Primary students’ motivation in learning English A case study at Nhan Phuc Primary School = Động lực học Tiếng Anh của học sinh Tiểu học Nghiên cứu cụ thể tại t

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ HOA PRIMARY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HOA

PRIMARY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY AT

NHAN PHUC PRIMARY SCHOOL

ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC: NGHIÊN CỨU CỤ THỂ TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC NHÂN PHÚC

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Code : 601410

Hanoi - 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HOA

PRIMARY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE STUDY AT

NHAN PHUC PRIMARY SCHOOL

ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC: NGHIÊN CỨU CỤ THỂ TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC NHÂN PHÚC

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410

Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang

Hanoi- 2013

i

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled

“Primary students’ motivation in learning English: A case study at Nhan Phuc Primary School” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

of MA in English Linguistics

Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2013 Nguyen Thi Hoa

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr

Vo Dai Quang, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher

A special word of thanks goes to my lecturers, my friends, my classmates, my colleagues, my students and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work

iii

ABSTRACT

The research in this minor thesis is carried out to investigate students’ motivation at Nhan Phuc Primary School By employing questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as research data collection, the study found out that the young learners at Nhan Phuc Primary School have tendency towards intrinsic motivation in learning English Also, the researcher explored three main factors affecting the students’ motivation, namely students’ self interest, caregivers’ encouragement and anxiety

In this study, motivational strategies also were discussed

In short, it is hoped that this thesis will help to improve the teaching and studying of English at Nhan Phuc Primary School as well as pave the way for future studies in the field of young students’ motivation in English learning

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality of study project report i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

List of abbreviations vii

Tables and figures viii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Aims and objectives of the research 2

3 Scope of the research 3

4 Significance of the research 3

5 Structural organization of the thesis 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Review of previous studies related to the research area of the thesis 5

1.2 Theoritical background 9

1.2.1 Motivation in language learning 9

1.2.2 How children learn foreign languages? 10

1.2.3 Teaching English to children 13

1.3 Summary 9

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Research - governing orientations 15

2.1.1 Research questions 15

2.1.2 Research setting 16

2.1.3 Research approach 17

2.2 Research methods 18

v

2.2.1 Major methods 15

2.2.2 Data collection techniques 16

2.2.3 Data analysis techniques 17

2.3 Summary 19

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 24

3.1 Primary students’ motivation in learning English in the context of Nhan Phuc Primary School 24

3.2 Factors affecting student’s motivation in learning English in the context of Nhan Phuc Primary School

3.3 Techniques for motivating students at Nhan Phuc Primary School

PART C: CONCLUSION 36

(i) Recapitulation 36

(ii) Concluding remarks on each of the thesis objectives 36

(iii) Limitations of the current research 37

(iv) Recommendations 38

(v) Suggestions for future research 39

REFERENCES 40

APPENDICES 41

Appendix A:Questionnaire 1 42

Appendix B: Questionnaire 2 44

Appendix C: Interview questions 46

vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:

Learning, Teaching, Assessment EFL English as a Foreign Language

SLA Second Language Acquisition

vii

TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1 Population of informants for the study 20

Table 2 Students’ responses to 15 questionnaire items 30

Table 3 Students’ preference of motivational strategies 33

Table 4 Students’ expectation of teacher’s motivational strategies 34

Table 5 Preferred techniques ranked by students 35

Figure 1 Students' opinions whether they like learning English or not 24

Figure 2 Students' interest in English learning 24

Figure 3 Students’ reasons for studying English 25

Figure 4 Students' awareness of their own language competence 27

Figure 5 Summary of students' motivation patterns at Nhan Phuc Primary School 27 Figure 6 Factors affecting students' motivation at Nhan Phuc Primary School 32

