Motivational changes in students of English at International school, Vietnam National University, Hanoi during preparatory programs = Những thay đổi trong động 20150227.PDF

Students‟ motivation will be analyzed with a hope to identify reasons making those students reluctant to learn, different ways teachers use to motivate them to eventually give some sugge

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

APPENDICES vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Objectives of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 3

PART II DEVELOPMENT 4

Chapter 1 Theoretical background of motivation 4

1 Definition and the nature of motivation 4

2 Roles of motivation in language learning 6

3 Types of motivation 7

3.1 Integrative motivation 7

3.2 Instrumental motivation 8

3.3 Integrative vs Instrumental motivation 8

4 Factors affecting student motivation in L2 learning 10

4.1 Learner’s factors 10

4.2 Course Material Factors 11

4.3 Teacher Factors 12

Chapter 2 Literature review 13

Chapter 3 Methodology 16

1 Subjects of the study 16

2 Data collection instruments 17

2.1 Questionnaire for students 17

2.2 Interviews for teachers 18

3 Data analysis 18

4 Data analysis and Findings 18

4.1 Questionnaire data 18

4.1.1 Multiple choice questions 18

4.1.2 Open-ended questions 24

4.2 Interviews with teachers 26

5 Discussion of the findings 32

6 Pedagogical implications 33

6.1 Maintain their instrumental motivation and enhance their integrative motivation 35

6.2 Care for students’ needs and interests 34

6.3 Have students participate 34

6.4 Give compliments and rewards 35

6.5 Be enthusiastic, helpful, friendly and tolerant 35

PART III CONCLUSION 36

1 Recapitulation of the main ideas 36

1.1 Summary of the theories 36

1.2 Summary of the research procedure 36

1.3 Summary of the findings 37

1.3.1 Students’ motivational changes 37

1.3.2 Techniques and activities used by teachers 37

2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 38

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A III APPENDIX B VII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

IS: International School

VNU: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

EFL: English as a foreign language

L2: Second Language The L2 in this study refers to English which is taught at IS

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Students‟ orientations and motivation to learn English sharply diverge Harmer (2001) contends that some have a clear goal inspired by a strong extrinsic motivation Others have an internal motivation that has fired them up Others still may have a weak goal or motivation Students with no clear goals fail to know what they really want from learning English As a result, some become de-motivated Thus, they lack a framework for assigning significance to what they learn and it is a case for a lot of students at IS, VNU

From a centre-sized school, International School, VNU has developed both in size and quality with more and more students each intake every year However, it does not necessarily mean students have found their motivation in here They come to IS for a variety of reasons, but above all, IS does not take students through University Entrance Exam so it is a second chance for the majority of those failing other Universities

Therefore, it is a fact that when students first come to IS, many of them lose confidence, either because of embarrassment of failing the university entrance exam or low level of English or unfamiliarity with foreign teachers and so on, which makes class environment and teacher-student relationship stressful

self-Authority and lecturers at IS have gone different length to encourage students to learn, with a hope that their students can find their confidence, and develop both instrumental and integrative motivation With a number of foreign lecturers, dedicated teachers, modern facilities and student-centered methodology, students at IS have seen in themselves certain changes in their purposes and study methods and consequently, levels

of English competence A lot of students, from knowing nothing about English and hating the language, have become interested in English lessons, talking to foreigners and even reading books in English

Therefore, an analysis of their motivation and motivational changes during their study at IS will be conducted to determine whether instrumental or integrative motivation

is the preference of IS students, thus eventually give some suggestions to make IS students more confident and eager in their study

2 Objectives of the study

This study is carried out to meet the following objectives:

1) Analyze the reasons why many students do not have motivation when they first come to IS

2) Analyze changes in the levels of motivation after students have studied there for

a certain time

3) Offer options to raise students‟ levels of motivation

3 Scope of the study

The study only focuses on an overview of current situation of English learning among students of Preparatory programs at IS Students‟ motivation will be analyzed with

a hope to identify reasons making those students reluctant to learn, different ways teachers use to motivate them to eventually give some suggestions that can be useful for teachers and authority at IS to increase students‟ interest in learning English

