How to Motivate Students in Primary English Teaching.doc

毕业论文（设计）How to Motivate Students in Primary English Teaching1. Introduction12. Motivation and English teaching22.1 The definition of motivation22.2 Types of motivation32.3 Motivation and classroom teaching43. Principles of motivating students in the class53.1 Enthusiasm principle53.2 Empathy principle54. Strategies of motivating students in teaching64.1 Human center pattern64.2 Establish a good relationship with the students64.3 Make full use of English textbook75. Methods of motivating students to be active in English class85.1 Teachers evaluation95.1.1 Affirmation evaluation95.1.2 Encourage evaluation105.1.3 Evaluation form115.2 Questioning125.3 Groups Competition135.3. 1 A contest of climbing the steps135.3.2 A contest of Apple trees145.3.3 A contest of growing hair145.3.4 A contest of catching the mouse155.4 Co-operative work155.4.1 The features of co-operating learning165.4.2 The advantages of co-operative learning175.4.3 Examples of co-operating learning in the class175.4.3.1 Pair works185.4.3.2 Checking each other185.5 Teaching games196. Conclusion22References281. IntroductionIt is a great challenge for teachers to enable students to study with interest and fun in the classroom. No one will deny that it is very important to develop appropriate approaches to motivate students for active learning. Omrod (1999) found that motivation affects cognition since motivated individuals are more likely to involve in effective learning and memory. Every practicing teacher will recognize the importance of promoting students in learning process and ensuring the existing motivation not be undermined by the teaching itself. (Moore 2000). Therefore, it is common to say that a teaching method is also a vital aspect for a good teacher besides his wide knowledge. During this time, more and more English teachers have realized the importance of this problem so that they have been making their efforts to reform the traditional teaching methods. In the teaching of modern English, motivation plays a crucial role in the classroom teaching. The author of this paper focuses on how to effectively encourage and motivate students to engage in their learning in the classroom.2. Motivation and English teaching2.1 The definition of motivationAccording to H.Douglas Brown (1987), motivation is commonly thought of as an inner drive, impulse, emotion, or desire that moves one to a particular action. More specifically, human beings universally have needs or drives that are innate, yet their intensity is environmentally conditioned. The description captures the essence of motivation, that is to say, motivation that consists of several variables such as need and interest can be intrinsic or extrinsic. 2.2 Types of motivationEducational psychologists divided motivation into two categories: intrinsic motivation (internal to the person) and extrinsic motivation (outside the person). “Intrinsic motivation exists when the source of motivation lies within the individual and task.” (Omrod, 1999) It is clear that in learning, students are motivated in different ways and to different degrees. Intrinsic motivation is to undertake an activity “for its own sake, for enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes.” In contrast, extrinsic motivation exists when the source of motivation lies outside of the individual and the task being performed.” (Omrod, 1999). In other words, extrinsic motivation may derives from the different needs of human beings such as, needs for achievement, needs for approval and needs for affiliation. However motivation is defined, there is one thing in common, that is, the primary purpose of stressing motivation is to encourage the students to become engaged in appropriate learning rather than inappropriate activities. This article will thus focus on several approaches suggested by some practicing teachers, which, through development, will be likely to help increase students motivation in the process of English learning and teaching. 2.3 Motivation and classroom teachingOne of the pressing problems confronting all teachers is how to improve students performance in this course. We use the same textbook and do the same exercises. However, gradually, students turn into individuals with different understanding, different skills, and different language abilities no matter how hard the teacher tries to help them. These individual differences are influenced by many factors, such as language aptitude, motivation, learning strategies, memory, personality, gender, age, and intelligence.Clearly, teachers have no influence over a learners intrinsic motivation for learning foreign language. Learners come into our classrooms from different backgrounds and life experiences, all of which have contributed to their attitudes and motivation to learn the target language. The principal way that teachers can influence students motivation is by making the classroom a supportive environment in which students are stimulated, engaged in activities which are appropriate to their age, interests and cultural backgrounds, and, most importantly, where students can experience success. This in turn can contribute to positive motivation, leading to still greater