Động lực và kết quả học tập Nghiên cứu phỏng vấn nhóm học sinh trường THPT chuyên Lam Sơn tham dự Kỳ thi Học sinh giỏi quốc gia môn tiếng Anh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************** ĐỖ THỊ KIM QUY MOTIVATION AND LEARNING ACHIE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

********************

ĐỖ THỊ KIM QUY

MOTIVATION AND LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT: AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE NATIONAL ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CONTEST AT LAM SƠN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Động lực và kết quả học tập: Nghiên cứu phỏng vấn nhóm học sinh trường THPT chuyên Lam Sơn tham dự Kỳ thi Học sinh giỏi quốc gia môn tiếng Anh

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

********************

ĐỖ THỊ KIM QUY

MOTIVATION AND LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT: AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE NATIONAL ENGLISH PROFICIENCY CONTEST AT LAM SƠN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Động lực và kết quả học tập: Nghiên cứu phỏng vấn nhóm học sinh trường THPT chuyên Lam Sơn tham dự Kỳ thi Học sinh giỏi quốc gia môn tiếng Anh

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: Dr LÊ VĂN CANH

Hanoi, 2014

DECLARATION

I certify that the minor thesis entitled "Motivation and Learning Achievement: An interview study of the Candidates for the National English Proficiency Contest at Lam Son Gifted High School" and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL is the result of my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this minor thesis

or any part of the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution

The research reported in this thesis was approved by National University, Hanoi

Signature

Do Thi Kim Quy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks and my deep gratitude

to my supervisor, Dr Lê Văn Canh for his enlightening lectures in the Methodology and Materials Development Courses, greatly enthusiastic guidance, encouragement, and constructive comments in-depth along the way with my project, without which, this thesis would not be able to be properly completed

I am obliged to all the lecturers of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, whose instructions have laid the foundations for my work I would also like to express my special thanks to all the staff for their constant assistance while

my work was in process

Finally, I owe a great debt to my family members, my friends and my students who helped me fulfill my job as a daughter, a wife, a teacher, a learner and

a researcher

Once again my sincere thanks to all

at Lam Son Gifted High School

Narrative frames were employed, giving the students' in-depth insights into English learning experiences Face-to-face individual interviews were also carried out to make a deeper understanding of their ideas about it Through their elicited learning experience, the more dominant motivational orientations among the students were defined and the relationship between motivation and learning achievement in foreign language learning was investigated

The findings show that the students are both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn English, in which extrinsic orientation does bring out effective achievement, being superior to intrinsic one and that their learning achievement is positively related to motivation The findings also help to offer recommendations for those involved in pedagogical activities

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Research aims, objectives and research questions 1

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Significance of the study 2

5 Organization of the thesis 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Motivation defined 4

1.2 Motivational orientations and their role in second language learning 5

1.2.1 Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation 5

1.2.2 Instrumental versus integrative motivation 6

1.2.3 Norton's investment in second language learning 10

1.2.4 Dornyei's L2 Motivational Self System 11

1.2.5 The relationship between motivation and achievement 12

1.3 Previous studies on motivation and learning achievement 13

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 The English teaching context at Lam Son Gifted High School 15

2.2 An overview of the Candidates for the National English Proficiency

Contest 15

2.3 Research Design 16

2.3.1 Research Methodology 16

2.3.2 Participants 17

2.3.3 Instrument 17

2.3.3.1 Narrative frames 18

2.3.3.2 Interviews 19

2.4 Procedures of the study 19

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 21

3.1 Motivational orientations of the students selected for the National English Proficiency Contest 21

3.1.1 Intrinsic Motivation 21

3.1.2 Extrinsic motivation 22

3.1.3 Changes in the students’ motivation 25

3.2 The influence of motivational orientations on the students’ learning achievement 26

PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33

1 Conclusion 33

1.1 Summary of the main findings 33

1.2 Concluding remarks 33

2 Implications 35

2.1 For teachers 35

2.2 For students 36

2.3 For parents 36

3 Limitations of the study 37

4 Suggestions for further study 37

REFERENCES 38 APPENDIX 1 - CÂU CHUYỆN HỌC TIẾNG ANH CỦA EM I APPENDIX 2 - AN ENGLISH LEARNING STORY (TEMPLATE) III APPENDIX 3 - CÂU CHUYỆN HỌC TIẾNG ANH CỦA EM IV APPENDIX 4 - AN ENGLISH LEARNING STORY (SAMPLE) V APPENDIX 5 - PHỎNG VẤN VIII APPENDIX 6 - INTERVIEW (SAMPLE) X

