Luận văn factors affecting motivation in learning speaking english of grade 10 students at thanh ba high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES woftc PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING

SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT

TIHANTI BA THIGH SCHOOL ( Nhiing yéu té ảnh hướng tới động lực học nói tiếng Anh của

hoc sinh lép 10 trwéng THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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PHAN THI THỦY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING

SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT

THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

( Những yêu tỗ ảnh hướng toi dong lực học nói tiếng Anh của

hoc sinh lop 10 rwéng THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Field: English Tcaching Mcthodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr Duong Thi Nu

HANOI - 2016

DECLARATION

Title:

Factors affecting motivation in learning speaking English of Grade 10 students

at Thanh Ba [igh School

I certify that the thesis is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at

any olher urnversily or Lerliary institution

Lanoi, 2016

Phan Thị Thủy Linh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been accomplished with the help and encouragement of many

people to whom | would like hereafter to express my deep appreciation

First and foremost, I would like to express my great attitude to my supervisor,

Dr Duong ‘hi Nu for her invaluable inspiration, assistance and guidance during the time I tried to camplete this paper

I am thankful to all lecturers and staff of the Post-Graduate Department of

University of Languages and International Studies, Viemam National University for

their scientilic knowledge, guidance and enthusiasm during my course

Lam greatly indebted to my students from class 10A1 to class LOAS and my

colleagues at Thanh Ba high school for their participation and assistance without

which this study could not have been successful,

And my hearlfell thanks are due to my dear family members who are always beside me to support and encourage me to fulfill my study.

to speak and overcome the difficulties they face with in teachings speaking,

‘This survey study was carried out with the combination of qualitative method

and quantitative method with some kinds of research instruments: queslionnatres for

students and teachers, follow-up interviews and class cbscrvations

The findings shows that grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school are not

only extinsically, mstrumontally but also intrinsically and inlegratively motivated

Besides, their motivation in speaking is affected much by the factors coming from

students’ themselves, teachers and leaming condition Based on theoretical

background of motivation and speaking, the researcher’s knowledge, expericnce and observation in teaching speaking, some recommendations for motivating

students to speak were suggested such as promoting students’ internal factors,

selung up a co-operauve alinosphere im class, applying varying speaking activiues,

combining different materials or changing teachers’ characteristics ‘Lhe researcher

believes thal these recommendations will be of help for high school English

teachers in gencral and for English teachers at Thanh Ba high schoo! in particular,

iii

PART B DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning, Hee seed

1.1.1 DeBnitlen of motivation ke ke wee 4

2.5.1 Survey Questionnaires .— — — sree 1B

3.1 Results trom students` pre- treatment and post-treatrcnt qucstionnaires 21 3.2 Results trom teacher’s survey questionnaire (Post-treatment) S37

CHAPTER 4, MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND

4.1.1 Types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school

+2

4.1.3 Speaking, motivational activities and techniques employed by teachers and

42 Recommendations for motivating students lo speak English in class 45

4.2.4 Sclting up a co-operative atmosphere in class 47

4.2.6 Recogmizing lhe polential value of available facilities of the school and (he

4.2.7 Being enthusiastic, tolerant, helpful, creative and active 40

PART C CONCLUSION

REFRERIINCES ke ke ke see BZ

British Broadcasting Corporation

Commumicalive Language Teaching Frequency modulation

Second Language Sccond Language Acquisition

Voice of America

vi

TISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS,

1 of Lables

‘Table 1.Reason for types of motivations TH se TH se seco 22

Table 2 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class cece 30

Table 3 Factors preventing students’ speaking process al

‘Table 4, Factors encouraging students to speak

Table 5 What teachers do to motivate students to take part in speaking activities 34

Table 6 Teacher’s opinions on sludenls’ motivation of the speaking slages 37

‘Table 7 Problems teachers facing in teaching speaking ¬— cece 38 Table 8 Activities applied by teachers by frequency 39

‘Table 10 Activities applied by the teachers and students’ preferences vee XV

Table 11 Speaking activities applied by teachers XIX

2 List of charts

Chart 1 Students’ average marks in the first semester ¬— cece DI

Chart 2 Stuslents’ perceived importance of English 24

Chart 3 Students’ aptitude to learn English speaking ¬— cece DS Chart 4 Students’ attitude to leam Linglish speaking, 226 Chart 5 Students’ effort in leam English speaking 7 Chart 6 Students" desire to learning speaking, ¬— cece BT Chart 7 Students` interest in speaking Inglish ¬— —-

Chart 8 Students’ frequency of speaking English in class time 29

Chart 9 Students" reluotat of speaking English ¬— cece BD

vũ

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Nowadays, English is widely known as the major language of intereormmunication, international commerce and business, science and technology and so on ‘Therefore, people with good English proficiency are extremely needed in any fields of society

As a result, there has heen a positive trend of teaching and leaming English across

the country People, from children to adults, learn Bnglish with different purposes

In general, despite deriving from different purposes, every one wants to tum

English Lo become their own instrument in their lives

In the process of teaching and leaming ¥inglish, there are many factors affecting the suecess of language learners such as attitude, age, personality, motivation and so on, among which motivation plays ar imporlant role Researchers on motivation have pointed out that Jeamers who are highly motivated can learn a foreign language

better than those who are not and vice versa

With some years of experionce in leaching English in some foreign language cenler and two years of experience in teaching nglish at high school, I have realized that

molivalion is one of the key factors that delerraine students’ success or failure m

language learning For teaching and learmmg speaking skill, the great impact of

motivation is not an exception Although motivation in learning English is not a

new topic, it still is an unsolved problem of Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba High school ‘this is the reason why | choose studying on factors affecting motivation in speaking English of grade 10 students as the topic for my minor thesis This study

will examine types of motivation that students have in speaking and point out some

factors that affect their motivation to speak It also investigates the activities and

techniques applied by teachers, students’ preferences and demands, and some

difficulties teachers faced m leaching speaking The researclier hopes thal this study

will figure out a conorcte picture of motivation in speaking English of grade 10

students at Thanh Ba high school and it will be of help for teachers who want to

increase students’ molivalion in speaking English leaning

2 Aims of the study

‘The aims of the study are to investigate the factors affecting motivation in leaming speaking English of the 10® grade students al Thanh Ba high school Some main purposes covering the study are summarized as follows:

(1) To point out some factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English (2) To give some suggestions for teachers to stimulate students in speaking English and overcome the difficulties they have to face with in teaching speaking Hnglish for prade 10 students

3 Research Questians

1 What are the factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking Linglish?

2 What have teachers done to motivate students in learning speaking English?

4, Methods of the study

‘To carry out the study, qualitative method was mainly used with two instruments: a

follow up interview and an informal observation All the comments, remarks,

recommendations and corichasion provided in the study were based on the data analysis of the study

Tn addition, 10 make the data collected more rehable and authentic, quantitative

mothed was applicd The data collected for the study come from two sources: the 10" grade students and all teachers of nglish at ‘fhanh La high school

Survey questionnaires, two for students (pre- and post- treatment questionnaires)

and one for teachers, were used to gather information and evidence for the study

5, Scope of the study

Studying motivation and its effects on the second language have been paid attention

to by many researchers so far ‘his study only investigates the factors affecting motivation in speaking English of grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school

Recause of the limited Lime and within an M.A tnmor thesis, Ihe researcher intends

to make a brief view of the current situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill of the 10" grade students at Thanh Ba high school; identifies factors

allocting their speaking stimulation, exantines techniques and activities used by

teachers and students’ profereneos and demands, then suggests some recommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak linglish and overcome difficulties in leaching speaking

6 Significance uf the sludy

First, the information about types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students in this minor thesis is believed to be useful for the teachers of English in general and teachers of English at ‘Thanh Ba high school in particular Second, idemifying some factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking Inglish, pointing out students’ preferences and demands to activities and techniques applied by teachers are believed to be helpful for all teachers when teaching speaking ‘Ihird, giving some recommendations for teachers to motivate students to speak English and overcome obstacles and difficulties in leaching speaking is expected to be beneficial

7 Design of the study

The study is divided into three parts: the Introduction, the Development and the Conelusion

Part A: Introduction- deals with the rationale, aims, scope, methods, significance and design of the study

Part B: Development: consists of three chapters

Chapter I- Theoretical background- is intended to give some theoretical background related to motivation and speaking

Chapter 2- Methodology- presents the situation analysis, participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures

Chapter 3- Data analysis- analyses collected data

Chapter 4 Major findings, discussions and recommendations

Part C: Conclusion is a review of the study, suggestions for further research and litnitations of the study

PART B DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning

1.1.1 Definition of motivation

Molivalion is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positive

correlation with second language achicyoment and proficiency Tho motivated

learners are usually more active in learning, while unmotivated leamers are mare

likely lo cause classroom disturbances However, motivation is oxiremely difficult

to define and measure In Atkinson’s point of view (cited in Arnold, 2000:13),

motivation is a term used to describe what “energizes” a person and what directs his aetrvily Whils Domyei and Otto regarded motivation as a fimetion of a person's thought and defined it as ‘the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a person

that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive

and the motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, priontized, operationalized and acted out’(cited in Domyei, 2001: 9) In his word, Lillis stated

that “motivation involves the attitudes and effective states that influence the degree

of effort, thal Iearmers make to leam an 1.2” (Fllis, 1997: 75) Similarly, Brown

(2000: 160) indicated that ‘motivation is some kind of intemal drive which pushes

someone to do things in order to achieve something’

Tl can be seen that different researchers approach motivation delimtien im dillerent

ways Ilowever, they all share the same point of view that motivation combines

effort and desire plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination of internal and external influcnees Thus rescarcl, therefore, will follow the definition of

motivation proposed by Gardner (1982; 132- 147) that motivation is perceived to be

composed of three clements inchiding effort, desire and alfecl Effort refers to the

time spent studying the language and the drive of the leamer Desire indicates how much the leamer wants to become proficient in the language, and affect illustrates

the tcarner’s emotional reavtions with regard to language study

1.1.2 Types of motivation

According to the point of view of many previous researchers, motivation can be

divided into three types: Integrative and instrumental motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and resultative motivation,

Tirstly, about integrative motivation, Falk (1978), Finegan( 1999:568) and Lambert

(1974:98) shared the same conception that integrative motivation is the desire to

become familiar with or even integrate into the target language culture, whereas, instrumental motivation is something which concems ‘the practical value and

advantages of learting a new language’ (Lambert 1974: 98+ cited in Bllis, 1997

such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material, translation work or achieving higher social slalus

Secondly, motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic Intrinsic motivation refers to the fact of doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from

participation (Deci and Ryan, 1985), for its own sake, lor the enjoyment it provided

Contrary to intruisic motivation, extrinsic motivation is what comes from outside

such as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear Cor pumshment, Schuly (1991-18)

said that the concept of cxtrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which the

learning environment (ie the teacher, materials, curriculum, learning tasks ete.)

Lastly, resultative motivation refers to the result of learning In terms of this,

Hermann (1980) stated that ‘it is success that contributes to motivation rather than

vice-versa’ (cited in Lillis, 1997) and [illis (1997) has the same point of view: ‘the

relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one A high level

of motivation does stimulate leaning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goals

can help to maintain existing motivation and even create new types.’

To sum up, mmy point of view, students’ motivation can be divided into wo mam

types as oxtrinsic, mstrumental and intrinsical or integrative motivation _In some

cases, resultative motivation are both of them depending on students’ desire

1.1.3 Factors affecting motivation in 1.2 learning

1.1.3.1 Some previous researches on motivation

Garden, R M I (2013) Factors affecling students’ acadsnnc motivation to achieve

Excellence in Level 1] NCHA English (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy) University of Otago

Ibrahim Abdelrahim Ibrahim Humaida (2012) Motivation to Learn English among

College Students in Sudan, , Faculty of Arts & Science-labarjal, Aljouf University, King Saudi Arabia

Naghmeh Babace (2012) Molivation in Learning English as a Second Language,

University of Manitoba

Nhung, N.T.M (2003) Motivation and Factors Affecting Motivation in Leaming

Fnglish Wrilig ol the Freshmert al ihe Department of Fnglish and Anglo-

American culture, VNU-CFL Unpublished MA Dissertation CFL-VNU

Ratanawalee Wimolmas, A Survey Study of Motivation in English Language

Learmng of First, Year Undergraduate Students al Sirmdhom International Tistitule

of 'echnology (SLT), Thammasat University, ‘hailand

Although there are many previous researches on motivation and factors affecting

motivation in learning English, the studies focus on other subjects as the furst year students, or students of non-Linglish majors and scope of the study is focus on

writing skill or motivation in leaming in general That the reason why this study

was carried to find out clearly factors affecting motivation in learning, especial in speaking English skill

1.1.3.2 Dornyei’s extended motivational framework

Domyei (2001:112- 113) analyzed L2 leaming motivation within a framework of

three levels, which offers a vast list of motivational components,

(1) Language level involves factors related to the 1⁄2 such as the cullure, the

community as well as practical values and benefits connected with leaning L2.

(2) The learner level involves individual characteristics that the camer brings to

the leaming process ‘hese characteristics include learners’ self- confidence,

soll ollicacy, need for achievements, causal attributions, the perecived 1.2

competences, and goal orientations and so forth

(3) Leaming situation level is associated with situation- specific motives of L2

learning within a classroom and it is divided into three aspects The first is

course- specific motivational components which are related to the syllabus, the teaching materials, the teaching method and the leaming tasks The

second is Leacher- specific motivational components which concern the

motivational impact of the teacher’s personality, behavior and teaching style And the third is group- specific motivational components which are

rel

ted Lo thc group dynamics of the learner group

1.1.3.3 Williams and Burden’s framework of the L2 motivation

Williams and Burden (1997) analyzed L2 learning motivation in a framework of

two factors: inlernal and external Tnternal Jactors encompass various comportenis such as intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency,

mastery, self- concepl, attitudes, developmental age, stage and gender and other

atfcetive states (confidence, amxicty, fear) External factors include significant

others (parents, teachers and peers); the nature of interaction with significant others (mediated leaming experiences, the nature and amount of feedhack rewards, the nature and amount of appropriate praise, punishments and sanctions}, the leaming environment (sense of comfort, resources, time of day, week, year, size of class and

school, class and school ethos) and the broader context (which includes wider and

family networks, local education system, conflicting interests, cultural norms and

societal expectations and attitudes) (Cited in Dornyei, 2001: 114)

1.1.3.4 Factors affecting student motivation in 1.2 learning

There have becn some studies on the factors affecting students’ motivation in learning a foreign language so far Above are two L2 motivation frameworks that

reler to some factors such as language level, leaner level, learning situalion level

a

(Dernyei, 2001) and internal and external factors (Williams and Burnden, 1997) Although researchers have had some different views in this issue, they all have

come to an agreement with a list of common factors affecting students’ motivation,

‘These factors can be divided into three groups: teacher's factors, students’ factors and leaming condition factors

« Students’ factors

The first factors are students” intelligence and aptitude Intelligence, according to

Lightbown and Spada (1999: 52), refers to ‘performance on certain kinds of test?

and aptitude is something which ‘involves both underlying language learning

capacily and a capasily lo handle deconlextualived language’ (Fllis, 1997: 522)

Lightbown and Spada also point out that language aptitude is usually described as a combination of four factors: (1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds, (2) the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, (3) the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples and (4) the ability to

memorize new words (1999: 53)

The second is students’ personality In the eyes of many language teachers the

personality of the students constitutes a major factor contributing to success or

failure in language learning Ellis (1997) has proved that extroverted leamers are

advaniaged in the development of the kind of language associaled with basis

interpersonal communication skills and that extroverted leaners may also be more

likely to participate actively in oral communication (1997: 523) Shared the same

vicw with Blhs, Lighthown ard Spada list a mamber of personality characteristics that have a great influence on the success of second language learners: extroversion,

inhibition, self- esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness

(1999: 54- 55)

‘The third factor is learners’ age Children are believed to be better than adults in

acquiring an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native- like fluency

in particular Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn the

syntax and the vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like

pronunciation 1s impossible for them Also, they coneluded that younger leamers have a greater chance of attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learners imay show (aster progress al the beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young

ones in the end

The fourth factor is learning style The term ‘learning style’ refers to the

characteristic ways in which individuals orientates to problem- solving Keefe

(1979) defined learning style as ‘the characteristic cognitive, affective and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners

perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment Leaming style

is a consistent way of functioning that reflects underlying causes of behavior’ (cited in Ellis, 1997: 199)

The last factor is learners’ belicl! Most Icamers have strong belicfs about how

languages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered Little, Singleton

and Silvius found out ‘past experience, both of education in general and of

language learning in particular, played a major role in shaping alludes Lo

language leaming’ (cited in Hllis, 1997 478- 479)

* Teacher’s factors

Teacher plays an important role in students’ learning motivation As a matter of

fact, some Leacher’s [actors and appropriale teacher behaviors will increase sludents

a powerful ‘motivational tool’, Alison (1993) slated thal (cacher’s behavior could

