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Motivational concepts
Reward and reinforcement
A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit.
Rewards can also be organized as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to the person; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the person; for example, satisfaction or a feeling of accomplishment.
Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun.
A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something to the environment.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is when people engage in an activity, such as a hobby, without obvious external incentives.
Intrinsic motivation has been studied by educational psychologists since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. There is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation, and most explanations combine elements of Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal orientation. Though it is thought that students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in),
Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck),
Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor.
In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace.
The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion is considered slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the nuclear family unit (on children), and in the form of conscription. Critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery is inevitable[citation needed]. However, many capitalists such as Ayn Rand have been very vocal against coercion[citation needed]. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a positive, such as forgoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation), however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones.
In terms of GCSE PE, intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the performer. E.g. they compete for the love of the sport.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. E.g. The crowd cheer the performer on, this motivates them to do well, or to beat a PB (Personal Best). Another example is trophies or a reward. It makes the performer want to win and beat the other competitors, thereby motivating the performer.
Self===-control=== The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.
Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process.
Motivational Theories
Drive Reduction Theories
There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.
There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it.
However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does get hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The only reason the food does not get eaten before is the human element of restraint and has nothing to do with drive theory. Also, the food will either be nicer after it is cooked, or it won't be edible at all before it is cooked.
Cognitive dissonance theory
Main article: Cognitive dissonance
Suggested by Leon Festinger, this occurs when an individual experiences some degree of discomfort resulting from an incompatibility between two cognitions. For example, a consumer may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling, in retrospect, that another decision may have been preferable.
Another example of cognitive dissonance is when a belief and a behavior are in conflict. A person may wish to be healthy, believes smoking is bad for one's health, and yet continues to smoke.
Affective-Arousal Theories
Need Achievement Theory
Main article: David McClelland
David McClelland’s achievement motivation theory envisions that a person has a need for three things, but differs in degrees to which the various needs influence their behavior: Need for achievement, Need for power, and Need for affiliation.
Interests Theory
Main article: Holland Codes
Holland Codes are used in the assessment of interests as in Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI; Holland, 1985). One way to look at interests is that if a person has a strong interest in one of the 6 Holland areas, then obtaining outcomes in that area will be strongly reinforcing relative to obtaining outcomes in areas of weak interest.
Need Theories
Need Hierarchy Theory
Main article: Hierarchy of needs
Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation.
The theory can be summarized as thus:
Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behavior; only unsatisfied needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs cannot.
Since needs are many, they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the complex.
The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least minimally satisfied.
The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and psychological health a person will show.
The needs, listed from basic (lowest, earliest) to most complex (highest, latest) are as follows:
Physiological
Safety and security
Social
Esteem
Self actualization
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Main article: Frederick Herzberg
Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory, aka intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, but if absent, lead to dissatisfaction.
He distinguished between:
Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive satisfaction, and
Hygiene factors; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) that do not motivate if present, but, if absent, result in demotivation.
The name Hygiene factors is used because, like hygiene, the presence will not make you healthier, but absence can cause health deterioration.
The theory is sometimes called the "Motivator-Hygiene Theory."
Alderfer’s ERG theory
Main article: Clayton Alderfer
Clayton Alderfer, expanding on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, created the ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, while love and self esteem needs are placed in the relatedness category. The growth category contains our self-actualization and self-esteem needs.
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.[2]
Broad Theories
The latest approach in Achievement Motivation is an integrative perspective as lined out in the "Onion-Ring-Model of Achievement Motivation" by Heinz Schuler, George C. Thornton III, Andreas Frintrup and Rose Mueller-Hanson. It is based on the premise that performance motivation results from way broad components of personality are directed towards performance. As a result it includes a range of dimensions that are relevant to success at work but which are not conventionally regarded as being part of performance motivation. Especially it integrates formerly separated approaches as Need for Achievement with e.g. social motives like Dominance. The Achievement Motivation Inventory AMI (Schuler, Thornton, Frintrup & Mueller-Hanson, 2003) is based on this theory and assesses three factors (17 separated scales) relevant to vocational and professional success.for example...
Cognitive theories
Goal-setting theory
Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features; proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal. For further reading, see Locke and Latham (2002).
Douglas Vermeeren, has done extensive research into why many people fail to get to their goals. The failure is directly attributed to motivating factors. Vermeeren states that unless an individual can clearly identify their motivating factor or their significant and meaningful reasons why they wish to attain the goal, they will never have the power to attain it.
Unconscious motivation
Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized and directed by unconscious motives. According to Maslow: "Psychoanalysis has often demonstrated that the relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate unconscious aim that underlies it need not be at all direct [3]." In other words, stated motives do not always match those inferred by skilled observers. For example, it is possible that a person can be accident-prone because he has an unconscious desire to hurt himself and not because he is careless or ignorant of the safety rules. Similarly, some overweight people are not really hungry for food but for attention and love. Eating is merely a defensive reaction to lack of attention. Some workers damage more equipment than others because they harbor unconscious feelings of aggression toward authority figures.
Psychotherapists point out that some behavior is so automatic that the reasons for it are not available in the individual's conscious mind. Compulsive cigarette smoking is an example. Sometimes maintaining self-esteem is so important and the motive for an activity is so threatening that it is simply not recognized and, in fact, may be disguised or repressed. Rationalization, or "explaining away", is one such disguise, or defense mechanism, as it is called. Another is projecting or attributing one's own faults to others. "I feel I am to blame", becomes "It is her fault; she is selfish". Repression of powerful but socially unacceptable motives may result in outward behavior that is the opposite of the repressed tendencies. An example of this would be the employee who hates his boss but overworks himself on the job to show that he holds him in high regard.
Unconscious motives add to the hazards of interpreting human behavior and, to the extent that they are present, complicate the life of the administrator. On the other hand, knowledge that unconscious motives exist can lead to a more careful assessment of behavioral problems. Although few contemporary psychologists deny the existence of unconscious factors, many do believe that these are activated only in times of anxiety and stress, and that in the ordinary course of events, human behavior — from the subject's point of view — is rationally purposeful.
Controlling motivation
The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.
Early programming
Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information (linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is already at about 95% of adult levels in the ninth year of life.
Organization
Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a "meta-task", namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).
Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented persons..
Drugs
Some authors, especially in the transhumanist movement, have suggested the use of "smart drugs", also known as nootropics, as "motivation-enhancers". The effects of many of these drugs on the brain are emphatically not well understood, and their legal status often makes open experimentation difficult.
Converging neurobiological evidence also supports the idea that addictive drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.
Applications
Education This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)
Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.
Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter (Ormrod, 2003). It can:
Direct behavior toward particular goals
Lead to increased effort and energy
Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
Enhance cognitive processing
Determine what consequences are reinforcing
Lead to improved performance.
Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.
There are two kinds of motivation:
Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is significant.
Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like money or good grades).
Note also that there is already questioning and expansion about this dichotomy on motivation, e.g., Self-Determination Theory.
Motivation has been found to be a pivotal area in treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, as in Pivotal Response Therapy.
Motivation is also an important element in the concept of Andragogy (what motivates the adult learner).
Business
At lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, such as Physiological needs, money is a motivator, however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a short period (in accordance with Herzberg's two-factor model of motivation). At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor's Theory X and theory Y (pertaining to the theory of leadership) demonstrate.
Maslow has money at the lowest level of the hierarchy and shows other needs are better motivators to staff. McGregor places money in his Theory X category and feels it is a poor motivator. Praise and recognition are placed in the Theory Y category and are considered stronger motivators than money.
Motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job.
Motivated employees are more quality oriented.
Motivated workers are more productive.
The average workplace is about midway between the extremes of high threat and high opportunity. Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff are more attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side.
The assumptions of Maslow and Herzberg were challenged by a classic study[4] at Vauxhall Motors' UK manufacturing plant. This introduced the concept of orientation to work and distinguished three main orientations: instrumental (where work is a means to an end), bureaucratic (where work is a source of status, security and immediate reward) and solidaristic (which prioritises group loyalty).
Other theories which expanded and extended those of Maslow and Herzberg included Kurt Lewin's Force Field Theory, Edwin Locke's Goal Theory and Victor Vroom's Expectancy theory. These tend to stress cultural differences and the fact that individuals tend to be motivated by different factors at different times.[5]
According to the system of scientific management developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, a worker's motivation is solely determined by pay, and therefore management need not consider psychological or social aspects of work. In essence scientific management bases human motivation wholly on extrinsic rewards and discards the idea of intrinsic rewards.
In contrast, David McClelland believed that workers could not be motivated by the mere need for money-- in fact, extrinsic motivation (e.g., money) could extinguish intrinsic motivation such as achievement motivation, though money could be used as an indicator of success for various motives, e.g., keeping score. In keeping with this view, his consulting firm, McBer & Company, had as its first motto "To make everyone productive, happy, and free." For McClelland, satisfaction lay in aligning a person's life with their fundamental motivations.