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This part introduces the rationale of conducting this study, its aims and objectives all well as its scope and significance The part also presents the structure

of the thesis

1 Rationale of the study

Motivation is one of the most important contributors to the success in learning a foreign language However, the relationship between students’ motivation and their learning achievement has not been concluded In the school where I have been teaching, which is called Lam Son Gifted High School, there are students who have achieved well in terms of their English proficiency These students tend to be selected as candidates for the National Contest for the students with the Highest Proficiency in English However, there are students who have to struggle with their English The question is why, in the same learning context, there are students who are more proficient than others? How does students’ motivation affect their learning achievement? These questions inspire me to investigate the relationship between the two variables: students’ motivation and their learning achievement

2 Research aims, objectives and research questions

The study is aimed at identifying the relationship between students’ motivation and their learning achievement so that suggestions on how to motivate students can be made

The objectives of the study are, thus,

- to define the dominant motivational orientations among students with a

high level of proficiency in English, and

- to explore the relationship between motivation and learning achievement

In order to achieve the above aims and objectives, the study is designed to

seek answers to the following research questions:

1 What types of motivational orientations do the candidates for the National English Proficiency Contest at Lam Son Gifted High School have for learning English?

2 How is their learning achievement related to their motivational orientations?

3 Scope of the study

This study is limited to the study of the correlation between the motivational orientations of the students selected for the National English Proficiency Contest and their learning achievement

4 Significance of the study

Findings of this study will help to raise the importance of motivation among teachers and students in mastering English They also suggest pedagogical solutions

to the challenge of addressing the issue of maintaining passion for English and improving the performance by English users/learners

5 Organization of the thesis

The thesis is divided into 3 main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

PART A is INTRODUCTION This part gives the information about the rationale of the study, the research objectives and research questions, the significance, the scope The relevant terms are also defined

PART B, namely DEVELOPMENT, is divided into three chapters

Chapter 1 - Literature Review deals with theoretical framework, which covers the issues related to motivation and learning achievement, the relationship between them, if any It also reviews previous studies on the topic

Chapter 2 - Methodology presents the method used to analyze the motivational factors It also describes the setting, data collection instrument, data collection procedure and data analysis

Chapter C - Findings Analysis and Discussion presents the results from the data collected and a discussion of the findings

PART 3 is CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This part summarizes the findings, the conclusions, the teaching implications, the limitations

of the study as well as the suggestions for further study

Summary:

This part introduces general details which serve as research background leading to the formation of research needs The impetus for the study is discussed prior to the introduction of research aims, objectives and research questions, the scope and significance of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the literature on motivation in second/ foreign language learning It starts with the definition of the concept of motivation Then the literature on the role of motivation in second/ foreign language learning as well as the relationship between motivation and learning achievement will be reviewed, too

1.1 Motivation defined

Despite the unchallenged position of motivation in learning additional languages, there is, in fact, no agreement on the exact definition of motivation Dornyei, (1998:117) comments, "Although motivation is a term frequently used in both educational and research contexts, it is rather surprising how little agreement there is in the literature with regard to the exact meaning of the concept"

The word "motivation" is derived from the Latin verb "movere", which means to move (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996) To be motivated means to be moved to

do something "The idea of movement is reflected in such commonsense ideas about motivation as something that gets us going, keeps up moving and helps us get jobs done."(p.3)

From a psychological point of view, Brown (1980:112) claims that

"motivation is commonly thought of as an inner driver, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action"

From the educational point of view, Ormrod (2000:472) state that

"motivation is something that energizes, directs and sustains behavior; it gets students moving, points them in a particular direction, and keeps them going" In the meantime, Pintrich and Schunk (1996:4) define motivation as "the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained" It can be seen that motivation inevitably involves goals

