About Motivation and Language Learning
- katemye
- Dec 30, 2024
- 5 min read
By Kate ye
Once you understand the nuances and effective ways of how to connect and pass knowledge down to others, teaching almost becomes like second nature.
However, there will always be those few who are unwilling to learn, resulting in a much more difficult type of learning process and will require much more effort on the teacher’s part.
Perhaps your little nephew has no interest in learning a new language, and so you are left with the unfulfilled desire to nourish his little brain by encouraging him to communicate in another language. Scrambling to find ways to motivate your little one is a fine balance, as you do not want to upset or pressure others into doing something they don't want to do.
So how do we create a desire to learn a new language? In this paper, I will address a few solutions to mitigate this particular issue.
Expectations- First, before we delve into solving any type of problem , we should build some expectations of how much new knowledge the language learner will be able to retain. How motivated is he? Does he have no interest at all? Is he a curious learner? These are all important factors to consider when introducing a new language to someone.
Environment - Create an environment where language learning is encouraged and supported. Many parents give up teaching their children another language because they don't want to force the child or simply they have no time or energy. Some teachers see a student attending their language class just to pass for a credit - and it is obvious that the student is not interested at all in the subject. These are all legitimate reasons, however we shouldn't give up so easily. This requires consistency, and a warm environment where the language is spoken naturally, intertwined with the setting or class- and not as a lesson or lecture.
Simplicity- The easier the phrase or word taught, the more they will be receptive to learning, and more confident in speaking the new language.
Connection- Creating a connection will build a different type of motivation which will encourage your language learner to want to explore the target language. Simple things like- asking the person’s heritage bloodline, or if they have ever been to the target language country will build a spark of curiosity in the learner that will motivate students to learn more about the target language and culture.
Mystery - Don’t teach everything you know about the language all at once just because you have the opportunity to ! (in the classroom or otherwise) Slowly introduce the language in stubble ways. You can do this by speaking the language with others around the learner. Additionally, asking them if they know how to address you in the target language- if you are a family member, friend or even teacher- will prompt them to address you in the language. You will find, by using this method, there is a word for every occasion when introducing your student to a new language. (objects around the house, animals, characters on tv, color names, etc.)
Allure - Is this even a language that appeals to the learner? If not, introduce to them some “perks” of the target language’s culture. For example, find out some tasty treats, sports, animals that are exclusively from that area that they might seem to enjoy and use them as an introduction to the target language. (for example: Chinese- pandas, noodles, kung fu)
Play - Playing with the language learner is important to show that you do care and are interested in him and his well being. This doesn't have to relate to the language subject itself, but this will create a stronger bond, cultivating a deeper inclination in the learner so that they will want to learn more about the target language.
Repeat - Come back and ask the learner about the words or phrases you have taught them. Perhaps a few days later, or a few hours later- it’s up to you. This is just to ensure that the learner has retained the language / words provided by you.
Encouragement- Perhaps you have family members around, or other authority figures that are supportive in your language teaching endeavors. You can “show off” the new knowledge that your learner has picked up by asking them in front of others, “how do you say....in (the target language). Don't forget to congratulate and show enthusiasm when they answer this correctly!
Real Life Example :
This is a real life example which actually inspired me to write this paper. For the holidays, my sister and her family were coming to visit for a week. She has a son, about 7 years old. My mom (his grandma) requested for me to teach him some words before he came home for the holidays. I knew very little about my nephew’s language learning background, but found out later that it wasn’t much (#1). So, during one of our first interactions, my nephew discovered that he was born in the chicken year, and he was very excited to know about this (#2). He bounced around like a chicken and showed a lot enthusiasm learning this fact (#7) I kept that in the back of my head, as this aspect of culture is part of our target language, and my mother’s native tongue (literally!) (#4)
Later on, a few days later- his father cooked some chicken, and I thought this was the perfect time to introduce the word “chicken” to my nephew. First, I asked him if he knew how to say “chicken” in Chinese, and of course he shook his head no (#5). So I told him it sounds like 鸡 “Jī,” like how chickens sound (#3). It’s actually a very fun sound, (#6) and he repeated it a few times. The “ji” turned into “wee wee” after a while, but I corrected him. After my nephew was done eating, I asked him what he ate - and he replied “chicken” in English. I asked him what about chinese? " He replied, “wee wee!” I corrected him and said, "nope its “g” as in the first letter of your name! And so, he
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~*k.ye December 2024
repeated the new “Jī” sound. When my mom came home, I told her that her grandson knows a new word. I asked him, how do you say “chicken” in Chinese again? He repeated it loudly and with pride “Jī!”(#8) and then I gave him a high five (#9). Afterwards, he said “wee wee” again, but what can you do? Kids will be kids.
Enjoy, and don't forget to have fun! ~*xo
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