How to Motivate Middle School Students?to Learn English

楊建欣

This is an "information explosion" era， English is becoming more and more important. But it's difficult for most middle school students to learn English. Even though most of the English beginners are curious about this subject at beginning of their study， they will lose their interest gradually in their future study. What are the reasons for it？ One is that English study is not the easiest thing as they thought in the past； the other is that the old traditional and single teaching method used makes teaching monotonous and students feel dull. Therefore this paper aims to work out some effective ways to motivate middle school students to learn English.

Ⅰ.Establishing Their Confidence in Learning English.

The confidence can not be built overnight. In seems to be difficult but very important. First of all， the teacher should be good at making use of the allusions with advanced deeds to inspire the students， such as the mathematician Hua Luogeng who once didnt pass during his junior math examination. And LiYang about the “Crazy English” often failed in English exam in the university. But after his 4-month hard working， he got outstanding results in the CET-4 in 1988. These are some good examples for encouraging students. It doesnt matter if students are poor in English. We have to guide them to set up confidence. They can speak English fluently and authentically. Tell them “You can do it too！” Secondly， the teachers should be good at creating opportunities for students. In the condition that they continue to experience the success instead of too much failure to make them confident and make them not to doubt their own ability. Therefore， the teachers give appropriate requirements and tasks according to their characteristics of development. They can finish the tasks after their efforts. For example， the top students who can work out the problem at once should be praised. But the common students who can work out it after correcting should also be praised and encouraged. And the teachers should deliberately create situations for the common students to show their ability to reduce their setbacks， to make them have their confidence during the constantly success， to stir up their pursuit of success. The teachers also should pay attention to inspiring the students to learn initiatively and making opportunities for them. Let them believe that they can do it. Thirdly， a teacher should also be good at discovering their merits. The teachers are expected to have such a concept： every-one has his merits. It can be a kind of motivation for their confidence. For example， some students are good at pronunciation. So teachers praise them and ask them read in the class as models. In this way these students will not just be good at pronunciation after a period of time. They can perform better in many aspects. Last but not least， teachers should be good at teaching with confidence to arouse the students confidence. Teaching process is an emotional exchange process. The practice shows that the attitude of teachers in the education decides the students attitude of learning directly. That is to say， the teachers teaching confidence can affect the students confidence of study. There is a simple example， if a teacher walks into the classroom with a heavy heart， his students will lose confidence to listen to this class.

Ⅱ.Adopting Different Teaching Methods.

A teacher should arouse students interest with utmost extent to make his or her class attractive， vivid and popular.Single teaching method is boring. Even a good way， if we use it regularly， this teaching method will lose its effectiveness. Therefore， using different teaching methods to maintain interest is very important.

1.Making Use of Appropriate Teaching Aids

It's very helpful for teachers to use some appropriate tools. Using these tools can not only make the teachers relax in giving lessons， but also make the students learn the language easily and efficiently. In our teaching， some appropriate visual teaching aids and modern teaching aids are often used in class and proved to have good effect.

2. Setting up Context

Even teaching tools are very useful and helpful in teaching English； it's better and more important to set up context in the classroom. In other words， teachers should give students a natural and appropriate language environment. In the context， students can organize the various activities that make up their life. These activities can make the students learn knowledge in pleasurable atmosphere and accept knowledge rapidly. Therefore games and other daily activities should be conducted in English class， giving students a language environment and making them not fearful of English any more.

Every teacher has his favorite methods， techniques and teaching taste. Especially， famous teachers have their own teaching styles. In order to motivate students to learn English， every teacher should adopt kinds of ways that can suit his students， teaching students in accordance of their aptitude. If we can combine these teaching theories with our teaching practice， I believe we will be able to have lively English lessons， and students will be interested in our lessons and study better.