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Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking skill ……… 3.1.4.. speaking skill, the activities, methods and techniques used and then give recommendations to motiv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………

ABSTRACT ………

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS ………

PART I: INTRODUUCTION ………

1 Rationale ………

2 Aims of the study ………

3 Research questions ………

4 Scope of the study ………

5 Methods of the study ………

6 Design of the study ………

PART II: DEVELOPMENT ………

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ………

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation ………

1.1.1 Definitions of motivation ………

1.1.2 Types of motivation ………

1.1.2.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation ………

1.1.2.2 Instrumental and integrative orientations ………

1.1.2.3 Global, situational and task motivation ………

1.1.3 The importance of motivation in second language learning ………

1.1.4 Factors affecting motivation in second language learning………

1.1.4.1 Learners’ factors ………

1.1.4.2 Teachers’ factors ………

1.1.4.3 The atmosphere in the class ………

1.2 Theoretical background of speaking and the teaching of speaking skill 1.2.1 What is speaking?

1.2.2 Phases of teaching speaking ………

ii iii

iv vii

1

1-2

2

2

2 2-3

3

4

4

4

4 4-7 4-5 5-6

7 7-8

8 9-11 11-12 12-13

13 13-14 14-15

1.2.3 Key issues in teaching speaking ………

1.2.3.1 Reticence and dominance in speaking activities ………

1.2.3.2 Multi-level speaking classes students to speak in the target language………

1.2.4 Speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate …………

1.2.4.1 Speaking motivational activities ………

1.2.4.2 Techniques ………

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ………

2.1 The current situation of teaching and learning English at HUT………

2.2 Subjects of the study ………

2.3 Data instruments ………

2.3.1 Questionnaire for students ………

2.3.2 Questionnaire for teachers ………

2.3.3 Interviews ………

2.3.4 Observation ………

CHAPTER 3: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS ………

3.1 Students ………

3.1.1 Types of motivation ………

3.1.2 Students’ opinions on learning English speaking skill

3.1.3 Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking skill ………

3.1.4 Students’ opinions on what motivates them to speak English…………

3.2 Teachers ………

3.2.1 Teachers’ opinions on students’ motivation in learning English speaking ………

3.2.2 Activities and techniques applied by teachers ………

3.2.3 The teachers’ attitudes towards students who are unwilling to speak

15-16 15-16

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16 16-19 19-21

22 22-23

23 23-24

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24 24-25

26

26 26-27 27-30

30-33 33-36

36

36-37 37-40

English and error maker ………

CHAPTER 4: FINGDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………

4.1 Findings and discussions ………

4.2 Recommendations ………

PART III: CONCLUSION ………

REFERENCES ………

APPENDIXES: APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS …………

APPENDIX B: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS …

APPENDIX C: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW ………

APPENDIX D: EXTRACT FROM THE MOTIVATION ORIENTATION OF LANGUAGE TEACHING (MOLT) OBSERVATION SCHEME ………

41-42

43 43-45 45-48 49-50 51-53

I-III VII-IX

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XII

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1 List of tables

Table 1 Reasons to learn English speaking skill

Table 2 Factors making students unwilling to speak English

Table 3 Factors preventing students’ English speaking process

Table 4 Techniques to motivate students to speak

Table 5 Students’ preferences for the speaking activities

Table 6 Teachers’ opinions on students’ motivation

Table 7 Teachers’ opinions on motivating students in the speaking stages

Table 8 Forms of carrying out activities by teachers by frequency

Table 9 Speaking activities applied by teachers

Table 10 Techniques applied by teachers

Table 11 Ways applied by teachers to make good relationship with students

Table 12 Teachers’ attitudes towards reluctant speakers and error makers

2 List of charts

Chart 1 The importance of English to students

Chart 2 Students’ aptitude for learning English speaking skill

Chart 3 Students’ attitude to learning English speaking

Chart 4 Students’ effort in learning speaking

Chart 5 Students’ interest in English speaking

Chart 6 Students’ unwillingness in speaking English in class

Chart 7 Forms of carrying out activities liked most by students

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

It is a truth that English has become an international language It is widely used in many fields

of our life such as business, trade, banking, science, technology, aviation, diplomacy, etc Because of the wide spread of globalization and the rapid development of information technology, the demand for English has become more and more urgent in our life

As a result, there has been an increase in the number of people desiring to learn and master English with the hope of finding a good job, keeping up with the latest technology in the world

In Vietnam, English is taught not only at schools or colleges/ universities but also at many foreign language centers However, not all English learners succeed in learning English Some people succeed while others fail because learning a foreign language is not similar to the study

of other subjects Second language learning is affected by many factors such as motivation, learning environment, learning conditions, methods of teaching, attitude, age, etc Among these factors, motivation is considered as a key factor affecting success or failure of a second language learner Therefore, exploring ways to motivate learners is extremely important for teachers There have been many researchers investigating what factors have effects on foreign language learning or types of motivation; little has been discussed about what ways should be used to motivate learners

In many Universities in general and in Ha Noi University of Science and Technology in particular, teachers have to struggle with large class, prescribed books, limited time for formal instruction and students with low English level, etc Many teachers fail to try out communicative activities because of these factors The inhomogeneity of the students‟ English proficiency is also a barrier to the success in carrying out

communicative tasks As a result, a large number of students cannot use English to

communicative in real life This actually drives the researcher to her study namely “Ways to

Motivate the First Year Non – English Majors at Ha Noi University of Technology in Learning Speaking Skill” in order to study the current situation of teaching and learning the

speaking skill, the activities, methods and techniques used and then give recommendations to motivate the students to speak English

2 Aims of the study

The study is aimed at:

 Investigating methods, activities and techniques used by the teachers to motivate the students in speaking skill

 Recommending several activities and techniques to motivate the students to speak English

