Teaching by Principles Chapter 5: Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom

Teaching by Principles Chapter 5: Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom

Defining Motivation

1.A Behavioristic Definition (行為主義)

-The role of rewards

-The anticipation of reinforcement

-praise, gold stars, grades, certificates, diplomas, scholarships, careers, financial independence, happiness

2.Cognitive Definitions (認知心理學)

A. Drive theory

-Exploration: probing the unknown

-Manipulation: controlling our environment

-Activity: being physically active

-Stimulation: being receptive to mental, emotional, physical stimulation

-Knowledge: yearning for answers to questions

-Ego enhancement: building our own self-esteem

B. Hierarchy of needs theory

-A system of needs within each human being that propel us to higher and higher attainment

-A person is not adequately energized to pursue some of the higher needs until the lower foundations have been satisfied.

-Physical needsà safety & communal needsàesteemàself-actualization(自我實現)

-If classroom activities fulfill lower-order needs, they can pave the way to meeting higher-order needs.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

-Integrative orientation: the learners pursue a second language for social and/or cultural purposes & within that purpose, a learner could be driven by a high level of motivation or a low level.

-Instrumental orientation: learners are studying a language in order to further a career or academic goal.

-Integrative/instrumental orientation refers to the context of learning, while intrinsic/extrinsic motivation designates a continuum of possibilities of intensity of feeling or drive, ranging from deeply internal, self-generated rewards to strong, externally administered rewards from beyond oneself.

-Intrinsic motivation: no extrinsic reward except the activity itself, leading to the feelings of competence and self-determination

-Extrinsic motivation: anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self

-Intrinsic motivation is superior to extrinsic, especially for long-term retention.

-Optimal incongruity, uncertainty, “disequilibrium”: self-actualization: autonomy of self-reward

Table 6.4 (in PLLT, p166) Motivational dichotomies

	Intrinsic	Extrinsic
Integrative	L2 learner wishes to integrate with the L2 culture (e.g., for immigration or marriage)	Someone else wishes the L2 learner to know the L2 for integrative reasons (e.g., Japanese parents send kids to Japanese-language school)
Instrumental	L2 learner wishes to achieve goals utilizing L2 (e.g., for a career)	External power wants L2 learner to learn L2 (e.g., corporation sends Japanese businessman to U.S. for language training.)

Intrinsic Motivation in Education (Table 5.1)

Intrinsic Motivation in the Second Language Classroom

-Appeal to learners’ self-determination and autonomy

-Teaching writing as a thinking process

-Showing learners strategies of reading

-Language experience approaches

-Oral fluency exercises

-Listening to an academic lecture

-Communicative language teaching

-Grammatical explanations

A checklist of Intrinsically motivating Techniques

-Genuine interests of students

-Positive, enthusiastic manner

-Students’ awareness of the technique

-Students’ choice

-Discovery

-Strategies

-Autonomy and independence

-Corporative negotiation (Cooperative learning can instill intrinsic motivation.)

-Challenge

-Feedback