Luận văn factors affecting non english major students’ motivation in learning english listening skills at college of industrial techniques

0g tt LÊ MINII TƯỜNG FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION LN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES CÁC YÊU TÔ ÁNH HƯỚNG ĐẾN HỨNG T

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATLONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

KH tt 4 0g tt

LÊ MINII TƯỜNG

FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’

MOTIVATION LN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS

AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES

CÁC YÊU TÔ ÁNH HƯỚNG ĐẾN HỨNG THỦ HỌC KĨ NẴNG NGIIE TIGNG ANII CỦA STNI VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN AXNII

AI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐĂNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Kicld : English Teaching Mcthodology Code : 60140111

Hanoi, 2014

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATLONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

KH tt 4 0g tt

LÊ MINII TƯỜNG

FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’

MOTIVATION LN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS

AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES

CÁC YÊU TÔ ÁNH HƯỚNG ĐẾN HỨNG THỦ HỌC KĨ NẴNG NGIIE TIGNG ANII CỦA STNI VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN AXNII

AI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐĂNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Kicld : English Teaching Mcthodology Code : 60140111

Supervisor : Dr Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa

Hanoi, 2014

DECLARATION

| certify that the thesis entitled “factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation

in learning Finglish listening skills at College of Fdustrial Techniques" is entirely my own

work The substance of this thesis tras nal, wholly or in parl, boon submitied for a dogras to

any other universitics or institutions

Hanoi, August 2014

Lê Minh Hường

I would also like to send my sincere thanks to all staff, teachers and members at Faculty of

Post-Graduate Studies of University of Languages and Internafional Studies-Viemam

National University for their work and services Especially, ! am grateful to the librarians who supplied me with a lot of materials

My gratitude is also to my colleagues and students at the College of Industrial ‘echniques who were willing to answer my questions and complete my questionnaires ‘hey gave me invaluable advice and suggestions on the thesis Without them, my thesis could not be completed and successful

Last but not least, I would like to send wy thanks to my beloved people, my parents, my

husband and my daughter for their encouragement and support which help me overcome

difficulties to complete this study

ABSTRACT

Motivation is one of the most important factors that influences the rate and success of second language learning ‘his study aims to investigate the factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in leaming English listening skills at the College of Industrial

‘Techniques In this study, $5 first-year non- Linglish major students from different faculties

of College of Industrial Techniques were chosen as the subjects A survey questionnaire and a sermi-struclured interview were used as the data collection instrument, The findings

of Industrial ‘Techniques from concentrating and motivating in their leaming English listening skills Based on the findings of the study, some discussions and implications of leaming Linglish listening skills are made along with recommended suggestions for further research, At last, it is hoped that the results of this study could be of much benefit for students in learing English listening skills al College of Industrial Techniques

6, Design of the study csesesenenetesnetcnnnee 23

1.1.2 ‘Types of motivation in foreign language learning 6 1.1.3 The role of motivation in second language learmng 7

1.2.1 Definition of listening skils 28 1.2.2 Teaching listening skill a) 1.2.3 The Giclors affecting motivation in learning listening skills 10

1.2.3.1 The student-related faclors

1.2.3.3 Teaching and learning conditions

1,3 Previous stuches in the world and in Vietnam

2.2, Participants

2.3 Instrument for collecting data

2.4, Data collection procedures

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION:

3.1.1.1, Students’ attitudes towards the learning of listening English 22

bề

3.1.1.2 Students’ motivation in leaming listening English -

3.1.2 Kactors affecting non-English major students” motivation in leaming English

3.1.2.1 The studentrclated factors 'afteing none] 1Englist major students? 1notivatiơn in learning English Tistening skills 27 3.1.2.2, The tcacher-telated factors síaping won-English major studsnts” motivation in learning English listening skills 29 3.1.2.3 Leaming conditions affecting students’ motivation in learning English

3, Limitations of the SIulÿ oeicceesreere 136

REFERENCES

APPENDICE:

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW

APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

L2 — : Second Language

CIT ; College of Industrial Techniques

% — ; Pereentage

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards the leaning of listening Tinglish Chart 2: Students’ participation in speaking lessons

Chart 3: Students’ motivations on learning listening skills

Chart 4: Teachers’ factors

LIST OF TABLES

‘Table 1: The student-related factors

Table 2: Learning conditions

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Among four macro skills of languages, listening skills make a significant contribution to the process of acquiring language Listening skills play a crucial role m communication, It has been estimated that the time people spend on communication activities 45 percent is devoted to listening, only 30 percent to speaking, 16 percent to

reading and a mere 9 percent to writing by Rivers, W.M & Temperley, M.S (1978) In

addition, it also requires a wide range of knowledge and ability: knowledge of phonology, vocatnilary, semantics of the Ianguage in uss, culture of its people, and their life experiences in the topic, their ability to predict and respond [lowever, how to listening English well is a problem for many learners of English, especially for the students of colloges and miversitics Despite the fact that the siudonts have boon Isaming Fnglish sinee thoy were at scaondary or high school, most of students are weak al Hislering skifts

and have a lot of difficultics in listening acquisitions They

ignorant in listening lessons

Tn literaumre, there have been numerous studics conducted by the international teachers and

researchers to investigate a multitude of factors that may affect language leaning, Among all, motivation has been proved to play a significant role in determining, whether students succeed or fail in school In other words, there has been a highly positive relationship between motivation and learners’ achievement in language leaning According to Oxford and Shearin (1994, cited in Ha 2009: 163-164), motivation directly influences how much

effort students make, how often students use L2 leaming strategies, how much students

interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being Ieamed, how well they do on curriculum related achievement tests, how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over Ply (1986); Oxford & Shearin (1996) Particularly, toward learning listening skills, motivation is onc important clement in forsign language teaching in general and learning English Tisloning skills in particular

With six years of teachmg English at College of Industrial Techniques (CIT), the researcher has realized that students normally lack of motivation in leaming English in general and in listening skills in particular In fact, most students have passive attitudes toward learning listening Linglish due to the previous experiences that listening skill is hard

†o leam and they fail to take listening input Many of them get bored and become de- motivated when listening classcs start They arc generally loss aware of its importance In addition to the lack of well-equipped facilities, classes at colleges and universities are usually very large-between fitty and sixty students Another problem is students” low level

of proficiency in terms of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, skills Listening skill is treated equally as other skills in terms of time allocation The foreign language they learn

is often presented in the first language, the emphasis is on grammar only with the aim to help students pass the exams given by either the school examination board or the Ministry

of ducation and ‘Training All of these have inspired the author to make an attempt to carry out the research “acters affecting non-English major students’ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT” This will be the basis for the researcher in general and the tcachers of Fnglish al CIT in particular in arousing motivation for students in listening skills, helping them Io get involved in different listening activilies, keep their cfforts during Learning process and then achicve successes

2 Aims of the sturdy

‘This survey is conducted in order to investigate the factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in leaning English listening skills at CIT

Objectives of the study are summarized as follows:

- To investigate the non-English major students’ level of motivation in leaming English

listening skills at CI

- To identify the factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in learning, English listening skills at CIT

3, The research questions

‘To achieve the aims mentioned above, the following research questions were proposed:

1, How motivated are the non-English major students in leaming English listening skills at

CH?

2, What are the factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT?

4, Scope of the study

This siudy mainly focuses on the factors allecting non-English major students? motivation in learning English listening skills al CIT However, duc to the limit of lime and the scope of a minor thesis, the rescercher only carricd ont 10 investigate the Ton

English major students* level of motivation in leaming English listening skills at CIT and identify the factors affceling non-English major students’ motivation in learning, English listening skills at CIT The other study of this minor thesis would be beyond of the scope

5 Method of the study

‘This survey research uses two instruments to collect the data linstly, the survey questionnaire was conducted with 55 students randomly chosen from about 300 first year students at CIT Secondly, semi-structured interviews with 5 students, who have done the

survey questignnaire, were carried oul

6 Design of the study

This study consists of three mam parts; the introduction, the development and the conclusion

Part A is the Introduction It lays out the reasons for choosing the topic for this thesis and Points out the aims, the scope, the methods and the design of the study

Part Bis the Development Tt consists of thrse chaplers:

Chapter i, Literature Review presents the theoretical background of motivation, the theoretical background of listening skills and discussion of issues and aspects concerning the topic of the study

Chapter 2: Methodology gives the situation analysis, participants, instruments for

collectian data and data analysis method are discussed in this chapter

Chapter 3 Findings and Discussions presen, the resulls from the delailed analysis of

collected dala and provides several discussions related to them

Part C 1s the Conclusion, It summarizes the major findings and points out the linutations of the study Furthermore, some suggestions for further studies are also given in this part.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents ths theoretical background of motivation, the theoretical background of lisisning skills and discussion of issues and aspects concerning the lopic af the study

1.1 Theoretical background of motivatian

1.1.1 Definition of motivation

Motivation plays an important role in the process of English learning — teaching Research shows thal motivation is one of the main determining Caciors in an individual's

(1994), Oxford &

Shearin (1996) because it direaily influences how much offart students make, how ofen

BUC in doveloping 2 1.2, il is crucial for 1.2 loaning by Dorny

students usc L2 lcamning strategies, how much students interaet with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being leamed, how well they do on curriculum related achievement tests, how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over,

For many years, a lot of different proposed definitions of motivation have been provided, According to Domyei (2001), motivation is one of the most important factors that influences the rate and success of second language leaming, He states, “Motivation provides the primary impetus to initiate leaming the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious leaming process” He claims that without sufficient motivation, even individuals with remarkable abilities couldn't accomplish long-term goals Llowever, high motivation can make leamers get considerable achievement in spite

of their language aptitude and learning condition,

As Domyei (2001: 7) claims that “ motivation explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are going to sustain their activities.” While Woldkowski, R J (1998) explains that in the broadest sense,

molivalion is "a value and a desire for learning" Motivation involves a siudent’s desire to

participate in the learning process, It is also concemed with the reasons or goals which underlie a student’s participation in leaming activities

According to Crooks and Schmidt (1991), motivation is defined in texms of interest in and enthusiasm for the teaching methods used in the class, persistence with the listening task as indicated by levels of attention or action for an extended duration; and levels of concentration and enjoyment From the zesearcher’s point of view, this definition is exactly tight for the motivation in this study ‘Ihe motivation being investigated in this study is the levels of students’ motivation generated in the listening lessons whether students are interested and enthusiastic in listening task with high concentration and enjoyment

1.1.2 Types of motivation in foreign language learning, Motivation can be classificd in different ways In some sludics, motivation is categorized: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Besides, motivation in forcign language leaming is more broadly categorized into two types: integrative and instiumental motivation, In addition, there are some different categorized of motivation as follows: global, situational, task, resultative motivation Yet due to the scope of the study, the focus

was on two types: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Jntrinsie motivation: Intrinsic motivation is generally possessed by people having personal

interasts in doing something and helping to set their goals People are intrinsically motivate

not because accomplishing the activity they do brings a rewards, but because doing the

activity itself is a reward by Domyei (2001-51)

Dormyci (2001) notes that a student with intiinsic motivation participates in his! ber leaming for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the leaming it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes

Extrinsic motivation: Extiinsie motivation, on the other hand, dezives from an anticipation

of rewards such as praise, awards, prizes, and evaluation and fear for punishment as extrinsically motivated students does the activity itself, and this kind of motivation refers

to Teaming situations where the reason for doing a task is something other than an interest

in the task itself by Williams & Burden (1997.40)

The goal connected with intrinsic motivation is a positive leaming effect that lasts a long time, but the goal of an extrinsic motivated student is completely different Ur (1996) points out that extrinsic derives from the influence of some kind of external incentives, as distinct from the wish to learn for its own sake or intemet in leaming tasks Many sourees

of extrinsic motivation are heyond the influence of important people, such as parents However, other sowees are certainly affected by teacher action, including succcss and its rewards, failure and its rewards, failure and its penalties, authoritative demands, tests,

competition Teachers use extrinsic motivation to stinvulate learning or encourage students

to perform in a particular way It is one of the most powerful motivations, It is operative when an individual is motivated by an outcome that is external or somehow related to the activity in which she or he is engaged

In short, the category of motivation is uscfil for carrying out this study Based on the analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation mentioned above, the teacher can stimulate

students to participate in tasks actively by the innovation of teaching methods

1.1.3 The role of motivation in second language learning

Leamer motivation has become more and more commonly recognized as one of the major defining factors for success in learning English

Reece & Walker (1997) express that “motivation is a key factor in the second language

learning process” hey stressed that a less able student who is highly motivated can achieve greater success than the more intelligent student who is not well motivation Among the things that do clearly affected mastery of a second language is the kind of

motivation that a learner has Finegan (1994:466)

As Litflewood (1984:53) puts it “in second language learning as well as in other fields of human leaming, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks on a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preserves”

Besides, Hedge (2000: 23) affirms, “motivation is of crucial importance in the classroom,

whether leamers arrive with it or they acquire it through classroom experiences”

Furthermore, Domyei (2001) states that a learner with enough motivation is likely to gain

an acceptable knowledge of an L2 despite his language aptitude or other cognitive

characteristics Even the brightest student without enough motivation is unlikely to persist long enough to achieve any really useful language ‘Therefore, motivation is crucial for L2 leaming, and itis essential to understand what our students’ motivations are

1.2 Theoretical background of listening skills

1.2.1 Definition of listening skills

Tn second language Isarning and icaching, listening is defined as the process of understanding speech in a socond or forcign language

Listening plays a vital role im our social life thal no one can deny Indeed, listening takes

up as much as filly pereenl of our everyday commumicalion lims and it is the most used language skill al werk and at horne by God (2002)

Accotding to Rost (1994) listening now becomes an essential element of communication Listening is essential for interaction A leamer can express himself orally but never be able

to communicate with speakers of Lnglish if unable to understand what is said to him

As Grant (1987), he states that the listening skill includes everything from leaming particular sounds to comprehending complicated messages Without this skill, communication can break down ‘Therefore, successful communication really depends on listener or receivers of messages

Yagang (1993) provide a simpler definition as listening is considered “the ability to identify and understand what others are saying.” In order to understand what is listening, the concept of listening by Underwood (1989) is extracted ‘listening is the activity of

paying allention lo and irying Lo gel meaning from something, you hear.”

Also according to Underwood (1989) to listen successfully to spoke language, we need to

be able to work out what speakers mean when they use particular words in particular ways

on particular occasion, and not simply to understand the words themselves

All in all, listening involves a multiplicity of skills It is a complex, active processes of interpretation in which listener match what they hear with what they have already know

1.2.2 Teaching listening skills

Teaching listening as well as learning listening is not simple, complex and difficult processes, Teachers and students meet many challenges in this skill

Merudelsolm (1998) emphasizes thal in Leaching listening; teachers nged to help students become self-regulated learners Ho claims that listening should be changed from product to process, and the role of teacher is to teach his/her leamer “how” to listen, not to test them listening proficiency during listening lessons,

Vandorgill (1998) composed @ pedagogical scquerics in which teachers and students? responsibility were indenlificd clearly in listening lessons This consequenec can develop teachers’ awareness of the process of listening and help students acquire the met cognitive knowledge to suecess in listemmg comprehension The consequence consists of three man periods: planning for the sucoessfil completion of a listening — task, monitoring comprehension dunng a listening task and valuating the approach and outcomes of a listening task

