MÁSTER DE PROFESORADO EN EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA
OBLIGATORIA, BACHILLERATO, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL
Y ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS
MOTIVACIÓN EN EL AULA. RECURSOS Y MATERIALES
PARA LA ENSEÑANZA DE UNA LENGUA EXTRANJERA
THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN THE CLASSROOM
CURSO ACADÉMICO 2021-2022
Aylín Rodríguez Martín
Content
1. Defining motivation............................................................................................ 3
1.1. What is motivation? ..................................................................................... 3
1.2. Main theories ................................................................................................ 3
2. Motivation and engagement in the classroom .................................................... 4
2.1. Being a motivational teacher........................................................................ 4
2.1.1. Motivational perspective of tasks .......................................................... 4
2.1.2. Strategies to increase student interest in academic tasks....................... 4
2.1.3. Implementation of rewards in the classroom......................................... 5
2.2. Building a motivational environment .......................................................... 6
2.2.2. Enhancing students’ autonomy .............................................................. 6
2.2.3. Assessment and student motivation ....................................................... 6
2.3. Motivational problems ................................................................................. 6
3. Keeping Students Engaged: A review ................................................................ 7
4. Does Cooperative Learning Increase Students’ Motivation in Learning? A
review ..................................................................................................................... 8
5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 9
6. Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 10
1. Defining motivation
1.1. What is motivation?
Before going deeper into the importance of motivation in the classroom, it is necessary
to define the concept. Motivation refers to the behavioural intensity and emotional quality
of a person’s active involvement during a task (Connell, 1990; Connell & Wellborn, 1991;
Fiedler, 1975; Koenigs, Fiedler, & deCharms, 1977; Wellborn, 1991). In other words,
motivation refers to the enthusiasm and willingness a student shows when carrying out a
task.
We can divide the concept of motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
The intrinsic motivation refers to the fact of performing a task because it is rewarding to
the person, just for the sake of learning or improving. On the other hand, extrinsic
motivation means carrying out a task or exhibiting a behaviour because of external
stimuli, such as receiving a reward or avoiding punishment.
1.2. Main theories
In order to understand how motivation works and how it should be addressed in the
classroom, it is necessary to contextualise it under some of the existing theories.
1. Self-determination theory: it is one of the main current theories related to intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation. Ryan and Deci (2009) proposed that individuals have to
meet three basic needs to be motivated and engaged in activities: autonomy (to
feel self-directed), competence (to be able to perform a set of tasks) and
relatedness (to feel part of a social network).
2. Attribution theory: Weiner (1986) defined how people reacted to certain
occurrences such as success or failure and how these two factors were directly
related to motivation. If a student fails an exam, he can follow two paths. He might
attribute failing to the lack of study and develop a more positive emotion to push
him to study harder next time, or in contract, he might attribute it to not being
good at that particular subject, and therefore develop a negative feeling which can
trigger the motivation towards that given subject.
3. Expectancy-value theory: in this theory, academic motivation relies both on the
students’ beliefs about their abilities to succeed with tasks, expectancy, and how
they value those tasks. In order to have students engaged in a task, they need to
see the importance, the usefulness and the worthiness of it.
4. Social cognitive theory: Bandura (1989) introduced two important concepts when
studying academic motivation. First, he demonstrated that students could engage
in behaviours seen in others. He also introduced the concept of self-efficacy, where
students develop feelings and beliefs of ability to perform a particular task. In this
sense, teachers have the potential to influence students into strengthening their
self-beliefs and self-esteem.
5. Goal orientation theory: this theory focuses on students’ reasons for engaging in
academic tasks. Here we can differ from two terms: mastery goals and
performance goals. When student develop a mastery goal, they focus on the task
itself, the content learned and the effort employed rather than the unique outcome.
On the other hand, students who engage in performance goals, only focus on how
they are being evaluated by others based on a final grade or result. The way we
instruct, evaluate or arrange the classroom play a huge role on students adopting
a certain type of goal, which will directly affect the motivational levels.
2. Motivation and engagement in the classroom
2.1. Being a motivational teacher
2.1.1. Motivational perspective of tasks
As educators, when it comes to motivation management, we have the responsibility to
keep students engaged and to take into account a number of factors, such as the tasks
involved, the way to evaluate them or the rewards used.
As for tasks assignment, it is important to make tasks both engaging and useful
for the students. Tasks involving authentic, real world related content are more likely to
raise the students’ attention and keep them motivated at all times. As mentioned before,
one the most influential theories regarding task assignment, is the expectancy-value,
