The Power of Motivation in Language Learning

Finding motivation in the language classroom

Have you ever sat in a language class, looked out of the window and wished you were elsewhere? Or maybe you teach a language, but you’ve lost sight of why you chose this profession in the first place. If either of these scenarios sounds familiar, then it might be time to dive deep in search of your true souce of motivation. At Macmilan Education, we’ve collected some inspirational stories and strategies to help you get excited about the language you’re learning or teaching again.

1. Use your background to your advantage

What you have experienced shapes your view of the world, making it only natural that certain approaches to language learning feel more relevant to you than others. Abdulwahab Sabbagh, a Syrian refugee working as an English teacher for Babbel Live Academy in Istanbul, knows this all too well, particularly after his own life was irrevocably changed by war. “Many displaced learners and teachers are dealing with significant emotional and practical challenges, so it is important to be empathetic and flexible. Using materials and topics that resonate with their experiences, and showing how English can be a tool to unlock opportunities—celebrating even small achievements—helps with their motivation, especially when progress feels slow.” Sabbagh’s lived experience of the impact of war puts him in a unique position to be able to usefully and empathetically impart his knowledge of English in a way that resonates with his students.

If you are a teacher or a student, it is worth taking the time to assess what makes you unique. If you are a teacher with ADHD, for instance, and you’ve developed ADHD-friendly language-learning strategies, then learners with ADHD would benefit from these, too. If you are a first-generation immigrant, like Salvador Ordorica, founder of translation company The Spanish Group, then your experience of growing up fluent in a language that your parents couldn’t speak confidently will have given you an emotional rather than purely academic motivation to learn languages. “Growing up in a Spanish-speaking household [in the US], I became a translator for my parents at a young age. Whether it was filling out school forms, visiting the doctor, or making sense of official mail, I was the bridge between my family and the English-speaking world. […] From an early age, I understood that improving my English wasn’t just about personal growth; it was about giving a voice to those who felt silenced by language barriers.”

To keep learners motivated, it is key to integrate both linguistic and cultural contexts into the learning and teaching approach. Address feelings of shame and fear learners might have. Why do they feel this way? Can you help them change the narrative to a more encouraging one? Tailor your resources to the students’ needs. Practise real-life situations, like a phone call with a doctor or a bank appointment. Rather than religiously following a textbook, ask your students for their input on the course structure.

2. Explore together

Curiosity is key. This is something that Stefano Lodola, a polyglot Italian teacher and author of the online course Think in Italian, learned at a young age. “Growing up in the coastal area in Italy, I was accustomed to tourists. There were some who asked me questions or said something, but since I could not understand them, I would reply ‘Sorry, no English’.” This spurred Lodola to learn English. “My deep pursuit and passion to connect with people and build a network is the core reason why I am learning English,” he explains. “Tracking my progress, integrating what I learn, and continually reading and engaging in conversations have proven to be effective for me.”

Each learner will have a different set of interests, and while there will be some overlap, it is important for teachers not to view their classes as a cohesive group but as a set of unique, collaborative individuals. Teachers who not only encourage an explorer mindset in their students but also develop one themselves will be more able to create classes that resonate with their students. Alongside group work, set personal projects and presentations that enable you to learn about the people in your classroom. This is applicable to both child and adult learners. Ask children to talk about their favourite colours, hobbies, places and foods. Find out what the adults in your class do for work, how they relax, what they do to keep fit, etc. Can any of the information you’ve learned about your students be effectively integrated into the classroom?

3. Make wise media choices

Foreign-language music, films, series, books and websites can spark your interest and encourage emotional engagement with the language you are learning or teaching. For Diana Bello Aritizábal, a Colombian journalist based in Miami, US, music was an essential part of learning English: “I am a firm believer that in order to create neurological connections and acquire a new skill, you need to first establish an emotional connection with your object of study, and that’s what music was to me. Music motivated me because I liked the songs that I chose very much, so I wanted to understand the lyrics.” Being mindful about how she consumed English media was also key for Aritizábal. “Watching movies with the subtitles in English […] allowed me to learn the spelling and train my ear to further expand my English,” she adds. Reading anything from brochures to books and not getting fixated on the words she didn’t understand also proved helpful.

So if you are a teacher, ask yourself the following: What type of music do your students listen to? What sorts of series do they like binge-watching? Learn about your students’ likes and dislikes, and if they only mention media in their own language, find equivalents in the target language that they are likely to enjoy. Gather suggestions and create exercises related to them. This will make your course more varied and unique. Hadida Grabow, the founder of Higher Learning Group, highlights the importance of taking a systemic approach to the curriculum and integrating various media. “For our children’s content,” she notes, “we always try to include videos, songs, fun games and a reward system to hold their attention during class, and with adults, we try to design textbooks that focus on real-world applications and cases so we can make efficient use of their time.”

Be open-minded and consider your students as teachers, too. Just because someone is younger or less experienced in your field of expertise that doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer you. Aritizábal notes that she practises and exchanges knowledge with her 11-year old son in this way: “He grew up in the States, so he naturally speaks English as a native, but he isn’t as good when it comes to grammar. So we engage in fascinating and enriching conversations, in which he helps me pronounce words better (he doesn’t have an accent, but I do), and I help him with grammar and punctuation.” Just as flat organisational structures are encouraged in modern businesses as opposed to top-down hierarchies, this approach can also be integrated into the classroom. Teachers will see the value in making every individual feel heard and seen.

Do you have more tips to motivate language students and teachers working with languages? Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!

Blog writer: Melita Cameron-Wood, freelance EFL teacher, journalist and audio materials writer/producer