The teacher can help learners to bring their passion into the classroom in several ways. One is by introducing “hot elements” in the classroom—music, movies, fads, current topics, personalities, games, and so on—in order to trigger learners’ real interests. The teacher can then use these triggers to build a class culture. If we introduce, or if we allow the learners themselves to bring in, samples of current songs, clippings of famous people, or photos or video clips, we invite greater engagement in the classroom. Another way of helping learners find their passion is by organizing class activities around the theme of self-expression. There are a number of approaches here: personalized tasks, idea journals, speaking circles, interactive questionnaires. When learners realize that the content of the class is their personal lives, and that the teacher responds to them as people, not just as language learners, we invite a deeper level of commitment and motivation. A third way of generating passion is through the psychological principle of “immediacy”—using yourself as a model of enthusiasm and motivation for learning!
