Boosting Teenagers Motivation: An Action Research Project

Mark Bain Mark Bain was working in a small language school in Catalonia, Spain, where he struggled to get his teenagers interested in learning English. For unconnected reasons, he is no longer teaching teens, but instead working as a teacher-trainer for O ford !EF", Barcelona, and teaching #in-compan$% classes for the &ni'ersitat (ut)noma de Barcelona. *e continues to be interested in moti'ation, as well as learner autonom$ and educational technolog$. *e tries to find the time to write a blog about these things. +ebsite and blog, www.teachertrainer.es. Email, mark-teachertrainer.es Menu .ntroduction Background Ob/ecti'es Class profile "essons Conclusion 0eferences Introduction 0ecent research concludes that moti'ation 1is as important for teenagers% school success as the wa$s teachers deli'er the sub/ect matter2 3Bromle$, 45567. Fortunatel$, this is an area in which the teacher can make a crucial difference. Secondar$ school students ha'e identified the teacher as the most important factor in their le'els of moti'ation 3Chambers, 89967. On the other hand, one conse:uence of demoti'ation amongst learners is demoti'ation amongst teachers. !his is especiall$ true when it leads to disrupti'e beha'iour, the most serious problem teachers face in the classroom 3;<rn$ei, 45547. . began to think about this when . was recentl$ faced with a class of teenagers who did not appear to be interested in learning English= se'eral e hibited disrupti'e beha'iour. !his article records the attempts . made to tackle the problem. 1Moti'ation represents one of the most appealing, $et comple , 'ariables used to e plain indi'idual differences in language learning.2 3Mac.nt$re, MacMaster > Baker, 45587. !he histor$ of the stud$ of moti'ation can be summarised as an effort to reduce the comple it$ of this 'ariable to more manageable proportions. +hile the stud$ of

moti'ation continues to be dominated b$ categories such as integrati'e, instrumental, intrinsic and e trinsic, it is clear, if onl$ from the number of competing theories, that moti'ation is highl$ comple . (s a teacher, it seems prudent to consider moti'ation as multi-faceted, and our classroom practices should reflect this. Objectives ;<rn$ei 345587 pro'ides teachers with an e tensi'e list of strategies the$ can use to moti'ate their learners. .t is from this list that . ha'e selected and adapted the following ob/ecti'es. !o promote the learners% awareness of the instrumental 'alues associated with the knowledge of English. . belie'e teenagers need constant reminders of the practical and personal 'alue of English. .nstrumental moti'ation is present 1when the learner has a functional ob/ecti'e, such as passing an e am or getting a /ob2 3!hornbur$, 4556, 8?@7. Aarents are often acutel$ aware of these ob/ecti'es, pa$ing for their children to attend pri'ate English classes as a conse:uence. Often these parental ob/ecti'es are long-term= teenagers, as a rule, ha'e difficult$ in achie'ing such goals. 0ecent research suggests that there ma$ be a neurological reason for this 3B/ork, et al, 455B7. !o make learning more stimulating and en/o$able b$ 'ar$ing the learning tasks and other aspects of m$ teaching in response to the moti'ational 1flow2. !eenagers are often accused of ha'ing 1short attention spans2= but one onl$ need look at the hours spent pla$ing 'ideo games to see that the$ are :uite capable of spending man$ hours concentrating. Cideo games succeed because the$ capture teenagers% interest, and hold it, b$ presenting them with a wide 'ariet$ of new challenges= the classroom should do likewise. !o make the curriculum more rele'ant to the learners b$ relating the sub/ect matter and the teaching materials to the learners% e periences and interests. . ha'e selected the third ob/ecti'e because man$ teenagers fre:uentl$ describe school e periences as irrele'ant and lacking appropriate and meaningful challenges 3Bromle$, 45567. Educators ha'e a responsibilit$ to make their classes interesting for teenagers. !he$ often /ust aren%t interested in what educators ha'e to sa$ D or the wa$ the$ sa$ it. Class pro ile

