Educators can face challenges when trying to predict student achievement, future decisions, continuity, and overall academic success. (Lee & Song, 2022). Understanding these factors can help language educators offer additional supports or interventions if they suspect students are struggling. According to Eccles & Wigfield (1995), Task value is about how important a student thinks a task is and how confident they feel about doing well on it (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995).
Task value contributes to educational development and offers insights into key motivating factors that enhance a student’s performance, choice, and persistence which helps explain both how well they accomplish a task, and the importance the assign to the task (Yue & Lu, 2022). As a result, a student’s value of a task can be considered as the driving factor behind their motivation (Kotla et al., 2023).
Motivation is a driving force that can be used to understand connections between student achievements and other related factors (Nagle et al., 2021). As a result, students who are not motivated tend to struggle with academic performance, participation, and educational satisfaction, which can further hinder their motivation and minimize the value experienced within the tasks they accomplish (Hubley et al., 2024).
In order to enhance student motivation, predict academic success, and provide necessary interventions, language educators can seek guidance from the following suggested strategies to enhance task value:
- Identify individual student needs and strengths
- Increase task value through relevance and real-world applications
- Foster a growth mindset and self-efficacy
- Create a supportive and inclusive learning environment
- Encourage goal-setting and self-regulation
- Provide opportunities for autonomy and choice
- Address motivational barriers
- Implement culturally responsive teaching
By implementing strategies such as these, language educators can enhance task value, boost motivation, and support student success effectively which ultimately improves academic performance and persistence. Using strategies to enhance task value is critical for predicting and fostering student achievement, which positively influences student success. Benefits for enhancing task value include:
- Enhancing predictability of student achievement
- Increasing motivation
- Supporting student self-efficacy and academic resilience
- Promoting equitable learning outcomes
- Improving long-term educational and career outcomes
By implementing strategies such as these, language educators can enhance task value, boost motivation, and support student success effectively which ultimately improves academic performance and persistence while creating a sustainable and proactive learning environment to promote student long-term success.
References
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (1995). In the Mind of the Actor: The Structure of Adolescents’ Achievement Task Values and Expectancy-Related Beliefs. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(3), 215-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167295213003
Hubley, C., Edwards, J., Miele, D. B., & Scholer, A. A. (2024). Metamotivational beliefs about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology., 126(1), 26–57. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000362
Kotla, B., Bosman, L., Chelberg, K., Magana, A. J., & Guzey, S. S. (2023). Lessons Learned From Remotely Onboarding Undergraduates Into Applied Energy and Entrepreneurship Research. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251231192865
Lee, Y., & Song, H. D. (2022). Motivation for MOOC learning persistence: An expectancy-value theory perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 958945. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.958945
Nagle, C. (2021). Using Expectancy Value Theory to understand motivation, persistence, and achievement in university-level foreign language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 54(4), 1238-1256. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12569
Yue, Y., & Lu, J. (2022). International Students’ Motivation to Study Abroad: An Empirical Study Based on Expectancy-Value Theory and Self-Determination Theory. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 841122. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841122
Patricia Patel
Patricia Patel teaches English and ESL to local students and students residing in China. She is a member of TESL Ontario and holds the CTESOL designation. Patricia has a Bachelor of Arts in Equity, Diversity and Human Rights and a Master of Education with a focus on digital technologies. Patricia is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction - Online Teaching and Learning from Liberty University. Patricia is passionate about creating and delivering equitable, inclusive, and accessible education. She hopes to motivate students through cultivating a warm and inclusive class environment. Patricia loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for ESL teaching and learning by writing blogs for TESL Ontario.