..THERE IS AN ANSWER.

Lets begin by asking what needs motivated you to enroll in a language course, paying out good
money and studying the handbook? Was it hunger? Cold? Thirst? Thankfully, it was probably none
of these basic biological needs. In most civilized countries the average persons life is not threatened
by any of these, and when one asks why he or she undertook the learning of a new language, it
quickly becomes clear that the reasons do not involve life and death. So lets listen to some common
explanations.
I want to really learn that language because....
---I want to live high, and for that I need better pay with a good company. But that kind of job
demands knowledge of foreign languages.
---Im planning on moving to a new country, and Ill want to fit in there.
---Im a scientist (constructor, engineer) and in my field there are important achievements in other
countries and I want to be able to communicate with colleagues and to read their publications.
---Im planning a long trip abroad, and maybe working abroad, and I dont want to look like a
dummy.
---Ive fallen in love with a lady who knows two languages and I dont want her to think Im
backward.
---I live in a new country and I want to live a life of full value and to understand much more than the
speech on the streets. I want to understand the mentality and culture of this country.
As we see from this, people have important reasons for wanting to learn a new language, even
though these really dont touch on existential needs. If a person is threatened with starvation, and is
convinced that only the learning of a new language can save him from death, then on the spot his
brain will shift into high gear and he will learn the new language without any additional pressures.
May the Good Lord preserve us from such a situation, but it is worthwhile remembering:
without the sense of an actual need for any action, the human being tends to try and avoid
undertaking it, whether from innate sloth or because of the law of conservation of energy (in its most
literal sense.)
A person must know desire. That means that one must become conscious of the true cost of the need
that is driving him to any action. To understand why you need the new language, what use you will
make of it, how you fell feel with a perfect command of the target language, is also important in
forming your choice of which text to use, in which course to enroll and all the rest of it.
In this context, we will mention a story, which the noted psychologist, A.N. Leontiev presents in one
of his books. In a model plane-making group in school, the children showed unusual interest and
skill in crafting models. They cut and filed and glued and assembled. However to get them to study
the lessons in theory you had to push them and almost drive them with a stick to the classroom. No
matter how much you explained why and how important is the theory, it was futile. But one day
there was a contest and the children saw that some models soared high and flew long distances, while
others flew much lower and their flights were shorter. The children asked why this happened, why
the differences in the performance of different models?
Do you really want to know? Come to the theory classes and you will soon understand why,
answered the teacher. He didnt explain to them that up to that point their motivation towards the
learning of theory was what psychologists call declarative. You know exactly what needs to be done,
but this knowledge simply doesnt arouse your interest. Probably there was some resistance based on
a competing drive-it is more satisfying to build models hands-on, to see the result immediately.
Those who were eager to win the next competition began faithfully attending the theory classes.
Their declarative motivation had been transformed into something qualitatively different. In their

minds this need had become attached to a real object and because of this had become effective.
So Much, So much, Much too Much!
If motivation is the motor force behind any activityin our case, learning, then does it follow that
the stronger the motivation the better we learn? No limits to motivation? Not at all!
We can think of motivation as light. If it is weak, things are murky and shadowed, but if it is too
strong, we are blinded. Excess motivation is blinding. Over-motivation paralyzes you and makes
success just as unlikely as would under-motivation.
.... One day, an English teacher asked for my help. She was giving private lessons to a fine,
conscientious and talented ten year old girl. But time passed, and the student couldnt put together a
single English sentence. This, of course was most disturbing for the teacher, who could not
understand, though she suspected as much, that the situation had its origins in some sort of
psychological causes. Because of her suspicions she requested a consultation for the student. After
some relevant testing it came to my mind, that the reason for her failure is a high level of anxiety.
Discussion with her parents helped to tap the real reason. The teacher was hired because the parents
put forward for the girl a goal to become a diplomat in her future and a good command of English
was an absolute prerequisite. That was too much to bear for a little perfectionist girl: the fear of an
overwhelming aim just blocked her emotionally. (More about the emotional or "affective filter)
Look at the picture below

with minimal motivation the result of activity is low- this is so obvious that it is expressed in many
languages by idioms like to work with you sleeves down (Russian).... Lazy bones need more
stimulation (the word stimulus in Greek means the drivers whip).
When you are really involved the result is much better. But what happens when you are too tense?
When you start to think like: What a shame! I am not ready to meet such a challenge! I cannot!
They will laugh at me! Such thoughts steal energy from main activity!!! They inhibit it!
Look and decide for yourself at what level of motivation are you now?
Such distress with over motivation is not so rare. It happens with some students at exams: I really
knew it, so why could Inot recall it in time? Did it ever happen to you? If you suffer from over
motivation- dont feel scared!
Responsible people, people with high aspirations, perfectionists those who are used to success are

more likely to suffer from excess motivation. They quickly reach the maximum. For them not only a
failure, but even fear of only partial achievement can lead to distress. Try to understand why you
waste your time and energy on torturing yourself instead of concentrating on the task. Maybe the
reason is in your self-efficacy? You are not confident of your abilities to learn the language? Start
with simpler tasks, dont rush. Success in small steps is rewarding. Look around- so many ordinary
people (immigrants) can speak, read and write in languages which just a few years ago were
absolutely new for them. You can do it too!
@Copyright 2008-2009 by Bella Kotik. All Rights Reserved.