4 Methods of the study

To achieve the aims of the study, the researcher uses survey research and both quantitative and qualitative methods are used in completing the following tasks:

- Collecting data for the analysis through a questionnaire from 50 students of Preparatory Programs

- Collecting data for the analysis through interviews from 3 teachers teaching at Preparatory Programs

All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion are based on the data analysis

5 Design of the study

The result will be presented in three parts

The first part, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, the aims, scope, methods, design of the study and definition of key terms

The second part, DEVELOPMENT, includes three chapter: Theoretical Background presents concepts relevant to the topic such as definition of motivation, roles

of motivation in language learning, types of motivation, factors affecting motivation; Literature Review looks at previous studies into motivation; and Methodology provides the methodology underlying the research site which includes the general information about the study subjects and the situation of motivation at IS This chapter also focuses on the method of data collection

The last part, CONCLUSION offers a recapitulation of the main ideas, limitations

of the study, and suggestions for further studies

PART II DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 Theoretical background of motivation

Motivation is a key factor to influence the success of language learning and therefore, many researchers have done research on it This chapter is concerned with some

of the most important issues in the theories of motivation

1 Definition and the nature of motivation

Motivation is not easy to understand or explain; whenever we feel a desire of need for doing something, we are motivated Different people are motivated by different things and motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course

of action (Harmer 1991: 3)

In the literature on motivation, very rarely is one single, integrated definition of motivation included Instead, the focus is what specific factors work together to create motivation Ellis (1994), in an overview of research on motivation, simply asserted that motivation affects the extent to which language learners persevere in learning, what kinds

of behavior they exert, and their actual achievement Wlodwoski explained motivation as

“the processes that can (a) arouse and instigate behavior, (b) give direction or purpose to behavior, (c) continue to allow behavior to persist, and (d) lead to choosing or preferring a particular behavior” (1985, p 2)

Gardner was one of the pioneering researchers in second language acquisition to focus on motivation He chose to define motivation by specifying four aspects of motivation: a goal, effortful behavior to reach the goal, a desire to attain the goal, positive attitudes toward the goal (Gardner, 1985, p 50)

Gardner and Lambert (1972) introduced the notions of instrumental and integrative motivation In the context of language learning, instrumental motivation refers to the learner‟s desire to learn a language or travel for utilitarian purposes (such as employment),

whereas integrative motivation refers to the desire to learn a language to integrate successfully into the target language community In later research studies, Crookes and Schmidt (1991), and Gardner and Tremblay (1994) explored four other motivational orientations: reasons for learning, desire to attain the learning goal, positive attitude toward the learning situation, and effortful behavior

Many theorists and researchers have found that it is important to recognize the construct of motivation not as a single entity but as a multi-factorial one Oxford and Shearin (1994) analyzed a total of 12 motivational theories or models, including those from socio-psychology, cognitive development, and socio-cultural psychology, and identified six factors that impact motivation in language learning:

 attitudes (i.e., sentiments toward the language community and the target language.)

 beliefs about self (i.e., expectancies about one‟s attitudes to succeed, self-efficacy, and anxiety.)

 goals (perceived clarity and relevance of learning goals as reasons for learning.)

 involvement (i.e., extent to which the learner actively and consciously participates

in the language learning process.)

 environmental support (i.e., extent of teacher and peer support, and the integration

of cultural and outside-of-class support into learning experience.)

 personal attributes (i.e., aptitude, age, sex, and previous language learning experience)

Concerning the learner attitudes toward the target language, it was indicated by Gardner that language learners with positive attitudes towards the speakers and culture of the language were more successful in learning the language than those who have negative attitudes He also argued that the learning of a second language is dependent upon the

learners‟ willingness to identify with the culture of the target language and to incorporate aspects of the target language culture into his or her own behavior

In short, although there are numerous different definitions of motivation, it is commonly thought of as “the process of arousing, directing, and maintaining behavior” (Burden 1994:261)

