IFC S1 R38 entry- Motivations in Learning a Second/Foreign language
This post is an entry for the Information Finding Championship hosted by @apolymask.
The theme of this round is motivation. The description of the round is below.
For this quest I want you to bring us something in regards to the subject of motivation/inspiration.
I think many if not most of us could probably use something along these lines, can you be too inspired or motivated? I suppose.. Lol.. Though.. Whatever the case, we're coming to a close on the first season here before too long and I'd like to help get people sorta more "pumped up" and to keep the energy going strong!
So as with most of our quests it's really up to you what you wanna submit! It could be an inspiring video on YouTube or a poem or a picture or a personal story.. or.. It's really up to you! Whatever it is, I look forward to seeing it. Based on some of the previous rounds recently, I have a feeling we might get some really inspiring entries! :)
If you are interested in joining you can find more information right here.
My Entry
What motivates me? That is something I am struggling with right now. To be honest, my job isn't what I thought it would be like as I finish up the first year through my program. I thought coming to teach in Korea would be a really meaningful job and I could be a memorable teacher. Long story short, I made more significant impacts teaching back in America. I don't mean like save the world impacts either. I mean just helping someone learn English to get through a job interview, communicate with their manager, or get their AC fixed at home. Here, I am just a 'fun' teacher, few students care about my class, and I am as replaceable as any other English speaker.
I guess that kinda starts this post on motivation, why did I come to Korea? Well, I wanted to teach English as a foreign language here so it can give students agency when they would study abroad. Not just stuff out of the book but words and phrases people use on a daily basis. So, I try reaching inside students' heads and find the thing that motivates them to wanna learn. This is where we get to Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivations and an outline of what they mean is below.
Extrinsic- Something outside motivates usIntrinsic- We are motivated by ourselves
Motivation in the Classroom
Now that we have our definitions down, in ESL familiar sources of extrinsic motivation are grades, income, job, and rewards within a class such as I give in class currency. Sources of intrinsic motivations are making friends, learning about foreign cultures, and just generally having fun! So, at the start of a semester, I give students a mini questionnaire to determine what they like to do, and I try to incorporate that into my lessons. I also try to make pop culture references when I can and teach slangs to show them that learning can be fun.
Do this work? Well, back home, I never really had issues in getting students motivated to learn. They need to learn English for school, to make friends, and for work. Here, it is more trying, students don't necessarily need English for their daily lives, and many say they don't wanna travel so trying to motivate them to learn English is more difficult. A lot of times, I find myself motivating students extrinsically, through prizes and candy. Is that the best way to drive students? In my personal opinion, no, but I am trying my best to get students wanting to learn. It is one of my personal philosophies (I can't remember where I read it now) that a teacher's job is over when the student can teach themselves. That is what I aspire to; I want to leave students with a desire to seek more understanding.
What Motivates me to Learn Korean?
For this, I am motivated Intrinsically and Extrinsically. My intrinsic motivations are wanting to be able to communicate better with my friends; I love history so learning Korean helps me understand the history and culture of Korea. I also want to make more friends, and obviously, not all Koreans speak English. I also want to understand the variety shows better because those are pretty funny to watch.
Then, for extrinsic motivations, I want to get a better job and earn more money. That is selfish, but I have come to terms with the fact that middle school is too low of a level for me and at this school, it is a lot of hand-holding to get through elementary points of grammar. I also want to win a scholarship to work on my Masters in Korea, so that is another reason to learn Korean. I also find that I become more motivated when people tell me I can't do something. People told me that I suck at Korean and I can't be a good teacher, so I worked my ass off studying and taking whatever opportunity I could to prove them wrong and here I am now. I guess, proving people wrong is also a form of intrinsic motivation for me.
Well, that is how I try to motivate students in the class and how I try to drive myself.
I am going to leave you with these two things, a lesson plan on achieving dreams I did and the video I used, because this video helped motivate me to get through a few all-nighters lol
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Until then,
Ride on!
That's a bummer to hear. But perhaps you can take that newfound knowledge and help propel it to where you want to go next, which I'm sure you've probably already considered.
I don't think extrinsic motivation is all bad! That's sort of how this IFC game works. And steemit, and the real world economy in general. And just.. Basic life.. Like.. I'm hungry.. I need to go find some food and eat.
I think if you work rewards into it like candy and stuff, that can help! Especially if you're students are being a bit uncooperative or difficult. I think the more fun you make learning, the more people learn.
Also I like what you said at the end there about a teachers job being done when a student can teach themselves. Ima have to remember that one!
Oh and.. I think ultimately.. It's all kind of intrinsic motivation, even if it's a new car or food or sex or whatever it is you want, it all starts in your mind. I think we would be wise to try to have the proper balance of such things if possible.
That's awesome man, and highly admirable. :) We need more of that in the world in my opinion.
Well said! I'm very similar.. :) I love showing people wrong who doubted.
Word, geat work man. Thanks for sharing! I also appreciate the Shia Labeouf video. Heh. That's a good one. Excellent entry! Sorry for the super delayed response, I'm so overwhelmed trying to keep up with all this. Hope all is well!