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How to foster motivation in language acquisition?
For skill acquisition over a long period, motivation is even more important. Whether it is to get a diploma, learn a trade, or develop a skill, we are talking about efforts that are spread over several months or even years.
If your learning is face-to-face, you may benefit from motivating classmates, team projects, group studies, and friendships. The advantage of studying with colleagues is that everyone will have a down period at one time or another. But generally, it will not be at the same time as the students. So, when a learner has less enthusiasm, he/she can get "pulled" by others. And once the motivation is back, he/she can return the favor to his/her peers. This can also be found in virtual classrooms, but it is a more recent phenomenon, and it needs to be developed. Some face-to-face techniques can be applied in online classes to promote motivation. We will see some of the ones we use here.
Language classes are one of the skills that can be learned over a period ranging from several months for incredibly gifted learners to several years for people like you and me. To read more about the time required for acquiring a language, see our article. Also, as with many types of learning, current reality means that many courses have gone online.
In this article, we will look at how to maximize motivation in the context of second language acquisition online.
For videoconferencing group courses from the same company, we often find the same dynamics as for face-to-face courses organized for the same business, provided there is a certain constancy with the members of the group. Having a group that constantly changes learners is not ideal for motivation. Having the same learners helps to have collaboration and commitment; if all your coworkers are there, then there is some pressure for you to be there as well. This is less the case when the members of the group change regularly. Indeed, the feeling of belonging is less strong, and missing a few lessons is less difficult.
Same thing with less homogeneous groups. Having learners with different language skills is not ideal for creating training enthusiasm. The weaker students feel overwhelmed. The more advanced feel they are wasting time. This reality can cause some loss of motivation. Add to this the personality differences such as having introverted or extroverted learners, having perfectionist learners, and those who primarily want to learn grammar rules, even in a conversation class. The personality aspect is manageable by an experienced teacher. But having a relatively homogeneous group is a shared responsibility between the language school (placement test, how many levels, trainers' quality, and experience, etc.) and the company (mostly with the training budget). At Langage ici, we have 10 levels in most of the languages that we teach, which allows us to have good homogeneity in each group. However, we often must join different levels together to maximize the training budget. Not all businesses can afford to have multiple groups to accommodate the various levels and consolidation is necessary. Also, some learners can be alone in the level and would benefit from private lessons. But some companies will not allow this either for budget or policy reasons. Sometimes, the hierarchical level of the employee does not allow this type of training investment. Having lessons with these realities is of course much more advantageous than having no lessons at all. In addition, we adapt to these realities and make the best possible recommendations under these circumstances, but it is obvious that on the motivation, there are some challenges.
The group size can also play on motivation. The larger the group, the less engaged the learners. In a class of 15, there will be fewer bonds that will be created when compared to a class of 6, for example. Also, the participation time is comparatively less, which affects the progress perception. The more learners perceive that they are progressing, the stronger the motivation. However, if there is a problem in the group among some learners, the situation will be more visible in a small than in a large group. But generally, there are more advantages with small groups. And since our theme is motivation, it is maximized in smaller groups.
Class regularity also plays a role. For group classes, generally, the schedule is fixed once the course has started. The reality is often that to have a suitable schedule for each of the participants, everyone must make compromises. Several aspects must be considered: work schedule, team meetings, work location, etc. So once a schedule is agreed upon, there is little change. They do happen, but comparatively less often than for private lessons. Ironically, the more flexible the courses are, the quicker they lose their appeal. These are the main factors that make classes less interesting: The agenda has filled up with emergencies that cannot be removed. And, if too much time has passed between lessons, the progression is less rapid, and more time must be spent on review. Motivation is not as strong as it could be. This is what we have observed over the years. Often, private lessons will be for business managers or professionals. They must juggle many priorities. And, too often, language lessons will be one of the less urgent activities and ends up being put on hold. A few class postponements to accommodate important meetings, project conclusions, or other important deadlines, and voila, language courses are no longer on the agenda. The best way to stay constant is to block the times in the agenda. The is very similar to an exercise program. If some time is not spent to do your routine each day, quickly interest will be lessened. However, if there is a fixed time slot and we manage to develop a certain habit, then this regularity will bring positive feedback. You progress faster and as a result, you feel more inclined to exercise, seeing results. Same thing with your language courses. The key is consistency; the more present you are to your courses, the faster you will progress and the more motivated you will be.
This brings up an important point: learning progression. At Langage d'ici, we use, among other approaches, the natural approach to language acquisition. If you want to know more about this approach, read our article on the subject. This approach involves a special feature with beginner levels. In the beginning, learners go through an acquisition phase during which they build their vocabulary, their comprehension, sentence structures, basic verb tenses, etc. This phase is sometimes silent, and the learner may think that there is no progression, which is not the case. This step is essential so that the learner has enough tools to start expressing himself. This is when an experienced teacher will help with motivation. They will be able to design conversational activities that engage learners and provide feedback to point out progress. Through these interactions, the teacher will be able to keep the motivation of the learners high to continue their acquisition of the target language. A great teacher is important for all levels, but it is essential for beginner levels.
These are some of the techniques that we use to help and motivate our learners.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate.