This is a review of the article The dark side of motivation: teachers’ perspectives on ‘unmotivation’.
Introduction
For the purpose of this study, the authors differentiate between amotivation, demotivation, and unmotivation. Amotivation refers to people who “see no relation between their actions and consequences of those actions…In such a situation, people have no reason, intrinsic or extrinsic, for performing the activity, and they would be expected to quit the activity as soon as possible (Noels, Pelletier, Clément, and Vallerand, 2000, p. 40). Demotivation describes a situation in which learners lose motivation for various reasons (Dornyei, 2001). For the purpose of their study, the authors use the term more general term, unmotivation to include both amotivation and demotivation.
The Study
- How do you, as a classroom English teacher, understand learner motivation?
- Do you, as a teacher, think that you can influence learner motivation? Why/why not?
- What motivational strategies do you use?
- When do you think your strategies are limited in influencing learner motivation?
Discussion
Reference
Sakui, K. & Cowie, N. (2012). The dark side of motivation: teachers’ perspectives on ‘unmotivation’. ELT Journal 66(2), pp. 205-213. doi 10.1093/elt/ccro45