“Because I said so” and “Remember, if you finish up soon, you’ll have time to play” are examples of extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is defined as “behaviors … performed in order to receive something from others” (Kanevsky, 2022, para. 1). Keep in mind that these external motivators don’t have to be negative.  Many people might learn a new skill, for example, to get a pay raise at their job, to get credits at college, or even just to get admiration from friends.

Learning is a constant journey, and we do it all the time. From the moment we were born, we started to learn about the world, about language, about life. We are all born with human intelligence (the ability to learn), but fixed mindsets essentially tell us that we can’t learn.

Ross also keeps saying “I’m fine!” to his friends, but they are not convinced. Herepeats the same words but has a forced smile, tense gestures, and a “loud and squeaky” voice. It is not easy to trick your friends, especially when they know you inside out!

What if someone told you that you couldn’t pick up a paintbrush unless you were already a great artist? What if someone said you could only swim in the pool if you were an Olympic-level swimmer? Or that you couldn’t make pasta in the kitchen because you’re not yet a 5-star chef? You would immediately know that such high standards are ridiculous. Then why do many of us have such fear of learning languages ‘imperfectly’?