The role of personality factors in second language acquisition

CHAPTER II Factors Affecting Student Motivation

2.1. Motivation Can Come from Within or Without Motivation Can Come from Within or Without

Human beings can be motivated by the strangest things, but basically motivation can either be intrinsic or extrinsic.
For those of us who are lucky, we find our motivation from within; we call it our drive. From early on we are able to set goals for our lives and chart the course of our destiny. Without a sound financial background it may appear extremely daunting to achieve our goals, however, the inner drive is what enables us to be proactive, to persevere and achieve despite the odds.

Student Motivation

One of the places where motivation is manifested earliest is the classroom. There you will find different types of students all motivated by different combinations of factors. Some draw on the intrinsic- their inner strength and determination- and remain focused even in what appears to be really adverse situations. Others rely heavily on extrinsic factors and if those are not favourable, they become demotivated and easily lose focus.
Students bring to the classroom varying types of extrinsic motivation such as a nurturing home environment or rewards promised by parents and relatives. However, they also depend, to a large extent, on school factors such as school and classroom environment, teacher personality, skill and ability of teacher, rewards and commendations and relationship with peers for motivation not only to succeed, but to excel.

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1. Home Environment
A child who comes from a home environment which is caring, comfortable and supportive brings to the classroom, motivation arising from his conducive home environment.On the other side of the coin, an unfavourable home environment produces a pupil who arrives at school perhaps hungry, angry, resentful, bitter, depressed, lethargic or just simply stressed out. Such a student would require really strong school motivation to prod him out of his malaise and cause him to perform.
2. Classroom Environment
A positive school environment will reinforce the student's motivation and cause him to achieve at even higher levels or it will create motivation where there was none from the home.
3. The School System
The school system itself can influence students either to excel or to rebel. A school system which is extremely regimented can impact negatively on students. The converse is true; one which is too lax will eventually have discipline problems and lose reputation. Nobody wants to be associated with a school whose reputation is poor, thus students who attend such schools feel that nothing good is expected of them and so they are not motivated to do well.