One of the variables of peepl is how much effort they put into anything.

At the bottom end of the spectrum we have slackers, at the top are the workaholics. The individuals at both extreems are what we call 'crazy'.

The ultimate slacker will sit in front of the TV while the small fire in the kitchen grows. The effort of getting up, walking all that way (10 ft.)and splashing some water on it is just too great. He will only summon the fortitude to get up after taking into account that he will have to move anyway when the fire reaches the couch and that he can get another jug of Pepsi and a box of donuts while he's near the frij. This is after he remembers that he put a burger on half an hour ago, thinks 'its already ruined, so I dont need to bother with it.' and continues to watch Springer for another 10 minutes.

The ultimate workaholic will spend hours drilling & tapping holes to mount wire loops to keep extension cords in place. These functional facts do not deter him: 1. The cords are behind a cabinet, so are not in any danger of being tripped over or getting damaged by the vacuum cleaner. 2. Some of them go to devices that are moved regularly, thus requiring a big effort to unscrew the loop and then replace them. 3. easy access wire guides can be glued on in a fraction of the time. (sounds insane, but I actually knew someone like this!)

In between we have the general population, who will only make a reasonable effort to do something that is likely to have some benefit.

It comes down to a simple formula: The easier it is to do something + the greater potential benefit = increased likelyhood that someone will want to do it.

By this formula, its obvious that simplifying English, or more correctly, refining it to a more user friendly state, is the best way to get your students to learn it.