3 Research questions

In order to gain the aims mentioned above, the following questions were asked in the study:

1 What are the activities and techniques used by the teachers to motivate students in learning English skill?

2 Which activities and techniques are considered as effective tools in motivating students to speak English?

4 Scope of the study

The study will be carried out within the following scope:

As we know, motivation is a broad topic that cannot be thoroughly discussed in this paper So

in this study, the researcher will discuss one specific aspect: ways to motivate students in speaking skill The subjects for this study are 99 first year non-English majors at Ha Noi University of Science and Technology in the hope that the results of this study are representative to all Vietnamese non – English majors

5 Methods of the study

The study was planned to use a variety of methods to obtain its aims as follows:

A questionnaire was distributed to 14 teachers who are now teaching or have taught speaking skill to first year non – English majors to collect their opinions on motivation, examine speaking motivational activities, techniques used by teachers to motivate students to speak and

explore their attitudes towards students who are reluctant to speak and keep making mistakes

as well as their ways for error correction

Another questionnaire was distributed to 99 first year non-English majors to gather their opinions on speaking skill, factors affecting their motivation to speak English in class, and what activities and techniques used by the teachers

An interview was conducted with 8 students randomly selected from the survey population to explore further issues of interest

An observation was conducted at the two speaking classes to investigate the students‟ responses and attitudes on the speaking lessons as well as speaking motivational activities and techniques used by the teachers to motivate students to speak

6 Design of the study

This paper consists of three main parts

PART I INTRODUCTION presents the rationale, the aims, the research questions, the

scope, the method and the design of the study

PART II DEVELOPMENT is composed of four following chapters:

CHAPTER ONE: Literature review presents the concepts relevant to the study such as

motivation, kinds of motivation, the importance of motivation in second language learning, factors affection motivation in second language learning, the nature of speaking: definitions of speaking, the importance of speaking, phases to teaching speaking, key issues in teaching speaking, speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate students to speak

CHAPTER TWO: Methodology presents a general view of the current situation of the

learning and teaching the speaking skill, subjects of the study and research instruments

CHAPTER THREE: Data Presentation and Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR: Discussions and Recommendations

PART III CONCLUSION

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 1, Literature Review, presents some of the most significant issues in the theories of

motivation for teaching language in general and teaching speaking in particular and the nature

A similar definition of motivation was also presented by Brown (1994: 34) He states:

“Motivation is the extent to which you make choice about (a) goals to pursue and (b) the effort you will devote to that pursuit” He also claims: “motivation is something that can, like self – esteem, be global, situational, or task – oriented Learning a foreign language requires some of all three levels of motivation.”

The concept of motivation has recently been seen differently by Dornyei and Otto (1998: 65, cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9) They claims: “Motivation can be defined as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalised and acted out.”

It is obvious that motivation is difficult to define and measure because motivation is affected

by many factors such as learners‟ themselves, teachers, and teaching and learning condition, which will be discussed in detail later on

1.1.2 Types of motivation

There have been many ways to classify motivation; however, in this paper, only Brown‟s and Gardner‟s classification is mentioned because I see that their classification is greatly useful for

my study; it is also quite clear and easy to understand Firstly, Brown classifies motivation

into three kinds such as global, situational and task motivation (as cited in Brown, 1981) Then Gardner (1985) distinguished integrative and instrumental as two types of motivation/

orientations However, according to Brown (1994: 170), motivation is categorized into

intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

1.1.2.1 Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

Being concerned with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Edward Deci (1975: 23, cited in Brown, 1994: 172) defined intrinsic motivation as follows:

“Intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself People seem to engage in the activities for their own sake and not because they lead to an extrinsic reward Intrinsically motivated behaviors are aimed at bringing about

certain internally rewarding consequences, namely, feelings of competence and self – determination.”

On the other hand, “extrinsic motivation is fueled by the anticipation of a reward from outside

and beyond itself Typical extrinsic rewards are money, prizes, grades, and even certain types

of positive feedback Behaviors initiated solely to avoid punishment are also extrinsically motivated, even though numerous intrinsic benefits can ultimately accrue to those who, instead, view punishment avoidance as a challenge that can build their sense of competence and self – determination.” Edward Deci (1975: 23, cited in Brown, 1994: 172)

So which form of motivation is more powerful? Maslow (1970, cited in Brown, 2007) claimed

that “intrinsic motivation is clearly superior to extrinsic motivation He referred that

motivation is dependent on the satisfaction first of fundamental physical necessities (air, water, food), then of community, security, identity, and self-esteem, the fulfillment of which finally leads to self-actualization, or, to use a common phrase, „being all that you can be‟.‟‟

It may be concluded that intrinsic motivation brings learners more potential benefits than extrinsic motivation

1.1.2.2 Instrumental vs integrative orientations/ motivation

According to Gardner‟s view, integrative orientation concerns a positive disposition toward

the L2 group and the desire to interact with and even become similar to valued members of

that community; instrumental orientation is the utilitarian counterpart of integrative

orientation in Gardner‟s theory, pertaining to the potential pragmatic gains of L2 proficiency, such as getting a better job or a higher salary (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 49)

Relating to the importance of integrative orientation and instrumental motivation to the

success of second language learning, I will present some different views by Gardner & Lambert, Lukmani and Aiming & Aimin

Gardner & Lambert (1972 & Spolsky, 1969, cited in Brown, 2007: 170-171) suggest that

integrativeness generally accompanied higher scores on proficiency tests in a foreign language The conclusion from their studies was that integrativeness was indeed an important

requirement for successful language learning However, Lukmani (1972, cited in Brown 2007: 171) demonstrated that among Marathi-speaking Indian students learning English in India,

those with instrumental orientations scored higher in tests of English proficiency

