Luận văn factors demotivating electronics major students to learn esp at sao do university

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SP: linglish for Specific Purposes BOP: English for Occupational Purposes GE; General Eing lish L2: Second Language SPU: Sao Do University TEFL; Teaching English as

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY-HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANCUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST —GRADUATE STUDIES

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FACTORS DEMOTIVATING ELECTRONICS-MAJOR

STUDENTS TO LEARN ESP AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

NGIDEN CUU CAC YEU TO GAY NEN SU MAT IIUNG TITU DOI

VỚI SINH VIÊN NGÀNH ĐIỆN TU TRONG GIG HOC TIENG ANH

CHUYEN NGANH 6 TRUONG DAT HOC SAQ DO

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English ‘Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Hanoi 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-ILANOL

UNIVERSITY OF LANCUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACTLTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES

”—_

VŨ THỊ THỪ

FACTORS DEMOTIVATING ELECTRONICS-MAJOR

STUDENTS TO LEARN ESP AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC YÊU TÔ GÂY NÊN SỰ MÁT IIUNG THU BOI VỚI SINH VIÊN NGÀNH ĐIỆN TỬ TRONG GIỜ HỌC TIÊNG ANII

CHUYÊN NGÀNH Ở TRƯỜNG DẠI HỌC SAO DÓ

M.A MINOR THESIS

Ficld: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60 14 10

Tlanoi — 2012

5 Seope o£ the SEUẦy cà t0 0011p “2

6 Method of the study 3

7 Organization of the study

1.4 Overview of study on demotivation

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.3.1 Questionnaire for stuđenits 225i 222cc 23

2.2.2 Interview for students - - - - 24

CILAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

BALLS The course book se che vol

3.1.1.6 Solutions to help students overcome their demativation - 32

3.1 2 Dala analysis of the interview [or teachers 32,

3.2.2 Teacher-rclatcd ẨactOIä che reeirerrreeerirrioo TỶ

3, Limitations of the study .cccsscsenssensenesses sine sntsieenantsiansinenssasoneensensts 4

4, Directions for further research - - - - 42 'REFERENCES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS SP: linglish for Specific Purposes

BOP: English for Occupational Purposes

GE; General Eing lish

L2: Second Language

SPU: Sao Do University

TEFL; Teaching English as a Foreign Language

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Students’ profiles (Total number of students: 89) Table 2: Student-related demotivating factors

Table 3: Teacher-rclated demotivating factors

‘Table 4: ‘Teaching and learning conditions

Table 5: The course book

vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1, Rationale

Motivation 18 one of the crucial learner factors affecting foreign language

teaching - learning and therefore has been abundantly explored in the field of English as a Foreign Language teaching and learning Many researchers have also

examined motivalion and ils negalive side, dormotivation in Isachmg and learning

general English in universities However, few researchers have directed their attention to demotivation students tend to carry in the course of learning English for

Specific Purposes (ESP) although English continues to dormimate as the lingua

franca of business, technology, medicine, media, education and research, As a result, the demand of ESP is growing rapidly in many countries including Vietnam which

has become a member of WTO and has witnessed unprecedented growih im

communications with other countries In response to the great demand of English in

academic, vocational and professional contexts, more and more universities in

Vietnam are offermg ESP courses to meel the global tend as well as to meet

students” future career needs, Sac Do University is not an exception All students at

Sao Do Umversily must pass examinalions in ESP to graduate, but many are failing

to study it successfully

Based on my experience of teaching LSP, linglish for Lilectronics, for 3 years,

T have found that many Elecironics-major studsnis do nol seem ever to have

developed any interest in learning ESP or if they have, they seem to have lost that

interest for some reasons, that is, they have become demotivated in ISP classes In

both cases, their achievement in ESP classes has been negatively affected For this

reason, I decided to study factors demotivating the Hlectronics-major students in LSP classes at Sao Do University, so that effective solutions can be found to help

my students gel betler resulls in learning ESP

2, Aims of the study

The study was carried out with an aim to help my students get better results in lcarning FSP It, therefore, was designed 1o meet, the following objectives

- to identify factors that demotivate Electronics-major students in ESP classes

at Sao Do University

- lo give suggestions and recommendations to ESP leachers/sludents at Sac Do

University, on the basis of the findings, for even better ESP teaching - learning

3 Rescarch questions

Tn order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the following rescarch

questions were asked in the study:

Question J: What are the factors that demotivate Hlectronios-major students in

ESP classes al Sao Do Universily?

Question 2: What should be done to minimize these factors and help students

overcame their demotivation?

4, Significance of the study

The study is the first investigation of demotivators in leaming English for

Electronics at Sao Do University The proposed study provides students, of English

for Floetronies in parlicnlar, al Sao Do University wilh solutions to overcome their

demotivation in HSP classes In addition, the proposed study will help ESP teachers

al Sao Do University to have a deeper understanding of their students in ESP classes Thus, they will be able to make suitable changes and adjustments in ther

teaching Linglish for Lilectronics to motivate their students for even better results

The proposed sludy will benclit and help future researchers specializing in

LSP and motivation with meaningful insights from the findings

5 Scope of the study

The study is limited in scope of finding out factors that demotivate the

Llectronics-major students in ESP classes at Sao Do University The subjects

chosen for this study were 89 Electronic-major students at Sao Do University who

have jusl finished ESP Thus, i carmot be said thal the results of this study are

generalized to the demotivation of other non-Linglish-major students in ESP classes

at Sao Do University as well as in other universities in Vietnam

6 Method of the study

‘The study used mixed methods for data collection and analysis Survey

Qquesiormaire for students and semi-structured mlerviews were used The

questionnaire for students and semi- structured interviews were used to get students’

opinions on their demotivation factors in learning ESP Semi-structured interviews

for (cachers were also used to find out their ideas about factors demotivating their students in ESP classes

7 Organization of the study

The study consists of three parls

Part A, INIRODUCTION, presents the rationale, aim of the study,

significance of the study, scoG5S

pe of the study, method of the study and organization of the study

Part B, DEVELOPMENT, includes three main chapters

Chapter 1, LITERATURE REVIEW, presents theoretical background on molivation, and domotivation im language learnmg The main issucs relaled lo ESP are also presented in this chapter

Chaplor 2, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, presents the methodology used in

the study,

Chapter 3, RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS, gives a detailed presentation of

data and detailed description of dala analysis The implications of the study are also given in this chapter

Part C, CONCLUSION, is a review of the study Furthermore, this part also

points out the limitations of the study and provides some directions for further

studies.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1; LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Motivation

1.1.1 Conceptions of mativatian

It is strongly believed that motivation plays a critical role in academic leaming

in general and in specific il is rue of the “sustained process of mastering an 1.2”

(Dornyei, 2005, p.616)

Motivation, according to the Oxford Advanced Leamer’s Dictionary is “ the

reason why somebody does something or behaves in a particular way” Domyei

(2001:613) defined motivation as “a general ways of referring to the antecedents i.e the causes and the origins” He also stated that “motivation explains why people

decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue il and how long they are

willing to sustain the activities” (2001:7)

Motivation related to leaming English, could be then defined as the purpose

for doing things that will lead to learning a foreign language According to Gardner

(1985), to be motivated, the learner needs to have something to look forward to, a

purpose related to goal or abjective This objective would be learning a foreign

language There must be something that the leamer wishes to accomplish or gam,

being the target language the vehicle to attain it The leamer”s reasons for another

language could vary [rom achieving a sense of success, fulfill olher’s expectations

or being able to buy a new car through getting a better job due to command of the

target language

From the above, it can be deduced that motivation is the way leamers set up

goals and spend effort to pursue them,

1.1.2 Classification of motivation in language teaching — learning

Tn terms of motivation types, different researchers give oul different, reasons

why people leam a language, therefore, there different kinds of motivation for language leaming However, motivation is often classified as intrinsic or extrinsic The first kind is when something external and independent of the activily is what

provides a sense fulfillment; the second one is when the activity por se 1s what gives

a sense of accomplishment (Pintrich and Schunk, 2002) Deci and Ryan (1985)

consider these two typos of mohvalion, although they do not consider thent as

opposites, but as part of a continuum which gees from motivation to external

compliance to Self-commitment They also proposed that intrinsic motivation emerged [rom three psychological needs: need for competence (being able to đo things), need for autonomy (making his/her own choices) and need for relatedness (connecting with others)

There are other ways Lo classify motivation; Gardner (1985) proposed thal iL is

necessary to understand the leamer’s goal for learning a language in order to understand what motivates them He proposes two orientations for learning a

language: inlogralive and instrumental, The first one relers lo having an inl

not

only in the language, but also in the community who speaks the language, a desire

to assimilate the culture as well as the language It involves being open and

respeptful to other groups, lifestyles, ideas, cle., and the possibility of identification

with another culture (Doryei, 2003) Instrumental motivation, on the other hand,

refers Lo the desire of leaming the language to use if as a Loll fo oblain non uiterpersonal purposes such as passing an exam, obtamung a job, ete

1.2 Demotivation

1.2.1 Conceptions of demotivation

According to Dornyei (2001a), demotivation is defined as “specific external

forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an

ongoing action” (p 143) Thus demotivation could be regarded as the negative

counterpart of motivation However, researchers do not all agree that demotivation

is solely external Many researchers included not only external factors but also

titernal factors such as lack of self-confidence and negalive allitade within learners

themselves Despite his definition of demotivation, even Domyei listed reduced self-confidence and negative attitude toward the foreign language as sources of demolivation (Dernyci, 20012) Therefore, Dornyei’s criginal definition may need

to be expanded to cover both intemal and extemal factors (1.c., demotivators) which

reduce or diminish the demotivation to study Linglish

Domyei (2001) defines a demotivated leamer as “somone whe was once

motivated but has lost his or her commitment/ interest for some reason” (p.142) Loss of interest can derive from various sources of demotivation Tor examples, a

teacher who canmol control the class or a boring textbook can ack as demotivaling

factor for the leamer However, the notion of demotivation cannct be related to

every reluctant learner Domyei (2001) has pointed ont at least three negative

factors cannot be referred as demotivators The first is an attractive alternative

action that serves as a powerful distraction (e.g., playing game instead of doing one’s homework) Instead of reducing motivation, they distract leamers by

lasting, on-going activity cannot be seen as a demotivator because demotivator is a

specific factor or incident that reduces motivation on a single event Thirdly, the

sudden realization thal the cosis of pursuing a goal are loo high is raised (c.g, wher

someone recognizes that how demanding it is to attend a weekend couse while

1.2.2 Student demotivating factors in foreign language teaching — learning

According to Dornyei (2001), demotivating factors consist of nine categories 1) the teacher, 2) inadequate school facilities; 3) reduced self-confidence, 4) negative attitude towards the L2; 5) compulsory nature of L2 study, 6) interference

of another foreign language being studied, 7) negative attitude towards L2 community; 8) allilude of group members; 9) course book

Based on Darnyei’s study, factors affecting students’ demotivation can be

classified into student-related factors, teacher-related factors, and teaching and

learning corthitions and course books used mi the class

1.2.2.1 Student-related factors

a Intelligence

Tho lerm of intelligence refers to performance om certain kinds of iesis

(Lightbrown and Spada, 1999), These tests help teachers classify successful or

unsuccessful students in the class performance While some studies have showed

thal there is a link between inlelhgence measured by intethgence quotient tests and

second language learning, some students, in fact, whose academic performance is weak, are successful in L2 learning

b Personality

Lightbown & Spada (1999) discussed a number of personality characteristics

such as extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness,

responsiveness Allhough several sludies on personality and second language

leaming have been canied out with differem and contradictory results, many

researchers beheve thal personality factors are imporlanl predictors of success im second language learning “This relationship is a complex one, however, mn that it is

probably not personality alone, but the way in which it combines with other factors,

thal contributes to second language learning” (Tightbown & Spada, 1999-56)

c Aptitude

Foreign language aptitude may be broadly defined as "language leaming

ability" (Domyei 2005: 32) Factor analysis identified four components (Lightbown

& Spada):

“(1) The ability to identify and memorize new sounds, (2) the

ability to understand the function of particular words mm senlencss; (3)

the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples, and (4) memory for new words”

These two authors also suggested that teachers should know the aptitude profile of their students to choose appropriate activities for their particular groups of

students in their classes

d Learning strategies

Leaming strategies are defined as thoughts or activities that assist in

enhancing learning and student performance (Weinslein & Mayer, 1986, as cited in

Chamot & O'Malley, 1994), Another definition of learning strategies is; “Learning,

strategies are the various operations that learners use in order to make sense of their

learning” (Wenden, 1987a, p 7-8)

Lrom the definitions coined by researchers in the area of learning strategies,

it would be appropriate to state that learning strategies, in essence, are actions taken

by the Iearner Io assial in learning more effectively Different learning stralegics

work best for different leamers when leaming a second/foreign language

e, Learner beliefs

Belielš are defined as “psychologically held understandings, premises, or

propositions about the world that are felt to be tue” (Richardson, 1996, p 102) là

the context of second or foreign language learning, beliefs held by students can

relate to the nature of the language under study, its relative difficulty, the usefulness

of various learning strategies, the length of time it takes to acquire a foreign

language, the existcnes of language aplilnde, the effects of age and gender on

second/foreign language acquisition, among others, Students! beliefs about language leaming have an impact on their performance in class

f Confidence, anxiety

Leamers’ motivation can vary tremendously according to their confidence and anxiety they have toward the language they are leaming and the environment

they are in Nol only is auxiely related to motivation, but i is also related to

proficiency and more so to communication proficiency, as suggested by Clement, Domyei and Noels (1994)

2 Age of acquisition

A\ge is another characteristic of learners which affect leamers’ success in

second language learning TLis often claimed that there is a onheal period for second

language acquisition which ends around puberty or even earlier However, the Critical Period Ilypothesis for second language acquisition has not been

conclusively proven by research, nor has il been completely disproved Mest

researches indicate that critival period hypothesis does not exist for all aspects of second language acquisition, but there is “powerful evidence of a critical period for

accent.” (Brown 59) While there are many advantages 1o an early age for second

language acquisition, there is litle evidence to support the idea that adults are +mable to successfully learn a second language

1.2.2.2 Teacher-related factors

Based on Domryei (2001), teachers! factors and appropriate teacher behaviors

are mentioned as follows: enthusiasm, commitment to and expectations for the

studenis' academic progress, good relationship with the students, acceptance, and

ability to listen and pay attention to students

a Enthusiasm

An American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmibalyi (1997) conducted a

survey into the question "Who have been your most influential teachers?” lle found

that 11 is teachers’ love, dedication and passion togelher wilh commitment, toward

the subject matter that instills in students a willingness to pursue knowledge Alsc, teachers should clearly identify their reasons for loving and being interested in the

subject matter or L2, and then share these reasons with their students (Good &

Brophy, 1994)

b Commitment to the students' progress

Teachers should show commilment towards their students! learning and

progress, at the same time they should care for what their students have learnt and succeeded (Dornyei, 2001) Furthermore, if teachers treat their students ‘as if they

already are cager learners, they are likely to become cager learners" (Brophy, 1998

170)

c Teachers' expectations

In an experiment in educational psychology, an intelligence test ta primary

school children, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) came to a conclusion that if

teachers bad high expectations about how well students could study, their students

would probably be able to reach high level of achievement Particularly, when the teacher sets high expectations, they are likely to perform better at the subject matter

and even feel more competent (Good & Brophy, 1987)

d Good relationship with the students

- Acceptance: three linchpins of the humanistic psychology, namely;

apoepianoe, cupallty and congrucnes, are of greal influence in the development of

student-centered teaching

- Ability to listen and pay attention to students: listening to a person is the

single most powerlul transaction thal cours between ourselves and another porson

physical conditions had great impact on students’ learning as well as their attitude

towards the subject matter either positively or negatively

L2 teachers should be reminded that the classroom is not only a psychological

but also physical environment The decoration: posters, flowers, funny objects

influence strongly the atmosphere More importantly, teachers should create the ownership of the class among students He stated "Personalizing the classroom can

10

be seen as students exercising increasing control over their environment" (Domyci,

2001: 42)

b A pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom

Language learning is considered one of the most face-threatening school subjects Language anxiety has been found to be a powerful factor that hinders L2

learning achievement (Macintyre, Young, 1999) Thus, it is the leacher's task to

create a pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere A number of various components contribute to make up the ideal classroom climate such as the teacher's

rapport with the studsnis, the students! relaenship wilh each other and the norm of

tolerance, It is very important to make students understand that mistakes are a natural part of learning, and to ensure that they will not be criticized if they make

mustakes

Moreover, humor is a very potent factor to improve the classroom atmosphere

The use of humor helps students feel at ease without tension in the air

1.2.2.4 Course books

A common element in the teaching of English as a second or foreign language

is the course book Indeed, ut has been argued thal the course book is an almost

universal element of ELT teaching (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994) and the course

book may contribute greatly to the motivation to teach eam the language

1.3 Related issues of ESP

1.3.1 Definilions of ESP

Differences exist in how people interpret the meaning of LSP Some described

ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be specified

Others, however, were more precise describing it as the teaching of English used in academic studies, or the teaching of English for vocational or professional purposes

Strevens (1988) described il as Fnglish language teaching which is designed to

meet specified needs of the learner, Tony Dudley-Livans (1997), who is well aware

of the current confusion amongst the ESP community, gave an extended definition

in tons of ‘absolute! arn] variable! characteristics:

11

Absolute Characteristics

1 LSP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners

2 ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline il

serves

3 BSP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of

grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and germe

Variable Characteristics

1 ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines

2 ESP may use, m specific leaching situations, « different methodology from that

of General Linglish

3, ESP is likely to he designed for adult leamers, either at a tertiary level institution

or ina professional work situation Tl could, however, be for learners al secondary

school level

4, ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students

5 Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems

‘The definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens

(1988), although he has improved il substantially by removing the absolule

characteristic that ESP is "in contrast with General English" Jolms et al., 1991; 298), and has revised and increased the number of variable characteristics he

division of ESP into absolute and variable characleristics, in particular, 1 very

helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not LSP From the definition,

we can see that [SP can but is not necessarily concemed with a specific discipline,

nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range ESP should be

seen simple as an “approacly” to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans deseribes ax an

“attitude of mind” Such a view echoes that of IIutchinsan et al (1987:19) who state,

“RSP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and

method are based on the learner's reason for learning”

1.3.2 Classification of ESP

According to Carter (1983), there are three types of ESP.

1 English as a restricted language: The language used by air traffic controllers

or by waiters are examples of Linglish as a restricted language

2 English for academic and occupalional pusposes: English for science and

technology, English for Business and Heonomies, English for sovial studies, English for academic purposes, and English for occupational purposes (EOP)

3 English with spovilic topics: This type concerned with anticipated [uture

English needs of, for example scientists requiring Linglish for postgraduate reading studies, attending conferences or working in foreign institutions

1.3.3 ESP teachers

An issue lrequently raised with regard 10 ESP teachers is whether they need to

be experts in the subject area in question The general assumption is that they are primarily language teachers engaged in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

(TEFT.) and should, above all, be experts in the language and language teaching,

and are not required to have specialized subject knowledge Nevertheless, they do

need to have some understanding of the subject area, which is ideally accompanied

by a posilive attitude towards it, ESP tcachers should also have the ability to

actively integrate student knowledge about the subject matter or, as Hillis and

Johnson (1994: 26) put it “It is the learners who have the specific content

knowledge and who are able to bring that knowledge to the classroom” Good ESP

teachers will thus above all be “experts in presenting and explaining the language,” who also have the ability “to ask the right questions and make good use of the

answers” (Hillis and Johnson, 1994: 26) Other valuable sources of information for

LSP teachers are subject teachers and subject-matter textbooks

To sum up, to make best use of the resources mentioned above when

designing a syllabus, selecting, and/or writing materials, as well as teaching the

course, ESP teachers should have al least some basic knowledge about the subject

matter in question, which is ideally supported by a genuine interest in it, It is even

more important that (hey act as facilitators and encourage pupils to share the own Imowledge about the subject matter with the class and to actively participate in the

lcaming process This characteristic of effective teachers is beautifully artivulated in Kahlil Gibran's novel The Prophet! “Tl the teacher is indeed wise, he does nol bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind” (as cited in Llarmer, 2007: 107)

1.3.4 ESP learners

Another important aspect in which ESP differs from GE is the target audience and their goals, as well as their motivation to leam the language When teaching, BSP at the university or higher education level, USP teachers will most often teach both pre-experience leamers and jab-experienced leamers Pre-experience leamers most oflen have just finished secondary school and rely mostly on their theoretical Imowledge, while job-experienced Jeamers, in addition to having theoretical knowledge, also have some practical experience of using a foreign language in business life, Consequently, as Ells and Johnson (1994 5) point out, pre- experience leamer expectations of language leaming are to a great extent based on their former educational experience, while job-experienced learners will above all focus on “their own shortcomings in terms of fluency, getting the message across, and being able to understand the people from other countries that they have to deal with” Regardless of these differences between pre-cxperienee and job-expericnced leamers, the emphasis of ESP teaching/leaming for both categories of learners

should be on performance or, as emphasized by Ellis and Johnson (1994: 35), they

should become “operationally cftective”

Mativation is of key importance for both pre-experience and job-experienced

learners Tn the first siluation, considering [hal most students have no or almost no

work experience, ESP teachers have to rely primarily on materials and activities they have prepared for their leamers For this reason, materials used in the language course should preferably relatc to knowledge gained in olber courses and learners! future jobs When teaching job-experienced learners, on the other hand, HSP

teachers can also focus on what learners do in their jobs and at least to some extent

relate the leaching/learning malerials and course activites to that The direet use of

14

the leamer’s experience in the ESP teaching/Icarning process is thus important for the motivation of both pre-experience and job-experienced learners, the most

important distinction being whether ESP Leachers predominantly refer to knowledge

gained in other professional courses or the learner's practical experience gained on- the-job

1.3.5 ESP materials

Materials selection, adaptation, or writing is an important area in ESP

teaching, represerling a practical result of effective course development and

providing students with materials that will cquip them with the knowledge they will

need in their future business life

One of the most important issues regarding ESP materials selection and/or

writing 1s whether the materials selected should be solely or primarily subject specific and what the most appropriate ratio of general materials to subject-specific materials is, Genoral materials Cocus on one's goricrat abilily lo communicate more effectively, while subject-specific materials focus on a particular job or industry (Ellis and Johnson, 1994), When carefully selected, both general and subject- specific materials will equip the students with the necessary skills and knowledge,

but subject-specific materials nevertheless better cater for ESP leamers' specific

needs Consequently, ISP leamers will very often feel more affinity for materials

that they find relevant to their area of specialism The use of subject-specific

textbooks is also more in line with the realization that students are individuals with

different needs, styles, and interests and with some central traits of cognitive theory

