Tan hualan

Abstract：English programs for children in Asian countries are being rapidly introduced and it is becoming all the more critical to examine. In my view， I believe that teachers should pay more attention to the role of intrinsic motivation in all twelve teaching principles. Therefore， this paper will especially focus on intrinsic motivation. Specifically， it emphasizes on exploring the factors in affecting intrinsic motivation and providing some appropriate applications for improving middle school student’s intrinsic motivation in foreign language learning.

Key word：Intrinsic motivation;Middle school students; English teaching practic

Introduction

As we prepare for our English teacher education journey， it is necessary for us to focus on what we should really do in our classroom， what we have learned， and what we can say with certainty to our students. Thus， the teaching principles shouldn’t be underestimated by any teacher. However in the all twelve principles， I believe the intrinsic motivationone of the most important factors in educational settings.

Literature Review

The intrinsic motivation in learning of learners has been researched for a long time.InPintrich and Schunk’s view，intrinsic motivation refers to “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained” （Pintrich and Schunk， 2002， p. 5） because “motivation can predict important academic outcomes like performance and persistence”. Carreira （2006b） Carreirafound that fourth grade girls were more motivated to learn EFL than fourth grade boys. Gender may be a strong predictor of motivation， but it is need to be further demonstrated.

1.The definition of intrinsic motivation

Intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself. People seem to engage in the activities for their own sake and not because they led to an intrinsic reward. Intrinsically motivated behaviors are aimed at bringing about certain internally rewarding consequences， namely， feelings of competence and self-determination. （Edward Deci（1957：23） defined intrinsic motivation）

2.Factors of intrinsic motivation

2.1.Indvidual needs and student’s intrinsic motivation

A developmental decline for motivation for language learning and learning in general may be a common phenomenon among school students， despite the contextual differences. As we all know， the famous film， Dead Poets Society， was a classic illustration of the power of intrinsic motivation.Eventually， young men take every chance they could to fulfill their own needs rather thanblindly give in the tyranny of the school’s administration. The boys were motivated by their intrinsic drives to explore，

2.2.Teacher’s judgments and student’ s intrinsic motivation

Teachers tend to overestimate student performance. Urhahne examined in three consecutive studies the motivational and emotional characteristics of misjudged elementary school students. The underestimated students had a lower expectancy of success， higher test anxiety than overestimated students. The results turned out to be very robust even when only those students were taken into account.

3.Two guidelines to stimulating students’ intrinsic motivation

3.1.Stimulating students’ innate initiatives and interests

Einstein once said， “the interest is the best teacher.”Thus， to be an qualified English teacher， he or she must master what attract them most， then try your best to you’re your students involve in teaching contents and teaching activities. For example： when teaching “what is the color”， teachers should apply seven colors to attract students， and ask students themselves to make an interesting story to arouse their attention.Then the student’s enthusiasm was invoked， be active to express their own ideas， the teacher response to the answer： yes， which can fulfill the students’subjective initiative， satisfy their needs in interesting forms and greatly expand the thinking ability.

3.2 Adopting incentive evaluation

From my perspectives， Junior high school students tend to make mistakes. English teachers must have tolerance of the students mistakes， instead of only with the aims of correcting the language errors regardless of time and place， thus lowing the student’s enthusiasm of learning English. Teachers should adopt an encouraging attitude to create a relaxed and tolerant atmosphere.

Conclusion

From above analysis of the intrinsic motivation principle， we can have a general idea about their definition， factors and applications. All in all， the principle shouldn’t be underestimated，it’s the teaching art in English teaching practice， which plays asubstantial role in the development of education reform.

Bibliography：

[1]Muriel Saville-Troike Introducing Second Language Acquisition?2012 United Kingdom at the University Press. Cambridge 42-43

[2]H.Douglas Brown. （2013） Teaching by Principles：An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy

[3]Ellis R. The Study of Second Language Acquisition [M].Oxford： Oxford University Press，1994.

[4]Alvidrez， J.?& Weinstein， R. S. （1999）. Early teacher perceptions and later student academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology， 91， 731-746.

[5]Allwringht， D. （1984）. The Importance of Interaction in Classroom Language Learning Applied Linguistics， （5）.