(ll the reflections in this pro/ect relate to an .ntermediate Eeneral English class which . ha'e been teaching since the start of the academic $ear. !his class consists of 84 $oung teenagers 384-8B $ears old7= the$ come twice a week after school for an hour and a half. Few demonstrate 1the combination of effort plus desire to achie'e the goal of learning the language plus fa'ourable attitudes toward learning the language2, Eardner%s definition of moti'ation 389FG,857 = se'eral are consistentl$ disrupti'e. !esson " .n order to introduce the topic of #work%, . had created a letter from a teenager who%s worried about his work prospects. . asked them how important English would be to them in the future. !hose who wanted /obs which in'ol'ed tra'elling or working abroad were aware that it was going to be 'er$ important, but some of the others didn%t think so. . asked them if the$ knew an$thing about English as an .nternational "anguage. Some of them did, and e plained it to the rest of the class, man$ had ne'er realised that English could be useful for communicating with other non-nati'e speakers. +hile coursebooks often feature non-nati'e speakers, the$ usuall$ appear in the conte t of tourism in a countr$ where English is the nati'e language. !his doesn%t reflect the true utilit$ of English, and thus misses an opportunit$ to boost instrumental moti'ation. !his lesson also ga'e the learners the opportunit$ to e press their fears for the future related to e am success, uni'ersit$ entrance and the world of work. *elping them to understand #the practical 'alue and ad'antages of learning a new language% 3"ambert, 89@B, 9F7 in the modern world allows them to make sense of the pressure the$ are under to achie'e proficienc$ in English. !esson # !his lesson was based on a te t about a clinic for 1.nternet addicts2 in China. !he rationale for choosing this te t was to appeal to the interests of the class, and also highlight some instrumental reasons to learn English. (ll of the learners ha'e .nternet access at home, and some pla$ online role-pla$ing games, which sometimes brings them into conflict with their parents. ;uring the lesson, we discussed the importance of knowing English in order to full$ en/o$ the .nternet. One learner pointed out that rolepla$ing games were a good wa$ to learn English. . finished the class b$ handing out a list of sites in English which the$ might en/o$. !heir homework task was to in'estigate one of the sites and complete a feedback form. !he form asks how useful, how en/o$able and how difficult the site is 3based on Clandfield and Herr, 455@7. +hile this lesson was an undoubted success, it would be time consuming to prepare materials such as these for each and e'er$ class. Eood teachers 1figure out how to

con'e$ rele'ance and get the students interested e'en if the sub/ect seems unrelated to their dail$ li'es2 3Bromle$, 45567. !esson $ !his lesson featured a listening comprehension about a librarian who, with some e pert help, became a political reporter. . felt that, although not directl$ related to the e periences of the learners, this topic might allow me to 1con'e$ rele'ance2. . began b$ referring back to what we had discussed in a pre'ious class about their career plans. !he listening comprehension went e tremel$ well, perhaps because it and because . encouraged them to compare answers between sections, monitoring and gi'ing feedback. . then followed the coursebook and introduced some grammar. &nfortunatel$, the learners :uickl$ became distracted and in'ol'ed in se'eral unrelated con'ersations. . made the decision to change the acti'it$, but . it became necessar$ to remo'e one learner from the classroom for a short time. . later spoke to the class about wh$ the$ didn%t seem to be interested in the lesson. !he$ said the$ were e hausted after being at school all da$, and had homework to complete when the$ got home. (lthough most saw English as important for the future, their parents were asking too much of them. Clearl$, instrumental moti'ation alone is not enough, and . will ha'e to find a wa$ to make grammar fun. !esson % Aa$ing more attention to the moti'ational flow, . took note of the learners% low energ$ le'els when the$ enter the class. .t seems like a fun, high-energ$ acti'it$ 3such as 1Simon sa$s27 is appropriate to start the class off on the right note. Iet, in an attempt to sol'e nagging discipline problems, . ha'e tended to a'oid starting with game-like acti'ities, using them as rewards for acceptable beha'iour, and onl$ at the end of the class. !his classroom management strateg$ clearl$ conflicts with ;<rn$ei%s call to 'ar$ acti'ities in response to the moti'ational flow. .t also ignores what is known about teenagers and dela$ed gratification. Carl 0ogers 3896@7 suggested that a good teacher empathises with their students, how must some of the well-beha'ed learners feel when the class as a whole is punishedJ . would feel indignant were . to be penalised for the wrong-doings of others. Kot onl$ do the$ ha'e to put up with the disruption to their learning, but the$ miss out on the more fun acti'ities. . had hoped that peer-pressure would help me achie'e m$ ob/ecti'e, but rather than turning against the disrupti'e learners, the class turned against me for intentionall$