“persuade” or ‘attract’ students to engage in on- task behaviors (cited in Doryei 2001: 120) “The teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports

students’ learning ctforts Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks

because they know that they will not be cmbarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake’ (Good and Brophy, 1994 - cited in Domyei, 2001: 121)

Secondly, teacher's good relationship with the student is also a key clement of motivation in student learning ‘The teacher should establish the relationship of mutual trust and respect with students This relationship also involves finding opportunities to talk with them on a personal level and letting them know that teachers have thought about them and thet their individual effort is recognized

3001: 120)

(Domysi,

The third factor is teacher’s enthusiasm Csikventmhalyi (1997) said that teachers

needed to be ‘enthused and involved in the teaching process and in the material they are teaching’ (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 178) Csikzentmihalyi also points out that onlhusiastic teachers are the ones who love whal they are doing, who show by heir dedication and their passion that make students willing to pursue knowledge (cited

in Dornyei, 2001: 177- 178)

The last factor is teacher's commitment to the students’ academe progress

Teachers should care for what thew students have leamt and succeeded (Dornyei,

2001) They should also offer concrete assislanl, responding immediately when help

is requested, correcting tests, arranging extra- assignments and se on

in short, teacher’s attitude, behavior as well as the general level of their

commitment towards the students, their learning and their subject matter, constitute some of the most prevailing influences on student motivation Dornyei says that

‘teachers are the designated leaders of the class group’ and therefore, they cannot

lack their responsibility for maintaining their own commitment to the teaching

process because the lack of this responsibility will cause ‘psychological absence’ from teaching process, which is the fastest way to undermine the motivational base

of the learners

¢ Teaching and learning condition

Teaching and leammg condition involves classroom atmosphere and physical

condition “A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere will create motivation,

ñ† encourages students to cxpress their opimions and thinlang, Maclntyre (1999) and Young (1999) pointed out that students” anxiety created by a tense classroom

climale was one of the most potent factors that undermined learning cllecliveriess

and L2 motivation (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121)

Physical conditions are important, too Physical conditions refer to something in

classroom such as classroom’s size, classrooms facilities (chairs, desks, tables,

electric facilities ), Hammer (1992) stated that physical conditions had great impact on students’ leaming as well as their attitude towards the subject matter

Physical condition affects both teacher and studenls’ motivation The large class,

the poor facilities will decrease the relationship between teacher and students, and

as a result, will decrease motivation

1.2 Theoretical backgraund vf speaking in L2 learning

1.2.1 Detinition of speaking

Florez (1999) defined speaking was ‘an interactive process of constructing meaning

thal involves producing and receiving and processing imformatiow’ (cited in Balley, 2005: 2) In other words, ‘speaking consists of producing systematic verbal

ullerances lo convey meaning’ (Balley, 2005-2) Bygale (1997) stated that speaking,

was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill Speaking is

in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted In his own view, Mackey (1965) shows that ‘oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right

pattems of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the

right order to convey the right meaning’(cited in Bygate, 1997: 5) To sump up,

speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one’s feelings or thinking by oral words

1.2.2 Approaches tu the Leaching af speaking

There are three approaches the teaching speaking: the Grammar- translation method, The Direct Method and Audiolingualism and Communicative Language

Teaching

In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to translate from one language to another ‘his method is not consistent with the goals

of anercasing English leamers’ [ueney, oral production, or conmmunicalive competence The Direct Method strongly influenced the development of the Audiolingual Method Speaking is taught by having students repeat sentences and

recite memorized dialogues from the textbook Because two above methods did not

lead to fluent and effective communication in real- life situations, the

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) evoked The goal of language teaching

im the light of CLT is learner- centeredness to develop commuricalive compelence

which is an essential element to raise leamers’ motivation in language leaming CLT favors interaction among small numbers of leamers with a purpose to maximize the lime cach learner learns and uses languages, shares information and

negotiates meaning CLI features more interaction- based activities, such as rele-

plays and information gap tasks Pair work and group work are typical

organizalional features of interaction- based lessons im CT.T

In summary, among some approaches of the language teaching methods mentioned

above, CLT is the most appropriale way Lo teach students lo comnumicale My

munor thesis is about factors affecting students’ motivation to speak English in class, 30 what I have to find out are what affecting students in speaking linglish and how to motivate them to speak English better In terms of speaking skill, I think that CLY is one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to speak in second language Therefore, I have decided to choose CLT not any other method to teach

speaking and doing my treatment of the study

1.2.3 The roles vf the teacher in different stages of Leaching speaking

Byme, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, the

prachce slage and the production one In each stage, Ihe role of the leacher 1s

different

At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role, introduces

something new to be leamed, and is at Ihe contr of the slage Al the practive stage,

the tcacher is like the skillful conductor of an orchestra, giving cach of the performers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that it is salislactory Al the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of manager and guide Students are given opportunities to use language freely and express their own ideas

1.2.4.1 Motivation in the classroom setting

Lightbown and Spada (1999; 57- 58) stated that the content is interesting and relevant lo their age and level of ability, where the learning goals was challenging yet manageable and clear, and where the atmosphere was supportive and non-

threatening, teachers could make a positive contribution to students’ motivation to

learn Two researchers replicated findings from studies by Graham Crookes and Richard Schmit (1991) and pointed out some pedagogical practices for teachers to motivate students in classroom setting: Motivating students at the opening stages of lessons, remark teachers make about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels

of interest on the part of the students, Varying the activities, tasks and materials, Using co- operative rather than competitive goals: students must work together in order to complete ø task or solve problem These techniques will increase the self-

contfidenee of students, including weaker ones.

