Here is a useful article by Pete Jones from CUP.
Keeping students motivated, especially for exams and tests, will always be a challenge for teachers. There are in fact two kinds of motivation, and understanding how both of these work will help to create better learning strategies for students. Pete Jones has been helping IELTS test takers and teachers for over 15 years. In this article, he talks about what IELTS teachers can do to foster motivation in the classroom.
Who do you think is going to learn more quickly?
A) A student who doesn’t enjoy learning English, who doesn’t ask questions, and who only does what the teacher asks them to do or,
B) A student who enjoys learning English, who asks questions, and who is in control of their own learning.
Of course the answer is B, but how can you help your IELTS students stay motivated? What if they don’t enjoy learning English? Or when they have work or have other commitments? Or perhaps when they don’t progress as fast as they would like?
To answer this question, we first need to look at two very different kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic.