the teacher has on his hands failure or success of students´ learning.

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