1.2.4.2 Factors affecting students unwilling to speak in classroom

‘Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors affecting the reluctance of the student to speak up in class: students’ perecived low proficiency in English, students’ fear of

mustakes and derision, teachers’ intolerance of silence, uneven allocation of turns

and incomprehensible input(cited in Nunan, 1999: 234) In his investigation, Oxford

(1998) also stated some factors that decrease students’ motivation in classroom: The

teacher’s personal relationship with the students, the teacher's attitude, stvle

conflicts between teachers and students about the amount of structure and conflicts aboul the amount the degree of closure or ‘seriousness’ of the class, the nature of

the classroom agtivities, including irrelevance, overload and repetitiveness (cited in Domyei, 2001: 146) In summary, although two researchers give many different

I tors, Wo mmght be galhered in three factors group as students’ factors, Leachers”

factor and learning condition’s factors

1.2.4.3 Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking

According to Nunan (1999), there are some preconditions [or cfTective motivation

such as; supportive environment( including orderly classroom, teacher’s classroom

inanagementt skill; students’ comfortable feet in taking risks, feedback is posilive),

appropriate level of difficulty, meaningful learning (meaningful activities, the clear relationship between activities and objective), strategies and content( students can

relate content to own experience; tapies are interesting) (Nunan, D 1999: 235)

In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge related to the topic of the study It has discussed some concepts and ideas

conceming to the issue of motivation in general and motivation in L2 study in

particular Besides, some different aspects related to speaking were also discussed, especially some aspects related to factors affecting students’ speaking motivation.

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 The setting of the study

The study was conducted al Thatth Ba high school, a rural school ef Phu Tho

province Currently, there are ten teachers of English, 30 classes and over 1350 students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12 Most of students come from villages and town in the distriel Like other high schools in Vielnam, Friglish was taught here as a compulsory subject However, the teaching of Knglish, especially for

Grade 10 has met some difficulties The first difficulty is that English is not paid much attention by most of students in school because one- fifth of the tenth grade

students wish to take university entrance exam in Lnglish Ihe second is teachers

have to teach in the large size classes with at least 15 students for each class

Therefore, tachors will face with some problems in monitoring work, giving

feedback, setting up communicative tasks as well as paying attention to all students

during class time The third is most of the students are not familiar with teaching in

Fnglish They say thal they do uot understand if all English lessens are taughL in English They also feel quite uncomfortable and pressured when using English to

express themselves The last is the lack of materials for reference and self- study

Thore is a hbrary al schoot bul thore are nol any books, English newspapers and magazines for reference Moreover, some facilities needed for learning such as

compulers, projeclors are nol enough There are no language labs and library

Intemet for students, too

1n school year 2015- 2016, the students at ‘'hanh Ba high school continue to take

part in new syllabus which was designed following communicalive approach Tt required students not only expert in doing grammar exercises but also in practicing muiti- skills Normally, there are only three periods (135 minutes) of studying

English every week Yet, it is not enough for the students to practice and develop

their skills as well as to enrich their background knowledge, vocabulary and structure capacity What’s more, English is hardly used to talk outside class As a

Tesull, these faclors may affect students’ motivation in teaming English especially

15

in loarnmg English speaking So, it 1s advisable for the teachers to employ various techniques to arouse students’ interest in learning Linglish speaking ‘They, then, may improve their speaking skill and olher language skills

2.2 Subjects

* Grade 10 students

Grade 10 students, both male and female, had similar backgrounds, come from

villages or town, finished secondary school with 4 years of leaming English

Tho students under itiwestigation have just finished the lirst Lerm ol grade 10 school

‘year Although they have had for over four years of leaning Hnglish, their English

proficiency has been very low Tt can nol deny that most students wanl to learn

English well, but their condition, learning environment and their capacity do not

allow them to do so About two third of them are from farmer families so that their

lives are rather poor so it is not equipped enough for leaming Moreover, outside class time, they often help their families with farming and housework so often have little time for extra-leaming and doing homework Added to that, their parents do

not take care of children’s study enough Besides, learning environment is very

important, too When being asked why students at ‘'hanh Ba high school are not good at English, most of the teachers agree that they do not have good environment

Fnglish seems never lo be used outside class Furthermore, in English lessons,

English is used much by teachers and good students The others are lazy or reluctant

to talk because they have no effort and aim to learn Some are afraid of talking as

they [bar lo make mistakes and lose face, and sometimes they [car lo gel bad marks and be paid bad attention from teachers By and large, students have few chances to

practice English and to speak it out

« Teachers

Thanh Ba high school consists of ten teachers of English aged from 24 to 56 All of

them have been teaching at school for at least two years ‘hey have got the University Bachelor’ Degree in English and Certificate of English Language

Proficiency Level B2 and C1 As rural teachers, they have few opportunities to

upgrade their teaching and do not have a lot of teaching facilitics and materials to help their work, Despite all these disadvantages, they are helpful, friendly and dedicalod leachers Most of them want to devote ther whole lives for leaching

‘They all have a great desire to acquire Inowledge of how to teach Kuglish well as well as how to widen their Inglish background, Also, they are always willing to help their students tackle with difficulties in learning

2.3 Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at

‘Thanb Ba high school

As mentioned in chapler 1, CLT method is applied in leaching speaking English al

‘Thanh Lda high school as the way to increase students’ motivation l'ollowing are some communicative activities and techniques that the researcher have used during her doing treatment: cncouraging students to work in pairs, groups and individual, using some techniques for developing speaking skills, combining textbook and relevant materials, giving feedback regularly creating the co-operative atmosphere,

varyilg communticalive aclivilies, giving suggesled questions, and applying some

speaking activities such as completing dialogue practice, role play, interview, games, free discussion and problem solving, structure- based activities, making up sentences orally, question and answer oxchanges, picture description, ranking exercises, story telling, rearrangement, visual aids (pictures, maps, music, )