Aiming & Aimin (2006)‟s outlook on integrative motivation is similar to Gardner & Lambert‟s They suggest that integrative motivation is considered as very powerful and has the tendency to bring about deep learning because “a learner with integrative motivation are

more active in class and will take advantage of every opportunity to satisfy the driven needs to expand and deepen knowledge.” By contrast, “an instrumentally motivated learner may stop efforts as soon as the profit disappears.” (cited in Aming & Aimin, 2006)

motivation-However, it could not be concluded that integrative motivation is the only predictor of L2 achievement or instrumental motivation cannot contribute anything to more successful learning They state: “In fact, in many situations, instrumental motivation can be strong enough to drive learners to attain great academic achievements So, both integrative motivation and instrumental motivation can as remarkable predictors of success in L2

acquisition.” (cited in Aming & Aimin, 2006)

It is unclear that integrative or instrumental motivation is more important Nevertheless, the

benefits they bring are undeniable Therefore, when motivating students, it is necessary for teachers to pay attention to both of these two kinds of motivation

1.1.2.3 Global, situational and task motivation

In this part, the researcher presents three other kinds of motivation by Brown (1981) such as situational, task and global motivation

Global motivation that consists of a general orientation to the goal of learning a second language; situational motivation, which varies according to the situation in which learning takes place and task motivation, which is the motivation for performing particular learning

tasks, that is, if the teacher designs appropriate tasks which will lead students to successful performances, such constantly pleasant and rewarding experiences will provide students with increasing confidence and consequently, they will gradually develop a liking for second language learning Therefore, learning a foreign language obviously requires some types of motivation

As can be seen from the above theories, there are several types of motivation In fact, there are

three main types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic and global motivation Harmer‟s view led

me to such conclusion Harmer (1983) indicates the relationship between two kinds of motivation such as intrinsic, extrinsic, and other kinds of motivation Harmer states that extrinsic motivation consists of two sub-components: instrumental and integrative motivation

He also claims that intrinsic motivation is primarily made up of parts: situational and task motivation

In short, motivation and its kinds has been studied from many different angles by many researchers However, no matter how motivation has been classified, all kinds of motivation work in the second language learning context, and each kind contributes to the learners‟ progress in different ways and to different degree It is difficult to say which is the most effective because they are sometimes overlapping with one another The next part, the role of motivation as well as the factors affecting motivation will be discussed

1.1.3 The importance of motivation in second language learning

There have been many theorists mentioning the role of motivation in foreign language learning and teaching; however, in this paper, only several views will be discussed

Concerning this aspect, Brown (2007: 168) states: “Undoubtedly the most frequently used catch – all term for explaining the success or failure of virtually any complex tasks, motivation

is a star player in the cast of characters assigned to second language learning scenarios around the world.”

Reece & Walker (1997) also express that motivation is a key factor in the second language learning process They emphasize that a less able student who is highly motivated can achieve greater success than the more intelligent student who is not well motivated Sometimes students may come highly motivated and the task of the teacher is to maintain motivation of the students The task of the teacher is to maximize the motivation

Furthermore, Li (2009) claims that “Learning motivation and attitudes are emotional factors influencing the result of the second language acquisition” He explained his view in the following way: Firstly, learning motivation is a strong internal drive for language learning Psychologically, teaching effect has a close relationship with learning motivation and interest, which determines whether a learner wants to spend more time learning English Besides, learning motivation and attitudes are closely related to language learning strategies; therefore, they influence language learning effect to some degree He came to the conclusion: “the stronger learning motivation is, the more passion learners have for learning, the more lasting the learning activity will be, the more difficulties can be overcome.”

Wang (2009)‟s point of view is similar to Brown (2007)‟s He affirms: “motivation is one of the most important factors that will influence students‟ English achievements or performance

It has a close relationship with students‟ success or failure in English teaching in college Therefore, teachers must pay more attention to this aspect”

It has become clear that the success in second language learning depends on many factors such

as learners‟ factors (attitude, aptitude, intelligence, personality, etc), teachers‟ factors, teaching and learning condition, and motivation Among those factors, motivation is considered as a key factor deciding the success or failure of a foreign language learning

1.1.4 Factors affecting motivation in second language learning

A variety of factors may influence motivation in second language learning, including teaching materials, syllabus, teaching means and methods, teachers, learners themselves and so on Because the purpose of my study is to find out ways to motivate students to speak English, in

this section, I will only focus on the main factors such as teachers, learners and teaching and learning conditions

1.1.4.1 Learners’ factors

There are various factors affecting foreign language learning such as aptitude, intelligence, personality, learners‟ preferences, learners‟ beliefs and age; however, in this study, only

aptitude, attitude, personality, and learning style will be discussed because the researcher

think that these factors have the greatest impact on second language learning

 Aptitude:

Grass & Selinker (2008: 417) states: “Aptitude, simply put, refers to one‟s potential for learning new knowledge or new skills With regard to language aptitude, it refers to one‟s ability to learn another language.”

Basing on the studies of second language learning aptitude by J B Carroll, Skehan (1989: 26) gave the „standard four components‟ view of language aptitude as follows:

1 Phonemic coding ability: This is an ability to discriminate among foreign sounds and to encode them in a

manner such that they can be recalled later

2 Grammatical sensitivity: This is the ability to recognize the functions of words in sentences It does not

measure ability to name or describe the functions, but rather the ability to discern whether or not words in different sentences perform the same function

3 Inductive language learning ability: This is the ability to infer, induce, or abduct rules or generalizations

about language from samples of the language A learner proficient in this ability is less reliant on presented rules or generalizations from a teacher or from materials

well-4 Memory and learning: Originally this was phrased in terms of associations: the ability to make and recall

associations between words and phrases in a native and a second language

(Cited in Grass & Selinker, 2008:418)

The four components mentioned above can be considered predictors of second language learning success in that one person who is very good in one or more of those capacities may be more advantageous in foreign language learning

 Attitude:

Verma defines attitude as “a set of beliefs developed in a due course of time in a given cultural setting” He claims “It is studied that attitude facilitates learning If the learner is reluctant to learn or he/ she does not have a positive attitude, he/ she does not produce any

socio-result.” Verma also affirms that learners‟ consciousnesses are to blame for their attitudes One person‟s consciousness of the class, their teacher, peer group, curriculum and his/ her perception for perspective demands have an impact on his/ her attitude to language learning

(http://www0.hku.hk/clear/conference08/doc/handouts/VERMA%20Meenakshi%20H_handout pdf) Sharing the same view with Verma, Krashen (1985), claims that attitudes can act as

barriers or bridges to learning a new language and are the essential environmental ingredient for language learning Krashen also states that learning can only happen if certain affective conditions, such as positive attitudes, self-confidence, low anxiety, exist and that when these conditions are present input can pass through the affective filter and be used by the learner

It has become clear that attitudes play a significant role in the language learning They have a close relationship with motivation

 Personality and learning style:

Many language teachers believe that students‟ personality creates significant contributions to the success or failure of second language learning Lightbown & Spada (1999) indicate some characteristics of personality that have a great influence on the success of second language

learning: responsiveness, talkativeness, dominance, empathy, inhibition, extroversion and self – esteem

According to Cornett (1983: 9), learning styles are the common methods such as global or analytic, auditory or visual, which learners utilize in learning a new language Cornett called these styles “the overall patterns that give general direction to learning behavior”

the whole body is involved or when objects can be manipulated, such as in lab work”; “…

field-independent individuals would be better at analytical tasks in second language learning This would appear to be an advantage On the other hand, field dependence would seem to

help in social interactions”, etc

In sum, second language learning in general and motivation in second language learning in particular are both influenced by many factors; therefore, when teaching a foreign language, teachers must study deeply factors affecting language learning in order to find out appropriate teaching methods, effective motivational strategies as well as activities inspiring learners, and

so on

1.1.4.2 Teachers’ factors

According to Dornyei (2001), teachers play a significant role in socializing and shaping the motivation of their students through their personal characteristics, verbal and non–verbal immediacy behaviour, active motivational socializing behaviour, and classroom management practices

 Teachers’ behaviors

The following are some different views on the influence of teachers‟ behaviors on second language learning

Relating to teachers‟ behaviors in second language learning, Dornyei (2001: 120) states:

“Almost everything a teacher does in the classroom has a motivational influence on students, which makes teacher behavior a powerful tool.” Similarly, Dornyei and Csiser‟s (1998, cited

in Dornyei, 2001) claim that “participants rated the teacher‟s own behavior as the most important and, at the same time extremely underutilized, motivational factor in the classroom.” Moreover, Chambers (1999) asserts that “of all the factors that were hypothesized

to contribute to the pupils‟ positive or negative appraisal of L2 learning, the teacher came out

on top for all cohorts surveyed.” (Cited in Dornyei, 2011) Sharing the similar viewpoint with the theorists above, Alison (1993, cited in Dornyei, 2001) states: “motivational teacher influences are manifold, ranging from the rapport with the students to specific teacher behaviors which persuade and/ or attracts students to engage in on – task behaviors.”

It is obvious that the teacher‟s behavior has a great influence on learners‟ motivation; therefore, the teacher should be on his/ her best behavior

 Relationship between teachers and students

The importance of establishing good relationship between teachers and learners is confirmed

by Alison (1993) He says, “A key element factor is to establish relationships of mutual trust

and respect with the learners.” This involves finding opportunities to talk with them on a personal level and letting them know that we have thought about them and that their individual effort is recognized (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 120)

 Teachers’ enthusiasm

As we know, enthusiasm always has a positive influence and is considered as an indispensable factor in any aspects of life, especially in language teachning

According to Good and Brophy (1994: 240, cited in Dornyei, 2001: 179), teachers‟ enthusiasm

“does not mean pep talks or unnecessary theatrics.”; it means that “teachers identify their own reasons for being interested in the topic or for finding it meaningful or important and project these reasons to the students when teaching about the topic.”

Csikszetmihalyi (1997, cited in Dornyei, 2001) claims that the most valuable quality of a teacher is enthusiasm He states: “the most influential teachers - those who are remembered and who make a real difference in their students‟ development – are not the ones, who have most status and power, and they may not even be the most intelligent or knowledgeable instructors a student has Instead, they are usually the ones, who love what they are doing, who show by their dedication and their passion that there is nothing else on earth they would rather

be doing.”

We can come to the conclusion that teachers‟ enthusiasm is one of the important factors leading to the success of a lesson

1.1.4.3 The atmosphere in the classroom

Besides the factors mentioned above, learning and teaching conditions in the classroom contribute to the success or failure of second language learning

Relating to this aspect, MacIntyre (1999 and Young, 1999 cited in Doinyei, 2001: 121) affirms that “any practicing teacher will be aware of the fact that students‟ anxiety created by a tense classroom climate is one of the most potent factors that undermine learning effectiveness and L2 motivation.” Dornyei (2001: 121) says that “learner involvement will be highest in a

psychologically safe classroom climate in which students are encouraged to express their opinions and in which they feel that they are protected from ridicule and embarrassment.” Good and Brophy claim that a pleasant and co-operative climate in classroom is a good condition for the development of students‟ motivation in learning Good and Brophy (1994:

215, cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121) reveal that “to be motivated to learn, students need both ample opportunities to learn and steady encouragement and support of their learning efforts Because such motivation is unlikely to develop in a chaotic classroom, it is important that the teacher organize and manage the classroom as an effective learning environment.” They also state that “because anxious or alienated students are unlikely to develop motivation to learn, it

is important that learning occurs within a relaxed and supportive atmosphere The teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports students‟ learning efforts Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks because they know that they will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake.”

