Hi Meral,

My experience teaching both in an Intensive English Institute and working with language education overall suggests to me that the ways we teach are often the reasons for this.  Too often in language education we use very formalized and artificial activities for these learners.  Many courses still utilize "skill and drill" activities -- especially in the first courses in modern languages and the students lose interest because the activities are not authentic to true language use.  Of course, there are three decades of work addressing this problem (actually more like 50 years of work) that suggest that more active engagement, more authentic activities, more motivating activities -- even for beginners -- works best.  A couple of references to this are supplied.

Atkinson, D. (2011). Alternative approaches to second language acquisition. New York: Routledge.

Collier, V.P. & Thomas, W.P. (2009). Educating English language learners for a transformed world. Albuquerque, NM: Fuente Press.

Swain, M. (2006). Languaging, agency and collaboration in advanced second language learning. In H. Byrnes (Ed.), Advanced language learning: the contribition of Halliday and Vygotsky (pp. 95-108). London: Continuum.

Hi Meral,

My experience teaching both in an Intensive English Institute and working with language education overall suggests to me that the ways we teach are often the reasons for this.  Too often in language education we use very formalized and artificial activities for these learners.  Many courses still utilize "skill and drill" activities -- especially in the first courses in modern languages and the students lose interest because the activities are not authentic to true language use.  Of course, there are three decades of work addressing this problem (actually more like 50 years of work) that suggest that more active engagement, more authentic activities, more motivating activities -- even for beginners -- works best.  A couple of references to this are supplied.

Atkinson, D. (2011). Alternative approaches to second language acquisition. New York: Routledge.

Collier, V.P. & Thomas, W.P. (2009). Educating English language learners for a transformed world. Albuquerque, NM: Fuente Press.

Swain, M. (2006). Languaging, agency and collaboration in advanced second language learning. In H. Byrnes (Ed.), Advanced language learning: the contribition of Halliday and Vygotsky (pp. 95-108). London: Continuum.

Hi Jack,

Thank you for your answer. I'm aware of the fact that what we, as teachers, do in the classroom has a direct impact on our students. Dull exercises, uninteresting topics, conventional or alternative methods to teach English (depending on learner styles and preferences) lead boredom in the classroom. I've read an interesting article by Jang, H., Kim, E.-J., & Reeve, J. (2016), which tries to answer the very same question. You may also find it interesting.

Jang, H., Kim, E.-J., & Reeve, J. (2016).  Why students become more engaged or more disengaged during the semester: A self-determination theory dual-process model.  Learning and Instruction, 43, 27-38.

To Meral,

You hit the nail on the head when you state that both "conventional" and "alternative" methods can leed to boredom. It depends as you say on learner styles and preferences, to which I would add previous language learning experience. For this reason, I always include questions on methodological preferences and previous learning experience in my initial needs analysis. This does not mean that we should adapt our teaching entirely to the methods and activities that the students want or expect, far from it. However, we do need to take their wishes and beliefs into account and try to convince  them of the value of activities that they are disinclined to try.

On the other hand, I don't think we need to feel too disheartened if  beginning students lose some enthusiasm after the first month or so. Learners perceive quite fast progress initially, as they quickly acquire some basic words and phrases and some notions of English grammar. However, as they become more aware of the errors that they make and of how much more there is to learn , they may perceive that they are not making sufficient progress. Actually they are normally still making quite rapid progress at this stage and it's up to the teacher to help them to see this. Later on --e.g as they try to  progress to intermediate level or from intermediate to upper intermediate- overall progress will slow down.and there will be further periods in which the learner perceives that his level is not improving. The teacher must understand and hep his/ her learners to understand that language learning like all complex learning processes involves non-linear progession.

Hello Meral Unver, 

You have certainly broached up a very interesting question which has practically turned into one of the greatest impediments to language learning in recent years . Notably,  monotony and boredom are the notorious adversaries of the teaching/learning process  resulting in learners' disengagement and lack of interest. To change the situation, many writers (e.g., Pintrich, 2000) believe that teachers need to find ways of sustaining  an engaging student-centered environment in order to provide an efficient and constructive learning atmosphere void of  learner passivity. In  21st century educational scene, educators are trying  to adopt a teaching method which can create an active learning environment in which learners  can discover and explore opportunities supporting  their learning efforts. It is believed that by employing relevant interactive technologies in the classroom context and providing students with authentic language and cultural input,  teachers can develop  meaningful experiences motivating learners to learn and participate in the learning process with great enthusiasm. For further details, the following links can hopefully provide you with the related  literature .

Best of luck, 

R. Biria

https://dlc-ubc.ca/dlc2_wp/edcp508b/files/2012/06/DeOliveira-copy.pdf

https://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/tt.engage2.pdf

https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/byrequest.pdf

https://its.unl.edu/pdfs/Educause%20SRS%20success.pdf

Maybe not just the teachers and the methods should be blamed (it's interesting how teachers incriminate themselves, some without looking for another job, some others changing a fade method with a destructive one). After all, the presence of students should mean that they want to learn! The Society itself, as it does, do not direct them to learn; on the contrary. Fundamentally, the students are not bored, they have other concerns and because of that they are bored of school. It seems that they do not want to learn; they want to "live", even before to know what this means and how to do it.