There are two kinds of materials namely: readily available textbooks and tailor-made materials he decision on whether to use readily available textbooks or

tailor-made materials is primarily based on the learners’ subject area

As Ellis and Johnson (1994: 115) emphasize, the choice of materials has a major impact on whal happens in the course This impact is demonstrated on the

following three levels

= I “determines what kind of language the learners will be exposed to and, as a

consequence, the substance of what they will loam in terms of vocabulary,

structures, and functions”,

- It “has implications for the methods and techniques by which the learners will

lear”,

- Last but not least, “the subject of or content of the materials is an essential

component of the package from (he point of view of relevance and motivation”

‘The selection of HSP materials should thus above all depend on the needs of the learners in relation to their future or present jobs: that is, materials should focus

on the appropriate topics and include “tasks and activities thal practise the target

skills areas” (Lillis and Johnson, 1994: 115) Another important criterion that should

be taken into account when selecting materials is the level of language knowledge

students Have alroady acquired and the targel level they will need to communicatc

successfully in their jobs

ESP is predominantly student-centered, and consequently students’ considerations should be at the top of the st of selection criteria According to

Lewis and Hill, students’ considerations include the following;

- Will the materials be useful to the students?

- Do they stimulate students” curiosity?

- Are the materials relevant to the students and their needs?

- Are they fim to do?

- Will the students find the tasks and activities worth doing’?

(Adapted from Lewis and ITill, 1993: 53-53)

To sum up, after analyzing leamer needs and setting objectives for the course,

the ESP teacher has to select materials that will help the studems achieve the course

objectives (Lillis and Johnson, 1991) These materials should also relate closely to

the learners’ specific skills and content needs, which is an important, precondition

for full exploitation of the materials as well as the learners’ motivation

16

1.3.6 Assessment

Tony Dudley-Livans (1998) stated that the reasons for assessment can be

grouped under two mam headings: for feadback lo aid leaming and (or a

comparable measure of competence Classroom assessment and formal testing are

both methods of assessment but the circumstances in which they take place are

oflon very differonl, Classroonr assessment may be carried oul by the teacher or the

leamers (self-or peer assessment) and can be great source of feedback to aid learning,

1.4 Overview of study of demotivation

Over the last twenty years, research on motivation for foreign language learning has evolved considerably from focusing on describing, what composes

student molivation te a detailed and chiborated list of siyggestions thal help teachers

initiate, and further promote student motivation [lowever, because of the novelty of

the term demotivation, not much research has been conducted on the subject To put

it another way, despite the probable importance of demotivation in learning itt

general, and L2 and I'L learning in particular, to date few studies have focused on

student demolivalion This section deals with the previous sludies on motivation

and demotivation,

Valouta, woodband and Llood (2009) conducted a study on 900 university

FFT learners to investigale demolivaling factors in learning FFT in Japan, and the

relationship between past demotivating experiences and present proficiencies In their study, demotivating factors were grouped into three categories: external

conditions of the learning environment, internal conditions of the leamer, and

reactive behaviors to demotivating experiences Internal and reactive factors were shown to correlate with long-term EFL learning outcomes

Trang and Baldauf (2007) did an investigation on demotivation involving

Vietnamese students from a university of economics, with three main foci: (i) the

reasons (i.e the demotives) underlying demotivation, (ii) the degree of influence of dilleront molives and (iri) student's expericnees in overcoming demotivation

1

Dorniyei (2001) conducted a research on 50 sccondary school pupils in Budapest who were studying either Uinglish or German as their second language

The data were collected through structured mlerview He identified the teacher, lack

of self-confidence, negative attitudes toward L2, compulsory nature of L2 study, interference of other languages, negative attitudes towards L? community, attitudes

of group members, course book and inadequate school facililics as nine

demotivating factors

Oxford (1998) took into account the time factor She recognized that some of

demolivating factors melude: the teacher, the textbook, negalive classroom

activities, defective equipment, and inappropriate tasks

Sun Yun-Fang (2008) in the PhD thesis at Indiana University titled

“Motivalion lo speak: Per

pHơm and allitude of non-Englsh major siudenis in

Taiwan” conducted a study on Taiwanese students motivation to speak English at

university in northern Taiwan Questionnaires on motivation and anxiety were used

to ask 115 non-English majors in lwo English conversation classes lo give their

perceptions and attitudes toward English conversation class Then follow-up

interviews were condueled with six volumteer studenls for deeper analysis of their willingness to use English to communicate in the class, and what activitics they

prefer in Linglish conversation class, 56% of the surveyed students stated that

teachers have strong impacl on their willingness to use English to partrcipate in

class activities ‘hey most preferred a class size of between 15-20 students 81% of the surveyed students preferred more interactive activities such as group discussion

on practical and interesting topics and a more relaxing leaming environment The

results implied that teachers need to be more flexible to meet students’ needs such as

daily conversation skills, pragmatics, business communication skills and public

speaking skills

Zhao Lei (2012), using questionnaires, studied learning motivation types and the factors that influence sustaining motivation in leaming English in the Chinese conext, The study investigaled Chinese non-English majors’ motivation in Enghsh