Elton Mayo found out that the social contacts a worker has at the workplace are very important and that boredom and repetitiveness of tasks lead to reduced motivation. Mayo believed that workers could be motivated by acknowledging their social needs and making them feel important. As a result, employees were given freedom to make decisions on the job and greater attention was paid to informal work groups. Mayo named the model the Hawthorne effect. His model has been judged as placing undue reliance on social contacts at work situations for motivating employees.[6]
About Indonesia
MOTIVATION
Motivational concepts
Reward and reinforcement
A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit.
Rewards can also be organized as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to the person; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the person; for example, satisfaction or a feeling of accomplishment.
Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun.
A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something to the environment.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is when people engage in an activity, such as a hobby, without obvious external incentives.
Intrinsic motivation has been studied by educational psychologists since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. There is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation, and most explanations combine elements of Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal orientation. Though it is thought that students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in),
Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck),
Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor.
In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace.
The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion is considered slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the nuclear family unit (on children), and in the form of conscription. Critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery is inevitable[citation needed]. However, many capitalists such as Ayn Rand have been very vocal against coercion[citation needed]. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a positive, such as forgoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation), however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones.
In terms of GCSE PE, intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the performer. E.g. they compete for the love of the sport.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. E.g. The crowd cheer the performer on, this motivates them to do well, or to beat a PB (Personal Best). Another example is trophies or a reward. It makes the performer want to win and beat the other competitors, thereby motivating the performer.
Self===-control=== The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.
Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process.
Reward and reinforcement
A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit.
Rewards can also be organized as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to the person; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the person; for example, satisfaction or a feeling of accomplishment.
Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun.
A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something to the environment.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is when people engage in an activity, such as a hobby, without obvious external incentives.
Intrinsic motivation has been studied by educational psychologists since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. There is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation, and most explanations combine elements of Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal orientation. Though it is thought that students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in),
Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck),
Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor.
In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace.
The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion is considered slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the nuclear family unit (on children), and in the form of conscription. Critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery is inevitable[citation needed]. However, many capitalists such as Ayn Rand have been very vocal against coercion[citation needed]. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a positive, such as forgoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation), however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones.
In terms of GCSE PE, intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from inside the performer. E.g. they compete for the love of the sport.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. E.g. The crowd cheer the performer on, this motivates them to do well, or to beat a PB (Personal Best). Another example is trophies or a reward. It makes the performer want to win and beat the other competitors, thereby motivating the performer.
Self===-control=== The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.
Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process.
Obama, Sang Pembaharu
Jika ada sosok yang sebelumnya kurang dikenal dan tiba-tiba mencuat menjadi buah bibir di seluruh dunia, barangkali salah satunya adalah Barack Obama Junior. Yah, berkat kemenangannya dalam pemilihan calon presiden dari Partai Demokrat-mengalahkan calon kuat, Hillary Clinton-ia kini maju menjadi calon presiden negara adidaya Amerika Serikat (AS). Dalam pemilihan mendatang, ia akan melawan rivalnya dari Partai Republik, John McCain.
Hebatnya, Obama tercatat sebagai calon presiden pertama AS yang berkulit hitam. Tentunya ini menjadi catatan sejarah. Sebab, meski di AS pernah bermunculan pemimpin kulit hitam, namun belum satu pun yang kemudian menjadi calon kuat menjadi presiden. Apalagi, posisi pria kelahiran 4 Agustus 1961 di Honolulu Hawaii-dalam berbagai jajak pendapat-sangat diunggulkan.
Memang, tak banyak orang di dunia yang tahu sosok pria murah senyum ini sebelum akhinya maju jadi capres. Ia yang sebelumnya menjabat sebagai senator di negara bagian Illinois, hanya dikenal di AS saja. Bahkan, sebelum jadi senator, mungkin juga tak banyak orang yang tahu bahwa ia adalah seorang dosen hukum konstitusi di University of Chicago Law School dari tahun 1992-2004. Padahal, lulusan Columbia University dan Harvard Law School ini punya sejumlah prestasi yang cukup membanggakan.
Terlahir dari keluarga multietnis, sosok Obama mengundang banyak simpati. Ayahnya, seorang ekonom kulit hitam lulusan Harvard, Barack Husein Obama Senior berasal dari Kenya. Sedangkan ibunya yang berkulit putih, Ann Dunham, berasal dari Wichita Kansas. Ketika berusia dua tahun, orangtuanya bercerai. Obama pun ikut ibunya. Sang ibu kemudian menikah lagi dengan pria berkebangsaan Indonesia, Lolo Soetoro, yang kala itu sedang menempuh pendidikan jenjang MA Geografi di East-West Center.
Lolo yang juga pejabat di Pertamina kemudian memboyong ibunya dan Obama ke Indonesia. Inilah yang kemudian membuat Obama dianggap sangat dekat dengan Indonesia. Bahkan, ia sempat sekolah di Indonesia sampai usia 10 tahun. Setelah itu, ia kemudian tinggal bersama kakek neneknya dan bersekolah di Punahou School di AS. Di sana, sepertinya bakat kecerdasan dan kepemimpinan Obama mulai tertanam. Buktinya, ia lulus dengan predikat honor atau sangat baik.
Karier Obama di dunia politik mulai teruji ketika ia memutuskan untuk menjadi calon anggota DPR Amerika pada tahun 2000. Saat itu, ia gagal. Meski begitu, ia pantang berputus asa. Sembari tetap mengajar, ia maju lagi dalam pencalonan sebagai senat tahun 2003. Kemudian, pada kesempatan pidato dalam Democratic National Convention, ia berhasil memukau dan akhirnya terpilih sebagai senator pada November 2004.
Kiprahnya terus menanjak. Di antaranya ia berperan aktif dalam menelurkan sejumlah aturan, seperti soal penggunaan senjata dan transparansi keuangan dana federal. Berbekal berbagai gebrakan politiknya inilah, Obama kemudian memberanikan maju sebagai capres dari Partai Demokrat. Sebab, menurutnya, untuk merubah sesuatu perlu tindakan nyata, dan menjadi presiden adalah salah satunya. "Perubahan tak kan terjadi jika kita menunggu orang lain atau kesempatan lain untuk berubah. Sebab, diri kitalah yang kita tunggu, kitalah perubahan yang dicari itu," ujarnya dalam sebuah kesempatan. "Butuh banyak tetesan darah dan keringat untuk sampai di sini (pemilihan presiden-red). Tapi kita baru mulai. Yang kita lakukan hari ini adalah untuk memastikan bahwa dunia yang akan kita tinggalkan kelak jauh lebih baik untuk anak kita daripada saat ini."
Dengan tekad itulah, kini Obama terus maju. Entah bagaimana hasilnya kelak, kita tunggu saja.
Tekad dan kemampuan Obama untuk melakukan perubahan dengan maju ke panggung politik perlu mendapat acungan jempol. Meski tak diunggulkan sebelumnya, dengan tekad kuat dan semangat pantang menyerah, ia menunjukkan bahwa dirinya layak dipilih untuk jadi orang nomor satu di negara adidaya Amerika. Sebuah semangat dan tekad yang patut dicontoh dan diterapkan di banyak bidang. Sebab, sejatinya, tanpa tekad kuat dan semangat pantang menyerah-plus kerja keras tentunya- sebuah cita-cita hanya akan berujung pada impian semata.
Why Almost All Of Junior And Senior High School Students Fail To Learn English And How To Solve It?
Abstract
Many teachers are not successful to teach English either in Junior or Senior High School. They haven't got the best way to teach. They follow many kinds of workshop to make teaching preparation and to change their own method of teaching. But one most important thing they forget in giving motivation to the students. This is the problem why the teachers fail to make the students get four kinds of language skills.
Key words: motivation, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, strategy
Introduction
The failure of teaching English in Indonesia has become the main topic in every discussion among the people's conversation. This condition has made the important educated people blame one another. This is just caused by their wrong perception about understanding foreign language learning and foreign language acquisition.
The education curriculum has been changed many times with the reason that it is not suitable anymore or something else. It has made the English teachers make teaching preparation and have to change theirs every four years or even every two years. It forces the teachers to do what the curriculum wants the teachers to do.
The English teachers have been invited to everywhere to follow what is called English teaching workshop. They are trained to make many kinds of teaching preparation making all of the teachers bored. Instead of thinking about how to teach and how to make the students enjoy learning they are busy sitting, writing, preparing their teaching planning because of their fright of their headmaster or the education controller. They are demanded to know well how to plan a lesson and to make other teaching preparation while the motivation with which the students will get a big success is almost forgotten. They almost never get special knowledge about arousing the students' motivation, intention to learn.