1

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Perhaps, there has been a “global revolution” of learning and teaching English at primary schools nowadays The term “global revolution” may appear something of

an over-statement, but actually the teaching of English has become especially important in recent years The trend towards an early start in learning English turns out to be a worldwide phenomenon The number of countries now introducing English at primary levels has been increasing, including Viet Nam It is expected that English soon will be compulsory from grade 3 in every part of Viet Nam, though the policy has been implemented in many provinces of the country Viet Nam has been taking a lot of important actions in an ambitious education reform so that by the year 2020 all students will reach B1 level adopting CEFR standard after leaving high schools The Ministry of Education and Training is taking a phased approach in which primary English language teaching plays a very important role Although it has long been believed that children can learn a second language more quickly and efficiently than adults, in fact, there is no clear evidence for this belief Obviously, children’s language acquisition and adults’ differ from each other quite

a lot in terms of physiological characteristics, cognitive ability, span of attention, faculty of memory, self-consciousness, linguistic capacities, learning style, motivation for studying and so on Because of learner difference and learning context difference, a varied view on motivation in language learning should be taken by researchers and teachers in order to devise suitable teaching styles that can both enhance language learning and facilitate the achievement of education goals Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate motivation, which is considered to be one of the most important elements in language learning, however limited research has been done to thoroughly evaluate children’s motivation

2

Working as a primary English teacher for nearly three years in a village in Ha Nam made me think about the topics “teaching English to children” and “student motivation” a bit deeper than I probably would When I first started to work with young learners, it raised fears and questions in my mind as well For example:

“Whether children like to learn English or not?” “How can I inspire them?” “What strategies should be used to fit children’s characteristics?” “What should be done to motivate young learners?” While much attention has been devoted to English teacher education and student motivation at high schools and secondary schools, a little has been paid specifically to children’s motivation in learning English in Viet Nam Besides, many children living in the countryside generally, in my region particularly are often provided with limited facilities in learning a foreign language

In other words, these young learners will have to deal with more obstacles in acquiring a foreign language rather than those living in a city As such, both teaching and learning English at a primary school in a village would create potential dilemmas The current context inspires me to study the issue of young learners’ motivation in English in rural regions so that I could understand the motives underlying my pupils’ learning process and I myself can better the teaching methods to help them have a foundation of English at their early stage of learning

At the same time, I hope that other teachers who encounter the similar teaching contexts may have some suggestions to improve their own situation

2 Aims and objectives of the research

The study aims at understanding young learners’ motivation in English learning so that appropriate teaching techniques would be applied to offer them opportunities for absorbing a new language easily In order to achieve this aim, the research has to fulfill the specific objectives below:

3

- Identifying children’s motivation in learning English at Nhan Phuc

Primary School

- Exploring the factors affecting young learners’ motivation in the

context of Nhan Phuc Primary School

- Suggesting motivational strategies for teaching English at Nhan Phuc

Primary School

3 Scope of the research

Due to time constraint, the length of the thesis and the researcher’s knowledge, this study only focused on students’ motivation in English learning at one primary school in Ha Nam, where the researcher has been working for nearly three years Based on the general profile of motivation of primary students at Nhan Phuc Primary School, some recommendations are given to teachers who face the same teaching context so that they can sharpen their pedagogical to some extent

4 Significance of the research

This study would be very helpful in explaining why young learners are interested in learning English Although the research is conducted in one primary school in Ha Nam, it is believed to be an attempt to look into the matter of primary students’ motivation in learning English in Viet Nam generally The result of the study will

be of some contribution to inspire primary English teachers to conduct more interesting and effective lessons based on their students’ interest The researcher hopes that insights into this area will help to address the matter of motivation in other primary schools In addition, this study may be of useful suggestions to enhance primary language teachers’ professional skills in Ha Nam and other provinces throughout the country

4

5 Structural organization of the thesis

The thesis is divided into three parts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion

Part A is the introduction which reveals the rationale, the aims and objectives of the study, the scope of the study, the significance and the structure of the research

Part B includes three chapters

Chapter I discusses the theoretical background and previous studies relevant to the study It is an attempt to review the literature of motivation in foreign language learning, how children learn foreign languages and teaching English to children Chapter II discusses the research-governing principals and research methods This section covers the research questions, the research setting, the approach adopted, and the methods of collecting data, the data collection techniques, and data analysis techniques

Chapter III deals with findings and discussion of the study It shows the detailed results of the surveys and covers a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from questionnaires and interviews

Part C is the conclusion which summarizes the study with suggestions for further research This part also includes concluding marks, implications and limitations of the study

5

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Review of previous studies related to the research area of the thesis

In this section, I would like to review the research entitled “Motivation for Learning English as a Foreign Language in Japanese Elementary Schools” by Junko Matsuzaki Carreira who is now working as a PhD candidate at Tsuda College, Tokyo Her research was published in JALT Journal, Vol 28, No 2, November,