2 Roles of motivation in language learning

Motivation and learning is the study of how to harness learners‟ intrinsic interest – their inherent curiosity and sense of wonder about the world – to help them learn (Lepper 1998: 2)

It is widely accepted that motivation has played an important part in language acquisition Several experts on motivation and language learning have emphasized the significance of this topic According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), motivation to learn a language is grounded in positive attitudes towards the language community and in a desire

to communicate with valued members of that community and become similar to them Gardner (1985: P.45) ilustrated that motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language He believed that motivation to learn a foreign language is determined by basic predispositions and personity characteristics such as the learner‟s attitudes toward foreign people in general, and the target group and language in particular, motives for learning and generalized attitudes

Moreover, Littlewood (1995: P53) noted that in language learning as in every other filed of human learning, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks on task at all, how much energy he devotes to it and how long he perserves It is a complex phenomenon which includes many components: the individual‟s drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity, desire for stimulation and new experience, and so on Gardner (1985: P10) defined motivation for language learning as “the extent to which an

individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity”

3 Types of motivation

Language learners learn a language, because they want to acquire, use, and communicate with those who speak the language, or perhaps they want to get to know their culture and learn about the country where the language is spoken Basing on different reasons that students are learning English, Gardner focused on classifying reasons for second language study, which he then identified as orientations (1985, p 54) He found two main orientations through his research:

- Integrative motivation: a favorable attitude toward the target language community; possibly a wish to integrate and adapt to a new target culture through use of the language

- Instrumental motivation: a more functional reason for learning the target language, such as job promotion, or a language requirement

In an EFL setting such as Vietnam, especially in rural areas, opportunities to use the target language in daily conversation are limited; therefore, it is important to consider the actual meaning of the term “integrative” Benson (1991) suggests that a more

appropriate approach to the concept of integrative motivation in the EFL context would be the idea that it represents the desire of an individual to become bilingual

3.2 Instrumental motivation

Instrumental motivation, in contrast with integrative motivation, focuses on how much the students learn English with an instrumental reason targeting convenient or immediate success like degree, future jobs, further studies, achievements, etc Or in other words, with an instrumental motivation, learners are studying a language in order to further

a career or academic goal The intensity of motivation of a learner to attain that goal could

be high or low Moreover, Oxford and Shearin (1994) confirmed that instrumental motivation refers to the desire to learn a language because of some pressure or reward from the social environment (such as career advancement or a course credit)

However, it is not always easy to distinguish between integrative and instrumental For example, there are students who don‟t like to study, but they have to, because they have pressure from their parents, peers, teachers, and so forth This is also a type of motivation which can‟t belong to either of the two motivational orientations

3.3 Integrative vs Instrumental motivation

While both integrative and instrumental motivations are of great importance in students‟ success, integrative motivation has been suggested to play a more important role

in contributing to effective language learning Lambert (1974) confirmed that integrative motivation was a more powerful predictor of linguistics achievement as it was consistently correlated with language linguistic achievement Clement (1994) and Gardner, Lalonde & Pierson (1983) revealed that learner ranking high on integrative motivation work harder and learn faster than those who are low on integrative motivation Also, students with integrative motivation seem to have more reasons for learning than those who are primarily motivated by instrumental desire Integratively motivated students appear to have less language anxiety, hold a more self-directed view of English language learning, and attribute causes for language learning success more constructively than their peers

However, that does not mean that instrumental motivation is inferior One area where instrumental motivation can prove to be successful is the situation where learners have no opportunity to use the target language and therefore, no chance to interact with members of the target group Likmani (1972) found that an instrumental motivation was more important than an integrative motivation in non-westernized female learners of L2 English in Bombay The social situation helps to determine both what kind of motivation learners have and which one is more important for language learning

Brown (2000) made the point that both integrative and instrumental motivations are not necessarily mutually exclusive Learners rarely select one form of motivation when learning a second language, but rather a combination of both He cited the example of international students residing in the United States, learning English for academic purposes while at the same time wishing to become integrated with the people and culture of the country

Moreover, in fact, a lot of students researched tend to learn English for instrumental reasons, like passing the course or gaining a degree Hyland (1997) found this tendency in his researched Hong Kong tertiary students Liu (2005) also shared the same findings in her study of Chinese students at a Southern University in China Also, in Vietnam, it is obvious that a majority of students are learning English with a view to passing exams, having degrees and getting good jobs after graduating

In short, motivation is an important factor in language achievement In identifying learning motivation of any students‟ groups, we can aim toward determining these two main types of motivation and either of these motivational aspects may possibly be found dominant It can be implied that students studying the language, may possibly be inclined either toward integrative or instrumental motivation

4 Factors affecting student motivation in language learning

According to Cottrell, 2001, whether students are motivated or demotivated are due

to the following factors:

4.1 Learner’s factors

- The Self-belief: The more students believe they are capable of success in learning

English, the more their attitude is likely to be, including their general willingness to engage with their own learning Those lacking self-belief tend to be unwilling to take risks and to expose what they believe is their

- Vagueness about the Objectives of Learning: If foreign language study is

associated with higher purpose, the student is likely to be well motivated to persever through more difficult times However, some students taking English as a foreign language may not have a clear idea of role they are purported to play in the learning process They, moreover, may not be clear with what they want from the course except final outcomes such as a qualification or a better job Thus, they lack a framework for assigning significance to what they learn and the motivation to learn

- Past experience of learning: Many students who enter college may lack the

current English language capability or skills to perform at their best in learning the language They may not have had the opportunity to develop practiced, consistent, automatic, habitual skills they can perform at will Lack of recent or previous good language educational success means that they are ill equipped to get motivated and know how to progress in the language learning

- Inefficient Learning Strategies: When coming to college, such students often try

to reproduce the language learning styles, that they were introduced at school even if these were not very successful for them When they fail again, this can reinforce demotivation,

negative self-image and produce withdrawal

- Attitudes: Cook (2001) contends that the roots of motivation reside deep within

the students‟ minds

Attitudes of students towards themselves, the foreign language, the learning context, the course, and the potential outcomes have a deep impact up on their motivation

to learn the language Negative attitude towards these produce very demotivated students

(Dilts, et al 1990) Students who hardly feel learning English adds something new to their skills and experience are unlikely to be motivated and succeed

4.2 Course Material Factors

The course material and the opportunities for students to interact with the material can motivate/demotivate students to learn (Gibbs, 1992) In the first place, if students‟ gender, ethnicity, age group or social class are not referred to, or are treated as problems in the course, they may feel excluded from the course as a result of which their motivation to learn suffers (Dilts et al 1990) If the course material contains too difficult workload, alien vocabulary, difficult tasks, vague instructions, irrelevant examples, etc it can have an impact on students‟ learning the course

4.3 Teacher Factors

Harmer (2001) makes it clear that the major factor in the continuance of students‟ motivation is the teacher His/her attitude to the language and the task of learning will be vital as an obvious enthusiasm for English and English learning would seem to be a prerequisite for a positive classroom atmosphere If lessons of the English courses are presented in ways which do not seem relevant to students; lives, interests, or circumstances, the learners may find it very difficult to focus their attention for long Vague feedback that points out failure without guidance on how to improve their work may add to their demotivation and frustration

Therefore, in order to motivate students to learn, it is necessary to take these factors into account and find suitable solutions

Chapter 2 Literature review

As mentioned in the previous part, integrative motivation is ideal in language learning, but instrumental motivation is more often found among language learners as it is their biggest aim to have good career

There have been quite many researches into integrative motivation, the definition and its roles in language learning

Persson and Ljungman (2009) carried out a study in Thailand, among students in grade eight and nine to find out what motivated those students to learn English at school Through qualitative interviews, the researchers found that most of the successful learners were integratively motivated Their relatives or families lived in English speaking countries so they had a lot of contact with the English speaking people and they learned English for their interest in the culture and the language itself and they wanted to be a member of the country where the target language was spoken