And something becoming the viruses in all the teachers' mind is UAN. Some teachers try to do " learning English activity happily" despite their fright of the students' failure in their last examination. The teachers hope the students to be able to speak a little bit English and become interested in learning English. On the other hand, the students NOT YET get complicated rules offered by the curriculum.
Many kinds of books have been printed and sold to the students without being carefully revised. The most important thing is that the books give high profit to the teachers, especially the low teaching motivated teachers. The books are said to be communicative approach but the content is really the traditional one. This also supports the failure of our English education.
For these reasons this article is aimed at giving description of learning English as a foreign language. And this is hoped to give contribution to all English teachers especially in motivating the students to learn English.
That' why?
How can teachers motivate students to study English? And how can motivation increase the students' ability to speak English?
Language learning heart strategy has been ignored for many years. It is really neglected heart of language learning. It is the most possible pathway in the realm of language learning motivation.
Motivation
What is motivation? Well let me write you some definitions drawn from a number of different sources: (1) motivation is the cause to act in particular way. (2) Motivation as "the anticipation of reinforcement. (3) Motivation is the extent to which you make choices about (a) goals to pursue and (b) the effort you will devote to that pursuit. (4) Effort, desire to learn a language and attitude toward learning the language are viewed as motivation.
This article stresses various ways of improving the student's motivation to learn. Whatever the type of motivation is intended to enhance the student's spirit to win the four kinds of language skills.
A. Elements of motivation
Gardner (1985b) stated that motivation is composed of four elements: (1) a goal 2 (2) A desire to get the goal (3) Positive attitude toward learning the language (4) and effortful behavior to the effect.
B. Motivational components that are specific to learning situations
Three sets of motivational components:
1. Course specific motivational components concerning the syllabus, the learning materials, the teaching method, and the learning tasks.
2. Teacher specific motivational components concerning the teacher's personality, teaching style, feedback, and relationship with the students; and
3. group specific motivational components concerning the dynamics of the learning group. Groups are formed for a purpose, to have fun to learn.
B. Types of motivation
Dornyei emphasizes many aspects of learning motivation, but the writer is just interested in discussing about teaching strategies dealing with motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Highly motivated students will find themselves how to choose suitable learning strategies and determine their own attitude to the target language. And the writer considers that all normal human beings will get advantages of taking part in language learning interaction.
Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation is the first requirement to be successful in foreign language learning. The highly motivated students will learn faster than those who are not well motivated. Brown(1994) states that motivation is probably the most frequently used term for explaining the success of failure virtually any complex task, including L2/FL learning. Never say "that is wrong or that is not right" but motivate the students by saying "good" and hide the students' mistakes by stating "almost right, but". Keep the language politeness while teaching. Don't use difficult patterns because this will destroy the students' spirit or even they will hate the language target. Use conversational grammar because it is based on how people actually talk. It includes small chunks, mostly clauses and single words rather than complete sentences. This is true for both interactional and transactional turns and use authentic materials and media. Although they must be prepared and need a lot of time to make them there are very strong reasons to use them. Authentic materials and media can reinforce for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world. In addition, authentic materials and media after a way to contextualize language learning.
One of the teachers' duties at school is to motivate students by engaging their interest in classroom activities or outside classroom activities. One way in which intrinsic interest in L2/Fl learning might be achieved is by providing opportunities for communication. McNamara(1973) has argued that the really important part of motivation lies in the act of communication. Rossier(1975) also emphasizes the importance of a desire to communicate, arguing that without this an integrative motivation may not be effective. It is the need to get meanings across and the pleasure experienced when this is achieved that provides the motivation to learn an L2/ FL.
One possibility, supported by a strong pedagogic literature is that interest is engendered if learners become self-directed, able to determine their own learning objectives, choose their own ways of achieving these and evaluate their own progress.
As Finocchiaro (1981) puts in:
Motivation is the feeling nurtured by the classroom teacher in the learning situation. The moment of truth-the enhancement of motivation-occurs when the teacher closes the classroom door, greets his students with a warm, welcoming smile, and proceeds to interact with various individuals by making comments or asking questions, which indicate personal concern.
Intrinsic motivation in Education
Traditionally the teacher in elementary and secondary school give rewards to the students to enhance the students' motivation. The students have a high desire to learn because of the prize or else, but they don't have an internalized thirst for knowledge and experience. Consequently, such dependency focuses students too exclusively on the material or monetary rewards of an education for creativity and for satisfying some of the more basic drives for knowledge and experience.
Extrinsic Motivation
Behaviors carried out in anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self have extrinsic motivation. The intrinsic rewards can be money, prizes, grades and even certain types of positive feedback. The avoidance of punishment is also one kind of intrinsic motivation because this can build the students sense of competence and determination.
Which form of motivation is more powerful?
A convincing research strongly favors intrinsic drives, especially for long term retention. Abraham Maslow (1970) claimed that extrinsic motivation is clearly superior to extrinsic. People seek out the challenging situation, optimal incongruity what Krashen (1985) called "i + 1 "- presents enough of possibility of being resolved that resolution. Jerome Brumer (1962) claimed that one effective way to help children and adults to think and learn is to free them from the control of rewards and punishment. The weakness of extrinsic motivation is the presence of addictive nature. Once captivated by the lure of an immediate prize or praise the students become dependent on tangible rewards, even to the point that their withdrawal can extinguish the desire to learn.
Kohn (1990) gave example:
1. Subjects were asked to solve an intrinsically fascinating complex puzzle with no stated reward. Halfway through the process, the experimenter informed the students that there would be a monetary reward for solving the puzzle. From that point onward, intrinsic motivation (as measured by speed and correct steps toward a solution) waned.
2. Teenage girls were given the task of teaching some games to younger children. One group of "teachers" were simply given their task, the others were told that they would receive a reward(a free ticket to the movies) for successfully completing the teaching task. Results: The first group did their task faster, with more success, and reported greater pleasure in doing so than the second group.
Of course, intrinsic motivation is not the only determiner of success for a language learner. But if the learners in the classroom are given an opportunity to do language activities for their own personal reasons of achieving competence those learners will have a better change of success than if they become dependent on external rewards for their motivation.
Once again about motivation
Motivation is a really powerful factor in achieving language learning goals although it is not precisely known how motivation affects learning. It is not clear whether motivation improves the desire to learn or successful learning enhances motivation. Burstall (1975) has addressed just this issue and concluded that achievement affected later attitudes and later achievement to a greater extent than early attitudes than early attitudes affected either later achievement or later attitudes. In other words, it was the motivation that was engendered by the learning process itself that seemed to matter most. A similar view is taken by MacNamara (1973). He argues that the really important part of motivation lies in the act of communication itself rather than in any general orientation as implied by the integration or instrument distinction.
C. Why the writer emphasizes on motivation.
Many researchers show us that motivation directly influences the student's behavior in learning foreign language and the students can determine themselves how to choose good strategies to learn and acquire English skills. That's why giving motivation, with various ways, to the students is a ‘must' to achieve the target language. No matter what strategies are chosen to arouse the student's motivation. The most important thing is that the students can win both kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Without motivation it is extremely difficult for them to succeed in learning foreign language or the writer is brave to say it is impossible.
D. How to motivate the students.
Motivating the students can be done through many kinds of ways and all of you will agree that it is very complex. The motivation can come from the teacher, the students themselves or their environment. Gardner states: " The source of the motivating impetus is relatively unimportant, provided that motivation is aroused" (1985b,p169). The following activities are examples of giving motivation to the students.
Do meaningful learning
Almost all of the students the writer teaches consider that English is the most difficult lesson they must study and they also think that English has no relation to their life. And some of them don't want at all to know the language rules given by the teacher.
Knowing that the students have very low motivation, the teacher has obligation to find as many kinds of strategies as possible to arouse the students' desire to learn. By conducting various ways to teach, the teacher is able to choose the best way motivating the students to learn and make the students learn without having to understand and memorize complicated language rules. In this case motivation is badly needed by L2 and FL learners.
Use authentic Materials And Media
To do this, he begins with an idea in a text and based on the understanding of students' needs and interests, locate authentic materials, as well as create additional activities that make use of them. Here is as example of how the writer did this. While the students were participating in ‘a card' activity. They expressed interest learning how to offer drink in a living room.