2006 (JALT Journal is the research journal of Japan Association for Language Teaching) In this study, she explored the factors underlying Japanese pupils’ motivation for learning EFL The research was conducted on 345 Japanese pupils in which 174 are at third grade and the rest are at sixth grade The study revealed that five factors affecting primary students in Japan were interest in foreign countries, intrinsic motivation, caregivers’ encouragement, instrumental motivation and anxiety The result of the study demonstrated that there was a developmental decrease in motivation for learning EFL, regarding the age factor Despite of its limitation, this study made a contribution towards understanding Japanese young learners’ motivation in learning EFL generally She also implied the improvement

of teaching methods for higher grades should be done The author left room for more investigation of cognitive, linguistic development, strategies and social cultural factors in the future

It is worth noticing that in her research, the author stressed the importance of research into children’s motivation for learning foreign languages because the results from studies on adults’ motivation cannot be applicable in the case of young learners The fact calls for a thorough research on children’s learning motivation She reported several important researches done by Masgoret, Bernaus, and Garner

(2001) and Nikolov (1999) According to Masgoret et al (2001) there was “no clear

indication of independent cluster reflecting Integrativeness, Attitude towards the

6

Learning Situation, Motivation, or Language Anxiety.” Nikolov who studied a

group of children in Hungary remarked that external reasons for learning English could be found in 8-to-11 year old rather than 6-to-8 year old children Moreover, the oldest of the group (11-to-14 years old) proved to be more practical than the rest

Although the findings from the mentioned studies cannot be applied to the context

of primary teaching and learning English in Vietnam, they serve as helpful sources for an overall picture of children’s learning motivation generally As a researcher, I find these researches a big help for me to get deeper background knowledge about the topic “motivation” in order to conduct a study on young learners’ motivation in

learning English in my own teaching context

motivation as “the reasons underlying behaviors” In other words, Bredler , Broussard and Garrison (2004: 106) broadly define motivation as “the attribute that

moves us to do or not to do something” In discussion of this term, Richards and

Schmidt (2002: 243) considers motivation as “the driving force in any situation that

leads to actions” Pintrich and Schunk, (2002: 5) offers the view that “motivation as the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained” According

to Dornyei (2001), there are two key factors relating to one’s motivation, namely

7

“individual expectations of success” and “the value individuals put on success” If

both factors bring someone positive feelings, he/ she will be highly motivated By contrast, missing one of these factors will result in individuals’ low degree of motivation He sees motivation as embracing static and process-oriented conceptualizations (Dornyei, 2001: 126) Motivation in language learning then is not only an intensive need for learning but also an inner cause that makes students involved in their learning process with enthusiasm and willingness Gardner’s definition emphasizes the element of pleasure perceived by learners as he defines

language motivation as “the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of

learning the language plus favorable attitudes towards learning the language”

(Gardner, 1985: 10) Among many definitions, I prefer the one proposed by Keller

(1983: 389), in which he explains motivation as “the choices people make as to

what experiences or goals they will approach or avoid and the degree of effort they will exert in that respect” It might not be the most perfect definition of motivation,

however, to my viewpoint; the author covers the term with a wide range of relating items

In the study of motivation, other terms such as orientation, attitude commonly

arise, causing confusion to readers These terms are distinguished with motivation

as the following According to Belmechri and Hummel (1998:238) “orientations

are related to motivation” and “they function as predictors of motivation” In

foreign language learning, orientation is a tendency, which sustains learners’ motivation to learn the language, but may not necessary lead to effort in acquiring the goal of the learning process It differs from motivation in term that orientation excludes the activity or effort in learning the target language There are many understandings of “attitude” resulting from different perspectives Gardner (1985:

8) defines attitude as “an evaluative response” to some referent or attitude object,

inferred on the basic of the individual’s beliefs or opinions about the referent” Wenden (1991) noted that there have been many ways of expressing the nature of attitude which share three characteristics of attitude:

8

a Attitude always have an object

b They are evaluative

c They predispose to certain actions

In foreign language learning, attitude is an evaluative response based on learners’ beliefs and thinking about language learning that predisposes learning behaviors while orientation does not maintain the effort in language learning

The concept of motivation itself involves too many factors and contexts and is “too

complex and multifaceted” (Dornyei, 1998: 117), so these above definitions add to

the understanding of the motivation nature It would be unwise to try to seek the most satisfying definition among them Generally speaking, when educators discuss student motivation, they usually mention the same concept: motivation known as the combination of desire and attempt to perform some activity and achieve a goal

