Lack of student motivation within the ESL classroom.

Abstract

This paper discusses the lack of ESL student motivation within the classroom, teacher perceptions of student motivation, and effective strategies that teachers implement within an ESL classroom. Included within this thesis is a study that compiled data from teachers and middle school ESL students within a small city school district. The study resulted from an interest of the researcher in ESL student motivation and teacher perceptions of student motivation. The study focused on various factors within intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within an individual while extrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from outside an individual. The study was carried out by the researcher over a two month period of time. The researcher gave a motivational survey to a target group of eleven students, interviewed the two ESL teachers that worked with these students, and observed several class sessions making anecdotal notes while observing of motivational strategies being used and student responses to these strategies. The research showed that the students displayed higher levels of motivation within student led classrooms with home language materials made available. In addition the research found that students were equally intrinsically and extrinsically led. The teacher interviews gave insight to the teacher personalities and subsequent observations showed how the personality of the teacher led to the success or lack of success of a class session. These findings showed the importance of student motivation leading to academic success. This topic yielded a great deal of interesting data. The research showed that middle school students are equally intrinsically and extrinsically motivated and one type of motivational strategy is not efficient or effective.