where the value of the task is the prime mover. When learners find activities engaging,
because of either the attractive content or methodology applied or useful for their daily
lives, they are more likely to focus and develop a positive attitude to the subject.
2.1.2. Strategies to increase student interest in academic tasks
Being aware of students’ personal interest can provide opportunities to foster motivation
and involvement in the classroom. Inevitably, it is impossible to fulfil every student’s
interest and at some point, all of them will have to face tasks that might not align with
their personal likings. What is important here is that teachers have to try their best to offer
a more personal teaching approach that involves everyone in the classroom.
Some of the most important strategies to implement when assigning academic
tasks are the following:
1. Use activities related to content that students know about and can easily relate to
their prior knowledge.
2. Encourage students to be active learners. Boost their critical thinking and
reasoning with activities when they can debate and bring up their own
contributions.
3. Guide students throughout the task. Assist students to focus on the most important
aspects of the task, so they do not lose interest when things get harder.
2.1.3. Implementation of rewards in the classroom
The use of rewards must be used carefully in the classroom, since some of them can turn
out to be either effective or have detrimental effects on students’ motivation. When
planned and employed accordingly, they can mean a great boost for learners’ engaging
levels. Below, some of the most important considerations can be found:
1. Reward students for effort and improvement. Traditionally, rewards have always
been used to gift the “elite” of the classroom. Teachers should develop a new
mind-set, where effort and improvement are appreciated and praised.
2. Rewards and control should not be connected. Students, who might perceive that
a reward is related to a particular behaviour, can develop a negative attitude
reducing their intrinsic motivation.
3. Keep rewards private. Sometimes the use of rewards in front of their peers in the
classroom might make some students uncomfortable or embarrassed. The best
practice is to inform the student in private to avoid making students selfconscious.
2.2. Building a motivational environment
2.2.2. Enhancing students’ autonomy
Students who feel in control of their own learning process tend to develop a more positive
attitude towards learning. In this sense, teachers also play a huge role in motivating their
students.
Teachers can adopt either a more controlling strategy or autonomy-supportive
strategy, the last being rarer to find. As Deci & Ryan (1985) stated, one person influences
the motivation, learning and performance of other, so, in the school setting, teachers
following a more autonomy-supportive approach show their students the value of mastery
and intrinsic motivation as well as greater conceptual understanding.
Giving students a place in the classroom, where they feel free to develop their own
knowledge and carry out activities by themselves, creates a more fulfilling and productive
environment, and consequently enhances higher level of engagement.
2.2.3. Assessment and student motivation
Stiggins define assessment in the classroom as “the process of gathering evidence of
student learning to inform instructional decisions” (2005, p. 5).
Nowadays, students still are assessed only based on their performance in the
classroom, that is to say, by grading them on their final academic results. This procedure
not only seems unfair, but also triggers students’ motivation, since just a small part of the
process in valued.
It is necessary to leave behind the traditional ways of evaluating and come up with
solutions to assess students’ effort and improvement in the classroom without relying
only on the result. Promoting mastery-goal activities and assessment will enhance the
learners’ engagement, as their day-to-day effort and work put into the classroom would
be appreaciated. At the same time, we have to make students responsible of their own
learning, and therefore their own assessment, by encouraging students to care and value
their personal achievements.
2.3. Motivational problems
When the classroom atmosphere is not optimal, a variety of motivational problems might
arise. In the following section, we are going to analyse and review some of the possible
motivational problems that can occur in the classroom.
1. Motivation and Behaviour Management: when students are motivated and
focused, they do not engage in off-task activities, so providing appealing activities
will reduce the possibilities of student’s misbehaviour.
2. Motivation and Anxiety: It is crucial to be aware of a student’s attitude towards
something that is causing him/her some anxiety. As educators, we have to be very
cautious about the practices, instructions or strategies we use because sometimes
they might be detrimental.
3. Motivation and Learned Helplessness: Students might experience learned
helplessness when they cannot relate their behaviour or work to their outcomes.
In these cases, teachers can help by finding out the root cause of the problem that
in some cases in just a matter of a poor study strategy.
4. Motivation and Apathy: As noted by Brophy (2004), apathetic students are
unquestionably the most challenging problem a teacher might face. Students who
do not seem to care about academics mean teachers have to be decisive and find
a strategy to bring their interest back to the classroom.
3. Keeping Students Engaged: A review
In this article, Al-Shalabi (2015) offers a number of strategies to implement in order to
get our students motivated in class. We need to keep in mind that having students
engaged, not only depends on their intrinsic motivation they have, but also on the external
stimuli they receive, which means both teacher attitude and the enjoyment experienced in
the classroom will directly influence their engaging levels.
From my perspective, among the ones proposed by the author, we can highlight
