New Year, new English lessons: but how do I stay motivated?

So, you’ve joined a new English class, but how do you stay motivated to go to your English lesson during the cold and dark in Amsterdam? By understanding what is motivating you to learn English!

English lessons

Whether it’s because of your work or studies, or because you enjoy the culture or have an English speaking friend – these are many motivations people can have for learning English. The important thing is that you take time to think about what is motivating you, as this can affect how you approach your English learning.

In their really useful book ‘English Teacher to Learner Coach’, Daniel Barber and Duncan Foord suggest four types of motivation:

“Learners 1,2 and 3 have clear, practical reasons for learning English. English is necessary in their lives, jobs, hobbies and interests. We can call these ‘extrinsic‘ motivations or goals and they can be very important because they help us decide our long-term objectives.

Learners 4 and 5 are motivated because they can make their own decisions about how, when, who with and for how long they do it. If they are in control, they take responsibility for learning. Their motivation comes from ‘autonomy‘.

Learners 6 and 7 enjoy sharing the learning experience with other people. It is important to be part of a community and to speak to people with similar interests… to have friends! We can call this motivation ‘relatedness‘.

Learners 8 and 9 want to keep learning because they are good at it. They enjoy making progress and it makes them feel good about themselves. We can call this motivation ‘competence‘.”

Learn English with MixTree

Our English lessons at MixTree Languages in Amsterdam are designed to support a variety of motivations. For example, our progress tests and end of course student presentations support ‘competence’ motivations. Our materials and lesson preparation work support people motivated by ‘autonomy’. Finally, our activities, class ‘WhatsApp’ groups and methods of teaching all support community and ‘relatedness’ motivations.

So what are your motivations for learning English? Do you have ‘extrinsic’ practical reasons? Are you doing it for your own self-development? Do you want to be part of an English speaking community? Or are you making progress in English and want to continue your improvement?

Contact us to arrange your free intake with a teacher where we can discuss your motivations and needs.