Now we’ve been introduced to our learning personas, it’s time to take a look at their motivations. This begs the question: are they really motivations, or do they feel more like obligations? Perhaps a bit of both?
If we can find out this information early, we can use it to inform the choices we make when planning a class or pivoting from a lesson plan.
Let's go back to the learner personas from before. This time you can listen to their teacher talk about their motivations.
As you listen, consider the following questions:
- Which motivations are intrinsic (coming from the learner or their personal life)?
- Which motivations are extrinsic (coming from an external area of their life, like work)?
Learner motivations
Clever Clara
Age: 19
Occupation: Studying computer science
About: Clara is highly intelligent. She presents herself as someone who is both brainy and incredibly curious. This enthusiasm for learning is mixed together with a socially awkward manner. She is eager, kind and still working out her place in the world.
Clara’s motivations:
High-achieving Helena
Occupation: High-level civil servant
About: Helena attends class primarily because she enjoys the intellectual workout. She immediately demonstrates excellent control of language when she speaks, but is so used to being right that she struggles to acknowledge her blind spots. Her presence can feel a little imposing.
Helena’s motivations:
Tired Takeshi
Age: 28
Occupation: Secondary school teacher
About: Takeshi is both time-poor and commitment-poor. He feels a little exhausted with English in general. He has a friendly manner and seems happy to be there, but doesn’t seem super motivated to focus on the details in the way he perhaps needs to.
Takeshi’s motivations:
Any motivation that comes from an external place, such as university or work, would generally be classed as an extrinsic motivation. Think of Clara’s university points, or Takeshi’s coveted promotion.
On the other hand, motivations that come from more personal areas of a learner’s life would be classed as an intrinsic motivation. Consider Helena’s desire to ‘speak natural English’ or Takeshi’s family plans to move abroad.
So, deciding to study for an exam like Proficiency is often a culmination of all kinds of motivations.
Nevertheless, regardless of motivations, the process of exam preparation itself can create its own kind of impact on learners, both positively and negatively. This effect is sometimes known as washback.
What is washback?
The learners in your class will range from curious about taking the exam, to overly keen and downright desperate to pass! The effect of this, as a common objective among a learner group, is known as washback, and it can be both negative and positive.
On one hand, exams can create pressure and anxiety, producing that awful sense of skepticism and hopelessness that can pervade and pass round a group all too easily, like some kind of grumpy virus. On the other hand, with the right guidance and support, an ‘us-against-the-world’ vibe can creep in and lift a group to success, together as a team.
Washback and Proficiency
Here I talk briefly about two experiences of washback - one negative and one positive - from two Proficiency groups. Can you identify with either of these experiences?
Negative washback
Positive washback
So yes, the exam itself is a fundamental aspect of learner motivation when teaching proficiency, but knowing what drives your students both as a group and as individuals - apart from the piece of paper they want to get their hands on - is key to making sound pedagogical decisions to maximise and enhance their learning experience as a whole.
But what do they actually have left to learn for Proficiency? Crack on to the next lesson to find out.