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Icamning to facilitate teachers’ understanding of ways to inerease it, 124 students from year 1 and 2 were randomly selected and participated in the study together

wilh 10 teachers Both students and Isachers’ questionnaires show thal inimsie-

extrinsic motivation co-exist with integrative-instrumental motivation to make

college non-Lnglish majors lear English The results emphasize that teachers are

oflon unaware of their studeris! specific motivations for 1.2 language learning, and

their lack of knowledge about students’ real reasons for learning a language would

impede their full understanding of students' motivation Students are driven to learn

English by different reasons bul tend to be more extrinsic and instrumental

Lakawa (2007) carried out an action research on “Revisiting motivation in

ESP mass education” at Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia The author

recognized thal the content of the new materials proved to be a molivaling [aeLer

What's more, while students were found to be instrumentally motivated, validating

the intended purpose of ESP courses, their increased effort in the classroom also

coincided with mercased efforl m thew sel[-iniiated informal learning aclivitics

outside the classroom, behavior asseciated with integrative motivation

thllp:/espace library uq edu an/view/UQ: 158800)

To the best knowledge of the author, no study regarding demotivation in

leaming and teaching LSP has been done ‘Therefore, the writer decided to study on

Flectronies-major students’ demotivation in learning FSP at Sao De Universily

Summary

In summary, the chapter has reviewed different viewpoints on motivation in

general and particularly focused on foreign language learning motivation The

chapter has also reviewed the main de-motivating factors affecting students’ motivation in leaming English Besides, the conceptions of LSP, classifications of

FSP and mnain issues in learning and teaching ESP are also presented

‘The following chapter presents the methodology of the study on Lilectronies- major students’ demotivation in leaning ESP at Sao Do University

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.0 Research questions and design

The sLudy secks answers to the two following questions:

Question 1: What are the factors that demotivate Hlectronics-major students in

BSP classes at Sao Do University?

Question 2: What should be done lo mirmmize these factors and help students

overcome their demotivation?

The research design is survey with mixed methods for data collection

2.1 Situation analysis

2.1.1 Setting of the study

‘Leaching staff

There are 21 Leachers of English aged from 25 lo 45 m Tounsm and Foreign

Language Faculty of Sao Do University now Nine of them have finished MA

course at University of Language and Intemational Studies- Vietnam National

University, Hanoi

‘Two teachers are working toward an M.A degree and the rest hold a bachelor

degree in English language teaching The number of teachers is limited and there

are no teachers who are in charge of ESP teaching separately Among them, 4 arc

engaged in teaching Lnglish for Ulectronics in which one teacher has seven-year

experience and two (eachors have four-year experience and the olher have three-

‘year experience All of them are female They are energetic and willing to devote their time and energy to teaching Ilowever, they find it difficult to deal with

unfamiliar and unaccustomed subject matter They, therefore, have to face with

many difficulties and they themselves have found that their HSP classes are not really interesting

English for Electronics

Lnglish for Llectronies is in the undergraduate training program of electronic engineers It is a compulsory subject and occupies 3 oredits Students study English

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for Electronics in 3" scmester after finishing Basic English 1, 2 in the twe fust

semesters

Objectives of English for Electronics: A(ier sludying ESP, students will be able to

+ Pronounce and use correctly vocabulary related to some electronic topies such

as electronic devices in the home, computers, fax machines, telephone systems and

| Read and comprehend paragraphs {about 200-360 words) about electronics

devices which are given in the course book

+ Write paragraphs (about 100-120 words) describing the operations of

electronic devices

According (o Cartor’s classification, English [or Electronics taught in SDU

belongs to HOP

Students and their background

Normally, cach course is divided into two classes of electronics, which are

made up about 100 students The age of the students varies from 18 to 25 ‘They

come from different provmees m the country Some of them are from the rural or

remote areas, where there are no good opportunities for studying Linglish, these students commonly did not spend much time learning English at high school before

The others come from cities Theoretically, they have all finished three years or

seven yeais of learning English at secondary schools before entering Sao Do

University Most of them are male students (ahaut 70%) To some extent, there are

some students whose English is very good, bul generally the target students! English

proficiency is still low level, Most of them learn Linglish to read specialized documents rather than speak English to foreigners Some have strong pressure to pass oxams with high marks; the others would prefer ESP enhance their specmilized

2

Imowledge, which is required in their future jobs The others are afraid of studying general Linglish as well as linglish for lZlectronies