making the class boring. . ha'e thus decided to abandon this unfair strateg$. .nstead, . will bookend the lesson with a fun acti'it$, whate'er happens. !esson & For this class, . had prepared a song, which . decided to use earl$ in the lesson, for reasons discussed abo'e. (lthough it was a popular song which had been suggested b$ learners, the learners% reaction was not particularl$ positi'e. (pparentl$, it was no longer popular. Ke'ertheless, the$ listened enthusiasticall$ the first time. !he accompan$ing worksheet, howe'er, was deemed 1boring2 and 1too difficult2. .n fact, se'eral con'ersations began during the second pla$ing. . was tempted to abandon the acti'it$, but didn%t want to penalise those who were listening. .nstead, . went around the class asking for silence. . remember a trainer on m$ CE"!( course telling us that it was impossible to maintain silence in a classroom full of teenagers, e'en during listening acti'ities. !eachers often demand silence, but is it e'en necessar$J (lthough we didn%t achie'e as much as . had hoped in the lesson, . asked them to put awa$ their books 8G minutes before the end. +e finished the class with a game of bingo. . was disheartened to note that, e'en when we are pla$ing a game, there are still those who are disrupti'e. Ke'ertheless, the class finished on a high note, and the learners left laughing and smiling. !esson ' !here are F classes remaining before the e am. . decide to negotiate what we are going to do with the learners. (ccording to a recent stud$ b$ &ni'ersit$ of Cirginia ps$cholog$ professor Loseph (llen and education professor 0obert Aianta, high-:ualit$ teachers 1gi'e teens plent$ of chances to be acti'e in the classroom, allowing them to make choices and decisions, without gi'ing up their authorit$ as the teacher. Setting up this en'ironment pla$s to teens% desires for independence and competenc$2 3Bromle$, 45567. . remind the class that the$ ha'e an e am soon, and ask them to plan what acti'ities we are going to do o'er the coming weeks. !he$ work in two groups of four, apart from two learners, the$ are all in'ol'ed and seem to be taking the task 'er$ seriousl$. Eroup one produces a detailed s$llabus, including homework tasks, but makes no mention of games or songs. Eroup two%s s$llabus is less detailed, and includes more fun acti'ities, but still a worthwhile attempt. . later combine the two documents, making some alterations, and gi'e each learner a cop$. !esson (

. usuall$ check and correct the learners% homework near the start of the class. !oda$, . decide to do it after the first acti'it$, a :uiM, which had started the lesson on a positi'e note. (s is normall$ the case, se'eral learners ha'e #forgotten% to do it. . had pre'iousl$ warned them that . would contact their parents if it happened again. One learner in particular takes e ception to this decision, claiming it is unfair and that . am singling him out for punishment. *e is particularl$ 'ocal in his opposition, and initiall$ refuses to participate in the class. *omework is often an area of conflict between the learners and the teacher. (s such, it perhaps better dealt with at the end of the class. B$ doing so, . will a'oid an$ negati'e atmosphere affecting the rest of the class, and the final #fun% acti'it$ will diffuse the tension before the$ lea'e. !esson ) !here are two friends in the class who lo'e the ;isne$ film, 1*igh School Musical2. . had suggested that the$ could bring songs from the film to listen to in class. One of the girls has a high le'el of English, but shows little interest in the class, and . thought this might encourage her to participate more. !oda$, the$ brought a couple of songs, along with gap-fill t$pe e ercises. (t the end of the class, . let them take o'er. (lthough the$ are often chatt$ during acti'ities, the$ found it frustrating that others weren%t pa$ing full attention. . hoped that this e perience would cause them to reflect on their own beha'iour. Aerhaps asking the learners to get more in'ol'ed in acti'ities in'ol'ing a degree of classroom management would encourage them to show more respect for me and their classmates. . reflected on wh$ the$ had gone to all that effort, when the$ struggle to do fi'e minutes% homework. Ob'iousl$, the topic was one that interested them, and being gi'en the freedom to choose is 'er$ moti'ating. Aerhaps e:uall$ important, howe'er, is ha'ing the opportunit$ to share their interests with their peers. !esson * !he final e am is ne t week, and the class had asked me to go o'er a number of grammar points. . had found some good acti'ities but the$ asked me to 1e plain the rules first2. . stood in front of the class and e plained the rules and then the$ did the e ercises. Surprisingl$, . had their attention throughout. Ko doubt the looming e am helped focus their minds. E ams are moti'ating for learners, especiall$ teenagers= and short-term goals tend to be more effecti'e than long-term ones. Aerhaps regular tests or continuous assessment would lead to a more consistent le'el of moti'ation. *owe'er, . had pre'iousl$ noticed a negati'e reaction to acti'ities which call upon the learners to work out the rules for themsel'es. Aerhaps because of their e perience at school,