This condition is very suitable with what Dougles Brown advises us to avoid the pitfalls of rote learning:
a. Too much grammar explanation
b. Too many abstract principles and theories
c. Too much drilling and/or memo ration
d. Activities whose purposes are not clear
e. Activities that do not contribute to accomplishing the goals of the lesson, unit or course
f. Techniques that are so focus on the mechanics instead of on the language or meanings
In short, if the students have become intrinsically motivated to all classroom or outside classroom activities, teachers might not be needed anymore.Develop students self confidence
The teacher should ask the students to do inside classroom activities or outside classroom activities by saying " You can do it" repeatedly and he should start the students' activities logically with simpler techniques and simpler concepts.
Asking the students to memorize difficult sentences and giving them complicated explanation should extremely be avoided. Just tell the students that ing-form and be, for example, are used if the time signal is "now" without writing the name of the tense and even the pattern of the tense.
Do interaction in classroom settings.
What is interaction?
Interaction is the collaborative exchange of thoughts, feelings, or ideas between two or more people resulting in a reciprocal affect on each other. Theories of communication competence emphasize the importance of interaction as human being use language in various contexts to "negotiate" meaning or simply stated, to get an idea out of one person' head and into the head of another person and vice versa.
Help the students learn the natural way
This means that learning foreign language only in the classroom is not suitable anymore. The students must be in the real context to practice communication. But they should no force themselves to use the language. A young Israeli who stressed the importance of living the language explained:
" I don't think I have to use it. If it happens to me to use it, I use it. I don't force myself to use a word, because if it is compulsive, it is not natural.
Help the students practice
The teacher should find strategies in order that the students use the language as often as possible. If someone practices he will learn "automatically", " get accustomed to speaking", " understand better', and " learn to think in English'.
Include a sociocultural component in the foreign language syllabus
Invite the students to watch films or TV recordings, play relevant music and invite interesting native speakers gusts.
Promote student contact with foreign language speakers in your country
If possible organizing school trips or exchange programs to the foreign language community; or finding pen friends for your students.
Encourage the students to set attainable sub goals for themselves that are proximal and specific.
Ideally, these sub goals can be integrated into a personalized learning plan to each student.
Make the syllabus of the course.
The syllabus must be relevant by basing it on needs analysis and involving the students in the actual planning of the course program.
What else should the teacher do?
Teachers play very important roles in the course of teaching- described in the form of metaphor: teacher as manufacturer, teacher as doctor, teacher as judge, teacher as gardener and others. And the following is another set of metaphors to describe the possibilities of teachers' roles.
The teacher should make students group work. By grouping the students, the teachers can give the students more opportunities to speak, interaction happens. Douglas Brown describes the importance of interaction in the language classroom:
1. The teacher as Controller
A role that is sometimes expected in traditional educational institutions is that of "master" controller, always in charge of every moment in the classroom. Mater controller determine what the students do, when they should speak, and what language forms they should use. They can often predict many students' responses because everything is mapped out ahead of time, with no leeway for divergent paths. In some respects, such control may sound admirable. But for interaction to take place, the teacher must create a climate in which spontaneity can thrive, in which unrehearsed language can be performed, and in which the freedom of expression given over to students makes it impossible to predict everything that they will say and do.
Nevertheless, some control on your part is actually an important element of successfully carrying out interactive techniques. In the planning phase especially, a wise controller will carefully project how a technique will proceed, map out the initial input to students, specify directions to be given, and gauge the timing of a technique. So granted that allowing for spontaneity of expression involves yielding certain elements of control to students, nevertheless, even in the most cooperative of interactive classrooms, the teacher must maintain some control simply to organize the class hour.
2. The Teacher as Director
Some interactive classroom time can legitimately be structured in such a way that the teacher is like a conductor of an orchestra or a director of a drama. As students engage in either rehearsed or spontaneous language performance, it is your job to keep the process flowing smoothly and efficiently. The ultimate motive of such direction, of course, must always be to enable students eventually to engage in the real life drama of improvisation as each communicative event brings its own uniqueness.
3. The Teacher as Manager
This metaphor captures your role as one who plans lessons, modules, and courses, and who structures the larger, longer segments of classroom time, but who then allows each individual player to be creative within those parameters. Managers of successful corporations, for example, retain control of certain larger objectives of the company, keep employees pointed toward goals, engage in ongoing evaluation and feedback, but give freedom to each person to work in his or her own individual areas of expertise. A language class should not be markedly different.
4. The Teacher as Facilitator
A less directive role might be described as facilitating the process of learning, of making learning easier for students: helping them to clear away roadblocks, to find shortcut, to negotiate rough terrain. The facilitating role requires that you step away from the managerial or directive role and allow students, with your guidance and gentle prodding, to find their own pathways to success. As facilitator capitalizes on the principle of intrinsic motivation by allowing students to discover language through using it pragmatically, rather than by telling them about language.
5. The Teacher as Resource
Here you take the least directive role. In fact, the implication of the resource role is that the student takes the initiative to come to you. You are available for advice and counsel when the student seeks it. It is of course not practical to push this metaphor to an extreme where you would simply walk into a classroom and say something like, " Well, what do you want to learn today?" Some degree of control, of planning, of managing the classroom is essential. But there are appropriate times when you call literally take a back seat and allow the students to proceed with their own linguistic development.
In the lesson that you deliver, you should be able to assume all five of these roles on this continuum of directive to non directive teaching, depending on the purpose and context of an activity. The key to interactive teaching is to strive toward the upper, non directive end of the continuum, gradually enabling your students to move from their roles of total dependence to relatively total independence. The proficiency level of your class will determine to some extent which roles will dominate. But even at the lowest levels, some genuine interaction can take place, and your role must be one that releases your students to try things for themselves.
Conclusion
Teaching English is not just teaching, giving information, explaining the lesson as many as possible so that the students can get knowledge faster, giving exercises and just doing any activities in the classroom. Teachers should do more than just teaching, giving information, explaining the lesson, giving exercises and just doing any activities in the classroom. Motivation to learn must be administered to them in order that they determine their own way to learn and automatically have positive attitude to learn the language.
REFERENCES
Brown, H.D.(2001) Teaching by Principles. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press.
Gass, S.M, Slinker, L ( 1994) Second Language Acquisition. Michigan State University.
Ramage, K (1990) Motivational Factor and Persistence in Foreign Language Study. San Fransisco State University.
Gardner, R.C & Trmblay, P.F (1994). On Motivation, research agendas, and theoretical frameworks. Modern Language Journal.
Dornyei,Z( ) Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom. Department of English, Eotvos University.
Wenden, A & Rubin, J. Learnr Strategies in Language Learning. York College, City University of New York.
Many teachers are not successful to teach English either in Junior or Senior High School. They haven't got the best way to teach. They follow many kinds of workshop to make teaching preparation and to change their own method of teaching. But one most important thing they forget in giving motivation to the students. This is the problem why the teachers fail to make the students get four kinds of language skills.
Key words: motivation, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, strategy
Introduction
The failure of teaching English in Indonesia has become the main topic in every discussion among the people's conversation. This condition has made the important educated people blame one another. This is just caused by their wrong perception about understanding foreign language learning and foreign language acquisition.
The education curriculum has been changed many times with the reason that it is not suitable anymore or something else. It has made the English teachers make teaching preparation and have to change theirs every four years or even every two years. It forces the teachers to do what the curriculum wants the teachers to do.
The English teachers have been invited to everywhere to follow what is called English teaching workshop. They are trained to make many kinds of teaching preparation making all of the teachers bored. Instead of thinking about how to teach and how to make the students enjoy learning they are busy sitting, writing, preparing their teaching planning because of their fright of their headmaster or the education controller. They are demanded to know well how to plan a lesson and to make other teaching preparation while the motivation with which the students will get a big success is almost forgotten. They almost never get special knowledge about arousing the students' motivation, intention to learn.
And something becoming the viruses in all the teachers' mind is UAN. Some teachers try to do " learning English activity happily" despite their fright of the students' failure in their last examination. The teachers hope the students to be able to speak a little bit English and become interested in learning English. On the other hand, the students NOT YET get complicated rules offered by the curriculum.
Many kinds of books have been printed and sold to the students without being carefully revised. The most important thing is that the books give high profit to the teachers, especially the low teaching motivated teachers. The books are said to be communicative approach but the content is really the traditional one. This also supports the failure of our English education.
For these reasons this article is aimed at giving description of learning English as a foreign language. And this is hoped to give contribution to all English teachers especially in motivating the students to learn English.
That' why?
How can teachers motivate students to study English? And how can motivation increase the students' ability to speak English?
Language learning heart strategy has been ignored for many years. It is really neglected heart of language learning. It is the most possible pathway in the realm of language learning motivation.
Motivation
What is motivation? Well let me write you some definitions drawn from a number of different sources: (1) motivation is the cause to act in particular way. (2) Motivation as "the anticipation of reinforcement. (3) Motivation is the extent to which you make choices about (a) goals to pursue and (b) the effort you will devote to that pursuit. (4) Effort, desire to learn a language and attitude toward learning the language are viewed as motivation.
