I was reading over at Seth Godin’s blog this morning and was struck by his latest post on timing rewards. (please read) This post appeals to the business person in me, but also applies to English Language Learners (ELLs).

For the students/ELLs reading this… how do you motivate yourself to learn English. Do you reward yourself? Do teachers reward you when you do well? How could you alter the reward system to make it more motivational? There is nothing wrong with rewarding yourself. When I pay off a debt, do well at work, reach a milestone with my spouse, etc. I reward myself and it motivates me to keep working hard.

For the bosses reading this… Do you have incentives in place for your employees? Do they work? Have you tried different systems to see which one is most effective? Studies of motivation are some of the most underrated studies in all of business. We love to look at productivity and effectiveness and measure input vs. output; but when was the last time you thought about the emotional impact your incentive measures have on your employees?

For the teachers… I hope you have read the previous two comments for the students and bosses and already thought of ways to implement this in your classroom. Test me on this and see how your ELLs respond… you will not be disappointed, I am sure of it!!

Leave your comments below… I would love to hear your thoughts.