Motivating Students

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!

All for English Learning

For years, I've seen people who really work hard at learning English. They would do anything just to master the language. But, sometimes, the answer could be so simple. You just have to find the right teacher. Well, maybe it's not as easy as it seems.

I'm a firm believer in doing your best and making sure you are really really good at what you do. This probably explains why it takes a long time for me to write or to do important things. I feel sad when I see people who do fine in one occupation but could really do better in another.

I'll give you a clue on what I'm up to these days. Since my interest involves English and languages, I want to see more people get better at it. I guess one of the best ways to do that is to teach students myself. Another way is to find good teachers with potential and to train them to teach well. Over the next few months and weeks, I think I'm going to concentrate on this.

I would like to guide English learners on choosing the best teacher and learning effectively. Life is too short to be stuck doing something that you could have done better.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to drop a line.

If You Can't Learn by Yourself, Get a Good Teacher

How many of you agree that you learn better when you're enjoying?

Well, count me in. It's always hard for me to study something I'm not actually interested in. In fact, I sometimes have to force myself to study something I'm not passionate about. In the university, for instance, not all of the topics we discuss interest me.

Conversely, when I have free time, I'd rather do other things than study about those topics that I don't care much about. Of course, there are some things that we're obliged to learn and do however much we hate them. For example, we can't totally avoid cleaning or learning how to read and write, unless of course, we want to remain illiterate all our lives.

The reason behind this is that it's much easier for us to work on something we enjoy. Did you Mom have to force you to play your favorite video game? I don't think so. It's the same thing when you decide to study something you're interested in. There's not much effort or resistance.

That's why we often need teachers. It's one of their duties to make the students interested in their lessons. Because frankly, a big percentage of learning involves stimulating the students and getting them interested. As Samuel Johnson said "Interest is the mother of attention and attention is the mother of memory." To secure memory, Joseph Cook concludes, "secure its mother and grandmother." That's an important point to remember if you are serious about learning something.

Some people have a natural ability to encourage themselves and force themselves to do things they don't really want to do. Still others are good at finding something that interests them, in order to study what they have to. Unfortunately, most people are not like that, which is why we still need teachers. Aside from this, our teachers can also bring about a fresh outlook on a tired subject. He/she can also make a boring subject seem interesting. Furthermore, if we feel tired and helpless, it always helps when someone can encourage us and take the initiative.

I have already given you pointers on how to find good teachers. The most important factor is a teacher's competence on the subject matter he/she is teaching. Would you like someone who can't even teach you grammar or conversation correctly? Maybe not. Then, of course, the teacher has to be committed to your learning and improvement.

Yes, sometimes the answer is simple. If you can't learn by yourself, go get a good teacher. And if you find that challenging, don't you worry, I have something in store for you. I've been planning and working hard to look for the best teachers. It might take some time because I'm really looking hard, but maybe you can help me if you know someone who's good at making a website in Japanese.

Anyhow, I'll tell you more about my plans soon..

Maximize your Time

I have stressed before how important it is to pay attention to different aspects of learning. Yes, it's good to do something you really enjoy, but make sure you're not neglecting other areas. If you enjoy speaking so much, and notice that you've made great progress, make sure that you're equally good in other areas like grammar and writing or reading. Knowing your priorities and allotting enough time for them regularly is important.

It's easy to make some excuses when we're too busy. But in fact, we can squeeze them in if we really want.

I have heard many English learners who complain that they don't have enough time to study English like other people. So what they do is allot a couple of hours for studying English once a week.

While they're thinking that a long time of studying will compensate for the other days they weren't able to study, they're mistaken. Learning a language is like exercising. It's never going to work effectively if you only do it once a week, even for a long time. It's more important to do it more often, even for just a short time.

To maximize your time, try listening to English audio lessons or podcasts while commuting on the train or while you get ready for work in the morning. While listening to it, you can do other things, so it will not make you late for work. You can also do it when you're having lunch or dinner, unless of course, you're eating with someone.

It's also easier to put certain things into your long-term memory if you study in the morning and then before you go to sleep.

Well, I hope you find these tips helpful. Remember that it's not just about studying hard,but studying wisely. See you again next time!

Thinking Skills

I have so many ideas on what to write about, but pardon me for not implementing them right away. It's just so different when you have to manage 7 subjects, including the thesis proposal.

For today, I want to share what a sociology professor said. Actually, this principle is applicable not only to Sociology but for almost all subjects. We're talking about thinking skills.

Do you still remember when you were in elementary, or even in high school? As a student, you once expected several exams. But most of you would have wanted an exam that merely asks you to choose from a multiple choices, fill in the blanks or match certain items. These are called lower-order thinking skills (LOTS)

Understandably, these tasks are much easier than writing a long, long essay, and developing arguments. We refer to them as higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). It's also easier to remember things when you're not required to come up with everything. In essays, you have to start from scratch because you will be writing everything, while the professor only gives the questions. Aside from that, you have to think about your grammar and logic when you write. Thus, it takes a longer time to finish an essay exam than a multiple-choice exam.