This article stresses various ways of improving the student's motivation to learn. Whatever the type of motivation is intended to enhance the student's spirit to win the four kinds of language skills.
A. Elements of motivation
Gardner (1985b) stated that motivation is composed of four elements: (1) a goal 2 (2) A desire to get the goal (3) Positive attitude toward learning the language (4) and effortful behavior to the effect.
B. Motivational components that are specific to learning situations
Three sets of motivational components:
1. Course specific motivational components concerning the syllabus, the learning materials, the teaching method, and the learning tasks.
2. Teacher specific motivational components concerning the teacher's personality, teaching style, feedback, and relationship with the students; and
3. group specific motivational components concerning the dynamics of the learning group. Groups are formed for a purpose, to have fun to learn.
B. Types of motivation
Dornyei emphasizes many aspects of learning motivation, but the writer is just interested in discussing about teaching strategies dealing with motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Highly motivated students will find themselves how to choose suitable learning strategies and determine their own attitude to the target language. And the writer considers that all normal human beings will get advantages of taking part in language learning interaction.
Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation is the first requirement to be successful in foreign language learning. The highly motivated students will learn faster than those who are not well motivated. Brown(1994) states that motivation is probably the most frequently used term for explaining the success of failure virtually any complex task, including L2/FL learning. Never say "that is wrong or that is not right" but motivate the students by saying "good" and hide the students' mistakes by stating "almost right, but". Keep the language politeness while teaching. Don't use difficult patterns because this will destroy the students' spirit or even they will hate the language target. Use conversational grammar because it is based on how people actually talk. It includes small chunks, mostly clauses and single words rather than complete sentences. This is true for both interactional and transactional turns and use authentic materials and media. Although they must be prepared and need a lot of time to make them there are very strong reasons to use them. Authentic materials and media can reinforce for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world. In addition, authentic materials and media after a way to contextualize language learning.
One of the teachers' duties at school is to motivate students by engaging their interest in classroom activities or outside classroom activities. One way in which intrinsic interest in L2/Fl learning might be achieved is by providing opportunities for communication. McNamara(1973) has argued that the really important part of motivation lies in the act of communication. Rossier(1975) also emphasizes the importance of a desire to communicate, arguing that without this an integrative motivation may not be effective. It is the need to get meanings across and the pleasure experienced when this is achieved that provides the motivation to learn an L2/ FL.
One possibility, supported by a strong pedagogic literature is that interest is engendered if learners become self-directed, able to determine their own learning objectives, choose their own ways of achieving these and evaluate their own progress.
As Finocchiaro (1981) puts in:
Motivation is the feeling nurtured by the classroom teacher in the learning situation. The moment of truth-the enhancement of motivation-occurs when the teacher closes the classroom door, greets his students with a warm, welcoming smile, and proceeds to interact with various individuals by making comments or asking questions, which indicate personal concern.
Intrinsic motivation in Education
Traditionally the teacher in elementary and secondary school give rewards to the students to enhance the students' motivation. The students have a high desire to learn because of the prize or else, but they don't have an internalized thirst for knowledge and experience. Consequently, such dependency focuses students too exclusively on the material or monetary rewards of an education for creativity and for satisfying some of the more basic drives for knowledge and experience.
Extrinsic Motivation
Behaviors carried out in anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self have extrinsic motivation. The intrinsic rewards can be money, prizes, grades and even certain types of positive feedback. The avoidance of punishment is also one kind of intrinsic motivation because this can build the students sense of competence and determination.
Which form of motivation is more powerful?
A convincing research strongly favors intrinsic drives, especially for long term retention. Abraham Maslow (1970) claimed that extrinsic motivation is clearly superior to extrinsic. People seek out the challenging situation, optimal incongruity what Krashen (1985) called "i + 1 "- presents enough of possibility of being resolved that resolution. Jerome Brumer (1962) claimed that one effective way to help children and adults to think and learn is to free them from the control of rewards and punishment. The weakness of extrinsic motivation is the presence of addictive nature. Once captivated by the lure of an immediate prize or praise the students become dependent on tangible rewards, even to the point that their withdrawal can extinguish the desire to learn.
Kohn (1990) gave example:
1. Subjects were asked to solve an intrinsically fascinating complex puzzle with no stated reward. Halfway through the process, the experimenter informed the students that there would be a monetary reward for solving the puzzle. From that point onward, intrinsic motivation (as measured by speed and correct steps toward a solution) waned.
2. Teenage girls were given the task of teaching some games to younger children. One group of "teachers" were simply given their task, the others were told that they would receive a reward(a free ticket to the movies) for successfully completing the teaching task. Results: The first group did their task faster, with more success, and reported greater pleasure in doing so than the second group.
Of course, intrinsic motivation is not the only determiner of success for a language learner. But if the learners in the classroom are given an opportunity to do language activities for their own personal reasons of achieving competence those learners will have a better change of success than if they become dependent on external rewards for their motivation.
Once again about motivation
Motivation is a really powerful factor in achieving language learning goals although it is not precisely known how motivation affects learning. It is not clear whether motivation improves the desire to learn or successful learning enhances motivation. Burstall (1975) has addressed just this issue and concluded that achievement affected later attitudes and later achievement to a greater extent than early attitudes than early attitudes affected either later achievement or later attitudes. In other words, it was the motivation that was engendered by the learning process itself that seemed to matter most. A similar view is taken by MacNamara (1973). He argues that the really important part of motivation lies in the act of communication itself rather than in any general orientation as implied by the integration or instrument distinction.
C. Why the writer emphasizes on motivation.
Many researchers show us that motivation directly influences the student's behavior in learning foreign language and the students can determine themselves how to choose good strategies to learn and acquire English skills. That's why giving motivation, with various ways, to the students is a ‘must' to achieve the target language. No matter what strategies are chosen to arouse the student's motivation. The most important thing is that the students can win both kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Without motivation it is extremely difficult for them to succeed in learning foreign language or the writer is brave to say it is impossible.
D. How to motivate the students.
Motivating the students can be done through many kinds of ways and all of you will agree that it is very complex. The motivation can come from the teacher, the students themselves or their environment. Gardner states: " The source of the motivating impetus is relatively unimportant, provided that motivation is aroused" (1985b,p169). The following activities are examples of giving motivation to the students.
Do meaningful learning
Almost all of the students the writer teaches consider that English is the most difficult lesson they must study and they also think that English has no relation to their life. And some of them don't want at all to know the language rules given by the teacher.
Knowing that the students have very low motivation, the teacher has obligation to find as many kinds of strategies as possible to arouse the students' desire to learn. By conducting various ways to teach, the teacher is able to choose the best way motivating the students to learn and make the students learn without having to understand and memorize complicated language rules. In this case motivation is badly needed by L2 and FL learners.
Use authentic Materials And Media
To do this, he begins with an idea in a text and based on the understanding of students' needs and interests, locate authentic materials, as well as create additional activities that make use of them. Here is as example of how the writer did this. While the students were participating in ‘a card' activity. They expressed interest learning how to offer drink in a living room.
This condition is very suitable with what Dougles Brown advises us to avoid the pitfalls of rote learning:
a. Too much grammar explanation
b. Too many abstract principles and theories
c. Too much drilling and/or memo ration
d. Activities whose purposes are not clear
e. Activities that do not contribute to accomplishing the goals of the lesson, unit or course
f. Techniques that are so focus on the mechanics instead of on the language or meanings
In short, if the students have become intrinsically motivated to all classroom or outside classroom activities, teachers might not be needed anymore.Develop students self confidence
The teacher should ask the students to do inside classroom activities or outside classroom activities by saying " You can do it" repeatedly and he should start the students' activities logically with simpler techniques and simpler concepts.
Asking the students to memorize difficult sentences and giving them complicated explanation should extremely be avoided. Just tell the students that ing-form and be, for example, are used if the time signal is "now" without writing the name of the tense and even the pattern of the tense.
Do interaction in classroom settings.
What is interaction?
Interaction is the collaborative exchange of thoughts, feelings, or ideas between two or more people resulting in a reciprocal affect on each other. Theories of communication competence emphasize the importance of interaction as human being use language in various contexts to "negotiate" meaning or simply stated, to get an idea out of one person' head and into the head of another person and vice versa.
Help the students learn the natural way
This means that learning foreign language only in the classroom is not suitable anymore. The students must be in the real context to practice communication. But they should no force themselves to use the language. A young Israeli who stressed the importance of living the language explained:
" I don't think I have to use it. If it happens to me to use it, I use it. I don't force myself to use a word, because if it is compulsive, it is not natural.
Help the students practice
The teacher should find strategies in order that the students use the language as often as possible. If someone practices he will learn "automatically", " get accustomed to speaking", " understand better', and " learn to think in English'.