The effect of integrative motivation appears to be weaker in other situations, where learners hardly have chances to use the language outside classrooms Gardner and Lambert (1972) investigated high-school learners of French in three American communities in Maine, Connecticut, and Louisiane, and only a weak relationship was found in Connecticut

Other researchers have carried out studies on the effect of integrative motivation is ESL and they have the same conclusion that integrative motivation plays an important role

in the success of language learning and it is mostly true for people who have opportunities

to go abroad and communicate with native speakers Also, learners can learn better if they like English culture and the language itself

Lukmani (1972) found that female Marathi speakers in Bombay were more related

to instrumental motivation than integrative motivation Lukmani concluded that her subjects saw themselves “based in their own country but reaching out to modern ideas and lifestyles”

Berwick and Ross (1989) conducted a study among a group of 90 first-year Japanese university students who enrolled in an international commerce and a compulsory English course It was found that those student have instrumental motivation as they hoped

to pass the university entrance exam, and during 150 hours of class time, the motivation level rose, reasons maybe the use of a variety of instructional techniques and the recent adoption of an exchange program with an American sister university This may affect students‟ perceptions and thus, their motivation However, the researcher also found that once fulfill their desire to pass the university entrance exam, motivation to continue to study English tended to decline Many first-year students appear to have no academic purposes The research has given us a closer look at instrumental motivation and it is also suggested that this kind of motivation can only short-term As soon as learners achieve their goals, there is no reason for them to continue learning In contrast, those with integrative motivation can keep their interest for long

However, in some studies, the learners‟ reasons for studying cannot be labeled either integrative or instrumental motivation, like in the study of Benson (1991) He noted that educators in Japan were often surprised by university students‟ lack of ability using spoken English, compared to that of their grammatical understanding of the language He reported that university students‟ motivation to study English was often mixed Some students appeared to be enthusiastic but lack application Benson also based on the reasons

given by students and claimed that they could not be grouped as either integrative or instrumental motivation, thus he formed a third group called “personal” This category included motivational reasons such as “pleasure at being able to read English, and enjoyment of entertainment in English” The results from his study showed a preference for integrative and personal forms of motivation, even though this was restricted He also noted that students‟ rejection to instrumental motivation were resulted from the fact that students did not consider English as having a vital role in their lives

In short, motivation is considered significant in its roles in language learning success And in most studies, integrative motivation, which referred to “a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other language group” (Lambert, 1974, p.98) was a more powerful predictor of linguistic achievement as it was consistently correlated with L2 linguistic achievement Meanwhile, instrumental motivation proved to be successful in situations where students have limited chances of using the target language and almost no chance to interact with people of the target language

Therefore, it is important to determine which kind of motivation is prominent in a certain situation and decide what can be done to motivate students to learn It is also a big question at IS, where a lot of students have little motivation to learn English when they first come to IS, and then after certain time studying there, being taught by many native teachers, are there any changes in their motivational degree and preference for each type of motivation?

Chapter 3 Methodology

1 Subjects of the study

International School, VNU, was established in 2007 as a Vietnamese – Russian centre, and English was only taught 2 years after that Despite its age, International School has gained good reputation for its various university programs, jointly held with partners from different countries in the world However, before taking such university education, students have to undergo Preparatory Programs, where General English (from beginning to upper-intermediate levels) is taught and the matter of students‟ motivation is considered at this initial stage

In this school year (October, 2010-October, 2011), there are 12 classes (134 students) and 10 teachers of Preparatory Programs Those students come to IS for a variety

of reasons, some of them get a full scholarship for passing the University entrance exam with very good results, some return from abroad with a preference of a foreign environment, some are suggested by acquaintances, and others fail the University entrance exam and choose IS as a second choice For this fact, students do not come to IS with equal levels of English Many of them have never thought about learning English seriously, some even have never known an English word as in secondary and high school their L2 was French or Russian Teachers also do not get equal cooperation from them, some are really serious about English, some learn as it was a compulsory subject, others are totally indifferent Beside English levels, students‟ confidence is also a concerning matter Many students choose IS as a last resort for IS do not take students through University entrance exam, consequently, Therefore, for the beginning of the year, we had a lot of difficulties dealing with our new students

