Motivation



It has been revealed through research and experience in early years literacy, that motivation has been identified as a key issue to students learning. The meaning of motivation relates to child’s orientations and drive to want to do something. Research has identified that students motivation to learn in literacy should refer to students having intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It relates to students understanding the reasons as to why we need to learn and plan and goal for learning about it. Oakley (2006), states ‘Motivation is the process where by goal-directed activities are instigated and sustained.’ Student’s motivation to be involved and learn in literacy depends on students experiences over time with activities such as reading.

Oakley, (2006) states ‘Motivation to read needs to be cultivated and supported over time, yet this is not always easy to achieve.’ For students to achieve in the classroom environment it is important that they are motivating in wanting to learn and understand literacy. Exley, Burton and Barnett (2007) states in their article that the main aim for children in early year’s literacy is to ‘become skilled in understanding how language works and in effectively using it to communicate with others as they make sense of their ever changing world’. The challenge for educators is to motivate students to meet this objective. Connor (2006) states ‘Primary teachers give every possible support, but it becomes increasingly difficult to provide learners with tasks that are intellectually demanding and motivating while still being within the range of their literacy competence.’ To ensure that students are motivates to participate and want to learn, assessment needs to be completed. Oakley (2006) highlights that interviewing and asking questions give the best indication to students motivation. Questioning includes ‘tell me about the most interesting story or book you have read this week,’ (Oakley, 2006).

There are many students who are reluctant learners in relation to literacy. Reluctant learners are those who don’t complete tasks, avoid challenges and often don’t seem concerned as to whether they succeed at school. These students aren’t motivated to learn and upon identifying this there are a range of ideas and strategies that a teacher can implement into their classroom. By implementing strategies that increase the students’ independence and interest in learning, intrinsic motivation is encouraged. From this students will become self motivated and as Joseph Sancore described in the article ‘Reluctant Learners to Inspired Learners’, they will become “Inspired Learners” (Sancore J 2008).

The following are suggestions of strategies sourced from a range of journal articles to implement into the classroom that promote self motivation in the literacy curriculum.


 * Create a Learning Environment that is Encouraging and Challenging


 * Provide Students with Opportunities to make Learning Choices

Overall Recommendations

-Provide all students with challenging open-ended activities, even those struggling.

-Develop confidence and therefore self-motivation in the students by designing some lessons that avoid areas of difficulty and provide them with the opportunity to respond critically.

-Involve the students in decision making processes and ensure that you acknowledge their input into the lesson.

- Allow students to experience success

- Give students writing and reading activities which meet their levels of knowledge and understandings.

- Design activities for reading and writing lessons, which interrelate to each other and cover and similar theme.

- Provide a positive learning environment.