For the period of planning for the successful completion of a listening task, pre-listening activities takes a very important role These activities help students make decisions about

what to listen for and, subsequently, to focus attention on meaning while listening During

this eritical phase of the listening process, teachers prepare students for what they will hear

and what they are expected to do lrst, students need to bring to consciousness their knowledge of ths topic, their knowledge of how information is organized in different texts and any relevant culinral information Second, a purpose (or listening must he gstablished

so that studonis know the specific information they need 1o Tisten for and/or the degree of detail required Using all the available iwormation, students can make predictions to anticipals whal (hey night hear

During the listening process, students moniter their comprohension and make decisions about strategy use Students need to evaluate continually whal they are eorprchending and check the consistency with their predictions, and the internal consisteney, for cxample, the ongoing interpretation of the oral text or interaction, Teacher intervention duzing this phase

is virtually impossible because of the ephemeral nature of listening Periodic practice in

decision-making skills and strategy use can sharpen inference skills and help students to

monitor more effectively

In addition, students need to evaluate the results of decisions made during a listening task

‘The teacher can encourage self-evaluation and reflection by asking students to assess the effectiveness of strategies used Group or class discussions on the approach taken by different students can also stimulate reflection and worthwhile evaluation Students are encouraged to share individual routes leading to success, for instance, how someone guessed the meaning of a certain word or how someone modified a particular strategy

In order to help students consciously focus on planing, monitoring and evaluation before and after the completion of listening tasks, teachers can develop performance checklists These instruments help students prepare for a listening task and evaluate their own

performance

1.2.3 The factors affecting motivation in learning listening skills There are a variety of factors infhuencing learners’ motivation such as learners, parcnts, community, the Icatning context, the teacher, the subjcct matters, teaching and leaming conditions, ect However, the author of this research pays much of the attention to some influential factors, namely: students’ factors, teachers’ factors and learning

conditions

1.2.3.1 The student-related factors

Personality: Personality of the students constitutes a major fuetor contributing to success

or failure in language leaning For example, Elhs (1997) proves that extrovert students are advantaged in the development of language associated with interpersonal communication Krom the same point of view, Lightbown & Spada (1999) give a number

of personality characteristics: extroversion, inhibition, self — esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness, responsiveness To sum up, personality characteristics are likely to affect second language leaning including extroversion, relaxation, self-esteem (self-confidence), anxiety aud empathy

Attindes: According to Gardner (1985), “the relationship between attitudes, motivation

and second language achievement is comple fhey always interact and influence each

10

other”, In leaming listening, they are expressed through the awareness of the importance of listening, leamers’ needs (personal growth, cultural enrichment, practical goals, and integrative reason) and leamers’ effort and interest in learning and practicing listening

Students’ lack of basic knowledge of English: Among these factors, the first and most influential factor is their background knowledge Background knowledge refers to the existing information on a specific topic in each language lesson ‘Therefore, if students lack this type of knowledge, it is really challenging for them to get involved in learning activities They are likely to be unable to comprehend new knowledge, and more seriously, they may lose their interes

in learning lessons, Realizing the importance of this faclor, the

teacher needs to provide studsnts with suitable background information for the lesson and

helps thom use il effectively

Sniderus’ preference: It refers to learning styles invelving an individual's natural habitual, preferred ways of absorbing, processing and retaining new information and skills There are two types of learning styles related to second language learning:

+ Perceptual leaning styles include learning through the eyes (visual), Ihrough the ears (aural) and through touch and body movement (hap tic)

- Cognitive leaning stytes: ficldindspendence and ficld-dependencs, reflectivity and

impulsivity and ambiguity toleranec

Students’ heliefs: Loarnars have strong beliefs aboul, how their language instruction shontd

be delivered or expectations of how class s should be organized and ianght, “These bel are usually based on previous Icarning cxporicnces and the assumption ight or wrong)

11

that a particular type of instruction is the best way for them to lear,” Lightbown (1999: 59), Hence; teachers should help leamers expand their repertoire of learning strategies and thus develop greater flexibility in their ways of approaching language leaming

