For most, it's part of academic studies. For some, it's a fun social opportunity. But for many, language learning is aimed at getting a job.
Language teachers didn't always consider the reasons students were motivated to learn a language. Instead, they focused solely on the central parts of language learning: phonology (sounds of letters and words), morphology (the meaning of parts of words), lexicon (vocabulary), grammar (word order) and to a lesser extent, discourse (the intent of language).
But today, beyond the mechanical aspects of language teaching and learning, language teachers and their teaching and learning materials try to align with students' motivations. This includes exploring a wide variety of social issues from global warming to racism to homelessness. Reasons for teaching these issues are based on the notion that language is culture, and students want to learn broad topics and be able to contribute to conversations about the issues of the day.
A related challenge facing students is employability skills. In the past, students were largely taught the types of language expected of factory workers: giving and responding to simple instructions. Most students learning via the audio-lingual method would consider the question "How are you?" to always be answered with the response, "I'm fine, thank you." The reality, of course, is that you might just as well say, "I'm okay." "Can't complain!" "Not too bad." or even the little-used but truthful, "I feel terrible!"
The Communicative Approach challenged this pre-programmed speech and reflected changes in the workplace. As robots and artificial intelligence agents take over more and more factory work, today's language students are graduating into jobs that require critical thinking, creativity, and broad communication skills. What are these skills and how do they relate to employability?
Critical thinking is about examining problems to better understand them. Sometimes critical thinking helps students make choices between one or more alternatives. Like creativity and communication, critical thinking is vital in both academic and employment situations where, for example, staff might try to decide between two locations to build a new factory.
Creative thinking is about looking for new solutions. In the factory example, a solution might be to build a factory on a boat so it travels between where the raw materials are collected to the market where they're to be sold.
Communication is about explaining ideas, listening to others' views, and using persuasive speaking and writing to structure arguments. Is the factory boat the best idea? It might be, but without clear communication and debate, it will be tossed aside.
In terms of employability, the ɫèAV series Step Up outlines the varied needs faced by adult learners: "to improve their employability skills to get their first job, secure a promotion, find a different job, re-enter the workforce after an absence or change fields."
Meeting these needs requires new teaching and assessment approaches.
Teaching has to become more collaborative. This reflects the nature of modern work, where most people work in teams, rather than in the factory model where workers were interchangeable parts of a machine. Workers today need to identify problems, share ideas about how to solve them and negotiate, using critical and creative thinking.
Similarly, assessment needs to change to a model that allows students opportunities to show what they know in open-ended ways with multiple opportunities to achieve success. Tests with closed-ended questions aimed at tricking students are a thing of the past. Assessment today needs to present students with chances to learn and try again and again until they and their teachers are confident of their abilities.
Learning a language and related abilities, like employability skills, is not a narrow classroom-bound experience. Students continue to learn and improve throughout their lives. More than anything else, the role of today's teachers is to set their students on a path of lifelong learning.
To empower your learners with the employability skills they need for future success, watch Ken's webinar here:?
Play
, Writer and Anaheim University TESOL Professor has a PhD in curriculum studies. He¡¯s worked in Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America, lecturing on language teaching and learning from the primary through university levels. Author/co-author of 67 textbooks for ɫèAV, he¡¯s given 500+ teacher-training sessions and 100+ conference presentations in 35 countries His research focus is on critical and creative thinking.
English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, but how much do you know about the language? Here are 11 facts about English?that you might not know.
Students all over the globe learn English for many reasons. Some of these motivations may come from the students themselves ¨C perhaps they are learning because they are travelling to an English-speaking area, or they want to be able to converse with English-speaking friends and colleagues. Other reasons for learning could include meeting school requirements, studying abroad, or progressing their careers.
As well as different reasons to learn English, there are also different goals. Many students are still focused on becoming fluent in English, and we are seeing an increase in people who want to learn the language for specific reasons. For example, immersing themselves in a particular culture or simply being able to order from a menu while travelling abroad.
Teachers are focusing on these personal needs to help students achieve their actual goals. It¡¯s likely you¡¯ve already spoken to your students about why they want to learn English. Understanding this is important as different motivations can influence a student¡¯s attitude towards learning the language ¨C and it may be necessary for you to adapt your teaching strategies for different groups of learners.
Let¡¯s meet some different groups of students, learn a little more about their motivations and explore whether different motivations alter how students learn English. You may recognise some of these learners in your classes.
These students are learning English for pleasure or personal reasons. It might be because of travel, social or family reasons or perhaps because a better grasp of English might assist them with their careers. There are also adult learners who could be learning English as an immigration requirement.
For example, 23-year-old Alice decided to learn English so she could meet people and have more meaningful interactions with her English-speaking neighbours. She says: ¡°I was very shy and not very confident in speaking to people, but learning English helped me connect with others and meet new people. I have changed a lot.¡±
A motivation like Alice¡¯s requires strong teacher support and peer motivation woven into structured learning. Alice can set her goals and with the GSE Learning Objectives map out what she needs to do to achieve them. Teacher encouragement and personal support ¨C and easy access to digital coursework, a social community of others all learning English, and small classes that emphasise conversation ¨C keep people like Alice engaged and motivated to achieve her language goals. ¡°I cannot do it without them¡±, she says.
These learners are typically in a more formal type of English programme and are learning the language to achieve specific career milestones, such as a promotion. Their employer might even be paying for their learning or they might be reimbursed for the cost of their lessons.
Vincenzo is 33 and works as a Product Manager in Milan for an international organization with offices around the world. He says: ¡°I asked to take English classes as part of my professional development. My company chose an English provider and gave me a choice of group or one-to-one classes. I chose one-to-one classes as I¡¯m easily distracted.¡±
Professional learners like Vincenzo succeed using a blended learning model of learning in class and at home that they can tailor around their lives. They have a strong motivation to succeed ¨C that¡¯s why learning at home works for them ¨C but step-by-step progress provided by the GSE Learning Objectives is also important to keep this motivation alive. ¡°I met with my teacher once a week where we would work on mistakes I would make while speaking English. He would also give me extra practice materials, like interesting games and videos to listen to in my own time, to help me really get a better understanding of the language,¡± Vincenzo says.
Learning English is a requirement for many school programmes and students will continue this at college or university. Many of these students will be learning English with a formal course that offers practice tests for high-stakes exams.
Seventeen-year-old Subra is from Malaysia and learns English at school. Some of her family live in Australia and she is considering studying abroad to attend a University that specializes in health care. When she was young, she learned in a traditional classroom backed with tests that helped her see how she was progressing. Now she uses technology, such as her Android Huawei phone to practise her English but still needs the validation of regular testing to know she is on track.
Subra?says: ¡°I am used to studying for tests as I prepared hard for exams to get into middle school and senior school, which was totally determined by test results.¡±
Academic learners like Subra need to see demonstrable results to help them stay motivated and guide them to the level of English they need to achieve to get the required score on high-stakes tests. With the clear GSE Learning Objectives and a placement test, academic learners can map out where they are right now and where they need to be in order to reach their academic goals. These learners need encouragement and validation of their progress from their teachers to help keep them on track.
Understanding student motivations will help you teach to their specific needs, thus helping them to stay focused and motivated in achieving their goals.
A shared language is central to many families, and this can carry extra meaning when your children are growing up in a country that speaks a different language. It's not just about words; it's about culture, identity and connection. If you'd like to teach your kids the language that holds a special place in your heart, here are some tips to get you started.