2.4, Participants

‘The participants for the survey questionnaires were 90 students of two classes (10

Al and 10 45} which were selected randomly from class 10 Al to class 10 ALO and

10 teachers of English These students have leat the new syllabus since they were

in Grade 6 When participating this study, they were in the second term of the school year In researcher's observation, their English proficiency and level of

iotivalion was as quile equal as others’

‘Yen teachers of the school were selected to get the objective data Among those

teachers, some have had many years of teaching (more than 10 years), some others.

have just experienced teaching for fow ycars The results from these teachers will

give objective view on students’ motivation in speaking

All participanls took parl in the survey by responding lo the two kinds of

questionnaires, two for students and one for teachers Besides, some students were

also invited to take part in a follow- up interviews in order to get a complete look

into the research issues

25 Data collection instruments

2.5.1 Survey Questionnaires

The instruments used in hs study consisted of two questionnaires: wo

questionnaires for students and one for teachers According to Bill Gillham, using

questionnaires has some advantages: low cost in time and money, easy to get

tiformation frem a let of people; respondents can complete the questionnaire when

it suits them, analysis of answers to closed questions is straightforward; less

pressure for an immediate response, respondents’ anonymity, lack of interviewer

bias, standardization of questions (bul ruc of structured interviews); van provide

suggestive data for testing an hypothesis ‘Lhe questionnaires were designed in both

close and open-ended questions The questionnaires for studenis were writlen in

‘Vietnamese to make sure that students understood all questionnaire items

2.8.1.1 Questionnaires for students

25.1 1.1 Pre-treatment questionnaire

‘This pre- treatment questionnaire was designed with three main parts with 12 questions Part I was about the students’ personal information which included

students’ gender, place of domicile and their average mark of English subject in the

first term of Grade 10 Part Ll was designed to elicit the students’ opinions about their motivation in leaming speaking English Students’ motivation was measured

wilh their aplitude, interest, attitude, desire and effort im learning Part TIT would

collect some information relating to factors affecting students’ motivation in

learning speaking English

2 5.1 1.2 Post-trcatment questionnaire

Post-treatment questionnaire encompassed 12 questions which was divided into

three parts Part T was the same as part Tin pre- ireatment questionnaire Part 17

included 8 questions which would gather information about students’ motivation changes after applying some new teaching techniques in speaking English Part III

aimed at collecting information about teacher's applying activities in teaching

speaking English and students’ preference of these aotivities

2.5.1.2 Questionnaire for teachers

The survey to the teachers wilh eight questions was aboul whal problems teachers

often faced with in teaching speaking Linglish, what they had done to motivate

students to speak it It comprised two sections: Part I was the demographic imformation, whi

Survey queslionnaires were used as the main insirument in (his study However, the

using of questionnaires also has some disadvantages: The answers may be simple and superficial, the respondents are unreliable and motivated, and may face with literacy problems, the researchers may have little or no opportunity to correct the

respondents’ mistakes and hallo effect Gwhich concerns the human tendency to

overgeneralize) (Dornyei, Z 2005: 10- 13) This is true for the study of

motivation, which is an abstract, attindinal concept Therefore, the interviews were

carried out in a following week after the post- treatment with ten participants who had considerable changes in attitude and motivation in learning speaking Lnglish

The aim of the researcher for irderviews 1s to gel better Imsighls mlo the research

questions and to discuss for further information about the items raised in the

questionnaires

The questions for interviews were compiled in a paper shcot Àll the mtervicws

were carried out in Vietnamese in the form of an informal conversation between the tesearcher and the students The dala collected [rom mlerview were recorded,

transcribed, and then translated into Hnglish for the purposes of the study

2.5.3 Class observations

Apart from the survey questionnaires for both teachers and students and the

interviews, class observations were employed to clarify and test the validity of

information about students’ motivation and their reaction to teachers’ applied techmques The observations were cared out in several English lessons before and during the treatment lor each lesson, the researcher observed in 45 minutes She

designed a checklist for what she wanted ta observe (See appendix 7) Students”

reactions towards the (cacher’s activilies, techniques and behaviors, their

participation in the activities and their feedback after the activities were all taken

notes on the spot

2.6, Data collection procedures

First, the pre-questionnaire was delivered to students at the beginning of the second

term lo measure ‘input motivation’ Afler collecting information from the pre-

questionnaire, the teachers taught the students for four months with applying the

new techniques, and then the post-questionnaire was given to students to gather

information of students’ motivation changes, students” attitudes towards techniques and activities applied by teachers and their preferences ‘the questionnaire for teacher was conducted after doing the post treatment to gather information about

teacher's attitudes towards students’ motivation in speaking and the effects of the

activities and techniques that they had applied

Besides, the class observations were carried out before and during the treatment to

check and get the data for research Finally the follow-up interview of ten

participants was carried out in the following week to get further information for the

study.

CHAPTER 3- DATA ANALYSIS

3.1 Results from students’ pre- treatment and post-treatment questionnaires

3.1.1 Personal information

The first and the second questions were to gather the participants’ information of

gender and hometown The total number of the students in the survey was 90 of

which 47 were females and 43 were males All of them came from countryside,

among them 76.7% were living in village and only 23.3% were living in town,

The next question was about participants’ experience in learning English About

78.9 % had been learning English for over 4 years (4 years at secondary school and

one semester at high school) Only 21.1 % had been learning English for over six

years because they had studied English at primary school for 2 years

3.51049 5106.4

#6.5to749 Mover 8.0

Chart 1 Students’ average marks in the first semester The subjects had finished the first semester of Grade 10 school year at high school Their average marks in English varied from 3.5 to 9.3 About 48.9% of them had marks from 5 to 6.4, 26.7% from 6.5 to 7.9, 6.6% had got over 8 Meanwhile,