Include a sociocultural component in the foreign language syllabus
Invite the students to watch films or TV recordings, play relevant music and invite interesting native speakers gusts.
Promote student contact with foreign language speakers in your country
If possible organizing school trips or exchange programs to the foreign language community; or finding pen friends for your students.
Encourage the students to set attainable sub goals for themselves that are proximal and specific.
Ideally, these sub goals can be integrated into a personalized learning plan to each student.
Make the syllabus of the course.
The syllabus must be relevant by basing it on needs analysis and involving the students in the actual planning of the course program.
What else should the teacher do?
Teachers play very important roles in the course of teaching- described in the form of metaphor: teacher as manufacturer, teacher as doctor, teacher as judge, teacher as gardener and others. And the following is another set of metaphors to describe the possibilities of teachers' roles.
The teacher should make students group work. By grouping the students, the teachers can give the students more opportunities to speak, interaction happens. Douglas Brown describes the importance of interaction in the language classroom:
1. The teacher as Controller
A role that is sometimes expected in traditional educational institutions is that of "master" controller, always in charge of every moment in the classroom. Mater controller determine what the students do, when they should speak, and what language forms they should use. They can often predict many students' responses because everything is mapped out ahead of time, with no leeway for divergent paths. In some respects, such control may sound admirable. But for interaction to take place, the teacher must create a climate in which spontaneity can thrive, in which unrehearsed language can be performed, and in which the freedom of expression given over to students makes it impossible to predict everything that they will say and do.
Nevertheless, some control on your part is actually an important element of successfully carrying out interactive techniques. In the planning phase especially, a wise controller will carefully project how a technique will proceed, map out the initial input to students, specify directions to be given, and gauge the timing of a technique. So granted that allowing for spontaneity of expression involves yielding certain elements of control to students, nevertheless, even in the most cooperative of interactive classrooms, the teacher must maintain some control simply to organize the class hour.
2. The Teacher as Director
Some interactive classroom time can legitimately be structured in such a way that the teacher is like a conductor of an orchestra or a director of a drama. As students engage in either rehearsed or spontaneous language performance, it is your job to keep the process flowing smoothly and efficiently. The ultimate motive of such direction, of course, must always be to enable students eventually to engage in the real life drama of improvisation as each communicative event brings its own uniqueness.
3. The Teacher as Manager
This metaphor captures your role as one who plans lessons, modules, and courses, and who structures the larger, longer segments of classroom time, but who then allows each individual player to be creative within those parameters. Managers of successful corporations, for example, retain control of certain larger objectives of the company, keep employees pointed toward goals, engage in ongoing evaluation and feedback, but give freedom to each person to work in his or her own individual areas of expertise. A language class should not be markedly different.
4. The Teacher as Facilitator
A less directive role might be described as facilitating the process of learning, of making learning easier for students: helping them to clear away roadblocks, to find shortcut, to negotiate rough terrain. The facilitating role requires that you step away from the managerial or directive role and allow students, with your guidance and gentle prodding, to find their own pathways to success. As facilitator capitalizes on the principle of intrinsic motivation by allowing students to discover language through using it pragmatically, rather than by telling them about language.
5. The Teacher as Resource
Here you take the least directive role. In fact, the implication of the resource role is that the student takes the initiative to come to you. You are available for advice and counsel when the student seeks it. It is of course not practical to push this metaphor to an extreme where you would simply walk into a classroom and say something like, " Well, what do you want to learn today?" Some degree of control, of planning, of managing the classroom is essential. But there are appropriate times when you call literally take a back seat and allow the students to proceed with their own linguistic development.
In the lesson that you deliver, you should be able to assume all five of these roles on this continuum of directive to non directive teaching, depending on the purpose and context of an activity. The key to interactive teaching is to strive toward the upper, non directive end of the continuum, gradually enabling your students to move from their roles of total dependence to relatively total independence. The proficiency level of your class will determine to some extent which roles will dominate. But even at the lowest levels, some genuine interaction can take place, and your role must be one that releases your students to try things for themselves.
Conclusion
Teaching English is not just teaching, giving information, explaining the lesson as many as possible so that the students can get knowledge faster, giving exercises and just doing any activities in the classroom. Teachers should do more than just teaching, giving information, explaining the lesson, giving exercises and just doing any activities in the classroom. Motivation to learn must be administered to them in order that they determine their own way to learn and automatically have positive attitude to learn the language.
REFERENCES
Brown, H.D.(2001) Teaching by Principles. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press.
Gass, S.M, Slinker, L ( 1994) Second Language Acquisition. Michigan State University.
Ramage, K (1990) Motivational Factor and Persistence in Foreign Language Study. San Fransisco State University.
Gardner, R.C & Trmblay, P.F (1994). On Motivation, research agendas, and theoretical frameworks. Modern Language Journal.
Dornyei,Z( ) Motivation and Motivating in the Foreign Language Classroom. Department of English, Eotvos University.
Wenden, A & Rubin, J. Learnr Strategies in Language Learning. York College, City University of New York.
Love Yourself, Love Your Life
The word "loving your self" can be unfamiliar to a lot of people. Most people don't like themselves - they feel they are not good enough and they keep blaming themselves for their failures. Even worse, most people are not happy with their lives, believing that they are a failure for not being able to afford the lives they want to have. It may stem from the very basic human nature - people like to complain, for whatever reason, there is always something to make them unhappy - the hard to explain insatiable needs. How can we deal effectively with this very nature? The easy antidote will be to love your life, or to love what you have. But how? Of course, it is easier said than done.
Loving your life means loving yourself, both terms go hand in hand and they can be synonymous. When you love yourself, you love your life and, as a result, you enjoy your life more. It is important that you feel positive about your life because feelings are infectious. When you are grumpy the people around you will get grumpy. When you are positive, you create a positive environment and you help people feel positive about their lives. In a positive environment, people support each other and you will get the best from life.
It is important to keep your feelings in check because negative environment can be dangerous. Again, feelings are infectious - your complaining nature may create a negative, if not hostile environment. Under such a circumstance, not only existing problems do not get solved, you add more problems to the already chaotic environment. You can never underestimate the multiplier effect, especially when it is negative, as it can create a downward spiral, a vicious circle. Once you are in a vicious circle, it can lead to a trap that will take a tremendous effort to get out. When we are talking about domino effect of negativity, we don't have to talk about being tied to addictions such as drugs, cigarettes or gambling. Those are extreme examples. We can talk about a simple example such as you were upset for being late to work, then you blamed the traffic and the government, then you told your co-worker about it, then your co-worker got upset because she couldn't focus on her work, then her boss got upset because the deadline was missed. Then the entire office got upset because the boss was mad to everybody. Then you came home upset, then your family got upset because you were upset, then you were so upset that you forgot to pay an overdue bill, then you got even more upset to pay the late fee, and so on, and so on. Something has to be done when you see the earliest sign of upsetting emotions to stop the spiraling effect.
Therefore, it is important that you learn to love yourself so that you can love your life. How? The first step can be to realize that your life is a gift from God and God knows best, way beyond human. There is a mystery in life, we simply must believe that God creates us for a purpose, a good purpose. And if anything, whatever we do, we do it for God. It means that to do your best in life is to show gratitude to God for the gift. On the other hand, to complain about life is to complain about God's policy. It is patronizing! It is like you think you are better than God and you start telling God what to do. When something doesn't go the way you think it should go, you might want to take a deeper look to see the hidden message sent by God. Challenges always provide us with something to learn.
There are many ways that you can do to start to love yourself. First, you can explore your dreams. Your life is at your disposal, you have every right to follow your heart and you have the privilege to choose what you believe are the best for you. Listening to your heart allows you to have a purpose in life and you can start by developing interests in whatever makes you happy. Then you can start building up your strengths to enable you to accomplish your dreams. Another way to help you love yourself is to give your love to others. You cannot love others if you don't love yourself first. Loving others creates a push for you to start learning to love yourself.
What if we feel upset anyway for life is full with upsetting incidents. Being upset is part of being human, and we want to acknowledge our humanity. Of course, feeling positive takes efforts and it takes a lot of self discipline. It is easy to get back to the old pattern of prone to being irritable. But, it is a matter of choice. If you want to have a good life, you may want to learn to overcome the negativity.
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
Loving your life means loving yourself, both terms go hand in hand and they can be synonymous. When you love yourself, you love your life and, as a result, you enjoy your life more. It is important that you feel positive about your life because feelings are infectious. When you are grumpy the people around you will get grumpy. When you are positive, you create a positive environment and you help people feel positive about their lives. In a positive environment, people support each other and you will get the best from life.
