Hi everyone!
I'm happy to tell you that one of our readers (his name is Katsuya) sent in a question today. I won't keep it long, here's what he had to say:
"Hi. I have come across your blog while looking for English teaching materials.
I am an English teacher teaching at a small private school in Japan. My students are in Junior high school. As you may know, We start to learn English from Junior high school. So, I'm only teaching basic one.
My problem with students is... They don't like English. It is to hard to get them to interest English. You know, In Japan.. Even if they study English, they don't have chance to use it. So, not a lot of students want to study. They just do it for exam to enter better high school or something.
I just wanted to give you one question. How do you motivate them to study..."
Hi Katsuya!
Thanks for dropping by. Pardon me if I couldn't reply that quick. I was teaching a student a while ago.
It's nice to know that there are teachers concerned about the welfare of their students. Your students are indeed lucky. Some teachers either think they're boring or that the students are simply dull. In my experience, this way of thinking really wouldn't help the student nor the teacher. So, it's good that you're being proactive in finding solutions.
There's really no one surefire way of motivating students because of them has a different personality. But, you can learn from observing what young people enjoy these days.
Because of technological developments, students have become lazy and want to be entertained while they just sit back. They tend to look for quick results. So, it's important for you to tell them what they can achieve by studying English. You can ask them questions like: Does anyone here plan to travel abroad or find work that requires them to speak English well and be able to meet interesting people in the process? Since they're beginners, you might want to ask your questions in Japanese.
Let me borrow from Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of his principles is this: Begin with the end in mind. In whatever you do, you have to know what you want to achieve or accomplish. Thinking about the prize or the result will give you more motivation to continue even when you're having a hard time or when you're feeling bored.
Now, I believe that you know your students better. I might not be able to tell exactly what it is they want to achieve. But, as the teacher, who regularly interacts with them, I think you're in the best position to identify that. Find their needs and wants and use that to identify goals and tell them exactly how they can do that.
It might help if you let them watch a short video of a young Japanese being able to speak good English and making friends while in a different country. Or you can show another video of a person succeeding in a job where he/she uses English. There, he can meet different kinds of people and learn different perspectives.
Aside from that, it might make a difference for you to show their progress even after a short time of studying, and thus prove that they can go further if they exert more effort. These days, instead of spending money to study English, young people would rather buy clothes or gadgets. Why? It's because they can feel instant gratification. The moment they buy the product, they can enjoy it. But when they study English, they would feel that they're studying for so long, yet they couldn't feel that they're actually progressing.
You mentioned that you're teaching basic English. How basic? I'm not sure. Apart from teaching them new words, try to incorporate those words and use them to practice situational exercises. Like, for example, introducing friends or ordering food in a restaurant. The next time you have class, ask students to be role-players in your situational exercises.
Coming up with special activities will also stimulate their interest. Remember, it's important to make them feel interested because then, they'll be paying attention. And if they're concentrating, they'll remember and learn much more effectively.
Maybe you can have a special guest or an interesting presentation. In fact, I can even send my video or speech talking about a certain topic that you think might interest them. But, I think, they might not yet be able to comprehend the video or recording.
Another suggestion is for you to find or help them find email/snail mail friends for them when they've learned enough. Well, in fact, it's not an obligation, but it might help. When they realize that they can actually benefit from studying English, it will be a big boost.
Well, I do hope that some of these tips answered your questions. I still have several in mind, but the basic ideas are here.
If something is not clear to you, please feel free to ask me. Also, if you have additional comments, or if you have a different question, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll try to respond as quickly as I can. But, maybe not as quick if you send in a question this weekend, for I'll be in Thailand then.
Good luck and more power to you and your students!