success.3. Principles of motivating students in the classTeaching in the classroom is a way of communication between teacher and students. During this process, teacher and students share their thinking, experiences and knowledge. How to motivate students in the classroom should obey the following principles in classroom teaching.3.1 Enthusiasm principleTeachers should be enthusiastic in the way of motivating students to make them enjoyable and happy in their learning. Teacher is the students tutor, also is their friend and maid. Therefore, teacher should treat all students equally and be warm-hearted with them. When the teachers really mean to do everything for the students, the students will feel a strong emotion. As a result, they will love the teacher and love this subject.3.2 Empathy principleThe Encyclopedia Britannica (1999 edition) defines empathy as the ability to imagine oneself in another places and understand others feelings, desires, ideas, and actions. The most obvious example is that how the actor or singer feels the part he is performing. The use of empathy is an important part of the approaches of English teaching in primary school. First, teachers emotion, characteristic and ability have a positive effect on students. Second, students are affected by their textbook, for instance, the article, the theme, etc. Therefore, the teacher in the class should be an excellent guider to inspire students. 4. Strategies of motivating students in teachingSince Rubins initial research on language learning strategies in the early 1970s, many scholars, including Wong Fillmore (1989), Chen Hua and Zhang Yifang (2001), and Xu Yulong (2003) have focused on childrens learning strategies. To sum up, there are two strategies that are common used in primary English teaching.4.1 Human center patternIn primary English teaching, Human center pattern is also called student center pattern. The author believes that human oriented principles should be carried out in English teaching, which concerns the following aspects: change the educational rational; understand the students psychological needs; reform the teaching approach; and improve the testing method. Teachers should take the students interest, ability, and emotion in consideration when teaching in English class.4.2 Establish a good relationship with the studentsA good relationship between teacher and students can create a cooperative and positive classroom atmosphere, which contributes to the success in teaching and learning. A successful teacher should not only concerns about passing knowledge to the students, but also the full development of his students. If the students sense the love from the teacher, get the help when in need and the reward when they achieve or the encouragement when in difficulty, they will return all this to their hearts content. Consequently, such a class is motivated to learn and achieve most. It is said that the distance, if there is any, between teacher and students may narrow down when the two sides can treat each other like friends. It is more important that the teacher take the initiative, for in most cases students are apt to keep a certain distance from the teacher out of respect or fear sometimes. So nothing can be lost if the teacher takes off the disguise and look more real and natural. To establish a good relationship the teacher may try the following ways. First, use the students language. Even in class, the teacher may try from time to time to explain his points in that way. This will draw the students close to the teacher and make the communication between them smooth and effective. Second, the teacher may sometimes sing a song or tell a story for the students, which may interest them, make a common gesture to the students, and cite an example close to their life.4.3 Make full use of English textbook“The famous educationist, Ye Shengtao, points out that teaching material can only be the basis of teaching, as for how to teach students and motivate them, it depends on the teacher how to use the text book.”(Net.1.) Therefore, teachers should make full use of the textbook in English teaching. In order to motivate students to be active in the class, teachers should expend the content of the textbook to arouse students interest in English learning. For instance, in the unit of “Colour”, there are eight new words: white, black, green, red, orange, brown, yellow, and blue. In the class, the teacher should not only teach the students the spelling and meaning of the words, but also make them understood the culture of the colour in west and east countries. Take the word “white” for example, it means pure and holy in west, however, it means illness and dead in China. Therefore, in the process of learning English in the class, students also know something about the foreign cultures, and their see sight is expended and their awareness and ability of communication between two cultures are developed. 