Yes, you can - end of the story!!!

It’s not a teacher’s job to motivate students,

It is a teacher’s job not to demotivate them.

Today’s lesson is about C21 skills and especially on motivation. When it comes to my English language learning journey, it is not difficult to identify what or who motivated me: a teacher, my passion for music, my intrinsic drive to learn more and to get to know more, my passion for travelling and getting along in any situation.

What does really motivate students? Is it something they have inside? Their wish to improve, a choice, pride or satisfaction? Is it a reward or the fear of some sort of punishment? 

One of the top-rank elements is the teacher’s own motivation and enthusiasm (the only way to do a great work is to love what you do), then comes a sense of encouragement from the teacher and her/his genuine involvement in class management and group relationships, a supportive and safe atmosphere and encouragement in autonomy and valuable participation.

The challenge is maintaining this enthusiasm, though.

Some strategies to generate motivated and self-driven learners that were shared are:

• Make them curious and feel engaged in what you are doing
• Challenge them and avoid the obvious (johanna says “avoid celebrities” as in our attempt to be current we may not avoid the pitfalls of their disappearing too quickly; these celebrities should be shunned in favour of more human interest stories from sport or crime or stories of achievements, which might be a more potent force)
• Give learners more of a voice within the classroom and let them use their tech skills and imagination (incorporate what they can do very well, they are digital natives after all)
• Get a shared learning experience by relinquishing control where possible
• Use memes, theu are great fun :)

To tell you the truth, what motivated me this morning is this sky...