(cited in Dornyei, 2001) Besides the factors such as teachers and learners, learning and teaching condition is a factor

affecting success or failure of the learners Moreover, it can motivate or demotivate students

1.2 Theoretical background of speaking and the teaching of speaking skill

1.2.1 What is speaking?

It seems that the concept of speaking is quite familiar to everyone; however, not anybody can give an exact definition of speaking The following are several definitions of speaking being seen from different angles

Bailey (2005: 2) defines that speaking is composed of “producing systematic verbal utterances

to convey meaning”

Another definition of speaking was provided by Florez as follows: Speaking is „an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information‟ It is „often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving‟, but it is not completely unpredictable.” (cited in Bailey, 2005: 2)

Sharing the same view with Florez, Brown (1994) and Burns & Joyce (1997) state: “Speaking

is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information.” Its form and meaning are subsidiary to the situation in which it happens, involving „the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking.‟ (Burns & Joyce, 1997)

Being different from the viewpoints mentioned above, Byrne (1986: 8) gave a more specific definition of speaking that helps us understand the nature of speaking He defines: “Oral

communication is a two-way process between speaker and listener and involves productive skill of speaking and the perceptive skill of understanding/ listening with understanding” In

which, “both speaker and listener have a positive function to perform.” In simple terms, the

spokesperson „has to encode the message‟ he desires to impart in suitable parlance, while the receiver „has to decode/ interpret the message.‟ It is necessary to remember that the hearer‟s

interpretation will not necessarily give his or her response to the spokesperson‟s implicit meaning The message itself, in common discourse, normally contains a good amount of

„information‟ that is excessive For instance, it contains more information than the listener actually needs in order to understand, so that he is not obliged to follow with the maximum attention At the same time, the listener is helped by prosodic features, such as stress and intonation, which are part of the meaning of the spoken utterance, as well as by facial and bodily movements such as gestures (cited in Byrne, 1986)

In brief, speaking is a communicative process, including the speaker, the listener, in which, the role of the speaker is providing information, and the hearer‟s is receiving information

1.2.2 Phases to teaching speaking

According to Byrne (1991: 22-31), there are three phases to promote students‟ speaking ability They are presentation phase, practice phase, and production phase They are briefly summarized as follows:

1 2.2.1 Phase 1: The presentation phase

At this phase, teachers work as an informant for these reasons: teachers know English much better than students; teachers choose the materials to teach; teachers provide this in such a way that the meaning of the new language is as intelligible and memorable as possible, whereas the

students are motionless They pay attention to what the teaching are saying, try to understand, and say very little This phase is teacher-centred

1.2.2.2 Phase 2: The practice phase

Unlike the presentation phase, it is the students‟ turn to do most of the talking At this stage, the teacher does the minimum amount of talking He provides the maximum amount of practice Practice is normally in the form of exercises or activities for improvement of fluency

1.2.2.3 Phase 3: The production phase

At this phase, students need chances to speak English freely even if they make mistakes A real speaking of English takes place when the students are able to use English for themselves, not for the teachers Accordingly, we must take on the role of manager or a guide to supply activities for free expressions and care for them as they carry them out

1.2.3 Some key issues in teaching speaking

In Bailey (2005)‟s Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking as well as problems dealing with teaching speaking are presented quite clearly; however, in my study, I will only focus on two main issues that are related to my study

1.2.3.1 Reticence and dominance in speaking activities

According to Tsui (1996, cited in Bailey, 2005), the students‟ reticence is due to five factors: (1) the students‟ low English proficiency; (2) the students‟ fear of mistakes and the derision they thought they would face as a result; (3) the teachers‟ intolerance of silence; (4) the teachers‟ uneven allocation of turns; and (5) incomprehensible input from the teachers Basing

on these factors, Bailey comes to the conclusion that “it seems the teachers themselves were creating conditions that contributed to the students‟ reticence.” On the contrary, in a speaking class, there are students who have the tendency to „dominate‟ others These students have the ability to „speak a great deal because of personality traits, cultural issues, proficiency, or any combination of these factors‟ (Bailey, 2005: 164)

1.2.3.2 Multi-level speaking classes

Concerning this issue, Bailey points out that speaking classes have students at different levels, the learners with lower level of proficiency „may feel intimidated‟ by the learners with higher level of proficiency On the other hand, „the more proficient learners may feel that the other

students slow them down‟ Therefore, teachers need to prepare speaking activities that not only are corresponding to learners‟ level but also attract the attention of all students

1.2.4 Some speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate students to speak

1.2.4.1 Speaking motivational activities

The following are some examples of oral accuracy practice and oral fluency practice activities that can be used for motivating students in speaking lessons

 Games

According to Byrne (1986), games are considered as “a form of play governed by certain rules

or conventions” In the language classroom, games are not only a diversion, a break from routine activities but also a tool contributing to language proficiency in some way by getting students to use language in the course of game There are three kinds of games provided by

Byrne (1986) such as accuracy-focused games, fluency-focused games and board games

The use of games in teaching English speaking skill is very beneficial to students because it helps increase their motivation “Language games are highly motivating Enjoyment, excitement and passion are naturally generated from playing games” (Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby, 1984, cited in Wang, 2010) According to Adam (1973, cited in Wang, 2010),

“games are self-motivating to stimulate learners‟ interest and curiosity, which benefits learners best to play with the language in their first stages of language learning.” It has become clear that games play a considerably important role in motivating students

Relating to the importance of role play in learning English speaking, Ladousse (2004, cited in Huang, 2008) pointed out that “role play is one of a whole gamut of communicative techniques which develop fluency in language students, which promotes interaction in the

classroom, and which increases motivation.” He also revealed that role-play stimulate „peer learning and sharing the responsibility for learning between teacher and student‟ In belief, role play can make significant contributions to enhancing students‟ motivation in speaking English

 Information gap

Information gap is defined as “an activity where learners are missing the information they need to complete a task and need to talk to each other to find it.”