Masgoret and Gardner (2003:128) further propose: "The motivated individual expends effort, is persistent and attentive to the task at hand, has goals, desires, and aspirations, enjoys the activity, experiences reinforcement from success and disappointment from failure, makes attributions concerning success and/or failure, is aroused, and makes use of strategies to aid in achieving goals"

Cook (1991:97) simply says: "it has chiefly been used to refer to the term fairly stable attitudes in the student's minds"

long-Gardner (1990) gives a detailed explanation and indentifies motivation in foreign language learning to have three elements, including:

i a desire to learn the language;

ii effort expended towards learning the language;

iii favorable attitudes towards learning the language

In other words, motivation in learning a foreign language can be regarded as

a process in which a learner has desire, persistence and a positive attitude to attaining the goal of learning the target language It is characterized by long-term, quality involvement in learning and commitment to the process of learning

1.2 Motivational orientations and their role in second language learning

1.2.1 Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation

Pintrich and Schunk (1996) define these two terms in the following ways:

"Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake People who are intrinsically motivated work on tasks because they find them enjoyable Task participation is its own reward and does not depend on explicit rewards or other external constraints In contrast, extrinsic motivation is motivation

to engage in an activity as a means to an end Individuals who extrinsically motivated work on tasks because they believe that participation will result in desirable outcomes such as a reward, teacher praise or avoidance of punishment." (pp 257-258)

The phenomenon of intrinsic motivation was first acknowledged within experimental studies of animal behavior, where it was discovered that many organisms engage in exploratory, playful and curiosity-driven behaviors even in the absence of reinforcement or reward (White, 1959)

In humans, intrinsic motivation is not the only form of motivation, or even of volitional activity, but is is a pervasive and important one From birth onward, humans, in their healthiest states, are active, inquisitive, curious, and playful creatures, displaying a ubiquitous readiness to learn and explore, and they do not require extraneous incentives to do so

Because intrinsic motivation exists in the nexus between a person and a task, some authors have defined intrinsic motivation in terms of the task being interesting while others have defined it in terms of the satisfactions a person gains from intrinsically motivated task engagement

Extrinsic motivation is a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done

in order to attain some separable outcomes Extrinsic motivation thus contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental value

Deci and Ryan's (1985:256) maintain that "being intrinsically motivated to learn improves the quality of learning and that those conditions that are autonomy supporting and informational will promote more effective learning as well as enhanced intrinsic motivation and self-esteem." That is an individual with a high level of intrinsic motivation is likely to demonstrate autonomy in his/her learning and lead to a higher achievement Sharing the same viewpoint, Gottfried (1985), Deci and Ryan (1985) state that "extrinsic motivation is not as important as intrinsic motivation in learning" and that "extrinsically oriented learners may tend to attribute a poor performance to a lack of intelligence or ability (a stable and internal factor) Intrinsically oriented learners may be more inclined to attribute a poor performance to a variable or unstable factor like effort and this accept it as a motivating challenge to try harder"

Pittan et al (1983) propose when the primary concern of a learner is to achieve an extrinsic goal, s/he will try to finish the task as quickly and with as little effort and frustration as possible Such a learning approach is unlikely to lead to effective learning

Brophy (1983) mentions that if we want students to engage in academic activities seriously, it will be important to develop their intrinsic motivation in learning That is developing students' tendencies to value knowledge for its own sake as well as enjoy the learning process and ultimately gain the personal benefit that accrues from learning

Figure 1 - Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation

1.2.2 Instrumental and integrative motivation

Gardner and Lambert (1972:3) classify motivation into two main types, namely instrumental and integrative motivation He claims:

"The orientation is said to be instrumental in form of the purposes of language study reflect the more utilitarian value of linguistic achievements, such as getting ahead in one's occupation In contrast, the orientation is integrative if the

student wishes to learn more about the other cultural community because he is interested in it in an open-minded way, to the point of eventually being accepted as

a member of that other group."

