Yet all teachers need to think about the longerterm
impact of their work. Language learning is
never accomplished in a single classroom or course
but inevitably involves years of sustained effort in
diverse contexts. The motivation required to sustain
that effort in the face of inevitable challenges and
distractions may come from many sources but for
younger learners one of the most significant is
surely the teacher, the person officially charged with
mediating the subject matter for their pupils. Teachers
are the most frequently cited motivational influence
mentioned by learners in Shoaib and Dörnyei’s (2005)
study of lifelong language learning, for example.
Arguably this long-term motivational effect – what
we shall call here inspiration – is especially important
in the state-school systems of developing countries,
where official provision is most constrained in terms
of number of contact hours, available resources
and a heavy assessment burden, and which are still
characterised by high levels of failure and frustration