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-wiki/information-gap) In speaking lessons, information gap activities “provide an opportunity for extended speaking practice, they represent real communication, motivation can be high, and they require sub-skills such as

clarifying meaning and re-phrasing.” wiki/information-gap)

(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-Information gap activity is one of the efficient ways for encouraging students to participate in speaking activities Neu & Reeser (1997, cited in Raptou, 2001) claimed that information gap activities „are extremely effective in the L2 classroom‟; “they give every student the opportunity to speak in the target language for an extended period of time and students naturally produce more speech than they would otherwise” Another benefit of information gap activities is that „students are forced to negotiate meaning because they must make what they are saying comprehensible to others in order to accomplish the task‟ (cited in Raptou, 2001)

helps them becoming socialized” It is obvious that using interview activities in teaching English speaking can help students develop asking and answering question skill in real situations As a result, it can improve students‟ interaction as well as elicitation skills

(http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html)

 Picture describing

Picture describing activity means giving just one picture and having students describe what it

is in the picture In this activity, learners may work in groups and each group is provided a different picture Firstly, learners debate the picture in their groups, subsequently, a leader of each group describe in front of the class This activity „fosters the creativity and imagination

of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.‟ (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kayi-Teaching Speaking.html) Therefore, this activity helps increase the amount of time students spend on,

the persistence in the learning process; it can also increase students‟ interest and their attention

to the lesson As a result, picture description helps increase students‟ motivation in learning English speaking

 Problem-solving activities

Problem-solving activities consist of „a range of activities which require the learners to find

„solutions‟ to problems of different kinds” (cited in Byrne, 1986: 94) So what is the role of these activities in learning speaking English? Shumin (1997) helped us find out the answer to this question He said that problem-solving activities foster interaction and collaboration among students that complement the affective factors in the L2 learning He also states: “Self-esteem, empathy, reduced anxiety, and improved attitude and motivation are all fostered when students are engaged in genuine interaction”

It can be concluded that problem-solving activities bring learners many benefits; however, when applying them, it is necessary to make sure that they are suitable for the learners‟ level

of English proficiency as well as the purpose of each lesson Besides, knowing how to handle them properly is of great importance

1.2.5.2 Techniques

According to Dornyei (2001), the objective of techniques is to „generate and enhance student motivation, as well as maintain ongoing motivated bahaviour and protect it from distracting

and/ or competing action tendencies‟ This means that techniques are used to „increase student involvement and to save the action when ongoing monitoring reveals that progress is slowing, halting, or backsliding‟ (cited in Dorneyi: 2001) In this section, I will present several motivational techniques that can be used to increase their students‟ „commitment, effort and persistence‟

 Increasing the learners’ self-confidence

According to Dornyei (2001: 130), self-efficacy plays a decisive role in „determining the amount of effort and the persistence‟ The following are several ways of increasing the students‟ self-confidence‟:

- Teacher can foster the belief in their students that competence is a changeable and controllable aspect of development and they can help to dispel misconceptions and unrealistic fears

- Favourable self-conceptions of L2 competence can be promoted by providing regular experiences

of success and emphasizing what learners can rather than cannot do

- Everybody is more interested in proceedings if they feel that they have an important part to play, therefore, and therefore even hard-to reach learners can be motivated by giving them the feeling of making a useful contribution and creating classroom situations where they can demonstrate positive features and come forward to offer help (Alision, 1993)

- Sometimes a small personal word of encouragement is sufficient

- Finally, teachers can reduce classroom anxiety by making the learning context less stressful and by providing learners with strategies to cope with anxiety-provoking situations

(Dornyei, 2001: 130-131)

 Build a supportive learning environment

It is clear that when learners receive support from their teacher and classmates, it is possible that they will feel willing to speak English The following are several ways that teachers can use to create a supportive atmosphere in the class

- Encourage peer support in the classroom

Tsui (1996: 160) states: “allowing students to check their answers with their partners before offering them to the whole class also encourages students to speak up.” Similarly, if students have the chance to discuss their answers with their partners before presenting in front of the class, they will feel more confident in speaking English

- Tolerate the first language use when appropriate

Students with low communicative levels are unable to convey all their ideas in English, so teachers should be tolerant of the first language use of some students According to Nation (1997), using the first language can help learning in many cases; therefore, the teachers‟ attitudes to the first language use should be positive when it is appropriate On the contrary, when the first language use is unnecessary, teachers should tactically lead learners back to using English

- Make the classroom environment a non-threatening place

With the reference to Oxford (1999), the classroom should be an environment where learners are not afraid of making mistakes and being ambiguous in communicating Young (1991) suggests that teachers should avoid calling on students without allowing them to prepare for the answers, and calling on a student simply because he or she is quiet or not concentrating

 Give students appropriate guidance

The role of teachers in making class active by their guide and arrangement is of great importance It is necessary to encourage and respect learners‟ initiatives; however, this does not mean that teachers do not have to give guidance and assessment In general, the guidance and help from the teachers can make students‟ performances become better in the class

(http://teflchina.org/teach/speak/)

 Make the curriculum relevant to the students

According to Nation (2000), teachers can create recalling and sharing-experience opportunities for students to make use of their background knowledge and experience in doing tasks Moreover, it is necessary for teachers to grade the difficulty level of oral tasks to suit their students‟ communicative ability Concerning this issue, Dornyei (2001: 126) claims:

“The average student in a good school tends to do the work even when a subject does not arouse high intrinsic motivation and even when rewards and punishments are not salient.” So, why do these students make such effects?” His answer to this question is that „these learners share the belief of the curriculum designers that the programme is desirable and valuable‟ He suggests that if teachers want to „increase this beneficial effect‟, they have to explore their students‟ objectives and the topics they are interested in learning, and construct these into their syllabus

