Motivational strategies used by English teachers in Polish secondary schools and students’ motivated behaviour during lessons

Abstract

Motivation is widely considered to be an aspect significantly affecting success in learning a foreign language. While motivation might be developed and maintained by different factors, it is crucial for learning to occur in an environment that is beneficial for the process. Teachers, being responsible for creating the classroom environment, can notably influence students’ motivation through the use of various strategies, and therefore impact their success in learning the language. This study attempts to examine and analyse motivational strategies used by teachers during English lessons in secondary schools, as well as consider students’ motivated behaviour in the classroom. In order to determine what strategies teachers use and how learners’ engagement changes, multiple classroom observations were conducted with the use of an observational sheet adapted from Dörnyei and Guilloteaux (2008). The strategies used by the teachers are analysed in terms of their possible relationship with the variables of students’ motivated behaviour. The presented results suggest that the majority of observed teachers frequently provide students with neutral feedback, while strategies such as promoting integrative values, including individual competition, or promoting instrumental values remain unpopular and not used. The total use of strategies declines from the beginning of the lesson to its final part. Some teachers generally use noticeably more motivational strategies than others. Students’ motivated behaviour was assessed, and the results imply fairly diverse engagement among the observed groups. No correlation was found between teachers’ motivational practices and students’ motivated behaviour. Further research should include a bigger sample and study other factors that could have an impact on students’ motivation.