In addition, motivation has close relation with such factors as self-confidence, anxiety and perceived competence

9

motivation as they make their own choice of what, how and why to learn Sharing the same point, Ellis (1997: 76) said that learners’ intrinsic motivation “involves the arousal and maintenance of curiosity and can ebb and flow as a result of such factors as learners’ particular interests and the extent to which they feel personally involves in learning activities”

Three types of intrinsic motivation are classified by Vallerand (1997) as follow:

- Intrinsic motivation that refers to involvement in an activity for pleasure, satisfying one’s curiosity to learn

- Intrinsic motivation for achievement where the learner engages in an activity for suppressing or accomplishing something

- Intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation that refers to the learner’s engagement in an activity to experience pleasant sensation

1.2.1.2.2 Extrinsic motivation

The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is one of the most general and well-known in psychological motivational theory (Dornyei, 2001) In contrast

to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation is “a construct that is involved

whenever an activity is done in order to attain some separable outcome” (Ryan &

Deci, 2000: 7) It is referred as an outward force in the form of expectation, praise and rewards stimulating students’ interest in learning Cheryl L Spaulding (1992:4) explains that extrinsic motivation exists when individuals are motivated by an outcome that is external or functionally unrelated to the activity in which they are engaged If the reasons for someone to work hard are to win his parents’ favor, gain teachers’ praise, or earn rewards, his motivation is primarily extrinsic Students’ purpose of learning a language is not for the knowledge itself, but outward rewards, they will be encouraged to study actively with praise and rewards Such students do not carry out an activity for the enjoyment of the activity itself

There are four different types of extrinsic motivation depending on the degree of self-determination that learners have in it (Deci & Ryan, 1985) They are ranked

10

from external regulation - motivation for a task over which one does not control, to integrated motivation – motivation for a task that one totally accepts and adapts The more controlling and less self-determining that regulation is, the less learning will take place (Deci et al., 1991)

1.2.1.2.3 Integrative motivation

Integrative motivation shares some common features with intrinsic motivation According to Gardner and Lambert (1959), integrative motivation has been

conceptualized as “one’s willingness to be liked valued members of the language

community” Integratively motivated students would be interested in and have

positive attitude toward the target language community, the course and the teacher and enjoy learning the language Ellis (1997) explains that some learners prefer to learn a particular second language because they are interested in the people and

culture represented by the target language Dickenson (1995) notes “Learners with

an interactive attitude have a compelling purpose for learning which is intrinsic to

a target language Learners who are integratively motivated seem to have a strong intrinsic motivation to learn a language.” Gardner (1959) was the first one to

introduce the concept of integrative motivation in which he referred to the desire of assimilating oneself to the target culture while learning the language He describes

integrative motivation as “a complex attitudinal, goal-directed and motivational

attributes” (Gardner, 2001: 6) That means students who have this type of

motivation will high value the target language and community, approach language study with the intention of entering that community and have tendency to evaluate the learning situation in a positive way Learners who have positive attitude towards target culture and want to integrate into it are likely to succeed in language learning; otherwise they will get failure Gardner and Macintyre (1991) argue that students with integrative motivation are more active in the classroom in learning class and have a great desire to interact with community of the language The level of integrative motivation depends largely on the context of learning Schummann

11

(1976) suggests that in EFL classroom, the need for assimilation and acculturation

is practically non-existent, especially at beginning levels In many cases, it seems too far away and irrelevant to the situation Integrative motivation can also be demonstrated through interest in listening to songs of target language, talking to foreigners, reading stories or literature works This is more commonly found in many EFL contexts

1.2.1.2.4 Instrumental motivation

Gardner (1972) in his well-known socio-educational model also is the one who initially raised the idea of constructing instrumental motivation with integrative motivation Instrumental motivation refers to second language learning for some functional reasons such as passing exams or getting a prestigious job The interest and focus of the learners in this process is placed too heavily on the expected outcomes of learning process Students who see language learning as having beneficial career prospects or something that will enable them to use transactional language with speakers of the foreign language will be motivated instrumentally It underlines the goal to gain some social or economic reward through L2 achievement, thus referring to a more functional reason for language learning (Gardner & Lambert, 1972) Dornyei’ study (1996) of Hungarian secondary school learners of English revealed that instrumental motivation is the central component

of motivation where it is relevant He also claims that foreign language learning in a classroom setting doesn’t involve attitudes towards the L2 community because learners have little or no contact with members of L2 group