 Vary speaking activities and topics

Dealing with this aspect, Davies (2000) points out that “Varied activities, interactions and topics can all contribute to making oral accuracy practice, and lessons in general, more enjoyable and effective for the learners.” Besides, varying speaking activities bring students some other benefits such as motivating learners‟ interest and encouraging them to speak; improving students‟ spoken English progressively

In addition, several aspects relating to speaking has been presented such as definitions of speaking, phases to teaching speaking, key issues in teaching speaking, speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate students to speak

The following chapters will display the methodology, the findings and the recommendations under the light of the above discussed theories

In the school year 2010-2011, the first year non-English majors at Ha Noi University of Technology had to take part in two syllabuses: Headway-Elementary (third edition), and Very Easy Toeic The textbook „Headway-Elementary‟ focuses on four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, and „Very Easy Toeic‟ focuses on two skills: Listening and Reading

In most cases, there are only 6 periods (270 minutes) of studying English every week Nevertheless, it is not enough for the students to develop their skills as well as to enrich their background knowledge, vocabulary, structure capacity, especially ability to speak English

Moreover, English is hardly used to talk outside class Consequently, these factors may affect students‟ motivation Therefore, teachers should apply various techniques and activities to

increase students‟ interest in learning English speaking skill

2.2 Participants

Selecting a sample for the study is based on Johnson (1992)‟s suggestion He said that “the first step, after stating the research questions, is to define a population The population is the entire group of entities or persons to whom the results of a study are intended to apply” Because the purpose of this study is to find out ways to motivate first year non-English majors

in learning English speaking at Ha Noi University of Technology, the participants for the survey questionnaires were 99 first year non-English majors (75 male and 24 female) with TOEIC scores below 250 and 14 teachers of English at Ha Noi University of Technology Most of these students are 18-20 years of age and they are studying English in English classes with 25 to 32 students When participating into this study, they were in the second term of the school year The majority of students come from different background and environment, varied from the city to mountainous areas Most of them have learnt English for 7 to 9 years,

but some have just taken it when they attended the course

Fourteen teachers, who are currently teaching English for non-English majors were invited to join the investigation The results from these teachers will give objective view on students‟

motivation in learning English speaking skill

All participants participated in the survey by responding to two kinds of questionnaires, one for students and one for teachers Besides, some students were also invited to take part in follow-up interviews in order to get a complete view of the research issues

2.3 Data collection instruments

The most common data collection methods are questionnaires, interviews, and direct observations of language use (cited in Johnson, 1992) It is obvious that questionnaires are considered quantitative data collection method, interviews and observations are classified as qualitative data collection method The quantitative data were obtained from two

questionnaires and were analyzed statistically, while qualitative data were collected from the structured interview and interpreted from the researcher‟s observations

2.3.1 Questionnaire for students

The first questionnaire was designed with four main parts with 12 questions Part I was about the types of motivation possessed by students in learning speaking skill Part II was about students‟ opinions on learning English speaking skill Part III was designed to elicit information relating to factors affecting students‟ motivation Part IV was designed to collect information concerning students‟ opinions on techniques and activities applied by teachers

2.3.2 Questionnaire for teachers

The second questionnaire was about teachers‟ opinions on students‟ motivation in learning English speaking, what the teachers had done to motivate students to speak, and their attitudes towards students who are unwilling to speak English and error makers It is composed of three parts: Part I was the information, which contained teachers‟ opinions on students‟ motivation

in learning English speaking Part II was about the techniques and activities applied by teachers to motivate students to speak Part III was designed to elicit information concerning teachers‟ attitudes towards students who are reluctant to speak English and error makers

2.3.3 Interviews

The interviews were conducted after the distribution of student questionnaire to each class It was carried out in Vietnamese, in the form of informal conversation between the researcher and the students Eight students were randomly selected for the interviews The questions in the interviews were designed basing on those in the questionnaire, but were extended to involve some more open-ended questions to get deeper view of the reasons behind students‟ choices Each interview lasted for 5 to 10 minutes The data were transcribed for analyzing

2.3.4 Observations

The researcher‟s observations of the three classes were analyzed to get the most authentic information relating to the students‟ reactions to activities and techniques applied by teachers

and their motivation in speaking lessons The researcher implemented these observations with the hope that this information will be used to confirm and support the data collected from other sources, or it may show other issues that the prior methods have not explored In order to

obtain such information, the researcher has based on the MOLT classroom observation scheme

(See Guilloteaux & Dornyei, 2008: 76 or APPENDIX D), which is a combination of Dorneyi (2001)‟s „system of motivational teaching practice‟ and Spada and Frohlich‟s (1995)

„classroom observation scheme‟, the COLT The MOLT focused on „features of the learners’ motivated behavior’ and the „teacher’s motivation teaching practice’ (cited in Guilloteaux &

Dornyei, 2008: 62)

CHAPTER 3: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

In Johnson (1992)‟s book, four types of data analysis were presented such as descriptive analyses, correlational analyses, analyses of precision of estimates and of nonresponse and bias due to nonresponse After studying these methods, I decided to choose descriptive analyses for my study because I find it suitable for the purpose of the study According to Johnson (1992), “Descriptive analyses of the results of a survey are often reported in frequencies (the actual number responding in a certain way) and percentages.”

3.1 Students

3.1.1 Types of motivation

In the chapter 1, the researcher mentioned some types of motivation In this section, the researcher will focus on such types of motivation possessed by the first year non-English majors at Ha Noi University of Technology They are intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, instrumental, global, situational and task motivation

Question 1: Why do you want to learn English speaking skill?

