The Influence of Secondary School Students’ Motivation by Teacher on Learners of the English Language Case Study: St. Theresa Holiday Classes

Abstract

This study entitled the Influence of Secondary school Student Motivation by Teachers on Learners of the English Language, the case of St. Theresa Holiday Classes, had as general objective To investigate the extent to which teachers motivates students to learn the English language. The study employed the survey research design, with a sample of 20 participants made up of 18 students and 2 teachers.

The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire, and also a Random sampling technique was used to select the students. This was later translated to specific research questions as; To what extent does a teacher motivates learners of the English language? What are the impacts of teachers’ motivation on students?

Which factors motivate students to learn the English language? The targeted population was made up of four and form five students selected from St. Theresa. A questionnaire was used in collecting data to arrive at the conclusion if students were motivated by their teachers to learn the English language.

The recommendation goes to parents, that they should watch out for the kind of language they use in conversing with their children. More so more detailed research can be carried out to investigate the effects of secondary school students motivation by teachers in learning the English Language since this study only treated them as objectives.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

Motivation is defined as, the meaningfulness, value, and benefits of academic tasks to learners regardless of whether they are willing to learn or not. Hermine Marshall (1987). Students ’ Motivation naturally has to do with students’ desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or non-involvement in learning the English Language

To study English as a foreign language (EEL) in the classroom is often a complex and difficult task due to the feet that, they have their first language which they learn at birth and now learning the English language becomes a difficult task for them.

Some people learn the English language for business purposes while others learn it for prestigious reasons. Domzei, (1998) but most English teachers will attest to the important role motivation plays in the teaching and learning process because when a student is motivated, he or she learns well in class.

While motivation has been defined in many ways Liuoliene and Metiveniene, (2006), these authors defined motivation as an effective strategy that could help learners develop skills. According to Alarm and Farid (2011), the motivation of students by teachers is very important as it affects the students directly.

This fact is supported by Marques (2010) in her conclusion that motivation satisfaction and performance are interdependent. Domyei, (2001) further states that teachers efficacy affects students directly as there is a strong correlation between students motivation and language learning, hence, a desired outcome by the students can occur with the help of the teacher. According to Hackman and Oldham (1975), signs of motivation are, higher performance, low absenteeism and low turnover.

According to Marques (2010), motivation in language learning leads to satisfaction and performance interdependent with each other. Hence, the poor motivation of students by teachers would have a negative influence on language learning on students. A study by Spear (2000) in the UK revealed that students’ motivation was low due to low perception by society.

Findings by Sylvia and Hutchinson (1985) in developed countries confirmed the presence of low students’ motivation which was attributed to intrinsic factors. According to a study carried out by Nyantika (1996) teachers are expected to have a good mastery of the language they are teaching in order to teach students effectively and make them succeed, teachers also have to focus more on learners motivation and try to employ appropriate motivational strategies so that, they can achieve their ultimate purpose of helping students to succeed in learning the English language,

Statement of the Problem

The bone of contention here is, are students motivated by their teachers to learn the English language?

Aims/Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

• To investigate the extent to which teachers motivates students to learn the English language.
• To demonstrate the impact of students motivation by teachers on learners of the English language.
• To identify the factors that influence teachers to motivate students.

Research questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1. To what extent does a teacher motivate learners of the English language?
2. What are the impacts of teachers’ motivation on students?
3. Which factors motivate students to learn the English language?