Students’ lack of confidence: Leamer’s motivation can strongly deorease depending on

how much confidence learner’s lack As a result, when a learner lacks confidence toward

the language they are learning and the environment they are in, they can easily get anxiety which not only de-motivate them but also is related to proficiency as suggested by Clemen,

Dorneyi and Noel (1994)

Aptitude: According to Lightbown & Spada (1999:53), aptitude is the factor that “predicts

whether individuals become efficient leamers of foreign language in a classroom setting”

An aptitude is an innate Aptitude comprises different types of abilities: auditory ability

(the ability to identify and memorize new sounds), grammatical sensitivily (the ability ta

figure oul grammatical rules fromm language samples, the ability to understand the function

of particular words in sentenags) and memiry (tle abilily lo memorize new words)

1.2.3.2, The teacher-related factors

also needs to be clearly aware of leamers’ needs, their motivalion and

learning process

12

Moreover, when the teacher shows that ther expectations are put on students” abilities, they are more likely to reach higher levels of achievement and feel more confident Learners tend to perform at the level that is consistent with the teacher’s belief and expectations

Teaching methods: Besides, the teacher's teaching techniques and activities are of great

impact on learners’ motivation Without proper techniques and activihes in the learning

process, learners could be left in confusion and boredom while dealing with the subject matter That is why the teachsr should invest more time and efforts in designing and Processing teaching materials as well as in findings out appropriate techniques and activities that con best, facilitate learners in thoir Isarning For example, in listening, (caching

I methods of ong lesson cam be different, they depend an three stages: 3

learning styles to help students retain information and strengthen understanding

Enthusiasm: Teachers' love, dedication and passion together with their commitment toward

the subject matter will give studeris willingness lo pursue knowledge Moreover, based on

Good & Brophy (1994), teachers should clearly identify reasons for their love and interest

in the L2 and then share these reasons with their students

Ability io listen and pay attention to students: The teacher can convey his/ her personal

attention to the students by remembering thei names, smiling at them, asking them about

their lives outside school

Teacher's competence: Il refers ta teachar’s proficiency, social and cullurat background knowledge The proficiency shows by the level of mastering and using the socond himguags, the ability to perform teachers” mastery suitably to the content of cach lesson Social and cultural background knowledge is known with the understanding of socicty and culture in both the second language community and the mother tongue community and shown in teaching

13,

1,2.3.3 Learning conditions

Physical conditions, Physical conditions m the classroom include the classroom size, chairs, desks, table, lights, boards and even bulletin boards afifzct students’ motivation either positively or negatively The decoration (poster, flowers, funny objects) also has a

strong influence on the classroom atmosphere Moreover, according to Domyei (2001: 42),

personalizing the classroom can be seen as students exercising increasing control over their

environment

Besides, noise and quality of listening facilities might cause students’ listening become challenging Noise including both background noises on the recording and environmental noises, can take the listener’s mind off the content of the listening passage Furthermore, listening material on tape or radio lacks visual and aural environmental clues Not sesing the speaker’s borly language and facial expressions makes il more difficult Cor the Hislener

lo understand the spoaker’s meaning, Moreover, unclear sonnds resulting from poor

quality cquipment oan interfsre wilh the listence’s comprehension

Classroom atmosphere: Teacher must be aware of how important to crcate a pleasant and supportive classroom atinosphere, The teacher's rapport with the students, the students’ relationship with each other and the noum of tolerance will help students feel safe and comfortable taking risk, Moreover, teacher should make students know that making mistakes is a natural part of leaming Therefore, students are encouraged to express therr own opinion and thinking As Lightbown & Spada (1999), they state that the supportive and non- threatening atmosphere made a contribution to learners' motivation

Learning materials; One of the most important factors that influence the leamer’s motivation is learning materials, Interesting, relevant, and carefully-designed materials will surely more motivate studemts in learning the subject matter For example, students will easily lose their interest in dealing with reading text containing too many new words, complex strictures and ambiguous ideas And if the content of the reading is nothing relevant to the lopic al hand of the lesson, sindenis are definitely wminteresied in working with iL Tn addition, the lack of diversification in tasks used also makes sludents reluctant to fully engage with the learning activity