Interest in English, especially English culture and people 17 17.2

Table 1 Reasons to learn English speaking skill

The table above shows that most students (73.7%) learnt English speaking because it was a compulsory subject The second highest percentage (54.5%) of the students wanted to learn English because they thought that English is necessary for their job in the future Studying abroad is also one of the things they concerned 20.2% of them believed that English is needed

for studying abroad It is obvious that these students knew the importance of English in the modern life In the interviews with the researcher, some students unveiled that they studied English speaking for their future They said that:

- I think that English is essential for my future job (e.g., it helped me to communicate with foreign partners) Moreover, knowing how to communicate in English will be very convenient when I travel abroad

- Learning speaking English is very difficult for me because I have never learnt English speaking skill before But, I realize that English is indispensable to the real life as well

as my future job

At the same moment, 28.3% of them revealed that they wanted to learn English because it helped them to sing and understand English songs About 17.2% of the subjects also stated they were interested in English, especially English culture and people One of the interviewee

said: I have learnt English since I was a secondary student, and I see that there are a variety

of beautiful English songs When watching and listening, I really want to understand and sing them Furthermore, I realize that there are many interesting things in English culture and people I want to learn and know

23.2% of the respondents claimed that passing the exams is the reason why they studied English Only about 2 % of the participants stated that they learned English because they wanted to get high marks

3.1.2 Students’ opinions on learning English speaking skill

Question 2 How is English speaking skill important to you?

It can be seen from the above chart, the respondents valued the importance of English speaking skill in different ways The high percentage of them (64.4%) said that speaking was very important while 26.5% thought that it was rather Only 9.1% considered it normal The results show that most of the students appreciated the importance of speaking In the informal talks with the researcher, some of them said:

- As for me, learning English speaking is very difficult; however, I always try my best to become better in English because I know that learning and knowing English will bring

me many benefits For example, if I am good at English speaking, I will feel more confident when communicating with foreigners

- I have known that English is an international language, so it is considered a tool for communication in all over the world Moreover, Vietnam is being open to many countries in the world Therefore, in order to keep up with the development of the world, it is very necessary to know how to communicate in English

Question 3 How is your aptitude for learning English speaking?

Chart 2 Students’ aptitude for learning English speaking skill

Chart 2 shows that only 4% of the respondents believed that their aptitude was high and 65.7% estimated their aptitude at normal level 27.3% of the participants stated it was at low level while only about 3% claimed that their ability of English was very low Generally speaking, the majority of students believed in their ability to learn English speaking skill

Question 4 How is your attitude to learning English speaking?

Very high, 7.1%

Normal, 28.2%

Very low, 1.1%

Chart 3 Students’ attitude to learning English speaking

Although most students highly valued the importance of English speaking skill, because of many different reasons, their attitudes towards learning this skill turned out to be not as expected As can be seen from chart 3, 40.2% of the participants claimed that their attitude towards learning English speaking was low, and very low (in which students with low attitude made up 39.1%) while about 31.6% stated their attitude was at high and very high level (in which students with high level occupied 24.5%) The remaining (28.2%) stood for students with normal level Generally, about half of students have a negative attitude towards learning English speaking This result is similar to the data obtained from the observation In speaking lessons, I saw that most of the students paid attention to the lecture; however, they seemed to

be indifferent to the speaking activities provided by teachers They learned English speaking skill passively

Question 5 How is your effort in learning English speaking?

Chart 4 Students’ effort in learning speaking

Chart 4 indicates that about half of the respondents did not make any effort in their study 49.1% of the respondents had low or very low effort (in which students with low effort made

up 45.2%), and 36.6% of them had normal effort Whereas only 14.3% stated their effort was high or very high (in which students with high effort occupied 13.2%) In general, students‟ effort in studying English speaking is not good

Question 6 How much do you feel interested in speaking English in class?

Rather, 18.2%

Normal, 24.2%

Not at all, 4.0% Very, 3.0%

Little, 50.6%

Chart 5 Students’ interest in English speaking

Chart 5 points out that about half of the students did not have interest in speaking English in class 50.6% of them had little interest Students with low interest occupied a higher percentage in comparison with students with the high one (18.2%) 24.2% of the respondents stated their interest level was normal It was likely that these students learnt English only because they wanted to pass the exams or it was a compulsory subject The students with the lowest interest made up 3% while students with no interest occupied little higher percentage, 4% The data collected showed us that students‟ interests in speaking English in class were quite low

3.1.3 Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking

Question 7 Do you feel unwilling to speak English in class?

No, I speak willingly

Chart 6 Students’ unwillingness in speaking English in class

As can be seen from the above chart, most students (84.9%) stated that they felt reluctant to speak English in class 45.5% said that they were sometimes unwilling; 33.3% claimed they often felt reluctant; and 9.1% felt that they were always unwilling For these students, teachers need to help them overcome the complex about speaking English in class Only a small amount of the students (8.1%) liked speaking English The others (7%) always felt willing to speak When answering the researcher‟s questions, some of the students said:

- I know that practicing English a lot in class help me improve my English, but I often feel shy to speak English

- I often feel nervous when speaking English because I am unable to use vocabulary and grammar structures flexibly and more than that I am not familiar with speaking English in class

It is advisable for teachers to help students overcome difficulties as well as complexes in speaking English

Question 8 Which of the following factors make you unwilling to speak English in class?

Being not accustomed to speaking English in class 48 48.5

Table 2 Factors making students unwilling to speak English

It can be seen from the table 2, there were several major factors making students reluctant to speak in class 71.7% said that teacher‟s boring teaching had the most influence on students‟ unwillingness Students‟ low proficiency of English was considered the second biggest obstacle to English speaking These students made up 64.6% About half of the students (48.5%) affirmed that they felt reluctant because they are not accustomed to speaking English

in class Also, teaching methods had quite great influence on learners‟ motivation 40% claimed teacher‟s uneven allocation of turns decreased their desire to speak English The last factor was the fear of mistakes and derision 35.4% of them said that they wanted to speak