Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/41

CHAPTER 1 lay out very clearly--and more explicitly than most do-- of the things that the student can do in order to gain approval. Here is where programmed self-instruction is at its best. This is also the aspect of 'intrinsic motivation' that has received most attention.

(2) What needs, and what opportunities does the student have to transmit and receive real messages? If the 'real messages' are to go much beyond the location of the chalk, and the menu for the next meal, then there must be some area or areas of shared genuine interest, whether these be planning the Spanish club's annual picnic, or preparing for two years' residence in Quito. This is one reason why integration of language study with other components of a curriculum or training program makes so much sense. Trainers have of course thought about this matter, but usually with most of their attention on its 'extrinsic' or long-term role, and very little exploitation of its potential for 'intrinsic,' day-to-day motivation.

(3) What needs, and what opportunities does the student have to satisfy his drive to acquire knowledge that he can project onto future events that he cares about? (Ritchie, 1967, p. 47). Competence in generating and understanding new sentences is something that most learners require as a pay-off, not only in the long run, but also immediately. (Reid, 1971)

(4) What needs, and what opportunities does the student have to be aggressive in making sense out of nonsense--to acquire skills and insights actively rather than having them 'skillfully presented and sufficiently drilled' into him? Active inquiry, even when it is not conscious, may result in active learning (Kuno, 1969). Here is the value, for some students at least, of the inductive presentation of grammar so dear to some A-L practitioners, and also of direct, monolingual teaching of meanings for words and sentences.