Practice makes perfect and Try, try, try again.
Autor: Hayley Brasil | Publicado: 2011-06-25T09:18:00-07:00

Motiviation is my topic today. It is something that passes in fleeting moments for some and yet for others is like a fire in the belly that burns faultlessly allowing them to acheive their goals/desires/dreams or at least to push on in the event of being required to jump a few of life's hurdles, in order to get their piece of the pie. For others that sensation of running after something big, chasing the dream, it simply just never comes. Mediocrity never bothers them, in fact, I think that it almost comforts them.

I have always found myself to be quite a go-getter. A person who always wanted things on the top shelf, out of reach. I always had to scheme and plan as to how I was going to get those things to be mine. I have for the most part been very successful in doing so, there really are few things that I am yet to accomplish that I have set out to do, which is quite amazing really. It is my belief that this is largely due to two major facts. Of these two important facts, the first one is that my grandparents always told their story of working very hard and not being afraid of hard work to achieve what you want. The second is the fact that I am the oldest in my largish family of 4 female siblings, so there was always work for me as a leader within the family unit. I could never be the follower as I was the eldest and it was my role to lead the sisters to do what my parents required, hide the things they weren't to know, explain the facts they couldn't and be a reference for them in any situation. That is what the eldest child does in the Gogeff family.

So with these two facts, I was influenced to always do what was required and expected and work very hard, never to be afraid of hard work. These to simple factors in my life taught me to always do what was necessary and more to get what you want and I am very thankful for that. Yet, this still doesn't motivation. I don't know where motivation comes from exactly but after a lot of contemplation, I think I am beginning to understand some of the contributing factors to its presentation in people.
I think that motivation often comes from a mix of consequence and perhaps also from a little bit of fear of the past in some cases. Knowing&nbsp; what can become of ones choices gives a certain level of&nbsp;incentive to most of us. Knowing that if we get an 'A' on a test&nbsp;we get a present from mum and dad yet if we get a 'D' we get a wrap over the knuckles and no TV time for a week motivates even the laziest of us to study harder.

So after that long introduction and release of personal information I want to talk about my students and their motivations. Their motivation to attend class, to study at home, to participate in class, to pay money for education, to utilize their skills obtained during my class and to continue to further their already adept language skills.
Upon my arrival home from my class last night with little Clarissa, I can tell you that there are two motivations for her to participate in class. One is that if she does I don't get upset, speak to her mother and get her in trouble and the other more motivating yet, is the opportunity to increase her sticker collection by being a good girl who participates, is polite and practices what we study in class.
Yet, upon arrival from my very small class today at Cultura Inglesa I pondered the motivations of my late-adolescent to adult students. 
When I woke up today at 6am it was very cold and I already knew, subconsciously, that this would take a few of my students from class today. The fact that I have recently given a lot of tests and that there could be more would take a few more. I remember that the long and very challenging CAE (Certificate of Advanced English)&nbsp;cource is coming to a close in just 3 mere weeks, meaning people think that the classes could be less beneficial than personal study time in the library. Goodbye to a few more students. When I arrived at class to a total of 5 students from the 17 that should have been there. I wasn't surprised but I was disappointed. How can I motivate my students to come to class even thought it is cold, and there are tests and they are tired of studying on the weekend? How do I make them see that the hard work is worth the result of a great grade on their CAE exam?
Is it through a personal phonecall, an e-mail gently reminding them of their responsibility to attend class? Is it through a cold gaze and a scolding tone when they all appear at the last class of the course for the bonus pre-exam tips? I don't know! This is what I have realised today, I know so much about language (about the English language in particular), about being a good teacher, about getting results and dynamism within the classroom, catering to learning styles and sucking production and use of English right out of them without them even knowing but when it comes to really motivating to push through the hard times, I am completely lost.

When it comes to my private students, the people who come to study with my our company PoGo Communications people are always highly motivated. They also often have to make a presentation to many in their second or third language on a highly specific area. That would motivate me too. I always have the odd student who stops doing their homework that I need to highlight the importance of writing in English in a professional environment or someone who is so convinced that their area of weakness is not of equal importance when it comes to studying their area of strength. A quick in-class test usually is enough to jerk a student back into focus. Yet teaching one-on-one makes this process far more feasable than teaching 10 or 15 or 20 on 1 as I do at times.

So, if any of you have any ideas about motivation, where it comes from, why it goes and how to call it back (preferrably to stay) please do let me know.

For now&nbsp;I am off, going to enjoy my weekend here in Brasilia by taking a stoll by the lake at Pontao, perhaps having a delicious Specialito at Gula Gelada and finally, cleaning up the mess that shows the lovely dinner Tiago and I enjoyed with our dear friends Jess and Mau last night. 

Take the time and think about what motivates you, and for those of you who are already motivated, keep on going after what it is that you want. I am highly motivated when it comes to the precious commodity that we call education. I am motivated to make it accessible to everyone, everywhere. I could do with some more motivation in other areas of my life though, some rethinking shall be done this weekend, a little selfmotivating in the savings department is most definitely in order!

Enjoy your weekend people, keep studying and enjoy the learning process.

Miss Hayley
PoGo Communications