A motivated classroom

By Abdul Majeed

Learning foreign languages is not a modern phenomenon for it dates back to the ancient Greek
era. Once, the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) was used in Second Language Acquisition
(SLA). With the passage of time, a number of changes were introduced by linguists keeping in
view the requirements of time for learners. Today, there are countless methods and approaches
available for teaching/learning process.

Teaching is like no other profession. As a teacher, you will wear many hats. A teacher’s role is
lofty but highly complicated as well as sensitive. The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius
once said: “the ideal teacher guides his students but does not pull them along. He urges them to
go forward and does not suppress them. He opens the way but does not take them to the place.
Accomplished teachers [should] treat students equitably. They [must] adjust their practice based
on observation and knowledge of their students’ interests, abilities, skills, knowledge and family
circumstances. They foster students’ self-esteem, motivation, character, civic responsibility and
their respect for individual, cultural, religious and racial differences.”

The key theme in the aforementioned lines is the role of the teacher who assists the inquiring
mind of the learner to give birth to knowledge and to facilitate discovery. So, a teacher is a “sage
on the stage” and a “guide on the side” who turns the learner’s role from “a passive learner” to
“an active explorer”.

There is a vast gulf between the ideal of teaching and the reality in the classroom. But the
“motivational strategies” are universally accepted as central to teaching effectiveness. It would
be of relevance to say a few things about the strategy of power in relation to group processes in
the classroom because a discussion of motivational strategies would not be complete without
this.

The power and group processes directly deals with the teacher/student relationship. Whichever
way you look at it, this relationship is riddled with power and status. For example, many teachers
might assert that they have the right to punish those students who misbehave.

Experience shows that almost every group, particularly classroom groups and generally any
social or political groups, go through various stages until it reaches an equilibrium and taps into
its potential. In view of power relationship in the second language-learning classroom, there are
four stages for consideration both for teachers and students. They are “Forming”, “Storming”,
“Norming” and “Performing”.

The initial stage is “Forming”. At this point, there is some anxiety among students as they are
dependent on their teacher and have to find out what behaviour is acceptable for learning
process. In the second stage generally described as “Storming”, the evolution of sub-groups can
emerge in the class if the teacher’s behaviour is contrary to students’ goal.
The teacher has to work hard to develop a sort of cohesion in the classroom to achieve the
“Norming Stage”. A successful teacher is one who cooperates and develops open exchange of
views and feelings about the students. This naturally leads to the “Performing Stage” for the
whole class as most of the problems are resolved and there is a great deal of interpersonal
activity. Everyone seems devoted to completing the tasks they have been assigned in the class.

The skill in motivating students to learn is of paramount importance. It has been generally
observed that majority of teachers rely on “bag of trick” approaches in managing their classroom
and motivating their students. None of them will work, if any teacher ignores the strategy of
power and group processes in the classroom.

The next central question in designing a framework of motivational strategies is to decide how to
organize them into separate themes. A teacher, therefore, has to adopt the critical framework
based on the process-oriented model such as creating the basic motivational conditions,
generating student motivation, maintaining and protecting motivation and encouraging positive
self-evaluation

Motivational strategies cannot work in a vacuum. There are certain preconditions that need to be
met before any attempt is made to generate motivation in the classroom. Some of these
conditions are “appropriate teacher behaviour and good teacher-student rapport” or “a pleasant
and supportive classroom atmosphere” and “a cohesive learner group characterized by
appropriate group norms”.

The teacher’s behaviour is a powerful “motivational tool” in any classroom. In other words,
whatever is done by a teacher has a strong motivational influence on students. The key element
is to establish a relationship based on mutual trust and respect with the students, by means of
talking with them on a personal level. This mutual trust could lead to enthusiasm and further
development of a sense of commitment among the students.

It stands to reason that a tense and chaotic classroom climate can undermine learning and de-
motivate students. On the other hand, a student’s motivation will reach its peak in a safe, relaxed
and supportive classroom atmosphere in which he/she can express their opinions and feel that
they do not run the risk of being ridiculed. Students need both ample opportunities to learn and
steady encouragement and support of their learning efforts.

As for group norms, they should be discussed and adopted by members in the classroom in order
to be constructive and long lasting. If a norm mandated by a teacher fails to be accepted as
proper by the majority of the class members, it will not become a group norm.

There are several factors that promote group cohesiveness, such as the time spent together and
shared group history, learning about each other, interaction, inter-group competition and active
participation of the teacher.

Generating student’s motivation requires fulfillment of two factors, which are: achieving group
goals and making the curriculum relevant for the students.
Ideally, all students exhibit an inborn curiosity to explore the world, so they are likely to find the
learning experience intrinsically pleasant. In an ordinary classroom, students do not understand
why they are involved in an activity. It may be the case that the goal set by the teacher is far from
being accepted by the group of students. Goal-oriented levels could be achieved by allowing
students to define their own personal criteria for what should be a group goal.

Many students do their homework and engage in all sorts of learning activities, even when a
subject is not very interesting. Obviously, these students share the belief of the curriculum
makers that what they are being taught will come in handy. In order to inspire students to
concern themselves with most learning activities, we should find out their goals and the topics
they want to learn, and try to incorporate them into the curriculum relevance.

Maintaining and protecting motivation is the key factor in classroom. There are several
motivation maintenance strategies available for teacher. This can nicely be done through
increasing the learners’ self-confidence as well as autonomy.

How can one maintain and increase the students self-confidence? A teacher can reduce
classroom anxiety by making the learning context less stressful. Another way is through gradual
encouragement by the teacher. A teacher can achieve students’ autonomy (encouraging positive
self-evaluation and confidence) in the classroom by employing appropriate strategies. The best
way is that a teacher may encourage and value the personal initiatives of the students. These
things would inculcate the habit of thinking effectively and meaningfully about learning
experiences and learning goals among the students leading to self-motivation and satisfaction.

Since students’ satisfaction is the major component of motivational strategies, a teacher can
increase learner satisfaction by allowing students to display their work, encouraging them to be
proud of themselves and celebrate success as well as using rewards.

A teacher’s multi-dimensional personality is closely linked with the motivational climate in the
classroom. Many teachers believe that by trying to discipline their unruly students, they will
manage to create a classroom environment that will be conducive to learning. Nevertheless, these
teachers seem to lose sight of the fact that unless they accept their students’ personalities and
work on those minute details that constitute their social and psychological make-up, they will fail
to motivate them. What is more, they will not be able to form a cohesive and coherent group,
unless they succeed in turning most curriculum goals into group goals.

Email: majeedjyhwa2000@yahoo.com