Ed.Tech.TESOL

From various reading materials on building learner motivation, I have summarized the elements in building learner enthusiasm into 4 following points:

• Teachers

Teachers still hold important part in maintaining learners enthusiasm although they run student centered method. They must be enthusiastic, tidy and inviting in front of the students.
In my case, I always mention the students’ names in the attendance checking activities. It is intended to build interpersonal relationship which is suggested by community language learning method. Mentioning names will improve the students’ pride because they are posited as an important part of the class.

In other case, I must stand up when I have to explain the material. We may compare the level student motivation when the lecturer or you as a teacher only sit back and relax in presenting the materials.
Eye contact is another technique to show that we are care to the students. Look at them into the eyes one by one while we are speaking.

Those are some techniques to arouse students enthusiasm. We may have another technique such as speak gently, behave wisely, full of patience etc. The end point is to make the students love us and our teaching subject respectively.

• Planning

Everything must be well planned such as understanding the syllabus, standard of competencies and learning activities. By doing so, we can manage the learning time allotment and break it down into activities. As result, we will not run out of time in presenting all materials or have much time left before the class is over.

• Class activities

The class activities must relates to young learner characteristics and use appropriate methods. They must be enjoyable, playful and interesting. All young learners have much energy to use. If we can manage that energy into our class activities, we will have energetic and enthusiastic class performance.

• Surrounding

Surrounding means the environment that support the teaching learning process such as structure and infrastructure. They includes the availability of LCD and other technologies, whiteboard, color of the walls, teaching aid etc. What do you see in the wall of young learner class? I believe that you will mentions pictures of scenery, animals, sticky notes, cheerful color etc. All of them are created to improve young learners’ enthusiasm.

Questions and answers:

• It is hard for less experienced teachers to maintain learners’ enthusiasm

We can offer ourselves in teaching volunteering programs or apply as an assistance of senior teachers. So that we can gain more experience instantly.

• How if the students have more enthusiasm that their teacher.

Young learners possibly have more power to use. So that we need to be creative in planning the class activities to absorb their energy.

• My students always ask me respective questions.

Patient is the key. Young learners are curious with anything because they are not familiar with the surrounding. They will keep ask anything to connect one thing to another until they get the logic.

• My students draw something when they get bored

Learners’ focus will decrease in the next 30 minutes. It is suggested that the teacher must have ice breaking activities before the next 30 minutes class activity. Breaking the class activities into various and creative parts is also effective to kill the boredom such as
lecture time combine with quizzes, questions and answers, exercises etc. Body movement can be used as well to break up the crowd during the activities.

• I don’t like my teacher.

In practical, some students do not like a subject because they do not like the teacher. There are two option to cope this issue. Firstly, the students fill out the form of class performance assessment periodically. Based on the evaluation, the teacher may learn further from many resources to be better teacher or may be replaced by someone else.