The course book

The books "Knowhow 1,

“ (A1, AZ Level Common Kuropean Framework

of Reference for Languages) has been used recently for General English (GI) In

addition, the bock "English for Flectronics" are subjectively selected by the

teachers are held to evaluate students’ language knowledge

The course book “English for Llectronics" are subjectively selected by the

teachers and then compiled ito the material to leach students of Electronics al SOU

in 45 periods (three credits), and with the following features:

- "English for Electronics” consists of fifteen units designed in combination

wilh clectronic lopres to enable studsnls to develop both their language skills

(reading and writing) and vocabulary relating to electronics

- Each unit is often divided into three parts, namely: Reading, Language study

and Teclieal reading or Wriling Iw the reading parls includes reading texts related

to electronics and tasks designed to help students deeply understand the texts In the

second parl, language study, (he main grammar phenomenon which appeared in the texts is introduced such az reduced-time clause, if-sentences, passive voice, linking

words etc, The last part is writing or technical reading In the part of writing,

students are taught how lo link faels and ideas, describe transmission processes,

describe diagrams and request information in a formal letter In some units, writing

is replaced by technical reading, in which students are instructed to read technical

information on electronic devices such as: remote control system, alarm systems

and transmission lines

‘Teaching facilities

Teaching facilities also play an important part in Leaching English and may

affect the teaching process positively or negatively All teachers are supplied with speakers and laptops to use for their class contact when necessary In all classes of SDU are equipped with projectors Tl is very conveniont for leachers in teuckrirys

Moreover, there is one library with some sorts of materials for reference like

Linglish books, magazines, newspapers but it mainly provides book of electronics in Vielnarnese, nol English books, espocially ESP books

Testing and evaluation

Testing and evaluation is very important in teaching and leaming At SDU,

ESP students will be evaluated with teachers’ assessment, 3 regular classroom tosls

and a final examination However, in fact, because of the test-oriented symptom,

almost teachers have been forced to enhance the students’ scores To some extent,

thus, Lest scores have vol reflected quality of teaching and learning English for

Lilectronics as well as other subjects at my school ‘Ihat’s the reason why I will not mention students’ final scores in my study

2.1.2 Subjects

In order to achieve the aims of the thesis and answer the above research

questions, the main subjects of the study include a group of 3 female teachers of

Rnglish for Flectronies currently lcaching al SDU and 89 sccond-year students of

electronics At the time the study was being carried out, there were two classes with

89 students of electronics al SDU who had recently finished their FSP course These two classes comprised thutecn females and seventy-six males

2.2 Data collection

There are a number ways m which imformation about the needs can be

gathered such as questionnaires, interviews, observation, etc The researcher of this study decided to choose questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as main

tools for collecting information

2.2.1 Questionnaire for students

The demotivation questionnaire (Appendices | and 2) for students consisted

of 28 questions, meluding 27 five-pomt Likert type questions and one open

question ‘hese 28 questions designed to measure four factors derived from

previous studies: student-related factors (statements 1, 2, 3, 4, 7,8 ,9 ,10, 27 ),

icavhor-related factors (slalements 5, 6, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26), and teaching

and Icarmmg conditions (statements 11, 12, 13) and the course book uscd in ESP

classes (statements 15,16, 22, 23, 24) For questions 1-27, participants were

required to lick the colurmm thal represented their best aswer: Strongly Disagree/

Disagree! Undecided! gree/ Strongly Agree What's more, for the question 27 had

space for students to write their expectations in the ISP course

Tho questionaire also intchided one operi-ended question for students to wrile

their solutions that help students overcome their demotivation

2.2.2 Interview for students

The imlerviews were camied oul in Vietuamese in the form of infornal conversations between the researcher and 10 students randomly chosen from the 2

classes after they had done the survey questionnaire The 20-minute interview was

semi-siruclured with 3 mam questions (Appendix 3) The questions were based on

those questions in the questionnaire, but were extended to get more thorough

understanding of the matter The data were recorded, transcribed for the analysis

purpose, and then iranslaled inlo English for writing up by the researcher then

checked for correctness by an experienced translator

2.2.3 Interview for teachers

The interview was camicd out in English im the form of an infonnal

conversation between the researcher and 3 teachers of Linglish for llectronics

(there were only three (cachers becanse al Ihe Lime the study was carried oul (here

were 4 teachers at SDU taking part in teaching English for Klectronies, including the researcher) The semi-structured interviews were organized with 5 main

questions (Appendix 4) and lasted 30 minutes The questions were used to identify:

« Teachers’ ideas about factors demotivating their students in ESP classes

«What they often do in ISP classes

« The process in which they designed the course book of Hnglish for

Elecrronics

« Whether they analyzed students’ need before, while and after teaching ESP

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