17.8% got marks under 5 (from 3.5 to 4.9) It can be seen that the average marks of

the subjects were not too high, which might reflected that they had little concern to

English leaning

3.1.2 Students’ motivation in learning speaking English

3.1.2.1 Types of motivation

The researcher had mentioned some types of motivation in chapter 1 of this study

In this part, the researcher focused on such types of motivation possessed by Grade

21

10 students at Thanh Ba high school They were integrative, instrumental,

resultative, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

‘A compulsory subject in the syllabus and the final 83 92.2%

exam

Interest in English language, people and culture 19 21.1%

‘To take university entrance exam in English 30 33.3%

Table 1.Reason for types of motivations

Table 1 reveals that passing the final exam is the main reason of students’ studying

Rnglish The highest percentage (92.2%) of the studorts wanted to learn English because they thought that Inglish was one of the compulsory subjects for learning

al school and their final examination The others (33.3%) wanted to learn English

because they would take English as a main subject in the university entrance cxam

‘The future job was also the thing that students concerned 46.7 % of them thought thal English was necessary for their [uture job Clearly, these students knew the role

of English in the modern life when foreign language was considered the main

means of communication In some small talks with the researcher at break, some

sludonis revealed thal they studied English speaking only for their fulure Following are what they said:

- ¥es, I study English speaking because I see it will be necessary for my job in

the future Tl is easier to gel a good job with higher salary if our English

speaking skill is good

- I know when I study at university; I have to study English, too So, why

don’t T study il now? Though T am very busy with sludying Math, Physics

and Chonustry for my subjects of university ontrance cxam, I sometimes spend time for Lnglish

AL the same time, about 21.1% of participants answered thal they were inle

to English songs When answering the researcher's question, one interviewee said:

- Lhave studied Hnglish at secondary school | am truly fond of listening and singing English songs When I listening an English song which I understand

ifs meaning, I feel very salisfied

About 11.1% of the respondents claimed they wanted to study abroad in the future though so far they had not known whether they could achieve their wishes or not; and thal was (he reason why they Lried to study English

‘The lowest percentage of the students (6.7%) affirmed they were leaning English

because their average marks in English were higher than that in other subjects

In short, types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 slndents were quite varied The highest percentage was the students who possessed extrinsic motivation with the

teason thal they sludied English for passing the examinalion and for the

requiromonts of their teachers because English was one of their compulsory subjects

at school ‘Ihe lower percentage was the respondents with instrumental orientation These ones studied English for passing university entrance exam, getting a good job

in the future or going abroad to study ‘Lhe last one was some possessed integrative and intrinsic motivation with the underlying reasons that they studied English

because of their enjoyment for English language and culture Among these figures,

some students identified as having a combination of both intrinsic and instrumental

orientation In general, students who possessed extrinsic motivation often felt

unwilling and forced to learn English while students with instrumental and

intogrative orientation were quite cager to learn English

3.1.2.2 The changes of students’ motivation on speaking English

Question 2 How is speaking skill important to you?

As can be seen from chart 2, in pre- treatment, in general, most of students were

aware of the importance of English in their studying (the high percentage of the

respondents (43.3%) considered speaking skill quite important to them) However,

some of them (3.3%) did not admit this This was because these students learnt English with extrinsic motivation not for their interest It was, thus, the teacher's

role to find ways to stimulate the students to take part in the learning in the class

Chart 2 Students’ perceived importance of English

However, after the treatment, the number of students considered speaking very

important increased from 21.1% to 25.5% while the number of students who

underestimated the importance of speaking reduced to 6.7 % All students confirmed the important role of speaking to them in the future When talking with

the researcher, some students expressed the same opinions: “At first I learnt English

speaking in order to get oral marks only, now I am changed, I am studying it for my

future”

Question 3 How is your aptitude to learn speaking English?

Chart 3 indicates the changing of aptitude to leam speaking English between pre-

treatment and post- treatment Before the treatment, all students seemed not to

believe in their capacity of learning English 52.2% estimated their aptitude at low

level while only 8.9% believed they had high enough ability Surprisingly, the

students with high aptitude were up by 8.9% to 13.3% at the post treatment

Similarly, the number of the students believe in their aptitude increased Only the

smallest percentage of the respondents (10%) did not believe in their ability of

speaking with the thinking that they could not speak English well despite speaking

it in the simplest way When evaluating their capacity for a foreign language, they

seemed to depend on their results of this subject at the first semester and their need

Chart 3, Students’ aptitude to learn English speaking

Question 4 How is your attitude to learn English speaking?

Chart 4 Students’ attitude to lean English speaking

It can be seen from chart 4, students hold a positive attitude towards English

speaking Over half of the respondents had the positive attitude before the

treatment After the treatment, this number slightly increased The number of the students with very low attitude decreased from 15.6% to 6.7% while the student

with high one also increased to 14.4%, an increase of 10% The highest percentage

25

were also the students with OK attitude, which increased by 7.8%, from 43.3% to 51.1% In observation process, the researcher saw that students’ attitude towards leaming was quite good They all had enough basic materials and textbook and

most of them always put attention to the teacher’s lecture

Question 5 How is your effort in leaning speaking?

60%

50% + 40% -

Chart 5, Students’ effort in learning speaking

As can be seen from chart 5, in the pre- treatment, although the majority of the

students affirmed that they had positive attitude towards English speaking, their

effort in learning was still very low Over half of the respondents had low or very

low effort, only 14.5% of them had high or very high one Observations in class

also pointed out that students’ participation in speaking activities was not voluntary

Very few students took part in task completion and were willing to speak out

However, after the treatment, the most significant increase was the students with

OK effort, at 51.1% Then, the number of the high effort students also went up Noticeably, the low effort students considerably reduced, from 54.4% down to 21.1%, It could not be denied that all students realized the importance of English speaking in their study and in the future They, therefore, effort for learning English

When answering the researcher’s question in the interview, one student showed: “If

I speak English well, I will be easy to find a job in the future I think so.”