To put it another way, a learner who learns with integrative motivation has a genuine interest in the second language community S/he wants to learn the language in order to communicate with its members and take part in their culture

On the other hand, a learner with instrumental motivation is more interested in how the second language can be used to achieve some other goals, such as obtaining a degree or a good job This is learning the language for some practical reasons

Instrumental motivation references the desire that language learners have to learn a second language for utilitarian purposes, such employment, whereas integrative motivation references the desire to learn a language to integrate successfully with the target language community

Regarding the impact of either of the two types on the learning achievement, Gardner and Lambert hypothesize that "the integratively oriented learner might be better motivated because the nature of his goals is more likely to sustain the long-term effort needed to master a second language" (1972:16) From their studies of the learners of French in Canada, they posit that a learner with an integrative motive

is likely to achieve better proficiency in language learning than an instrumental one This is because the integrative motive is considered rooted in the personality of the learner An integrative motive is superior to the instrumental one Then, in fact, Gardner and MacIntyre (1991) conclude that both integrative and instrumental motivations can lead to language proficiency, but integratively motivated students can learn more This sound reasonable since someone who is oriented to learn a language for integrative reasons might also recognize the instrumental value of learning the language and vice versa

As Ellis (2008:679) states, "integrative orientation was seen as a more powerful predictor of achievement in formal learning situations than instrumental orientation"

INTEGRATIVE MOTIVATION

From my own learning experience, I am of the opinion that very often a foreign language learner probably possesses both of integrative and instrumental motivations This is due to fact that I really enjoy learning English as the instrumental motive helps me develop my professional knowledge for teaching while the integrative motive helps me communicate more satisfactorily in the second language community It seems that these two kinds of motivation are not

INTEGRATIVENESS

OTHER FACTORS

LANGUAGE ACHIEVMENT

1.2.3 Norton's investment in second language learning

Norton (1995) argues for a conception of investment rather than motivation

to capture the complex relationship of language learners to the target language and their sometimes ambivalent desire to speak it "The notion of investment conceives

of the language learner, not as ahistorical and unidimensional, but as having a complex social history and multiple desires In her view, the conceptions of motivation, which are dominant in the filed of SLA, do not "capture the complex relationship between relations of power, identity, and language learning", so "the conception of investment rather than motivation more accurately signals the socially and historically constructed relationship" of the people involved

She is in favor of the term "capital" She explains that if students invest in a second language, they do so with the understanding that they will acquire a wider range of symbolic and material resources, which will in turn increase the value of their cultural capital Learners will expect or hope to have a good return on that investment - a return that will give them access to hitherto unattainable resources

It is important to note that the notion of investment she is advocating is not equivalent to instrumental motivation since "the conception of instrumental motivation generally presupposes a unitary, fixed and ahistorical language learner who desires access to material resources that are the privilege of target language speakers" In this line, motivation is a property of the language learner - a fixed personality trait "The notion of investment, on the other hand, attempts to capture the relationship of the language learner to the changing social world It conceives of the language learner as having a complex social identity and multiple desires The notion presupposes that when language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with target language speakers but they are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world Thus

an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner's own social identity, an identity which is constantly changing across time and space

1.2.4 Dornyei's Second Language Motivational Self System

Dornyei (1990) has described a major theoretical shift that has been transforming the landscape of motivation research: the move from the traditional conceptualization of motivation in terms of an integrative/instrumental dichotomy

to the recent re-conceptualization of motivation as being part of the learner's self system, called "The Second Language (L2) Motivation Self System" From his perspective, the L2 Motivational Self System comprises three elements: The Ideal L2 Self, the Ought-to L2 Self and the L2 Learning Experience

Ideal L2 Self is the L2-specific facet of one's ideal self It is based on the individual aspirations and goals as a language learner If the person we would like

to become speaks an L2, the 'ideal L2 self' is a powerful motivator to learn the L2 because of the desire to reduce the discrepancy between our actual and ideal selves Traditional integrative and internalized instrumental motives would typically belong

to this component

Ought-to L2 Self is is a product of the individual's perceived obligations and responsibilities as a language learner It is concerned about "the attributes that one believes one ought to possess to meet expectations and to avoid possible negative outcomes" This dimension corresponds to the more extrinsic (i.e less internalized) types of instrumental motives

