Developing positive attitudes to learning

What do you think plays a bigger role in a student’s success — their natural abilities or their attitude towards learning?

The truth is, that even the most gifted children can struggle academically if they lose interest in a subject. 

Conversely, students who cultivate a positive approach to learning often achieve far better results. 

By enjoying the process of completing tasks, they become more engaged, focused, and ultimately more productive.

No one likes to do assignments mindlessly, and students are no exception. You need to make it clear to them what the point of studying your subject is. 

Explain to students why they need to learn English and what benefits they will get from it. 

Of course, after a while, they may lose inspiration again, so periodically remind them of the main purpose and meaning of learning to keep them motivated.

Overburdening students can negatively impact both their performance and motivation. 

Consider this: when you’re overly tired, it becomes much harder to process and retain information effectively. ​​

Imagine, a student after a long day has one more task: to read several pages of text in a foreign language. What happens? 

They glance over the lines but fail to retain anything. When they arrive in class, they struggle to answer questions about the text, despite spending the entire evening trying to make sense of it. 

This doesn't mean cancelling them altogether, but making them manageable. 

Try to take into account their general state of mind and create tasks that they can cope with, rather than making them feel like they are on the edge of their strength. 

In the world of technology, we have access to endless amounts of interesting materials to use in our lessons. 

If you constantly use boring exercises from books, you can't expect students to look forward to your lesson. 

You can spend the lesson with different games, videos, and authentic materials to make the lesson rich and exciting. 

It's a great idea to assign students projects where they can express their creativity and feel free to choose their topic and format. 

These tasks also encourage them to research independently and learn grammar and new vocabulary in context, which is much more effective than the rote memorisation of rules.

Feedback plays a vital role in helping students recognise their strengths and identify areas for improvement. 

However, it’s important to avoid focusing solely on their weaknesses or emphasising negativity when things don’t go as expected. 

Instead, focus on their achievements, commend their accurate use of grammar and vocabulary, and reassure them that mistakes are not failures but a natural and essential part of the learning journey.

Our platform offers the online course The Motivated Teen, specifically designed for teachers aiming to create a positive learning environment for teenagers. 

The course explores how to accommodate teenagers' physical, cognitive, and emotional needs to effectively motivate them and maintain their engagement in learning.

Study at your own pace, earn a certificate upon completion, and take your professional skills to the next level!

Want to engage your students? Feel free to use online tools such as StoryWizard, Classroomscreen and TurboScribe. 

With the first one, you can create interesting stories with unique characters and illustrations.

It provides a wide range of interactive widgets that help to visualise the instructions, organise the work of students and create a pleasant learning environment.

TurboScribe is a great tool for working with motivating younger students. 

You create a group for students on this platform where students accumulate points, which can then be redeemed for any lesson or activity you create with the class. For example, if the group collects 500 points, you will organise a pizza party.

In our blog you can learn about effective online tools for teaching languages. 

So don’t be afraid to explore.

Fostering a positive attitude towards learning is essential, particularly in the early stages of education. 

As educators, we have the ability to make a significant impact by designing engaging tasks, tailoring approaches to the individual needs of our students, recognising their achievements, and nurturing their creativity. 

By implementing these strategies, you can make learning enjoyable and ensure your students eagerly anticipate the lessons.