General English classes are, no doubt, fun to teach because of the ultimate freedom their offer.
For students, there is no job interview to have at the end of the course, no exam to take, no need to constantly keep their eyes on the prize, nothing. It's just them and their thirst for knowledge. Isn't it cool?
It sure is. However, most of the time when we think about teaching English to students who study the language "just for themselves", we understand what their starting point is, but not where they are headed.
There's no big end-goal at the end, right? And where is this "end" even?
With time, learning a language may start to feel like a never-ending process, which inevitably takes its toll on students' motivation.
We start to notice that something is off - students are not as present as they used to be, they disregard homework assignments, fail to notice progress, and, in general, seem a bit lost and demotivated.
Although motivation is a purely personal feeling, we as teachers can still pull out our magic wands and do all we can on our end to infect our students with new enthusiasm and help them sustain motivation.
Watch the video to find out the tips I offer. But to be honest...there's nothing magical about them. If applied holistically, I feel like we can markedly change our lessons so that they become more meaningful, and therefore, more engrossing.
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