L2 Learning Experience is derived from the learning environment and learners' perceptions of their previous language learning successes and failures It deals with "situated, executive motives related to the immediate learning environment and experience (e.g the impact of the teacher, the curriculum, the peer group, the experience of success)

This new model by Dornyei does not conflict with Gardner's original highly influential concept of "Integrative motivation" but provides a "broader frame of reference" to account for the motivation of learners that do not have direct contact with speakers of the target language In other words, the theory proposed a system

that explicitly focuses on aspects of the individual's self is compatible with the whole-person perspective of past theorizing

1.2.5 The relationship between motivation and achievement

The findings of much research show that motivational factors are certainly related to second or foreign language learning Gardner, 1985; Ramage, 1990) Thus motivation should be regarded as one of the key factors in successful language learning This is because achievement is very much dependent on the effort that a learner expends in the task of learning a foreign language

Hawley (1972:2) defines the achievement motive as "the need to attain a standard of excellence, or to accomplish a goal in order to prove one's worth" When people have a need to achieve, they have a high attitude towards success and work hard to ensure they are successful If they are intrinsically motivated, they participate in the activity for the sake of learning or improvement If they are extrinsically motivated, they participate in the activity with the expectation of rewards In a word, learners' willingness and perseverance to learn a language are closely linked to their achievement needs McClelland (1985) states that achievement motivation is based on a desire to excel That means it is the tendency

to strive for excellence or success Achievement motivated people to have a need to achieve and be successful at whatever they attempt According to Dornyei (1990) the need for achievement plays a major role in the motivational factors of foreign language learning

Ellis (1994:515) maintains that "the relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one" This is to say that a high level of motivation does contribute to learning and that success can help to maintain or even enhance the existing motivation Conversely, a vicious circle of low motivation will result in low achievement that further lower the motivation in learning

Research findings do suggest, therefore, that there is a circular cause and effect relationship between motivation and achievement in second language

learning (Lightbown and Spada, 1993) In other words, the more one succeeds, the greater one's motivation; the greater one's motivation, the more one succeeds

1.3 Previous studies on motivation and learning achievement

From the second language acquisition perspective, there have been a host of studies on the relationship between motivation and learning achievement, some of which are as follows

The study conducted by Yu Yuanfang - Dalian University (2009) investigates Australian students learning Chinese as a foreign language and Chinese students learning English as a foreign language Its findings show that Chinese university students were more instrumentally motivated than their Australian counterparts while Australian university students were more integrative motivated than their Chinese counterparts in foreign language learning

The research named "Second language learning success and motivation" (2009) by Ali Osman Engin deals with three dimensions of motivation: integrative motivation, instrumental motivation and work avoidance motivation After the research, he concludes that "there is a close relationship between the students' success and instrumental motivation However, instrumental motivation is not as effective as integrative motivation for second language learning success He also highlights that "The more integrative and instrumental motivation a person has, the less likely he or she is to experience work avoidance motivation" and that "the success or the students and work avoidance are negatively correlated"

Numerous research studies have shown that intrinsically motivated students have higher achievement levels, lowers level of anxiety and higher perceptions of competence and engagement in learning than students who are not intrinsically motivated (Wigfield&Eccles, 2002; Wigfield&Waguer, 2005) These studies demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement

Contrary to what have been mentioned, the study carried out by Kazuyo Taguchi, from School of International Studies, University of South Australia (2006)

on sixty-one 10 graders, aged 14-16 and four teachers in South Australia does not support the expected relationship between motivation and academic gains (achievement) In other words, it reveals that motivation and academic gains are not significantly correlated (p.567) This may be due to the complex mixture of factors described by different motivational theories and language learning process

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY

The aim of this study was to identify the motivational factors in enabling the candidates for the National English Proficiency Contest to persist in the process of English learning and the relationship of motivation and their achievement Some information about my workplace and working conditions should be briefly described

2.1 The English teaching context at Lam Son Gifted High School

Since Vietnam's open-door policy in 1986 and its participation into the WTO; under the pressure of globalization and the demand for integration, the number of English learners in Vietnam is on vast increase English is taught at most private and state-owned secondary and high schools

