Four Factors of Student Motivation
Mohammad Hosam Alnahas, Qatar University (Qatar)
Abstract
We hear and talk about student motivation, trying to find out the reasons why some of our students are demotivated to learn or attend classes. Understanding what factors could be influencing students’ motivation to learn seems to be a top priority for many of us, since such understanding would have a strong impact on our teaching style, teacher training programs, as well as our educational policies. This presentation is based on a case study that investigates the factors that could be influencing the students’ motivation to learn Arabic at a supplementary language school in Yorkshire, UK. The study endeavoures, through personal interviews and class observations, to understand the underlying circumstances determining the level student motivation in this particular school. The presentation highlights the findings of the research and discusses its pedagogical implications, and it is followed by recommendations that should assist in enhancing the motivation of the Arabic language learners. The talk ends with the Four Factor theory of motivaiton that has been developed based on the findings of this research study.
Keywords: Students’ demotivation, learning Arabic, supplementary schools, Europe.
References:
[1] Dörnyei, Z. (2005). Teaching and researching motivation. Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[2] Gardner, R. C. (2005, May). Integrative motivation and second language acquisition. Paper presented at the Joint Plenary Talk of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics and Canadian Linguistics Association, London, Canada.
[3] Spaulding, C. L. (1992). Motivation in the classroom. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.