Enhancing Students’ Intrinsic Motivation through Interactive Learning Activities in EFL Classrooms

Abstract

Secondary EFL students at a boarding school in Yogyakarta already demonstrate moderate English proficiency. However, they often felt tired and lacked motivation during English lessons, primarily due to their demanding school schedules. To address this challenge, this study investigates the implementation of interactive learningَactivitiesَtoَenhanceَstudents’َintrinsicَmotivationَinَtheَEFLَclassroom.َ Adopting the INSPIRE Model, comprising stages of Inspect, Notice, Study, Prepare, Implementation, Reflection, and Experience, this study integrates interactive activities for five meetings, three meetings in the female class and two

meetings in the male class. As for the interactive activities such as, jumbled- sentence hunts, self-made board games, and gallery walks, supported by relevant

short videos. By comparing the first meeting and the last meeting, the findings reveal that these interactive activities significantly can boost student engagement, participation, and enjoyment, fostering intrinsic motivation by creating meaningful, collaborative, and enjoyable learning experiences. Various challenges in the classroom environment and administrative constraints affected implementation in the male and female class. However, overall, this approach demonstrated the effectiveness of contextually adapted interactive learning in boosting intrinsic motivation in EFL settings. These findings suggest that teachers are encouraged to adapt interactive learning activities to their classroom contexts in order to enhance students’َintrinsicَmotivation.