Instrumental motivation is especially important for adult learners for reasons of practical purpose Many studies were carried out to support such an idea In a study about motivation for learning English among first year female university students in Zayed University in the UAE (1999), the researcher found out that the key motivating factor for the learner was instrumental Attitudinal studies conducted on Arab students (1984) have shown that Arab students are instrumentally motivated to

12

learn English and it was true that some learners are integratively motivated but they are in minority

1.2.1.3 Importance of motivation in language learning

Numerous studies have revealed that motivation is the key of language learning process In a series of research on language achievement, Gardner (1977) found that greater motivation and attitudes lead to better understanding Oxford and Shearin

(1994) noted that “Many researcher consider motivation as one of the main

elements that determine success in developing a second or foreign language; it determines the extent of active, personal involvement in L2 learning” They also

stated that research shows that motivation directly influences how often students use L2 learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being learnt, how well they do in curriculum-related achievement tests, how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over.(Oxford

& Shearin, 1994: 12) That is to say motivation is one of major factors contributing

to one’s success in learning a second or foreign language Oller et al (1997) investigated the importance of motivation in second language acquisition by the research involving 44 Chinese participants studying at two American universities The research showed that integrative motivation played a vital role in the participants’ acquisition of English, and correlated with their language proficiency Language learning is different from other kinds of learning because of its social

nature William and Burden (1997: 115) state that “the learning of a foreign

language involves far more than simply learning skills, or a system of rules, or a grammar, it involves an alternation in self-image, the adoption of new social and cultural and behaviors and ways of being, and therefore has a significant impact on the social nature of the learner”

Motivation also helps to promote the choice of strategies among students learning a second or foreign language Research has shown that studying a second or foreign

13

language can be successful by using specific learning strategies and techniques

“The conscious, tailored use of such strategies is related to language achievement

and proficiency.” (Oxford, 1994, cited by Tran Long, MA Thesis “Motivating

students to learn English: A study on Hanoi Industrial College students, 2005) The author gave an emphasis that “More motivated students tend to use more strategies than less motivated students, hence, they tend to be more successful.”

1.2.2 How children learn foreign languages?

Knowledge about children’s learning is seen as fundamental to effective teaching The way a child learn a new language is quite different from adults’ because it is evidence that children and adults have their own typical learning styles In this section, besides the discussion of Mary Slattery and Jane Willis, which shows typical features of young learners, I adapt the work of two famous theorists in developmental psychology, Piaget and Vygotsky, whose ideas highlight the way one may think about the child as a language learner

 Mary Slattery and Jane Willis (2001: 4-5) point out 12 characteristics of

children as language learners as follow:

+ Learning through seeing, listening, copying and doing

+ Being unable to understand an explanation of grammatical rules

+ Understanding the meaning partly through non-verbal communication activities + Copying exactly

+ Loving to play and use imagination

+ Having short attention

+ Being curious

+ Enjoying repetition of activities

+ Developing independent thinking

+ Being able to distinct between reality and imagination

+ Being able to organize the best to implement any activity

+Team working

14

(Cited by Do Thi Mai Chi, MA thesis)

 Piaget: The child as active learner

Piaget’s theory concentrated in how the world surrounding children affects their mental development and how they function in that world From his viewpoint, it is

action is central to cognitive development In this way, “thought is seen as deriving

from action” The idea was illustrated by the example of how a child solves the

problem of getting food from a bowl into her mouth She can use a spoon or her fingers to get the food, that is, she learns to feed herself by muscle control or direction finding Such action is not inborn, but “actively constructed” Piaget suggested two ways for children’s active development: assimilation and

accommodation “Assimilation happens when action take place without any change

to the child; accommodation involves the child adjusting to features of the environment in some way” (Lynne Cameron, 2007: 3, Teaching Language to Young

Learners) Actually these two processes happen together and compose the thinking processes A child has to experience a series of stages before reaching the end point

of development – logical thinking However, Piagetian psychology neglected social aspect of children’s lives, an important dimension in a child’s development

