Three ways to motivate your learners

Learning a language is a long, hard slog – some people find it easier than others, but there are definitely no short cuts and in this world where information is really easily available, one of our main roles as language teachers is to help sustain motivation. To keep learners wanting to learn- to stop them just getting frustrated and giving up. How can we do this? I’m Jo Gakonga from ELT-Training.com and I’ve got three ideas for you. They’re not new, but they are worth remembering:

1. Be nice! So much about good teaching is interpersonal relationships. If you like your teacher, you’re much more likely to be motivated to learn, so think about how you can nurture that relationship. Be encouraging, be positive, learn something about your learners. I find occasionally bringing cake works well, too!
2. Be a good role model. If English isn’t your first language, you’re a great example of how it’s possible to become fluent- tell them about what kept you going and share your strategies with them.
3. Give them engaging ways that they can learn English OUTSIDE the classroom. Introduce them to sites like Lyricstraining or Youglish and show them interesting podcasts, or people to follow on YouTube and TikTok. You could try giving them a new follow each week or get them to suggest one for the class.
   
   

I hope that these ideas give YOU a bit of motivation, too and see you soon!