what motivates an english teacher

What motivates

an English teacher?

LEI Adrian Giron Chavez

Homecoming 2013

Escuela de Lenguas Campus IV

Content

•Motivation in the EFL Classroom• Motivation for Students

• Motivation for Teachers

•Motivation in EFL Teachers• Motivation to Choose Language Teaching (Choice)

• Motivation to Persist at Language Teaching (Execution)

• Motivation to Commit to Language Teaching (Retrospection)

Content

•Factors that Demotivate Teacher Motivation• Job Conditions

•Working Environment

• Students

•Tips for Gaining Teacher Motivation

•Conclusion

•Questions and Comments

Motivation in the EFL Classroom

• Some kind of internal drive that pushes a person to take actions in order to achieve a goal

(Harmer, 2001)

Motivation in the EFL Classroom

(Deci & Ryan, 1985)

Motivation in EFL Students

• “I like English”

• “I want to travel around the world”

• “I love the American/British culture”

• “I want to understand movies and songs”

• “I need English for my career”

• “I want to get a good job with a good salary”

• “I want to enter the university of my dreams”

• “My parents sent me to English class”

INTRINSIC

EXTRINSIC

Motivation in EFL Teachers

• “Salary is good”

• “I need to work on something”

• “I don’t want to forget my English”

• “My parents are teachers, too”

• “I love teaching”

• “I love working with people”

• “I want to contribute to society”

• “I like English”

• “I like to help students”

INTEGRATIVE

INSTRUMENTRAL

(Gardner, 1985)

Motivation in EFL Teachers

• Generally speaking, if a teacher is motivated to teach , there is a good chance that his/her students will be motivated to learn”

(Dornyei, 2001)

• Enthusiasm, commitment, creativity, good rapport(Richards, 2003)

Motivation in EFL Teachers

• CHOICE The initial reason why a person decided to teach English

(Dornyei, 2001)

• Previous successful experience (tutoring)

• Fun language learning with past English teachers

• Interest in travelling or knowing more about English-speaking cultures

• Passion for working with people/teaching/languages

• Good salary/plenty of vacations/not a hard job/easy to get a job

(Mullock, 2009)

Motivation in EFL Teachers• EXECUTION The satisfaction of being an English

teacher; how long a

person is willing to persist in the job(Dornyei, 2001)

• Choice of career is what was expected

• No temptation for other more lucrative and interesting jobs

•Working conditions as well as salary are adequate

• Peer recognition at work

• Successful learning in English students

(Mullock, 2009)

Motivation in EFL Teachers• RETROSPECTION The willingness to keep teaching

effective(Dornyei, 2001)

• A commitment for teacher development and language improvement

• A need to solve problems in the English classroom

• English students’ acknowledgement of contribution to their professional training

(Mullock, 2009)

Factors that Demotivate EFL Teachers

• Low Expectational Factors

• Contextual Factors

• Temporal Factors

• Emotional Factors

• Personal Factors

(Suslu, 2006)

Factors that Demotivate EFL TeachersJob Conditions

• The class sizes, the school resources and facilities;

• The standard activity structure within the institution; the academic workload

• The school’s reward contingencies and feedback system;

• The school’s leadership and decision-making structure

(Dornyei, 2001)

Factors that Demotivate EFL TeachersWorking Environment

• The school’s general climate and the existing school norms;

•Collegial relations;

• The definition of the teacher’s role by colleagues and authorities;

(Dornyei, 2001)

Factors that Demotivate EFL TeachersWorking Environment

• The increased kinds of courses taught

•Given too much responsibility

• Poor time management skills

(Dornyei, 2001)

Factors that Demotivate EFL TeachersStudents

• The students’ behavior and performance.

•Being forced to follow colleagues’ teaching

•Having limited freedom in determining the

course’s curriculum or following a certain

curriculum decided by the school’s

administration.(Pelletier et al., 2002)

Tips for EFL Teacher Motivation

•Be creative when planning lessons• Fun activities for students and

for teachers

• Attractive material

• Variety of classroom activities

• Go beyond the course book

• Be resourceful

Tips for EFL Teacher Motivation

•Build healthy social relationships• Be friendly to your students

• Share knowledge with colleagues

• Be professional at work

• Do not take comments as personal

• Show enthusiasm and optimism at all times

Tips for EFL Teacher Motivation

•Keep upgrading• Keep improving your language

skills

• Identify weaknesses and find solutions

• Attend conferences, congresses, workshops

• Study a postgraduate degree

• Read specialized journals, magazines, books

Tips for EFL Teacher Motivation

• Find the best reward of all• Remember why you chose

English teaching

• Take difficult situations as challenges

• Do not expect financial bonus

• Enjoy your students’ success

• Be inspiring for others

Conclusion•A motivated teacher

motivates students to learn

• There must be motivation in all 3 phases: choice, execution and retrospection

•Adopt the most suitable strategy to gain motivation

References

• Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and selfdetermination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum.

• Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Teaching and researching motivation. New York: Longman.

• Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

• Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex: Longman Press.

• Mullock, B. (2009). Motivations and Rewards in Teaching English Overseas. Prospect Journal. Vol. 24. No. 2. University of New South Wales

• Pelletiel, L.G. and et al. (2002). Pressure From Above and Pressure From Below as Determinants of Teachers’ Motivation and Teaching Behaviors. Journal of Education Psychology, 94/1, 186-196.

• Richards, J.C. (2003). 30 years of TEFL/TESL: A personal reflection. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.

• Suslu, S. (2006). Motivation of ESL Teachers. The Internet TESL Journal. Vol. XII. No. 1. Hacettepe University, Turkey.

Thank you