14

1.3 Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam

The impact of motivation in foreign language leaming has been recognized significantly by many educational researchers

Gardner (1985), Domyei (2001), Brown (1994) ete, have generated the concept of motivation, its effects in foreign language Jeaming and applicable strategies for improving leamers’ motivation in class In the light of their researches, teachers are able to answer the question how to motivate learners for success and their findings encourage or support educational researchers to do more research in different aspects of language teaching

Sakai and Kikuchi (2009) investigated 6 factors from reviewing previous studies of de- motivation in leaming, concluding teachers, characteristics of classes experiences of failure, class environment, class materials, and lack of interest They administrated a 35- ilem questionnaire to 656 Japanese high school students and identified the following sourees of de-motivation: 1) Learning contents and materials, 2) Teachers” competsnee and

leaching style, 3) Inadequate schaol facilities, 4) Lack of intrinsie motivation, anid 5) Test scores, In contrast to both previous studics, teachcr-related factors were not the most do- motivating factors, that learning contents and materials and test scores are the prominent de-motivating factors for various students,

Kikuchi (2011) conducted a research among 1334 Japanese senior high school students al Thigh schools The questionnaire was used as the data instrument The de-motivation was found from these sources: students’ difficult experience or loss of interest in leammg In addition, influence from teachers also causes de-motivation and material focusing on difficult reading passage and/or vocabulary causes the strongest sense of de-motivation Kikuchi’s study also reviews on de-motivation and de-motivators of previous study in detail ‘he questionnaires he used depend on analysis of other study and chose the most effective points such as from Domyei, Oxford and Gardner Llis study is one part of the background for this study Iowever, only questionnaire was used If there were interviews

with sludenls, the deeper information could be collected fror students

Relating to factors affecting students’ motivation to study English, Tuyen, N.T (2012) cid research on “factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao high school” ‘the researcher uses a questionnaire of two parts and interview as the data

collection The study revealed that students lacked listening strategies, but teachers didn't teach those listening strategies regularly ‘leachers had to face in teaching listening was that students lacked language knowledge and vocabulary Moreover, learning environment and learning facilities also badly affected teaching and learning listening

Another study conducted by Huong, N-I1 (2010) to investigate non-majors’ motivational factors in learning English listening at Hai Phong private university Participants were 186 English non - major students at ‘TOLIC level 2 in total of 1078 students from seven different classes The data was collected using a survey questionnaire in Likert Scale paltern Afler analyzing five learners’ related factors, the findings showed that the effect of

cach factor on students’ motivation was different whilz, for cach factor, the ideas were

1.4, Summary

In this chapter, motivation has not been paid more attention fom Vietnamese students and researchers From the factual contexts that the researcher works in and finds the matter interesting and necessary, this study aims to measure the factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in leaming English listening skills at CLT

Among the faclors identified by previous researchers and depending on the context of teaching and learning English at CIT, the researcher wants to put emphasis on the following factors; the teacher-related factors, the student-related factors, and learning,

conditions

16

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This chapter doals with the setting of the study, participants, instrument for collecting dala and data collection procedures

2.1 The setting of the study

The study was conducted at College of Industrial Techniques It is located in the center of Bac Giang city, a motmlainus province of Vietnam The main duty of this college is to train and faster thousands of managers, highty qualified teckmictans and skitled workers for (he counby in general and the province in particular

‘The teaching of English at CIT is divided into two phases In the first phase, students acquire Generel English with the four language skills through New English Kile

Llementary course hook by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig, Paul Seligson,

published by Oxford University Press The course book consists of 09 units with 09

English is tive 45-minute periods per week in 15 weeks for each semester,

AL CIT, six teachers take charge of teachings Basic English, Among them, four have Master, Degree and the tes! hold a bachelor dogrec in Fnglish Language Teaching Two of them have more than thrse years teaching experience