Question 6 How is your desire to learn English speaking?

The figure shown in chart 5 reveals that students’ desire to learn speaking English

slightly changed after the treatment The students with high desire rose up to 37.8%,

a little increase of 2.2%, whereas the student with OK desire increased by 4.5%,

from 34.4% to 38.9% students However, there was still the students with very low

desire, which occupied 2% of total

Chart 6 Students” desire to learn English speaking

Question 7 How much do you feel interested in speaking English in class?

parents, the need for the exam not because of their willingness, However, after

the treatment, it was interesting to note that there was a sharp increase of the

interested students in learning English speaking The number of student with quite

high interest increased from 11.1% to 45.6% Contrary to this, the number of the

respondents with little interest was down to 14.4% The rest changed

insignificantly, from 16.7% down to 7.8% for students with no interest, from 4.4%

up to 20% for highly interested students One student also expressed her opinion in

the interview: “When I started to learn English, I like it very much However, the teaching method demotivated me Now, my interest has considerably increased”

The researcher’s observation pointed out that students’ interest in English speaking

had been changed Most of them were more eager to learn

Question 8 How often do you speak English in English class time?

Chart 8 Students” frequency of speaking English in class time

The frequency of speaking English in class time also shows how much effort

students wanted to master it Chart 8 represents that only 10% of the respondents spoke English willingly whereas 35.6% spoke it rarely and 5.6% never spoke except from the teacher's requests

It was understandable that students’ changes in interest would lead to the changes in

the frequency of the participation in speaking The students who never spoke except when asked by teacher reduced to 3.3% while the students who usually spoke

increased by 25.6% The changes also happened to the number of students who

sometimes spoke in classroom with a decrease of 12.3%, from 35.6% down to 23.3% 3.1.3 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class

Question 9 Do you feel reluctant to speak English in class?

28

The figures shown in chart 9 reveals that before treatment, the majority of them (46.7%) claimed they often felt reluctant to speak, while only 7.8% of the

respondents spoke English willingly In observation, the researcher also found out

that most students did not speak English voluntarily Only when the teachers got

oral test marks or required, did they have to spoke up in front of the class When answering researcher's questions, one student said: “I don’t want to speak in class although I know class is a good environment for me to practice I don’t feel self-

confident” Shared the same idea, another student also said: “I know the importance

of speaking English in my study and future, but I don’t know why I can’t speak

willingly Indeed, I am afraid every one will laugh at me ”

Surprisingly, the number of reluctant speakers dramatically reduced after the

treatment (from 46.7% down to 24.4%) The students who like speaking increased

nearly half of the total In the follow-up interview, one student gladly said: “At first,

I felt very difficult to express my opinions in English Now, it is easier I can talk

with my friends and teachers in English.”

sometimes

often

tlike speaking very much

Chart 9 Students’ reluctance of speaking English

Question 10, Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class

There are learners’ factors, teacher’s factors and teaching and learning conditions

that make learners unwilling to speak Here I only mention two factors: learners”

factors and teacher’s factors.

‘Table 2 Factors making students reluctant to speak Linglish in class Table 2 represents the most influential factor was teacher’s boring teaching (64.4%) The second factor was the fear of mistakes and derision (62.2%) Similarly, when answering the rescarcher’s question, one interviewee said: “1 am not self-confident enough to speak in front of my teacher and classmates 1 am afraid of making mistakes.” The next one (56.7%) was the students who were not accustomed to speaking because they lacked of lnowledge background or new vocabulary but they had the habit of preferring to listen more than speak 43.3% students blamed their reluctance of speaking for low proficiency 1m English In the interview with the researchers, two students stated: “I like speaking English But I sometimes cannot find words and structures to express my ideas” Another complained: “My English knowledge is not very good That’s why I don’t speak much in class” Besides, some other students suggested that the way teachers behaved mm leaching also had a great impact on thew speaking motivation 40% complained thew teachers favored the better students when solicitmg responses That was the reason why some lower proficient students in class had few chances to speak out The smaller number of the students (36.7%) mentioned to the teacher's intolerance of silence that made them unwilling to speak Teachers often gave them Title or no wail time for speaking Afler instruction, leachers required them to speak

up immediately, which caused them pressured and stressed

Inshort, there are a variety of the factors that students had to face with These factors came from students as well as from teachers In order to be better in English speaking activities

30

in class, the changes need be done between both teachers and students Teachers change teaching methods and students change the way they leam

Question 11 Factors preventing students’ speaking process

‘able 3 Factors preventing students’ speaking process

As can be viewed from the table, 56.7% of the students could not find words or

structures to express their opinion when speaking as the result of the lack of

vocabulary and grammatical knowledge for learmng The nexl, leamers could not

find ideas for their speech (47.8 %) because most students lacked the background imowledge in English Other factors which related to teachers inchided teacher's

amerthusiasrn (33.3%), teacher's inlernuplion or anger (26.7%) and teachor’s loo

much talking time (22.2%) In researcher’s observation, she had found out that

teacher's characteristics played an important role in students’ speaking process She

followed two lessons al onc class Tn the first lesson, the teacher taught with

friendly, enthusiastic, joyful and a bit funny attitude, she realized that most students were eager to take part in lesson including even lower proficiency ones In the second, the teacher was a bil stricter wilh no smile The resulls, cerlainly, were very different Not many students wanted to participate in the lesson except from the teacher's requirements Some better students’ talking time was reduced The class atmosphere was rather quiet and all students seemed very uncomfortable It,

therefore, can be said that teacher’s factors were not the most important but the

decisive ones that maintain students’ speaking process

31