It is true that as teachers we have to come up with more innovative ways of teaching language, particularly a second language or rather a first additional language.

However, in my own experience, I  have discovered that the problem is not necessarily the question of boredom but that of "attitude" towards the language (being learned) and that of the culture of that particular language.

I am teaching two groups from two different departments, classes with the other group are more interactive whereas the other group is more disruptive with very few students showing interest, and the subject matter is the same.

Maybe the study of second language(s) should not be regarded as a mere prerequisite but modules with the same weight and/or value as those that are regarded as majors or rather more important.

To Chris,

I definitely agree with you on that students experience a slower progress when they move to higher language levels, which is supported by the related literature. When they compare their previous progress at lower levels, they definitely feel discouraged and may think that they are not learning. What we should do is to raise their awareness of this actually, as you have suggested. This will give them the chance to know what language learning is and to reconsider their progress from this angle.

To Reza,

Thanks for the links, first of all.

Teachers spend considerable time to read and find ways to appeal their students more, which is now easier compared to the past: lots of research, many new methods and approaches, and events / conferences to share ideas. My students sometimes tell me that I am putting much more effort in planning my teaching considering their preferences and things than they spend time studying English. That's definitely true! Taking more active roles in their learning process will definitely help them master the language. I think we should make this clear to them as well.

To Alexandru,

Sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment. Changing things in our teaching just for the sake of change without considering other things such as student preferences, context and your goals may make things worse.

The notion "school is boring" is also kind of taught by the society... homework, attendance, exams and things... For many it is a barrier in front of "real life" that they are going to "live"... And when they are bored of school, usually teachers are to blame... and as you have mentioned they incriminate themselves... I do it myself very often... it is probably because of the role give to us by the society: we are the one to teach. if we cannot teach, they cannot learn!

To Sebolelo,

In my context, "attitude" also plays an important role... some students reject, for some reason, the culture of the language they are learning, hence more difficulties they experience in their learning... As in the example from your experience, two groups studying the same thing may hold very different attitudes towards the language, which in turn affect class dynamic and interaction among students and between the students and the teacher.

Over the last couple of decades, the move (in theory anyway) has been towards student-centredness. Perhaps your question could profitably be reframed as, 'What is that students do or believe that affects their engagement and disengagement in language learning throughout a semester?' Alexandru Gafton's answer I think is a reasonable starting to point for thinking about it. 

Dear Meral,

 your question is a good one in that I think we can all recognise this problem. Language courses are typically welcomed with enthusiasm at the outset and then suffer a gradual decline in motivation which is only stopped by the threat of exams/tests etc at the end of the programme. 

It is our task as teachers to try to do something about this and the suggestions above are a great help, but it is worth developing an understanding of what is going on, socially and intrapersonally when motivation is an issue. I would suggest you have a look at Feuerstein's theory of mediation, which could then form a basis for the decisions you take as a teacher to tackle the problem of waining enthusiasm. The three fundamental concepts are the immediate significance of the task in hand, its purpose beyond the classroom and a sense of shared intention between tutor and pupil (and, I would add, between pupils). After this we need to think carefully about goals (so often unrealistic in language learning) and fostering a sense of achievement and competence. 

A good description of Feuerstein can be found in Williams and Burden 'Psychology for language teachers' (CUP 1997), and this book contains lots of other thoughts about what goes on when we try to learn.

If we understand engagement to mean motivation (?) and they reallly lose it as fst as you say, the reasons might include (among others):

1. They had the wrong expectations to start with, either concerning their goals or how easy or difficicult it actually is to learn a language. It might be good to clarify as much as possible at the beginning what the course involves, etc.

2. The teacher (or school) may have some room for improvement and might benefit from getting feedback from the students and continuously monitroing their own teaching style.

3. Learning style differ from student to student and group to group, and teachers need to leave some room for adapting their syllabus and original plan to each new group, and be able to deal with contingencies.

4. Even though all should be explained regarding course contents it might be useful to  keep a certain element of surprise in certain sessions to keep students on their toes and avoid getting bored through too much routine.

To Martin,

Thanks for your answer. I actually asked that questions in the following form to many students and teachers as well: What really motivates or demotivates language learners? I have got some interesting answers. Here is the DOI number you can use to reach the poster of this study:  DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24645.04326; or you may find it among my research items.

The thing is students lack perseverance / grit! Whatever the reason for disengagement or demotivation, they do not tend to take responsibility and act accordingly. I think giving up is much easier than perseverance.

To Patrick,

I totally agree with you. Flexibility for both teachers and students is essential I think. Today learners come with a combination of learning styles. They seem to be more open to different ways of teaching and variety of teaching tools/materials used.

Without the element of surprise, it is unlikely to trigger the need for learning. Curiosity... suspense... enjoyment... these all lead to learning.

To Richard,

Your response reminded me of the three basic psychological needs, essential for human motivation, as proposed by Self-Determination Theory: relatedness; autonomy and competence (selfdeterminationtheory.org). 

Thank you for leading me to Feuerstein and giving a book reference. I'm sure it will be of great help.