English is a compulsory subject at Lam Son Gifted High School In fact, in order to become a member of Lam Son Gifted High School, since 2011, students have been under obligation to pass the 60-minute English test which mainly focuses

on grammar For those wishing to become members of English specializing classes, they have to take another English written test which deals with 80 questions in 150 minutes These two tests do not include speaking and listening Therefore, students' level of English may be said to be satisfactory enough in terms of grammar, but not productive skills

2.2 An overview of the candidates for the National English Proficiency Contest

Lam Son Gifted High School is one of the best schools in Vietnam It is considered the place bearing the responsibility for training talented human resources provincially and nationally For many years, students from the school have been participating in a lot of contests nationwide and worldwide and have won a lot of medals including gold, silver and bronze Lam Son English Selected Team for the National English Proficiency Contest consists of 8 members, to be one of whom,

one is obliged to go in for 2 examinations, one at school level, and the other at provincial level The candidates go through spoken and written tests Unfortunately, the listening skill is not tested and the test is a little different from the national test

as regards structure

The National English Proficiency takes place in January or February annually and the results are usually announced in late February or early March The candidates for this Contest have to take the test covering the four skills, namely listening, reading, writing and speaking The Contest lasts two days, one for the first

3 skills and the other for the fourth

Usually, 6 out of 8 candidates win the prize each year, accounting for 80 per cent of the total number However, they often get the 3rd or the 4th prize, sometimes the 2nd This is considered an unsatisfactory result by local authority

As a teacher of English, who takes in charge of the selected team, I am much concerned about how to improve performances and learning achievement of the students participating in the National English Proficiency Contest In this review, motivation serves a prerequisite It is believed that once students have a passion for English, or are highly motivated, whatever reason it is, they are bound to devote and apply themselves to it

2.3 Research Design

2.3.1 Research Methodology

The selection of an appropriate research method is fundamental to any research design In this study, the qualitative method is employed It is said that qualitative studies "seek to collect rich data by making interconnections between points, often assigning meaning to the data after collection has occurred and often, though not always, eschewing the quantification of this data." (Tamara Swenson, 442) In other words, they seek to identify and interpret precisely the here-and-now experience of the individual or the group being studied

2.3.2 Participants

Eights students taking part in the National Proficiency Contest, Academic Year 2013-2014 were involved in the study, four of whom were twelfth graders and the other four eleventh graders The 8 selected students were asked to tell about their stories of learning English by filling the missing information based on their own experiences

6 out of 8 candidates succeeded in winning the prizes, 3 of whom got the 3rd and three others got the 4th

The 8 participants were categorized into 3 levels based on the results of the National English Proficiency Contest 2014 as follows:

i the high achievers - HA (3 participants winning the 3rd prizes)

ii the average achievers - AA (3 participants winning the 4th prizes)

iii the low achievers - LA (2 participants failing to win the prize)

To ensure the students' personal confidentiality, students' were assigned by symbols For example, HA1 means High Achiever 1

2.3.3 Instrument

Narrative frames, initiated by Barkhuizen & Wette (2008) were employed to elicit the students' English learning experiences in order to find out the types of motivation stimulating students to study English and work out the relationship between motivation and learning achievement since they bear a lot of advantages

As Barnard, R., & Viet, G.N (2010: 79) claimed: "A narrative frame is similar to a semi-structure interview, which allows the participant to expand upon the points posed by the researcher However, participants have more freedom to divulge information in frames than may be possible in an interview, where avoiding or side-stepping potentially face-threatening questions can be difficult Moreover, unlike conventional interviews, completing these frames in their own time and place allows participants to reflect more fully on issues."