5. Methods of motivating students to be active in English classClassroom is the most important area for a teacher to use the method of encouragement. In the classroom, teachers right evaluation to students can make the students trust teacher. It can spire the students motivation in learning and make students answer questions that the teacher raised in class so that English class will be more active and graceful. If teachers can make the classrooms to be the places where students enjoy coming because the content is interesting and relevant to their age and level of ability, where the learning goals are challenging yet manageable and clear, and where the atmosphere is supportive and non-threatening, we can make a positive contribution to students motivation to learn.Language as the means of encouraging, will be emphasized. This part is going to tell about some detailed methods to encourage students in English class.5.1 Teachers evaluationMeNamara(1999) pointed out “rewards and punishments can be considered aspects of motivation in that good behaviors tend to occur more frequently when it is rewarded and less frequently when it is punished”. Teachers evaluation of the students can be the incentives to encourage students to take the challenging tasks and attain better performance. It can encourage the students to go for more achievement and continuously go forward.5.1.1 Affirmation evaluationTeachers affirmative evaluation to students is active in the function of enhancing. This method of affirmative encouragement is generally used after the right answer given by students. The most famous words that teachers often use in the class to encourage students are as follow:“Very good!”“Thats right! /Thats it!/ “Thats true!”Great! / Excellent! / Terrific!/ Exactly!“Well done! / Good job!/ Good idea!”It can be very motivating for the students if you tell them clearly that you are pleased with their efforts and progress. It may even be a wonderful surprise after frequent expressions of dissatisfaction from previous teachers.However, not all praises are effective. Praises should be delivered contingently and praising words need to be specific to different performance and the extent of their efforts. This is well supported by Muijs and Reynolds(2001). “Praise need to be specific, credible, and orientated towards both effort and ability, encapsulating the expectation that similar performances can be attained in future.” Other forms of rewards include eye contact, thumbs up sign, facial friendly expression, stars, and stickers and attitude will be transferred to students. Moreover, teachers expectations on their students have a strong link with the students achievement. The research has found that teachers expectations of their students can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.(Muijs and Reynolds 2001). Students seem to have an inclination to fulfill their teachers expectation. If students perceive a high expectation from their teacher, they will tend to achieve better. In contrast, if students are expected to do badly, they tend to do less well. Therefore, teachers should treat students fairly, regardless of their background and show them equal opportunities and high expectations.5.1.2 Encourage evaluationStudents usually fell anxious or nervous when answering questions. When the students make mistakes in answering question, teachers should never blame them. Teachers should say something that can make the students feel comfortable instead of embarrassing. In this way, students may give the right answer after the teachers encouragement. For example:“Come on!”“Nearly”“Dont worry!/ Dont lose heart!/ Dont be shy!”“Take it easy!/ Dont be afraid! Dont give up!”“Just try your best!”“Dont be afraid of making any mistakes!“I am sure you can do it!”Teachers should not punish the wrong answers in the classroom. On the contrary, they need to perceive themselves as part of students learning processes. If teachers use punishment when students make mistakes, it will reduce their opportunities to succeed. 5.1.3 Evaluation formMake a table to evaluate the students performance. It may encourage the students every time. Take the table that the author makes for the Grade Four students for example:SpellingAnsweringHomeworkCooperationImprovementSumGroup 1Group 2Group 3Group 4(Spelling: All the group members spell the words correctly, and then can get one star!Answering: The most active group to answer teachers question can get one star!Homework: All the group members finish the homework, and then can get one star!Co-operation: Finish the task by well co-operation, and then can get one star!Improvement: Which group gets teachers praise can get one star! )After the unit, the teacher will sum up the total stars of each group. The group has the largest number of the stars will be rewarded as “The Best Group.”5.2 QuestioningIt is a fact that students have natural desire to learn new things and new experiences around them. How teachers use the curiosity of students as an incentive in the classroom is a challenge confronted on most teachers. The author supposes that questioning is one of the most effective approaches for teachers to arouse the students curiosity and keep their interests focused in the classroom. The monologues will make students feel tired and lose their concentration. In contrast, asking students provocative questions rather than presenting statements of fact will stimulate students to think deeply and make them positively involved in learning. Mortimore(1999)found positive effects for us