using multimedia to provide motivation in learning english for grade9 students at my huong high school

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Descriptive statistics of mean scores of frequency of multimedia methods used by teacher and grade-9 students at My Huong High School 25 Table 2: Descriptive stat

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CAN THO UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING EDUCATION

THAI QUANG BUU

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CAN THO UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING EDUCATION

THAI QUANG BUU

Supervisor: NGO THI TRANG THAO, M.A

Can Tho, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION iii

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 8

ABSTRACT 9

ABSTRACT (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 10

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 11

1.1 Rationale 11

1.2 Research aims 12

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14

2.1 Multimedia 14

2.3 Applications of multimedia and types of multimedia: 19

2.4 Summary 23

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research questions 24

3.2 Research hypothesis 24

3.3 Research design 24

3.4 Participants 24

3.5 Research instrument 25

3.6 Data gathering procedure 25

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION 27

4.1 Results of the study 27

4.2 Discussion on the connection between frequency and motivation 30

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33

5.1 Summary of the study 33

5.2 Recommendations for English high school teachers and English learners 33

5.3 Limitation and suggestion for further researches 34

5.4 Conclusion 35

REFERENCE 36

APPENDIX 38

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Descriptive statistics of mean scores of frequency of multimedia

methods used by teacher and grade-9 students at My Huong High School

25

Table 2: Descriptive statistic of mean scores of motivation provided by

using the seven-types of multimedia methods

26 - 27

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Detailed mean scores of motivation provided by using the

seven-types of multimedia methods

29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like, first of all, to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Ngo Thi Trang Thao for her enthusiastic guidance from the beginning to completion of this paper Without her valuable advice and critical comments, this research could not have taken its shape To what more, her consultancy and encouragement were an endless source of support and an indispensable factor in the success story of this research

Besides, I wish to take a chance to thank the principle of My Huong High School, Mr Thai Minh Dien, who accepted my request and allow me to do my research in his school Furthermore, I sincerely appreciate the cooperation of 102 high school students in grade

9 from My Huong High School in finishing the questionnaires, particularly for their enthusiastic and serious participants

Finally, I am grateful to my parents, my friends, teachers, classmates and my sister, Ms Thao, who have always been beside with me to encourage me and assist me during my study

ABSTRACT

In recent years, multimedia has gradually become the mean of teaching in most schools all over the country The reason for this trend is that educational multimedia can provide students motivation in learning English To take advantages of this opportunity, a research is planned to proceed with two aims: (1) to find out which multimedia methods teachers and students often use; (2), to understand what multimedia methods motivate students in learning English Based on the two aims and their hypothesis, two research questions are built up to aid the questionnaire Many researches have pointed out that if students are motivated enough, that means if teachers or students themselves use multimedia as a tool to enhance learners’ motivation, it will make a great impact to the entire learning process, which will lead to both effective teaching and effective learning Thus, this research is conducted to investigate the effect of using multimedia as motivation of seventy-five grade-9 students at My Huong High School From the data collected from the questionnaire, the problems are uncovered relating to basic steps of doing research

TÓM LƯỢT

Trong những năm gần đây, đa truyền thông đang dần dần trở thành phương tiện giảng dạy ở đa số các trường học trong khắp cả nước Xu hướng này hoàn toàn hợp lí vì đa truyền thông làm cho công tác giảng dạy học sinh cũng như tạo động lực học cho các

em trở nên đơn giản và hiệu quả hơn Nhân thời cơ trên, nghiên cứu này được lên kế hoạch để tiến hành với hai mục đích chính Thứ nhất, khám phá phương tiện đa truyền thông nào được sử dụng thường xuyên trong công tác giảng dạy Thứ hai, hiểu được phương tiện đa truyền thông nào cung cấp động lực học cho các em học sinh một cách đầy đặn Dựa vào mục đích trên, hai câu hỏi nghiên cứu được đưa ra để tiện hơn trong việc lập ra bảng câu hỏi phục vụ cho công tác nghiên cứu Nhiều nghiên cứu đã chỉ ra rằng nếu các em học sinh được cung cấp đầy đủ động lực học, đồng nghĩa với việc giáo viên sử dụng các phương tiện đa truyền thông thích hợp, thì các em sẽ học tiếng Anh hiệu quả hơn Cho nên, nghiên cứu này được lập ra để điều tra 75 em học sinh lớp 9 ở trường Trung học cấp 2-3 Mỹ Hương, những vấn đề ban đầu được đặt ra dần dần được khám phá đầy đủ với qui trình thích hợp

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter will address the following five sections: (1) the rational of the research, (2) the research aims, (3) the significance of the research, and (4) the thesis organization

1.1 Rationale

In the early preproduction stage of second language acquisition, students start to communicate with each other by using simple sentences and teachers play the role of scaffolding According to Sawyer (2006), scaffolding is the support given during the learning process which is tailored to the needs of the student with the intention of helping the student achieve his/ her learning goals However, many difficulties are met because students are not able to understand what their teachers are talking about The reason of this issue is understandable because English is the subject that students have no control on; students may comprehend the other subjects because they are taught using their mother tongue English, on the other hand, has to be taught using the different teaching methods due to the significant nature of the subject

According to Tran (2013), students in the age from 15 to 18 in general and grade-9 students in particular are in the pre-adult stage In school, learning activities are still the main activity; however, it requires positive and independent of students To deeply comprehend the course, students must have a level of conceptual thinking high enough, that means students must be taught English using new methods, not just old and traditional teaching styles English with students in this stage is new and discoverable;

if students are provided enough motivation, students will find the subject interesting and the next stages of second language acquisition would be simpler