Taking Piaget’s key point, Donaldson’s work (1978: 86, cited by Lynne Cameron)

emphasizes that “the child actively tries to make sense of the world … Also from a

very early stage, the child has purposes and intentions: he wants to do.” The child

is then considered sense maker, however, he/she has little knowledge and experience to make sense of everything around The world, in turn, provides the child with opportunities for development Transferring this idea to learning environment, a teacher should offer children chances or create classroom activities for them to work with objects or ideas so that they can learn through action

15

 Vygotsky: The child as social

Vygotsky stressed importance on a child’s social interaction, that is, the communication between the child and adults, other children or people in the world surrounding His ideas not only gave priority to children’s social dimension but also mentioned individual cognitive development By contrast to Piaget’s theory, Vygotsky considered the child as an active leaner in a world full of other people

“In a whole range of ways, adults mediate the world for children and make it

accessible to them … With the help of adults, children can do and understand much more than they can on their own” (Lynne Cameron, 2007: 6) For example:

when a child tries to feed herself and gets difficulty in using a spoon, an adult may assist her by putting his hand over the child and guide her to filling the spoon Such instruction can be helpful to promote children’s development Vygotsky proposed the idea of ZDP (Zone of Proximal Development) which supports the new meaning

of intelligence, that is, intelligence should be measured by what a child can do with skilled help rather than what a child can do alone The notion of ZDP can help teachers in both lesson planning and interactions with pupils and mediate “what next it is the child can learn”

1.2.3 Teaching English to children

Teaching English to kids has been increasingly important in the context of business globalization today as English is an international language The field of teaching English to young learners has been received attention in the last ten years More concern was devoted to the area of teaching such as the theories and researches contributed by Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner Each of them approached the issue from different perspectives, but they all seek to explore how young learners learn a language and to find out the best method to teach them The researches by Bruner, Wendy A Scott and Lisbeth H Ytreberg are 2 other significant understandings which should be considered here

16

 Bruner

According to Bruner (1990), language is the most important tool for cognitive growth and adults have used language to mediate the world for children and help them to solve the problem He is the one who initiate a useful technique labeled

“scaffolding” to teach foreign language for primary students Like parents who scaffold tasks for their children, the teachers should do the following:

- Make the children interested in the task;

- Simplify the task;

- Keep the child on track towards completing the task by reminding what the goal is;

- Point out what important to do;

- Control the child’s frustration during the task;

- Demonstrate an idealized version of the task;

(Quoted by Lynne Cameron, 2001)

 Wendy A Scott and Lisbeth H Ytreberg

The book Teaching English to children by Wendy A Scott and Lisbeth H

Ytreberg offers practical, down-to-earth advice on useful techniques and approaches

in the classroom They make the following recommendations to primary language teachers:

Words are not enough: Teachers try to put children in meaningful contexts by

making use of the surroundings Spoken word only is not a good policy for kids They need more than just saying words Most of activities for children should include movement and involve the sense

Play with the language: The advice is to let students acquire a foreign language in

the most natural way Children can play with the language by activities like singing songs, telling stories, making up rhymes, and so on

17

Language as language: As the authors mentioned “reading and writing are

extremely important for the child’s growing awareness of language and for their own growth in the language”

Variety in the classroom: One of the main characteristics of young learners is that

they have short spans of attention Therefore, they cannot concentrate on an activity for a long period; they need kind of variety in terms of activity, pace, organization and voice

Routines: It’s obvious that repetition supports children’s learning quite a lot Thus

teachers should use familiar situations, repeat stories, and have routines to give their learners benefits from such regular activities

Cooperation not competition: Remember to avoid rewards and prizes Competition

can sometimes help to encourage young children; however, it may cause negative effects on learning atmosphere In order to get them involved in the learning activities, teachers can group children in pairs or bigger groups, which create a cooperative learning environment in the class

Grammar: Children do not have cognitive maturity to deal with complex grammar

rules “The best time to introduce some sort if simple grammar is either when a

pupil asks for an explanation or when you think a pupil will benefit from learning some grammar.”

Assessment: It’s a good idea for teachers to have regular assessment of children’s

progress

18

1.3 Summary

In this chapter related research and background knowledge concerning the study of young learners’ motivation in English language learning have been reviewed As acknowledged in many research so far, motivation plays an important role in language learning success The understanding of children’s motivation could support many primary English language teachers to improve their teaching techniques In the following chapter, I will present the research on children’s motivation in my teaching context The research-governing principles and research methods will be discussed in details