We all agreed in the first week of Futurelearn.com’s Understanding Language course, that motivation is a key element in the success or otherwise of students. We have also, on our course talked about how technology can offer various opportunities to enhance learning. In this class we explore what motivation is and reflect on how that may inform decisions on technology use in the classroom. Goals

• To share what was learnt about ‘badges’ (gamification) and assess classmate’s approaches to last week’s task.
• To understand three basic theories of motivation in language learning (to be followed up with more in depth reading).

Extra Reading

• Gardiner’s integrative model of motivation
• Kimberly Noel on Self-determination Theory
• Dörnyei’s L2 self Motivation Theory