Realizing motivation is a key to solve this problem, authority and especially teachers of Preparatory programs have gone through various meetings and experience sharing with a desire to encourage demotivated students to learn As a teacher at IS, I would also like to have a closer look at the situation and then, give some suggestions to motivate students to complete this program well before learning ESP at university programs

The subjects of the study consist of 53 participants in 2 groups:

The first group includes 50 students of Preparatory Programs, IS with different levels of English (from Beginning to Upper-intermediate levels)

The second group involves 3 teachers aged from 26 to 34 They have been teaching English in Preparatory Programs, IS for at least 4 years

2 Data collection instruments

The study uses survey method to collect data

To elicit the necessary data from the subjects, the following types of instruments were employed

2.1 Questionnaire for students

The questionnaire is used as it allows the researcher to collect information on a variety of issues in a relatively short time Also, the students are chosen randomly in all levels to get objective opinions The researcher comes to 12 classes of the Preparatory Programs and delivers the questionnaire to 4 -5 students in each class

The questionnaire consists of two parts The first part is aimed to find out about students‟ experience in learning English by exploring different reasons why students of Preparatory Programs at IS are trying to learn English The second part includes 5 open-ended questions to discover about students‟ motivation and motivational changes during their time at IS, especially which factors can motivate or demotivate them to learn

2.2 Interviews for teachers

The interviews are used as it could allow the researcher more flexibility to probe the respondents‟ responses more deeply The 20-minute interviews were structured with a list of 8 open-ended questions

The interviews with 3 teachers aim to get their evaluation of their students‟ motivation to learn in English classes Also, it is hoped to collect their ideas of how to best motivate students as well as what to avoid if teachers would like to encourage students‟ interest in learning English

4.1.1 Multiple choice questions

The questionnaire for students is analyzed using descriptive statistics

Question 1:

Responses No of students Percentage

Table 1 The importance of English

When asked about the importance of learning English, most students were aware that English is necessary for them, 76% students realized how important this language was However, 24% of language students had not determined why they were learning English

Question 2:

I will need it for my education at University

I like meeting and converse with a variety of people 11 22%

Table 2 Reasons for students’ learning at IS

Among different reasons for students to study English at IS at present, it is noted that most of them were instrumental reasons: 86% believed a good command of English was inevitable for their higher study at University Programs and they could get good jobs

after graduation Almost the same percentage (84%) was studying English as a compulsory subject at school and they had no choice

Integrative reasons belong to a smaller number of students Only 18% thought learning English was enjoyable, 24% were learning to become knowledgeable people and 22% hoped to have chances and ability to talk to foreigners

Table 3 Students’ preference at IS

As revealed, students liked a number of things at IS The biggest number was attracted by devoted teachers It was easy to understand as all teachers at IS were friendly and enthusiastic and before teaching at IS, they had been offered 2 courses on Methodology with British Council and Language Link Another thing that students liked was native teachers, who were hired from Language Link, Accet and other famous centers Interesting lessons, good facilities and useful knowledge also appealed to a large number

of students, 44%, 38% and 36% respectively One student also mentioned friendship as a loved factor

Question 4:

Table 4 Students’ dislikes about learning English at IS

From the data collected, 54% students were demotivated by a large amount of homework, 30% were not satisfied with boring textbooks and 24% thought they could not complete hard tasks of the course Also, 22% were not contented with their teachers‟ attitudes to them Teachers‟ attitudes could be understood as their unenthusiasim or negative reactions to students‟ mistakes, criticisms of students‟ errors, etc And 8% mentioned the lack of facilities as a factor of demotivation

Question 5: In English classes, when do you learn best?

Responses No of students Percentage

From students‟ responses for question 5, it was seen that 10% of students questioned were totally demotivated and nothing could stimulate them to learn In contrast, 86% thought they could learn best through games and songs as these activities were fun and stress free Also, pair work and group work seem to be a good influence on their learning as 56% were in favor of working with friends 24% find themselves best when