Reinforce ELLs by Teaching the Importance of Effort
Being on the frontline, teachers know that they have a huge influence on students’ motivation and that all students, including ELLs, need to be encouraged to successfully engage in learning content. Oliver and Philip (2014) describe motivation as “how hard students are willing to work at something” and “how long they are going to pursue it.”
Motivating ELL students is about helping students recognize and understand the relationship between effort and accomplishment. Hill and Flynn (2006) states, “In order to improve student performance, we need to address their attitudes and beliefs about how they learn.” According to Krashen and Terrell (1995), negative feelings and lack of self-confidence can negatively affect an ELL student’s ability to learn a new language.
Therefore, it is important for teachers to make a constant remark on the importance of effort students put into their tasks because it has a direct influence on their level of academic achievement. Hill and Flynn (2006) make two classroom recommendations related to reinforcing effort:
However, we do not recommend rewarding students with tangible prizes such as candy, pencils, or stickers because “abstract recognition is more effective in improving performance” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Moreover, “the more abstract and symbolic the reward is, the more powerful a motivation it can be” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Motivating ELL students can be overwhelming to mainstream teachers when they have other non-ELL students in the classroom to also motivate. We believe as motivation is an attribute of a successful student, demonstrating willingness is an attribute of a good teacher.
Motivating ELL students is about helping students recognize and understand the relationship between effort and accomplishment. Hill and Flynn (2006) states, “In order to improve student performance, we need to address their attitudes and beliefs about how they learn.” According to Krashen and Terrell (1995), negative feelings and lack of self-confidence can negatively affect an ELL student’s ability to learn a new language.
Therefore, it is important for teachers to make a constant remark on the importance of effort students put into their tasks because it has a direct influence on their level of academic achievement. Hill and Flynn (2006) make two classroom recommendations related to reinforcing effort:
- Explicitly teach students the importance of effort (e.g., Tell stories about successful people)
- Track effort and achievement (e.g., Use graphs or charts to see the correlation between effort and the progress of their achievement)
- Set realistic expectations (e.g., Do not set goals that are neither beneath or beyond student ability)
- Celebrate student achievements (e.g., Personalize recognition by presenting awards and certificates)
- Reward hard work outside the classroom (e.g., Recognize home reading including texts in their first language)
However, we do not recommend rewarding students with tangible prizes such as candy, pencils, or stickers because “abstract recognition is more effective in improving performance” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Moreover, “the more abstract and symbolic the reward is, the more powerful a motivation it can be” (Hill & Flynn, 2006). Motivating ELL students can be overwhelming to mainstream teachers when they have other non-ELL students in the classroom to also motivate. We believe as motivation is an attribute of a successful student, demonstrating willingness is an attribute of a good teacher.
References
Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Alexandria: ASCD.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, S. D. (1995). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Hertfordshire: Phoenix ELT.
Oliver, R., & Philip, J. (2014). Focus on oral interaction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Provide written recognition [Online image]. Retrieved October 9, 2016 from http://www.thealternativeboard.com/5-ways-to-show-your-employees-they-matter/#respond
Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Alexandria: ASCD.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, S. D. (1995). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Hertfordshire: Phoenix ELT.
Oliver, R., & Philip, J. (2014). Focus on oral interaction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Provide written recognition [Online image]. Retrieved October 9, 2016 from http://www.thealternativeboard.com/5-ways-to-show-your-employees-they-matter/#respond