It is important to keep your feelings in check because negative environment can be dangerous. Again, feelings are infectious - your complaining nature may create a negative, if not hostile environment. Under such a circumstance, not only existing problems do not get solved, you add more problems to the already chaotic environment. You can never underestimate the multiplier effect, especially when it is negative, as it can create a downward spiral, a vicious circle. Once you are in a vicious circle, it can lead to a trap that will take a tremendous effort to get out. When we are talking about domino effect of negativity, we don't have to talk about being tied to addictions such as drugs, cigarettes or gambling. Those are extreme examples. We can talk about a simple example such as you were upset for being late to work, then you blamed the traffic and the government, then you told your co-worker about it, then your co-worker got upset because she couldn't focus on her work, then her boss got upset because the deadline was missed. Then the entire office got upset because the boss was mad to everybody. Then you came home upset, then your family got upset because you were upset, then you were so upset that you forgot to pay an overdue bill, then you got even more upset to pay the late fee, and so on, and so on. Something has to be done when you see the earliest sign of upsetting emotions to stop the spiraling effect.
Therefore, it is important that you learn to love yourself so that you can love your life. How? The first step can be to realize that your life is a gift from God and God knows best, way beyond human. There is a mystery in life, we simply must believe that God creates us for a purpose, a good purpose. And if anything, whatever we do, we do it for God. It means that to do your best in life is to show gratitude to God for the gift. On the other hand, to complain about life is to complain about God's policy. It is patronizing! It is like you think you are better than God and you start telling God what to do. When something doesn't go the way you think it should go, you might want to take a deeper look to see the hidden message sent by God. Challenges always provide us with something to learn.
There are many ways that you can do to start to love yourself. First, you can explore your dreams. Your life is at your disposal, you have every right to follow your heart and you have the privilege to choose what you believe are the best for you. Listening to your heart allows you to have a purpose in life and you can start by developing interests in whatever makes you happy. Then you can start building up your strengths to enable you to accomplish your dreams. Another way to help you love yourself is to give your love to others. You cannot love others if you don't love yourself first. Loving others creates a push for you to start learning to love yourself.
What if we feel upset anyway for life is full with upsetting incidents. Being upset is part of being human, and we want to acknowledge our humanity. Of course, feeling positive takes efforts and it takes a lot of self discipline. It is easy to get back to the old pattern of prone to being irritable. But, it is a matter of choice. If you want to have a good life, you may want to learn to overcome the negativity.
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
There Are Miracles In Life
In our efforts to keep things on perspective, we human beings live in a skeptical world. We want everything to make sense and we tend to rely heavily on logical thinking. The purpose is quite simple - we want to be precautious. We want to carefully run our lives so as not to create unnecessary problems in the future. In business, it is very important to be reasonable to minimize risk. In daily life, we want to avoid disappointments from unfulfilled expectations. It is only human nature to want to be in control. As a matter of fact, there are many benefits can be derived from logical thinking:
Convenience - logical thinking provides easy understanding of ideas due to the linear, structured and sequential nature.
Replication - when we know how to generate the idea / concept, we can generate it again in the future, as much as others can generate it too.
Fact based decision making - when making decisions, we want to make sure that we come up with the right solutions addressing actual, not imaginary, problems.
Nevertheless, there is an invisible power out there beyond logical thinking. Leaving out supernatural things, what would we say about serendipity, intuition, inclinations, like & dislike, charm/ charisma, love, interests, and others? In addition, a lot of times decisions are not based on logic. How many times do we use feelings in making our choices? Is it possible that we do it all the time? In business, we will not hire someone or buy something from people we don't like. In daily life, we don't want to do things we don't like, sometimes to the level of being unfair or detrimental. For instance: choosing to go out with friends than spending the evening with our parents.
Talking about feelings, there is something not logical in life that we really don't want to miss - miracles. Miracle is a hard to explain phenomenon, something which, under normal circumstances, should not or could not possibly have happened. But it happens anyway...
People don't want to believe in miracles because they want to keep everything in check. Then, when the miracle happens they believe it is a pure coincidence, a pure luck that they don't want to count on. However, can human survive the existence for so long if we only depend on things within the grasp of our minds? How can we explain compassion, how can we explain patriotism, spirituality, and others? What about defending your rights or fighting for your beliefs. There are things in life that cannot be easily explained or simply beyond the human mind. Even science has proven the existence of things beyond our normal senses.
In relation to miracles, sometimes good things happen to us without us having to make the conscious efforts, something that we should be grateful for. Yet, sometimes people don't want to believe their luck and try to run away from it. Examples will include celebrities who cannot handle their fame, especially when it comes by storm. We see how people who get rich too fast lose their balance and trip. But those are the most extreme examples. In daily life, when someone is being nice, we tend to assume a hidden interest. Can we take the person as simply being nice? Meanwhile, some people consciously or unconsciously mess up their lives for not being able to handle the good things. Some ruin their career for gambling or deny a promotion for fear of not being able to live up to the expectations. Men leave their faithful wives for bitches, etc. Therefore, some people actually prefer the bad than the good.
Why is it difficult for people to take the good things in life? We cannot accept the good thing because we don't believe that we deserve it. We don't believe that we are worth it. As a matter of fact, some people find it hard to be optimistic and find it easier to be negative. It may relate to the way we see ourselves - do we have enough respect and love to ourselves? When we respect ourselves, we respect our lives. It takes courage to be able to accept ourselves and be grateful for who we are. There are many things in life that we should be grateful for, and a lot of times they come in subtlest forms. It is the ability to see the miracles in life which makes us able to see the bigger power, the other dimensions that add to the richness of life.
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
Convenience - logical thinking provides easy understanding of ideas due to the linear, structured and sequential nature.
Replication - when we know how to generate the idea / concept, we can generate it again in the future, as much as others can generate it too.
Fact based decision making - when making decisions, we want to make sure that we come up with the right solutions addressing actual, not imaginary, problems.
Nevertheless, there is an invisible power out there beyond logical thinking. Leaving out supernatural things, what would we say about serendipity, intuition, inclinations, like & dislike, charm/ charisma, love, interests, and others? In addition, a lot of times decisions are not based on logic. How many times do we use feelings in making our choices? Is it possible that we do it all the time? In business, we will not hire someone or buy something from people we don't like. In daily life, we don't want to do things we don't like, sometimes to the level of being unfair or detrimental. For instance: choosing to go out with friends than spending the evening with our parents.
Talking about feelings, there is something not logical in life that we really don't want to miss - miracles. Miracle is a hard to explain phenomenon, something which, under normal circumstances, should not or could not possibly have happened. But it happens anyway...
People don't want to believe in miracles because they want to keep everything in check. Then, when the miracle happens they believe it is a pure coincidence, a pure luck that they don't want to count on. However, can human survive the existence for so long if we only depend on things within the grasp of our minds? How can we explain compassion, how can we explain patriotism, spirituality, and others? What about defending your rights or fighting for your beliefs. There are things in life that cannot be easily explained or simply beyond the human mind. Even science has proven the existence of things beyond our normal senses.
In relation to miracles, sometimes good things happen to us without us having to make the conscious efforts, something that we should be grateful for. Yet, sometimes people don't want to believe their luck and try to run away from it. Examples will include celebrities who cannot handle their fame, especially when it comes by storm. We see how people who get rich too fast lose their balance and trip. But those are the most extreme examples. In daily life, when someone is being nice, we tend to assume a hidden interest. Can we take the person as simply being nice? Meanwhile, some people consciously or unconsciously mess up their lives for not being able to handle the good things. Some ruin their career for gambling or deny a promotion for fear of not being able to live up to the expectations. Men leave their faithful wives for bitches, etc. Therefore, some people actually prefer the bad than the good.
Why is it difficult for people to take the good things in life? We cannot accept the good thing because we don't believe that we deserve it. We don't believe that we are worth it. As a matter of fact, some people find it hard to be optimistic and find it easier to be negative. It may relate to the way we see ourselves - do we have enough respect and love to ourselves? When we respect ourselves, we respect our lives. It takes courage to be able to accept ourselves and be grateful for who we are. There are many things in life that we should be grateful for, and a lot of times they come in subtlest forms. It is the ability to see the miracles in life which makes us able to see the bigger power, the other dimensions that add to the richness of life.
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
The Way We Deal With Failures
All of us want to be successful in life - it is only part of human nature. However, not many of us are willing to take the other side of success - failure. We see failures like a disease to avoid, as if it is not ok to fail. As a matter of fact, we look down to people who fail. Life is all about winning, no one would like to be a loser and the word "loser" is as threatening as a time bomb. Some people take failures to the extremes that they opt for a suicide. Fail and you are not worth of living.
