Esp vocabulary Teaching at the Vocational Secondary School of Furniture Industry

1.2. Motivation of vocational students

The aim is to make learning English terminology in the field of wood/furniture industry more stimulating and motivating. It is necessary to realize that students learning a foreign language may only learn well if you find a way to activate and encourage their desire to invest effort in the learning activity. The main point is to find the best way how to motivate vocational students for learning English. The age of the students is between 15 and 20 so it can be difficult to connect fun and studying drill. The teaching should be based on friendly but demanding atmosphere with the appropriate space for games and talking.

1. 
   Sources of motivation
   

Students are influenced by many attitudes of different participants in the learning process (Dörnyei 34, 39):

• 
  Teacher – is the key factor in student’s motivation. He or she must have a positive attitude and enthusiasm for teaching English. If the teacher makes lessons interesting, the students like learning English and they appreciate it.
  
• 
  Parents – if parents have positive attitudes to learning, it is easier for the student to study. If family members do not accept the importance of learning a foreign language and emphasize it by unreasonable comments, frequent disturbing or not paying attention, then such atmosphere could be very demotivating.
  
• 
  Environment – it depends on what social background children come from. If they are brought up in a positive society it is good for their school results. A positive classroom atmosphere should be created to enhance a good school environment.
  

2. 
   Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
   

As it has been said one of the factors that have a strong impact on success or failure in learning English is motivation. If students miss motivation for studying English, it will be very hard to make them cooperate. It can simply be said that without motivation students would not do some activities and consequently there would not be any effort to acquire a language (Uhr 274). In other words, students must be motivated by some basic kinds of motivation, which include intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Harmer 3-4).

According to Harmer (3-4) intrinsic motivation is commonly defined as an internal drive. This is something that students want to do themselves because they are personally interested in it (e.g. acquiring the knowledge of language). A typical example of intrinsic motivation is an interest or a hobby, i.e. an activity carried out for its own sake. On the contrary, extrinsic motivation is influenced from outside. Students carry out activities because they are expected or forced to do them. It may be the compulsory subjects in school curriculum, a need to satisfy parents’ expectations, longing to be praised or an idea of a better career. The ordinary motives are tangible rewards.

As Jeremy Harmer (4) states, intrinsic motivation is concerned with the factors taking place inside the classroom while extrinsic motivation is concerned with factors outside the classroom. Harmer points out that intrinsic motivation is very important in students’ success or failure. What happens in the classroom is very important in establishing students´ attitude to a language. In his opinion (4) extrinsic motivation includes situations in which students believe that managing of the target language will be a means for getting a better job, position or status (instrumental motivation) or it will help them to integrate into a particular culture environment (integrative motivation). This stresses the fact that students’ attitude to learning can be predominantly affected by members of a community. But other factors participating in the learning process can also essentialy affect it. They are physical conditions, teaching methods, success/failure and especially a teacher. All of them have an important impact on learning a foreign language.

2.