So, it's not a wonder why most students complain to teachers when they get essay exams. But, there's still truth in the saying that 'adversity is the best teacher.' Of course, no one wants to have a hard time. I guess nobody ever wished to be poor or to have many problems. However, God allows these things to happen so we'll be stronger.

We can apply this principle in learning English. When we're beginners, it's alright to stick to simple workbooks and lessons where we simply have to fill in the blanks, choose the correct letter and match items.

But, if we are serious in getting better, we have to love doing the more difficult things. That is why, reading is always helpful. It shows you examples of good writing and develops your reasoning.

When you write an essay, your brain is stimulated. You learn to think on your own, develop logic and reasoning, and organize your ideas. There's also a certain pressure for it to work hard, which is almost equivalent to exercising for the body. With LOTS, there's also brain activity, but it's minimal as compared to doing HOTS.

So, the next time, your English teacher asks you to summarize what you've read or to answer a difficult question, be thankful. Work hard at it and quit complaining because the more you practice these things, the better you will get.

IQ is not Always King

Much has been said and written about the strategies in learning another language - in your case, English. Several books already gave the ideal age for learning a language. There are even specialists who teach different learning methods. But, something is often left out. We must not forget that emotional intelligence is also needed.

In studying a language, it's not enough that you learn fast or memorize well. In life, not all people with high IQ succeed. That's because, our IQ level is not the only determining factor. Sometimes, people with high emotional intelligence beat those with high IQ.

That's why you also need to encourage and have faith in yourself. It's alright to have high standards and to keep on improving, but you also need to learn to appreciate your progress and to reward yourself for what you have accomplished. Of course, it's easy to criticize yourself and enumerate your bad points. But will that help you? Remember, we have to believe in ourselves, and not push ourselves down. In fact, if you yourself don't have any confidence in your abilities, then who would?

Many language learners have already stopped because they felt they're not smart enough to master English. Some don't work so hard because they think they are hardly improving. Remember that people don't have the same learning capacity. Others could learn some things faster, while some need to work harder. You should keep this in mind. But, as a consolation, speed is not really the most important thing. Remember the fable about the rabbit and the turtle. In the end, it's the turtle who won the race, right? This only goes to show that you can compensate for your weaknesses in life, as long as you're determined and you don't give up. Even if it could take longer for you to learn a particular lesson, you can still beat fast learners if you study regularly and if you exert more effort.

So, instead of sulking or envying others, why not spend your time wisely, encourage yourself and double your efforts!

Read Up!

So far, I've already given you tips about choosing the right English teacher, improving pronunciation and so on. Now, I'd like to get you to do serious work.

I hope you're still hanging around by now. For most people, this would be one of the most difficult things to do: read. Yes, you heard it right. It's time to work - and work hard at that. But then, the first thing you might need to do is, change your attitude.

When I was younger, I would see people deeply immersed in reading a thick book. I thought to myself: How boring! Why would I read such a thick book when the only things I could see are words. I'd be better off watching a movie and seeing real people, real situations. But, being curious, I thought, I'd want to try reading thick novels like those people. At least, I would be able to see for myself just how boring it could be.

So I did, and I struggled to finish the first 5 pages of the novel. But when I wanted to quit, I told myself if those people can read the whole novel, then at least I should read half. So, I stuck with it. By the 6th page, I was glued. Of course, part of the reason is that the author writes very well, making things more exciting. But aside from that, I discovered the joy of reading and the importance of focusing.

Funny how the thought of trying out something boring actually taught me two important things: 1. reading is important & fun; and 2. focus is necessary in achieving most of your goals in life.

Reading is quite challenging, comparing to just listening to MP3 or watching a movie. When you read, you are forced to be more imaginative and to use your senses more. You have to imagine what the characters in a picture-less book look like. You have to imagine how they speak, how they act and walk. You get to imagine what kind of place they live in, hear them speaking, feel their emotions and touch them. Reading is very intimate. When you watch a movie, you see the characters living their lives and you just watching. But when you read, you can stay with the characters and live where they are. Even if you keep quiet, you are there.

Tell me, does this seem boring? At the end of the day, I became more addicted to reading than those bookworms I criticized at first. I would try to memorize the new words so that I wouldn't have to look them up from the dictionary again and again. Man, I'm too lazy to do that. In effect, I was able to practice my memory without noticing it. I enjoyed living in a different place, different time, different culture, and being deeply immersed. I was having fun.

The bonus: I got even better than my English teacher. I would notice some of her grammatical mistakes and would think to myself how they can be fixed. My classmates started asking me about weird words and calling me 'walking dictionary.' I would go on to join English quiz bees and writing contests. Boy, they must think I'm a nerd and a very boring person. Well, I thought that about other people too. But you know what, they ask the 'nerd' for help.

Is reading hard work? Not if you're enjoying it. So why not make up your mind to enjoy it? So what if they call you the 'nerd.' It's the nerd whom people ask for help.