It also should be noted that certain interview questions were given to students in relation to the missing and required information, aiming at combining the advantages of both, the emerging information was subsequently triangulated with data from other procedures

In sum, my study investigates the motivation of learning a foreign language using narrative frames first, which are one kind of in-depth interview, then followed

by individual face-to-face interviews This can provide a better understanding of students for the sake of the findings In this respect, the study incorporated two types of data collection: narratives frames and face-to-face interviews The reason for this method was that it was more appropriate and feasible than using other research methods

So as to make it easier for students to give the most possible accurate and heart-felt answers, the questions were given in the mother tongue, i.e Vietnamese Students were given the appropriate time to have thorough thoughts and think the issue over Then their stories were transcribed and analyzed

2.3.3.1 Narrative frames

The narrative frame is designed in a form of story telling The students were asked to write two open-ended frames The following is an English translation of example frames

1 I started learning English

I chose to study English because

When I started learning it, I

because I felt it

because

Regarding the role of my family members in my English learning, I can

say that

I think marks because

2 I think I have opportunities to

learn English outside class After class, I

In order to motivate students to learn English and improve their results,

English teachers should

2.3.3.2 Interviews

After collecting the narrative frames, individual face-to-face interviews were conducted so as to have a better and more thorough understanding of the afore-mentioned points

The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese so as to make sure that all the information were being got across All the interviewees were given codes The interviews were recorded by the courtesy of the interviewees

2.4 Procedures of the study

First, I asked the students to tell their stories of learning English by giving them narratives frames, which were designed beforehand regarding the literature review The purpose of this was to find out the factors that motivated them to learn English and to investigate how these motivational factors affect their learning achievement I transcribed all these narratives into English and read them again and again so as to clarify the important points relevant to my study and to find out if there was any missing information in the narratives While reading, I underlined all the important information, arranging them into the main headlines and classified them into the groups for the sake of the research questions

The next step, I designed the interview questions specially for each participant This was carried out to make up for the information the students did not provide in their narratives frames I sent each student an email, asking them for an interview at their earliest convenience, explaining the reason and purpose of the interview All the interviews were recorded These recorded interviews were also transcribed and written down All important information was underlined, and then taken down in a note

Finally, the narratives and interviews were carefully analyzed in an attempt

to give answers to the two research questions At the same time, the conclusion, teaching implications were also presented

Summary:

This chapter illustrates the method used to carry out the study, the tool of the study that includes constructing the narrative frames, the procedure to conduct the study The essential part of the thesis: findings and discussion will be presented in the next chapter

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to find out what motivates the candidates for the National English Proficiency Contest and the relationship between motivation and academic achievement in this language

3.1 Motivational orientations of the students selected for the National

English Proficiency Contest

3.1.1 Intrinsic Motivation

The students in this study seemed to be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn English Those who were intrinsically motivated said they enjoyed learning the language out of their curiosity:

"I enjoy learning English The more I learn it, the more I like it I want

to learn it to satisfy my curiosity" (LA1)

For them, learning English helped to enrich their cultural understanding,

"I like English more and more as I know that learning English is not simply writing a paragraph or learning a new word by heart Instead, it

is a good way of enriching culture, customs of English speaking countries" (LA1)

It is interesting to note the students’ motivation to learn English Some of them said they did not like the subject initially, but gradually they came to find the

pleasure in learning this language

" I initially did not like English as much as other subjects such as Maths, Physics, Chemistry Then I realized that English is not one full of tests, but a language Learning English is a useful way of communicating, reading books, writing diaries or watching movies, etc I changed the way of learning it and have had a great passion for it since then" (HA1)

When the student found the pleasure in learning English, they became keen

to learn the language without any external influence For example one student said she would continue to learn English even if it were not the compulsory subject

"If English were not a compulsory subject, I would still study it as I myself study English because of my own passion for it, not of being forced to do so" (AA1)

Another student talked about the benefits of English to her future,

"Even if English were not a compulsory subject, I would still choose to study it as English is of great importance, which facilitates my success in the future It really matters in the current tendency of integration into the world" (HA2)

"Even if English were not a compulsory subject, I would still choose to learn it owing to a host of benefits it brings me" (HA1)

"Even if English were not a compulsory subject, I would still choose to learn it as I love learning English itself" (LA1)

External factors such as parental encouragement or pressure were a source of

motivation to some students One student said,

"My family members play a vital role in my English learning They have been willing to send me to the best schools, to give me the best chance to communicate in English, to travel even to go overseas" (HA3)