Introduction

To be successful in teaching, the teacher must be familiar with modern educational theories and educational psychology. The goal of this article is to demonstrate how a teacher with higher psychological expertise is more successful than other instructors. This text examines educational psychology and method teaching through the lens of psychology. Educational psychology attempts to apply the principles of psychology and its numerous divisions to the topic of education.

Educational psychology in a pedagogical system.

Educational psychology considers and studies topics such as different learning methods and their rules, the process of thinking, memorizing, remembering, memory, intelligence, motivation, measurement, the role of teachers and learners in the transfer of learning, learning conditions and situations, discipline, and academic achievement.

On the other hand, pedagogical relevance refers to the impact of education, academic accomplishment, adaptation, mental development, and balanced human development. Teachers should understand how to apply educational psychology in a pedagogical system and be able to simply implement the principles and norms in the classroom.  The pupils join the classroom with different significances; it is the teacher’s responsibility to identify these distinctions and classify them based on their skills and abilities.

 Personal variations between learners are one of the most important difficulties in the classroom, so the instructor must pay special attention to them, and the learning-teaching process is designed so that all learners can use it based on their mental fitness. Before taking on the position of teacher, instructors must first become competent psychologists. Paying attention to and improving the teacher’s involvement in the teaching process can help students learn the language more effectively. The teacher’s understanding of the student’s motivation and its link to the teaching process gives a framework for selecting effective teaching strategies to teach the English language to them.

Logical education and principles are powerful teaching tools. The instructor distinguishes himself from other educators by understanding psychology and applying it to his or her instruction.
Educational psychology is a useful tool for teachers to help students enhance their learning in English classrooms. It makes no difference whether a teacher teaches the English language in a school or at university. In truth, teaching English as a second or foreign language is a difficult endeavour. When a teacher controls a class and is well-versed in educational psychology, he or she can be more effective than other teachers.

Teacher’s Role.

“The key point to be made here is that there are some factors that affect motivation that the teacher can influence and some that are very difficult for the teacher to influence directly. It is worth pointing out that learners in a class will not necessarily all share the same views and be motivated by the same things”. If the trainees find the task difficult, you could give them this as the criterion to sort the factors by. However, trainees may think of other interesting criteria by which to divide the items.

The first is an attempt by the teacher to motivate the class and draw the learner’s attention to the subject. Lack of motivation is a significant impediment to students’ academic progress, so all teachers should work to overcome these impediments and give an incentive for the class to learn more. Using visual aids to teach English as a second/foreign language increases learners’ motivation and context, making it easier for them to learn new words in a target language and retain them permanently.

“Motivation can be defined as a need or desire that energizes and guides behaviour”. According to Wilkins (1972), "motivation is a term which occurs in a discussion of second rather than first language learning". There are two sorts of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.
In a socio-educational context, motivation can also be classified as integrative or instrumental.

An instrumental incentive is the desire to learn a foreign language in order to find work, promote self-cultivation, or improve social position. Tomlinson (2003) defines resources as everything that can be utilized to help people learn a language. Today, most students prefer to work on the internet, which, if the teacher uses PowerPoint or other software to teach English, increases the learners’ incentive to study more. The second benefit is that a skilled instructor reduces tension and worry in students while also increasing their self-esteem. Occasionally, learners experience dread and worry during learning problems, lowering their self-esteem.

Their optimistic thoughts are undermined by low self-esteem, which leads to inappropriate performance. Therefore, the instructor needs to identify the underlying causes of these anxieties and tensions and assist the students in overcoming them by using the right techniques.
The majority of pupils are terrified to speak in an English language class because they fear being made fun of by their peers if they use the wrong words in a phrase or pronounce a word wrongly. In order to foster an intimate learning atmosphere where students may participate in group discussions, the instructor should let the students talk freely, even if they make a mistake.

The psychologists believe that the teacher should play the role of teacher-centered on the class and prevent any anxiety and solve problems patiently.

Integrative motivation study

 According to Gardner’s motivation theory, he conveyed “motivation is the eagerness when one individual learns a new language and the satisfaction experienced in that activity" [9]. Integrative and instrumental motivation are the two most influential motivations. Gardner used to mention that integrative orientation is one main factor of integrative motivation. The second language learner who has strong integrative motivation is willing to learn the history, culture, society, and lots of other aspects about the target language spontaneously. Therefore, learning one language is such a pleasure for those SLA learners. Gardner believed that integrative motivation has a significant correlation with L2 learning .

 In order to have a better understanding of Garner’s statement, Yangtze University conducted a study which is to have a better understanding of students’ integrative motivation (what is their purpose of studying English in college), and find a way to foster their motivation in 2014 in Yangtze Universities.

