Enhancing Junior High Students' English Learning Motivation: A Pedagogical Perspective

Spurred by the rapid economic development and globalization in China, English has become more and more important, so much so that people begin to learn English with great enthusiasm and full commitment from their young age. Learning a foreign language is not a simple and easy job, in many cases it could even be very boring and dull. This is why motivation is such a critical factor in English learning, and how to effectively motivate students in English learning has become a major issue in English education. This paper expounds this important problem and explores ways to motivate students. The author first defines the key terms, distinguishing between the intrinsic and the extrinsic motivation and looking into their relations. This is followed with a discussion of some personal factors that affect motivation. Guided by theoretical insights into learning-related motivation, we then design an experiment whereby to find out effective ways for motivating Chinese junior high-school students in their English learning.