How to Enhance the Students' Motivation in Learning?

The Students'Motivation in Learning

     The students' learning condition, situation, and competence in the classroom have diversities. Some of them have high learning motivation, meanwhile the others are on the contrary. The Students who have low motivation are not any hindrance but great challenges for all of the educators or teachers. The challences  should be overcomed and seeked the best solution. There are some ways that can be used to enhance the students' motivation in learning, namely givea a praise,  and seek the causes and solution. 

1. Giving a Praise to the Students' Efforts

   The word of ‘praise’ can be defined as a words, phrases, expressions, or statement that were used by the teachers to commend the students’ work, not only to the students who undertook the test successfully, or gained the satisfied achievement, but also to the students who conducted the test poorly or made many mistakes in carrying out the test or the task.

  Brophy in Tap et al ³¹defined praise as "to commend the worth of or to express approval or admiration."  Bennett in Tap et al ³²defined as "any statement that 'makes a positive evaluation of an object, person, act or event.  Henderlong et al ³³stated that praise refers to “positive evaluations made by a person of another’s products, performances, or attributes, where the evaluator presumes the validity of the standards on which the evaluation is based.

    The purpose of giving a praise particularly towards the students who could conduct the task or test successfully was very urgent. Since, it  could not only urge and motivate their spirit and desires, but also to perform something better as challenge in the future. Jeffrey at al ³⁴state that the teacher praise is universally recommended as an effective tool to increase students’ academic achievement and for social behavior in the classroom. Maureen et al ³⁵stated that teachers regularly use praise as an instructional strategy to increase the occurrence of children's positive social and academic behaviors.

 Thus, the praise towards the students’ work and acchievement, of course is very urgent .Since, the praise was not only used to improve the students’ achievement in undertaking the test or the task, but also to enhance the students, spirit and motivation. The praise is generally believed to have beneficial effects on students’ self-esteem, motivation, and performance. As a result, teachers are encouraged to use praise as a reinforcer of a desired behavior ( Lipnevich)36.

2. The Cause of the Students' low Learning Motivation

The students who have low learning motivation may be caused by some factors, namely the effects of environment or the background of family, the lack of understannding about the importance of learning, and the lack of support from family. Whitton et al state that motivation is a pshchological feature , a driving force that arouses an individual to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls and sustains certain goal- directed behaviors. 

a. The effects of the environment or Family

The effects of environment and family towards the students' learning motivation are very enormous, because they can influence and determine the students'life and future. If the students live in the educated envorentment, so they will figure out about the importance of learning. Besides, if the students have good and educated family, of course their learning motivation is very high. Thus, the environment and family have huge effects towards the students' learning motivation.

b. The Lack of understanding about Learning

   Learning is a process of change taking place  towards the behavior, attitude, and accademic.  Susan A Amrose et al state that Learning is a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and future learning. If the students realize and know that learning is very urgent and  can change their life and future, they will have high motivation in learning. Therefore, the enhancement of understanding about learning should be cultivated to the students in order their learning motivation undergoes the change. The higher understanding about the importance of learning the better their learning motivation.