It is funny, if not ridiculous at times, to see how strong people react to failure. The thing is, success comes with failures. It is like the two sides of a coin or a double edged sword. Success and failure come in a package and you cannot have one without the other. If only we can be successful without failures at all... But life doesn't go that way. It is almost like we cannot succeed without failing. Thomas Alva Edison had to do hundreds of experiments before he finally found the light bulb. He even said that genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work. It means that to succeed we have to go through a series of failures. And for those who cannot take the failures, they'd better not expect any success at all. Some people are so lucky to have a successful life delivered in a silver platter to their hands. But those are exceptional cases and most likely they cannot survive turmoil should it ever happen to their lives. The real winners are those who can go through the life's ups and downs, most of them had to undergo life shattering challenges.
All of us have to deal with failures at some point in our lives, whether we like it or not. It is part of life. However, the way we deal with it is what separates winners from losers. We know the term "crack under pressure" to describe those who cannot withstand life challenges. Not many can, let alone are willing to, deal with failures. Dealing with failures is not an easy task, and not many can actually make it. That's why there are only a few numbers of winners and people put so much high regard to the winners. If they have to be honest, not many people are actually willing to go through what the winners have gone through. It seems like we have a higher chance of failing than succeeding, in which case we'd better learn how to face it with a big heart.
What will be the better way to deal with failures? First, failing is not the same as being a loser. We see that failures are synonymous with challenges and people give a big admiration to those who have the courage to face the challenges of life, whether they succeed or fail. The courage itself what makes someone a winner. People loathe losers because losers are not willing to even try. People don't like the trait of giving in, not the failing. Troopers die in a war, but they die with honor, no one patronizes them for failing to survive. Troopers die as a hero. Therefore, we can fail and be winners because we fight to the end. Losers don't fight, it's a different story. Both fail but they are not the same.
Second, failures provide the opportunity to learn. By conducting the experiments hundreds of times, Edison learned how to create a light bulb. Each step, if we can consider it a failure, brought him to the next level. We cannot get to the hundredth of steps without the first, second, third steps and so on. Winners are those who keep rising after the falls, because each fall brings them the impetus, the new energy and spirit to start over. Failing provides the downtime to retreat, rest and recharge the battery so that we can come back fresh and strong. Success and failure are like day and night, each takes the turns so that the other may exist. Both are like buddies, without one the other cannot exist.
Third, if we see failures as a test, we simply have to believe that God will not give a test unless He knows that the person is big enough for the test. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the person. Therefore, it is an honor to receive such a big challenge, it means that God trusts us to be big enough for the challenge. It is like a recognition of our own abilities to handle tough situations. After all, who won't be honored to gain such a recognition by God Himself? Like winning an Oscar, isn't it?
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
It is funny, if not ridiculous at times, to see how strong people react to failure. The thing is, success comes with failures. It is like the two sides of a coin or a double edged sword. Success and failure come in a package and you cannot have one without the other. If only we can be successful without failures at all... But life doesn't go that way. It is almost like we cannot succeed without failing. Thomas Alva Edison had to do hundreds of experiments before he finally found the light bulb. He even said that genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work. It means that to succeed we have to go through a series of failures. And for those who cannot take the failures, they'd better not expect any success at all. Some people are so lucky to have a successful life delivered in a silver platter to their hands. But those are exceptional cases and most likely they cannot survive turmoil should it ever happen to their lives. The real winners are those who can go through the life's ups and downs, most of them had to undergo life shattering challenges.
All of us have to deal with failures at some point in our lives, whether we like it or not. It is part of life. However, the way we deal with it is what separates winners from losers. We know the term "crack under pressure" to describe those who cannot withstand life challenges. Not many can, let alone are willing to, deal with failures. Dealing with failures is not an easy task, and not many can actually make it. That's why there are only a few numbers of winners and people put so much high regard to the winners. If they have to be honest, not many people are actually willing to go through what the winners have gone through. It seems like we have a higher chance of failing than succeeding, in which case we'd better learn how to face it with a big heart.
What will be the better way to deal with failures? First, failing is not the same as being a loser. We see that failures are synonymous with challenges and people give a big admiration to those who have the courage to face the challenges of life, whether they succeed or fail. The courage itself what makes someone a winner. People loathe losers because losers are not willing to even try. People don't like the trait of giving in, not the failing. Troopers die in a war, but they die with honor, no one patronizes them for failing to survive. Troopers die as a hero. Therefore, we can fail and be winners because we fight to the end. Losers don't fight, it's a different story. Both fail but they are not the same.
Second, failures provide the opportunity to learn. By conducting the experiments hundreds of times, Edison learned how to create a light bulb. Each step, if we can consider it a failure, brought him to the next level. We cannot get to the hundredth of steps without the first, second, third steps and so on. Winners are those who keep rising after the falls, because each fall brings them the impetus, the new energy and spirit to start over. Failing provides the downtime to retreat, rest and recharge the battery so that we can come back fresh and strong. Success and failure are like day and night, each takes the turns so that the other may exist. Both are like buddies, without one the other cannot exist.
Third, if we see failures as a test, we simply have to believe that God will not give a test unless He knows that the person is big enough for the test. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the person. Therefore, it is an honor to receive such a big challenge, it means that God trusts us to be big enough for the challenge. It is like a recognition of our own abilities to handle tough situations. After all, who won't be honored to gain such a recognition by God Himself? Like winning an Oscar, isn't it?
Oleh : Rini Palupi Radikun
To Become Just Like Bamboo
Once upon a time in a leafy village, trees grown around, a big mahogany tree grown so high, as if, he want to tell the world, how strong and powerful he was. Looks like he emitted his court to everyone who saw it. Not far from that mahogany tree, a bamboo grown side by side the mahogany tree. But if it is saw by opened eyes, just like sky and earth, that strong mahogany with its big branches, and a slight bamboo with its sagged-bough.
Even though they were totally different, they were always lived side by side, the humble bamboo always greeted the mahogany everyday, they talked to each other. The Mahogany Tree always proud to his self, how big and great. The Bamboo never bored to listen to the mahogany pride. Just smiled and flattered with his sincerity heart.
In one night, the heavy rain poured down in that village accompanied by wind blast. The thunderbolt shouted a loud, made that night so stricken. There were so many trees were toppled, because could not against the wind blast. The Mahogany Tree and The Bamboo were also blown by the wind blast. They were trying to stand out not crashed down to the ground.
The Mahogany Tree looked panic, trying to against the wind blast with his big bole. But his bole was not big enough to against the wind that blew so tight, finally The Mahogany Tree fell down to the ground. The Bamboo who was standing beside The Mahogany Tree also blown by the wind blast, but he didn’t against the wind blast, he just only followed where ever the wind blew him, so flexible. And finally, the wind blast passed away. The Bamboo remained standing beautifully, side by side with the Mahogany Tree who was toppled by the wind blast.
~In Pursuing of Success, a man is always faced by problems who come and go. But to be a success person should against that problems with our flexibility, follow and recognize the main problems we have and solve it with flexibility. Just like a bamboo who follow the wind blow so flexible. So that, we have to face the problems and no rigid to one solution. Because, if we are so rigid, and consider we are great without trying to be so flexible, by giving the same solution to one problems, just believe we will topple just like The Big Mahogany Tree~
Bodhi Taruna
www.successandwisdomenglish.blogspot.com
Even though they were totally different, they were always lived side by side, the humble bamboo always greeted the mahogany everyday, they talked to each other. The Mahogany Tree always proud to his self, how big and great. The Bamboo never bored to listen to the mahogany pride. Just smiled and flattered with his sincerity heart.
In one night, the heavy rain poured down in that village accompanied by wind blast. The thunderbolt shouted a loud, made that night so stricken. There were so many trees were toppled, because could not against the wind blast. The Mahogany Tree and The Bamboo were also blown by the wind blast. They were trying to stand out not crashed down to the ground.
The Mahogany Tree looked panic, trying to against the wind blast with his big bole. But his bole was not big enough to against the wind that blew so tight, finally The Mahogany Tree fell down to the ground. The Bamboo who was standing beside The Mahogany Tree also blown by the wind blast, but he didn’t against the wind blast, he just only followed where ever the wind blew him, so flexible. And finally, the wind blast passed away. The Bamboo remained standing beautifully, side by side with the Mahogany Tree who was toppled by the wind blast.
~In Pursuing of Success, a man is always faced by problems who come and go. But to be a success person should against that problems with our flexibility, follow and recognize the main problems we have and solve it with flexibility. Just like a bamboo who follow the wind blow so flexible. So that, we have to face the problems and no rigid to one solution. Because, if we are so rigid, and consider we are great without trying to be so flexible, by giving the same solution to one problems, just believe we will topple just like The Big Mahogany Tree~
Bodhi Taruna
www.successandwisdomenglish.blogspot.com
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