Natasha Sinclair

General educational psychologists believe there are three main sources of motivation for students, and these directly apply to students of the English language. First, a student’s personal, natural interest in a subject, called “intrinsic satisfaction,” influences their natural affinity for learning more about the materials covered in a class. Second, the teacher’s perceived expertise, the prestige of the school, and/or the future impact on employment prospects, called “extrinsic reward,” defines for the student how much he/she is likely to benefit from learning English. Finally, when students are successful in a given task – whether this be a simple activity, a test or the overall course – they combine satisfaction with reward and are...  [Read more]

General educational psychologists believe there are three main sources of motivation for students, and these directly apply to students of the English language. First, a student?s personal, natural interest in a subject, called ?intrinsic satisfaction,? influences their natural affinity for learning more about the materials covered in a class. Second, the teacher?s perceived expertise, the prestige of the school, and/or the future impact on employment prospects, called ?extrinsic reward,? defines for the student how much he/she is likely to benefit from learning English. Finally, when students are successful in a given task ? whether this be a simple activity, a test or the overall course ? they combine satisfaction with reward and are likely to be more motivated to continue the learning...  [Read more]