I can still remember when I did not know the meaning of the word hill.

I turned to my father to help me with my homework on that day. He laughed at me, wondered what were the things that I learned in my English lesson. He asked me questions in English that I barely even understood. At that moment, I promised myself that I will speak, write and learn English better than him. Later I will comment on Littlejohns theory that helps me throughout my way in learning English: feedback, success in the task, past failure and intrinsic satisfaction.

Praises are good feedback for students. Most of the students love attention; students are most likely to feel proud, respected and recognised in the class after being praised. Whenever a teacher praises students, the teacher is putting them in a higher level in class. Praises, to a large extent, can boost students self-confidence and motivate them to love language learning. A teacher, for example, might motivate students to write more after recognising their writing as good examples of essays. This happened to my friend where she started to have a blog after being regarded as having good writing skills. In reward system, however, as Littlejohn points out, the level of motivation in weaker students is totally disproportionate compared to better students (2001: 6). Weaker students, as an illustration, tend to view the teacher as biased and boastful for the better students. This phenomenon can create a gap between them and arouse weaker students hatred towards the teacher and better students. When I was in secondary school, my English teacher always motivated her favourite student to read loudly during her lesson. Weaker students, in contrast, felt worthless, demotivated and tend to be passive in class. Sarcastic remark is also a common feedback given by teachers. It is motivating as students feel challenged and provoked by the teacher. Students are likely to set a goal for themselves and

determined not to repeat the same mistake. This is to ensure that the sarcastic remark is not prolonged. During my foundation years, my lecturer mocked me and said that future English teacher should not make any spelling errors. Since that day, I always double-checked my essay and did proof-reading to avoid mistakes.

Littlejohn claims that: ... we generally like what we do well, and therefore more likely to do it again and put in more effort (Littlejohn 2001: 6) In an uncompetitive class, nevertheless, better students are not likely to put more effort as they do not feel threatened by weaker students. Better students hold teachers attention. They tend to feel satisfied and comfortable in their outstanding student status. Better students deem themselves as good enough and do not need to struggle in learning language. I was more relaxed in my secondary school. I only put more effort during my foundation years as I was in the rivalry-zone. I had to work harder so that I can compete with them and reach their level. Littlejohns theory is also contrasting to the possibility that students may put more effort in their weaker subject. It depends heavily on the students interest, determination and realisation on the importance of improving their language. When I was in my secondary school, I had a B for my Bahasa Melayu. As I was not satisfied with the result, I put more effort and eventually managed to get an A for my final secondary exam.

Students may be traumatised by their past failure. Littlejohn indicates that few people like to fail and we generally avoid circumstances in which we anticipate

failure (2001: 6). Could not care less students may feel humiliated to participate as they are afraid of making mistakes. Grammatical error and wrong pronunciation, for example, are main reasons why students refused to speak in English. Whenever I was in my seminar class, I preferred not to participate as I wondered if I could be part of the conversation. Legutke clearly shows that, resistance can be the legitimate attempt to counteract the threat of personal destabilization (1991: 59). Lowering down head, avoiding eye-contact and pretending to be preoccupied with something else are among the common signs of resistance. When I was young, I would prefer if the teacher does not know my name so that I would not be called out for his or her elicitation.

Students tend to be motivated in learning things which have an immediate impact on them. This is especially true of intrinsic satisfaction. With emerge of internet and social networking, English has become lingua franca in the world. Recently, I met my friend who worked as a waiter in a famous restaurant. He was one of the could-not-care-less students in English lesson. I was shocked to hear him spoke English while taking an order. His job required him to use English as he dealt with mostly English native speakers as customers. His commitment in his job has motivated him to learn English.

In gaining knowledge, failure is not merely determined by examination. Failure happens when we refuse to learn and give up in the things that we do. We encountered various stages of motivation in our life. We need to identify the sources of our motivation in order to maintain it. Positive thinking promotes an encouraging

scenario; negative thinking demoralises. Teachers, parents and peers influence our motivation to a certain extent. At the end of the day, however, it depends heavily on our thoughts that make us succeed.

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Bernard, H. W. (1965), Psychology of learning and teaching. USA: McGraw-Hill Inc.

Burt, M., Dulay H. and Finocchiaro M. (1977), Viewpoints on English as a second language. New York: Regents Publishing Company Inc.

Krashen, S. D. (1981), Second language acquisition and second language learning. Pergamon Press

Legutke, M. and Howard T. (1991), Process and experience in the language classroom. USA: Longman Inc.

Littlejohn, A. (2001), Motivation: Where does it come from? Where does it go? English Teaching Professional 19.