four main ones:
1. Create a safe and comfortable environment: give your students the opportunity to
share their opinions, concerns and questions with the rest of the class. Make sure
they feel welcomed and their contributions are respected and valued.
2. Positive feedback: instead of focusing on what students are doing wrong, use the
mistakes as a tool for improvement. Praise your students and help them gain selfconfident, which will promote willingness to participate in class.
3. Connect with your students and their interest: this, from my point of view, is
probably one of the most important strategies, Take into account your students’
interest and likings. If they feel related, they will more likely engage in the
classroom, as the content is useful and appealing to them.
4. Use of a wide range of strategies: do not allow your students to get bored by
always using the same methodology. Employing a variety of instructional
strategies has two great assets. On one hand, it helps students understand the
course content more easily, and on the other hand, they do not lose interest as this
strategy prevents the classroom from becoming repetitive and monotonous.
It is safe to say that a combination of parameters is needed for both teachers and
students to create a cooperative learning environment, where they can work together to
reach a common goal and develop a closer relationship in which both sides’ inputs are
equally valued.
In short, in order to keep students engaged, a series of requirements have to be
met. Some of the being: providing meaningful content that learners can use in their daily
lives, boosting their reasoning and arranging the material in such a way that it is both
appealing and varied, and caring for students’ interests and self-esteem.
4. Does Cooperative Learning Increase Students’ Motivation in
Learning? A review
We refer to cooperative learning as teaching method in which small groups of students
work together is order to reach a common goal and develop a better understanding of the
lessons (Slavin, 2011).
The cooperative learning approach brings to the classroom a set of positive
elements that a traditional lecture could not provide, such as social interaction among
groups members, teamwork skills, commitment and individual responsibility and change
of scene.
Studies comparing this approach with the more traditional methods have shown
that cooperative learning enhance a more positive attitude on behalf of the students as
well as better academic outcomes.
From my own point of view, and previous experience implementing this approach
in a classroom, it is undoubtedly a method that foster students’ engagement and
motivation, since they feel their contributions as valued and they are in charge of the own
learning. At the same time, students enjoy the social aspect of the approach, as they can
interact with their peers and share their experiences and knowledge. This method also
helps diversity and those students who feel they can follow a more traditional classroom,
since it provides a more dynamic environment where all contributions actually help to
reach the group goals.
5. Conclusion
With students’ dropping rates rising every year, there is an undeniable need to act and
change how education have traditionally been carried out. It is no longer enough to stay
behind and complain about students not working hard or doing their duty. It is about time
to change how we educate and how we approach the teaching-learning process. We must
eradicate the old-fashioned education methods where students are just valued as a grade
and teachers are seen as the class leaders, and work towards implementing a more
collaborative approach where both sides’ contributions are equally important. Along this
process, students’ motivation and involvement play a huge role.
Despite the improvement and updating of the current curriculum, we are still
outdated when it comes to motivation and the psychological aspects of education. The
new curriculum still does not manage to match the school world and student world, where
students feel their experiences and own knowledge do not have a place in the classroom.
It is our job as educators to care for students’ likings and wellbeing in the classroom,
implementing a range of strategies and approaches to promote participation and interest
in the school system.
Students should find the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom an
extension to their real world. It is key to take into account each student’s individual
characteristics, in order to be able to provide a meaningful and fulfilling experience within
the classroom and prevent undesired motivational and behavioural problems. We should
follow a more innovative approach through the use active methodologies, where students
can develop their autonomy and be in charge of their own learning process.
As educators, we have to be committed and stay focused. We must read our
students behaviours, create a safe environment where learning is enjoyable, and not seen
as a chore. We must be supportive and communicative. We must be the type of teacher
who students value, trust and can reach out to when in need.
6. Bibliography

Al-Shalabi, N. (2015). Keeping Students Engaged: A Prerequisite for Learning.
Mediterranean
Journal
of
Social
Science,
6(5),
576-580.
https://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/7526.

Dat Tran, V. (2019). Does Cooperative Learning Increase Student’s Motivation
in Learning?. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(3), 12-20.
https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v8n5p12

Reeve J., Jang H., Carrell D., Jeon S. y Barch J. (2004). Enhancing Students’
Engagement by Increasing Teachers’ Autonomy Support. Motivation and
Emotion,
28(2).
147-169.
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MOEM.0000032312.95499.6f

Dornyei Z. (1994) Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom.
The
Modern
Language
Journal,
78(3).
273-284.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/330107

Anderman, E. y Anderman L. (2014). Classroom Motivation (2nd Ed.) Person.

Bol S. (2009). The Motivated Student. ASCD.