  The researchers chose 121 freshmen who are not majoring in English but take English as a compulsory course to fill the students’ English learning motivation questionnaire. The final result from the most agreed question is 48.07% of students strongly agree or agree that they learn English to communicate with people around the world. The second suggestion is that a lot of students would like to chat with English speakers and love to integrate into a foreign country’s culture. About 46.2% of students are willing to enjoy the different cultures, such as music, movies and so on (especially for some students who have had overseas experience before). The third suggestion is for students to acquire English to understand the foreign country better. Many students do not agree that they learn English is because their friends and classmates are learning it. If they don’t study English, they will be left behind. The suggestion that got the lowest score is “learning English to behave like English speaker”. No one strongly agrees with this statement, and 31.13% of students strongly disagree with it [20]. In general, nearly half of the students proposed that they learn English is because they want to meet and talk to more people around the world

Cultural and Social Contexts: The Heart of Language Learning

Language is closely connected to culture and social interactions. A learner’s cultural background and the environment in which they learn greatly affect how they pick up a new language. Ignoring these factors can lead to teaching methods that don’t respect students’ cultural identities, making them feel excluded and less confident.

For example, learners from group-oriented cultures might enjoy working in teams, while those from more individualistic cultures might prefer working alone. Not recognizing these preferences can make lessons less engaging and effective. Additionally, overlooking the importance of a student’s first language can create unnecessary challenges. Studies show that using their native language as a tool can help students understand and learn better.

The student’s role in speaking activities involves affective, social, and cognitive factors (Chastain, 1988). During the group activities, the teacher is responsible to manage the class; the teacher’s role is like a stimulus that encourages students to act in the classroom. If the teacher wants to succeed in her work, she must attract the learner’s attention and make a good relation with them. As a teacher attempted to make a good relation to the learners. For example, she requested the shy students to help another student in the role of teacher and involved them in a small group activity or they participated in the group activities with their friends. So, the learners could gain more than 80% of the mark in multiple-choice questions. The result of this research shown that teaching the English language by educational psychology knowledge is undoubtedly the most successful teaching.

Importance of Adapting the materials.

It is important to stress that not all activities need adapting to maximise interest. Some learners may like the simplicity of a straightforward activity sometimes. However, variety is important and many activities that appear to lack intrinsic interest can easily be adapted. Ask • the trainees to look at the original material and then answer the questions in small groups.
  The exercise has been personalised and there is scope for learners to interact and communicate when they compare sentences and perhaps respond to what each other has written
  It could be easily turned into a matching game (prepositions with verbs/adjectives).

Instead of coursebook characters, the person described could be a real person, e.g, a famous person, or a fellow student. The learner who is guessing could be given a limit to the number of questions they can ask (or they could be set a time limit.

Allow the trainees to work together and discuss their ideas before reporting back to you.

Dr. Mohammad Reza Dehrangi, an educational expert, said: “In today’s world, the use of the term teaching is not accepted as a teacher’s task, but today’s students should be encouraged to reach the mature frame of reference and independently develop this framework”. Indeed, a teacher is a guide in the class, not an absolute leader. An understanding of the individual differences of students and recognition of them in the work of teachers is very important and leads to the needs of the various students, and the teacher can discover and understand the various talents of the learners and help their learning. So teachers who have the knowledge of psychology and patiently and creatively motivated their learners and help them to succeed without anxiety are more successful teachers.

Cognition and Emotion in Language Learning

Thinking and emotional factors play a big role in learning a language. Memory, focus, and how students process information are all critical. If teaching methods don’t match a student’s ability to process information, it can overwhelm them and make it harder to remember lessons.

Emotions like anxiety and motivation are just as important. Anxiety about learning a new language can block progress, while motivation can encourage persistence and engagement. Teachers who fail to create a supportive and low-stress environment risk making students feel discouraged and progress slower.

Failing to address individual needs and cultural factors in ESL teaching can have serious effects. Students may learn more slowly, lose confidence, or even quit altogether. On a larger scale, the education system may waste resources and fail to provide fair opportunities for all learners because generic approaches don’t work for everyone.

Conclusion

Good ESL teaching must consider each learner’s unique needs, cultural background, thinking and emotional processes, and proven research methods. Ignoring these aspects not only harms students’ learning but also weakens the overall education system. By focusing on the learner, respecting cultural differences, and using evidence-based teaching, educators can create classrooms where every student has the chance to succeed in learning a new language. The student who has integrative motivation to learn a language usually achieves a higher degree of second language and becomes more successful in that field.

Educational psychology serves as a cornerstone in the pedagogical system, providing invaluable insights into effective teaching strategies and fostering holistic student development. By addressing diverse aspects such as learning methods, memory, motivation, and the socio-cultural context, it equips teachers with tools to create inclusive, adaptive, and impactful learning environments. The teacher’s understanding of individual differences among learners is crucial for crafting personalized learning experiences that cater to their unique needs and abilities.

Motivation and emotional well-being are central to the language learning process. Teachers who harness intrinsic and extrinsic motivators while creating a supportive atmosphere can significantly enhance students’ language acquisition. Moreover, integrating cultural and cognitive considerations into teaching strategies enables educators to bridge gaps and foster meaningful learning experiences. A well-rounded understanding of educational psychology empowers teachers to not only teach effectively but also to inspire, guide, and mentor learners to achieve their potential