teenagers seem to feel more comfortable with a more teacher-centred approach. One learner e plained this as follows, 1!he coursebook is boring and . don%t understand it. "istening to the teacher e plain grammar is still boring, but at least . understand2. +here the methodolog$ used is different from what the$ are accustomed to, the learners are less likel$ to trust that the$ are making progress. !his is particularl$ important where learners ha'e no tests or marked assignments b$ which to measure their impro'ed performance. !esson "+ . had pre'iousl$ decided to omit a unit in the coursebook due to the theme, Lack the 0ipper, which . felt might be unsuitable for some of the $ounger learners. *owe'er, after finishing an unrelated e ercise, some of the learners began a spontaneous discussion about the topic in "8, which :uickl$ in'ol'ed the whole class. *earing the widespread in'ol'ement in the topic, . abandoned m$ planned lesson. For once, the learners were participating in the class with genuine interest. !here was a real information gap that the$ wanted to breach. For a ma$be ten minutes, it was eas$ to forget that an English class was taking place. !he high le'el of moti'ation continued during the subse:uent presentation of :uestion tags. (t the start of the course, teachers could ask learners to sa$ how interesting the$ find the topic of each unit in the coursebook. !he learners could decide on alternati'e topics to replace those which are unpopular. !he teacher could in'ol'e the learners in the preparation of these substitute units, ma$be as part of a pro/ect. .t would re:uire additional preparation on the part of the teacher, but . think the boost to moti'ation would pa$ off. Conclusion 0ecent research from the &ni'ersit$ of Cirginia concludes that moti'ation 1is as important for teenagers% school success as the wa$s teachers deli'er the sub/ect matter2 3Bromle$, 45567. !his pro/ect has opened m$ e$es to a number of important issues regarding the moti'ating of teenagers. For e ample, . ha'e realised that e'en $oung teenagers ha'e a short-term, instrumental moti'ation to learn English, the$ want to pass the e am at school. .t seems ob'ious, $et, as negligent as it now appears, . ha'e ne'er asked them about English at school, their e ams or their results. .n future, . will stri'e to bring these two worlds together, and show the learners how what we do in class can help them achie'e success at school. . also now realise how 'ital it is to make the materials rele'ant to the learners, e'en if this re:uires the teacher to create new materials from scratch. *owe'er, . feel that the learners can contribute to this process. . intend to ask future teenaged learners to agree

