Language Teaching Materials and Learner
Motivation
by Ifti Luthviana
Success in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) depends
on a variety of factors such as the amount of exposure to the natural target
language practice, the duration and intensity of the language course, and last
but not the least, the characteristics of the language learner. Motivation, one
element of the learner characteristics that has the most important factors in in Second Language Acquisition (SLA).
Cohen and Dörnyei (2002) contended that motivation is the key learner variable
and nothing much happens without it. The more motivation they may have, the
more effort they tend to put into learning the language. Therefore, teachers’
biggest concern is always whether students are well motivated and willing to
learn what they teach.
Language teaching materials are having a very
important effect and role in language learning and teaching activities. It
showed that motivation could come from teaching materials. Therefore, this
speech today will be focused on how different materials motivate students.
There are many factors
which affect student's motivation towards teaching materials, such as the interest
in the subject matter, the level of difficulty, the relevance to existing
knowledge, and the perception of usefulness.
The first category, is the interest in the subject matter, it is related to intrinsic motivation and it
focused on the individual’s inherent curiosity and desire to know more about something,
they enjoy working with that subject matter. Interest can hold students
attention, encourage effort, and support learning activity. Yet, there are many
ways to attract their interest, for example in teaching reading the teacher can
give Authentic materials or “real-life texts”, which are not written for
pedagogic purposes. Like “up-to-date newspaper or news” and related to hot
topic. Guariento & Morley (2001) stated that extracting real information
from a real text in a new/different language can be extremely motivating,
therefore increasing students' motivation for learning can be by exposing them
to 'real' language. Authentic texts can be motivating because it has been
proven that the language is used for real-life purposes and giving the reader
the opportunity to gain real information and know what is going on in the world
around them. Another example is using pictures, one of visual materials that could
attract students’ interest and attention. The more the teacher uses visual and
audio materials during the course, the better students concentrate on the
lesson.
The
second is the level of difficulty. it concerns in the difficulty of material
and students familiarity with the task type. For example when reading a text about
something that the students are not familiar with and the degree of difficulty
is beyond their caability, they find it difficult to comprehend the materials or
maybe they use a dictionary many times to check vocabulary As a result, they
felt that the material was unsatisfying. It shows that the difficulty of
teaching materials decreases motivation. The level of difficulty can be
considered as the most important factor. It is not surprising that students are
more willing to participate in a task if it does not require too much effort.
And one of the most demotivating factors for learners is when they have to
learn something that they are not familiar with.
The third is relevant to their knowledge.
It refers to the extent to which the student feels that the material is
connected to important personal needs, values, or goals. For example teacher
should try to create learning materials that are relevant to students' lives.
One of effective strategies is connecting the subject with your students'
culture, outside interests or social lives. Cunningsworth (1984) also stressed that
the materials should meet students’ needs: “Students particularly more
sophisticated adults need to feel that the materials from which they are
learning have to be connected with the real world and at the same time they
must be related positively to the aspects of their inner make up such as age,
level of education, social attitudes, the intellectual ability and level of
emotional maturity.”
The last is the perception of usefulness.
Or Exploitability which refers to how the material or text can be used to
develop the students’ competence as readers. So, a text that can not be
exploited for teaching purposes has no use in the classroom. Just because it is
in English does not mean that it can be useful. For example, a student is interested
in the material since they think it is not difficult for them and it is useful
in his everyday life. Another example is when the topic of the material is
related to their future work or background, so that they may think that the
material is useful to support their dream. According to this research, students
will be motivated to learn when they regard the material as worth learning.
Therefore,
it can be concluded the teacher must understand the importance and effects of
teaching materials in language learning. Moreover, we must consider many
factors that affect student's motivation towards teaching materials: the interest
in the subject matter, the level of difficulty, the relevance to existing
knowledge, and the perception of usefulness.