on three units of the coursebook which the$ would like to see replaced. !he$ should then agree on three alternati'e themes. . intend to ask each of the learners to then contribute something to each replacement unit, a te t, a section of a film, a 'ideo from the .nternet, a song, etc. +hen teenagers are gi'en the opportunit$ to share something the$ find interesting with the rest of the class, . ha'e found that the$ are willing to do so, e'en if it in'ol'es e tra effort on their part. . therefore belie'e that learners will get in'ol'ed in this process. . am also con'inced that the$ will participate in the substitute units with greater enthusiasm, because the$ ha'e contributed. Finall$, . feel that b$ limiting the substitution to three units, this would be considered acceptable b$ both m$ school and the parents. +ith adults, . think that it is important to negotiate not onl$ what we do in class, but how we do it. !here is no reason wh$ this can%t be done with $ounger learners. Of course, it would be ridiculous to suggest that teenagers know how best to learn a new language= but so is the notion that the$ ha'e nothing 'aluable to contribute. .f the teacher does not beha'e in accordance with learner e pectations, . belie'e that it is beholden upon the teacher to e plain and /ustif$ her approach, to engage in what +endon calls #persuasi'e communication% 3899F, 8467. !eenagers 'alue their time as much as adults do, if not more so, and need to be shown that it is not being wasted. !o do otherwise shows a lack of respect for the learner= $et we often demand that teenagers treat us with respect. Finall$, progress tests and continuous assessment ma$ contribute to a more consistent le'el of moti'ation= howe'er, there are risks as well as benefits. +hat has become clear is that the modern teenager in Spain is under far more pressure than . was at an e:ui'alent age. !eenagers are called upon to /uggle numerous commitments, academic and social, and pri'ate English classes often come last in line. . feel the best wa$ to tap into the moti'ational 'alue of testing, therefore, is to treat the end-of-unit tests as team :uiMMes. NuiMMes gi'e us the opportunit$ to displa$ our knowledge in front of our peers in a wa$ that e ams do not. "earners often feel strongl$ moti'ated to contribute to the success of a team, e'en when there is onl$ team pride at stake. Being part of a team encourages a sense of group identit$, and if this can be achie'ed without damaging the group identit$ as a whole, . feel it could significantl$ increase indi'idual moti'ation.
Re erences

Bromle$, (. 345567. +hat teenagers want, (llen, Aianta team up to help teachers connect with students, .nside &C( Online, Col. ?6, .ssue 84. http,OOwww.'irginia.eduOinsideu'aOteenagers.html. (ccessed 4BO@O5@. Lames M. B/ork, Brian Hnutson, Erace +. Fong, ;aniel M. Caggiano, Shannon M. Bennett, and ;aniel +. *ommer, 3455B7 .ncenti'e-Elicited Brain (cti'ation in (dolescents, Similarities and ;ifferences from Ioung (dults, Lournal of

Keurosciences, 4B, pp 8@9? - 8F54. Chambers, E. K. 389967 Moti'ational Aerspecti'es of Secondar$ School Aupils !aking Eerman, &ni'ersit$ of "eeds. Clandfield, ". and Herr, A. 3455@7 Eetting to grips with learner autonom$, !he !eacher, G,B9, pp 4G-?5. ;<rn$ei, P. 345587 Moti'ational Strategies in the "anguage Classroom, C&A. ;<rn$ei, P. 345547 Moti'ational Strategies in the "anguage Classroom - 0e'iewed b$ the author, *umanising "anguage !eaching, Iear B, .ssue 8. Eardner, 0.C. 389FG7 Social As$cholog$ and Second "anguage "earning, !he role of attitudes and moti'ation, Edward (rnold. "ambert, +. E. 389@B7. Culture and language as factors in learning and education. .n F. F. (boud > 0. ;. Meade 3Eds.7 Cultural factors in learning and education, Bellingham, +estern, pp. 98D844. Mac.nt$re, A.;., MacMaster, H., > Baker, S.C. 345587 !he con'ergence of multiple models of moti'ation for second language learning, Eardner, Aintrich, Huhl, and McCroske$. 3p.B647. .n P. ;<rn$ei > 0. Schmidt 3Eds.7, Moti'ation and second language ac:uisition 3!echnical 0eport Q4?, pp.B68-B947, *onolulu, &ni'ersit$ of *awai%i, Second "anguage !eaching and Curriculum Center. 0ogers, C. 896@. #!he interpersonal relationship in the facilitation of learning% reprinted in *. Hirschenbaum and C. ". *enderson 3eds.7 389957 !he Carl 0ogers 0eader, "ondon, Constable, pp ?5B-?88. !hornbur$, S. 345567 (n (-P of E"!, Macmillan E"!, p 8?@. +enden, (. 899F. "earner Strategies for "earner (utonom$. Ereat Britain, Arentice *all. The Building Positive ,roup -.na/ics course can be vie0ed here1