Researchers have studied for the aspiration of finding new methods that help teaching become more effective and successful Although the term “multimedia” is familiar for teachers at that time, Malik & Agarwal (2012) state that multimedia facilitates mastering basic skills of students by applying drill and practice Nevertheless, the aim of

encouraging students to learn English throughout multimedia is still not considered carefully by teachers due to the lack of researches on the field of high-school context in general and in Vietnamese high-school settings in particular

In attempt to get deeper understanding of the issue, this study aims to explore the use of multimedia in motivating students in learning English

1.2 Research aims

The research aims are to examine teachers’ and students’ using of multimedia as a possible resource for practicing and developing motivation in more effective English learning Specifically, they are:

(1) to find out which multimedia methods teachers and students often use

(2) to understand what multimedia methods motivate students in learning English

1.3 Research significance

The findings of this research will be helpful to both high-school teachers and learners Through learners’ beliefs, teachers can know what multimedia method that learners want and expect them to use and what multimedia method is effective in learning process of learners Being aware of these beliefs will allow teacher to choose appropriate ways to reach students’ needs This will also result in getting learners to gain more success in their English learning process In addition, students may be instructed to have proper attitudes toward the multimedia methods

1.4 Research organization

The research consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the rationale to conduct the study, the aims of the

research, the research significance and organization of the research

Chapter 2, Literature review, provides the theoretical framework for the study

including the definition of multimedia, educational multimedia, and its advantages

Besides, the definition of motivation will be discussed Then, the applications of multimedia in providing motivation for students and types of multimedia methods will also be mentioned in this part

Chapter 3, Research methodology, describes the methodology used in the research

involving research design, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis

Chapter 4, Result and Discussion, reports and represents the findings of the research Chapter 5, Implications, Limitations, Recommendations and Conclusion,

summarizes what is addressed in the study Next, limitations and some pedagogical implications from this research will be discussed Finally, directions for further research will be provided

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Multimedia

2.1.1 Definition of multimedia

Humans receive data through multiple channels, i.e., media, including audio and visual channels (Paivio, 1969) as well as touch, taste and smell Multimedia is most commonly defined as the use of at least two of these elements: sound (audio), and text, still graphics, and motion graphics (visual) (Tannenbaum, 1998) The importance of multiple channels for delivery of educational content can be found in the theory of multi-channel communication which confirms that when information is presented by more than one channel, there will be additional reinforcement, resulting in greater retention and improved learning which is also known as multimedia (Bagui, 1998; Daniels, 1994; Ellis,

2004)

Schwartz & Beichner (1999) argue that multimedia is in essence a presentation of information that incorporates multiple media such as text, audio, graphics, and animation Multimedia need not be computerized, but computers offer some of the most seamless multimedia presentations

2.1.2 Multimedia in education

2.1.2.1 What is educational multimedia?

As it has been clearly defined earlier, multimedia is a judicious mix of various mass media elements such as text, audio, images, animation or video However, in educational circumstances, Neo M and Neo T.K (2009) argue that multimedia provides a technology based constructivist learning environment where students are able to solve a problem by means of self-explorations, collaboration and active participation Simulations, models and media rich study materials like still and animated graphics, video and audio integrated in a structured manner facilitate the learning of new

knowledge much more effectively The interactive nature of multimedia provides the room to enhance traditional "chalk-and-talk" method of teaching with more flexibility to learners to adapt to individual learning strategy (Neo, 2007) It enables both the educators and learners to work together in an informal setting The role of educators and learners are extended Furthermore, it encourages and enhances peer learning as well as individual creativity and innovation

2.1.2.2 The advantages of using multimedia inside and outside L2 classroom

The promise of revolutionizing education through the use of multimedia can be found as early as 1922 when Thomas Edison proclaimed that “the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant…the use of textbooks” (Mayer, 2005) Other proclamations include Benjamin Darrow who proclaimed that radio would “bring the world to the classroom” His colleague, William Levenson predicted in 1945 that a “radio receiver will be as common in the classroom

as the blackboard” and “radio instruction will be integrated into school life” (Mayer, 2005) Considering also the history of educational television combining visual and audio;

by the 1950s educational television was touted as a way to create a “continental classroom” that would provide access to “richer education at less cost” (Mayer, 2005) Ninety years later, in Malik & Agarwal’s study (2012), they state that multimedia facilitates mastering basic skills of a students by applying drill and practice It helps in problem solving by doing and understanding abstract concepts, providing enhanced access for teachers and students in remote locations, facilitating individualized and cooperative learning, helping the managements and administrations of classroom’s activities and learning content, and simulating real life problem handling environments For instance, text alone simply does not allow students to get a feel of any of Shakespeare's plays In teaching biology, an instructor cannot make a killer whale come alive in a classroom Multimedia enables us to provide a way by which learners can experience their subject in a creative way The appeal of multimedia learning is best illustrated by the popularity of the applications currently available in the internet

applications market These are multimedia programs combining text, audio, video, and animated graphics in an easy-to-use way

Multimedia has permeated every part of our society No tools or teaching methods have had greater impact than multimedia As a teacher, we have an opportunity to engage our students like never before through interactive games, video, presentations and so on We now can meet our students’ needs in a more interactive and entertainment way Integration of multimedia into instruction can help to reduce curriculum barriers and improve learning for all students This following part provides a basic introduction to multimedia and describes how it can be used to support student learning

Improves Learning: Numerous studies over the years have shown that interactive

multimedia learning takes less time, is enjoyed more and increases learning (Hick, 1997.)

Interactive: Interactivity is mutual action between the learner, the learning system, and

the learning material Numerous studies have found that interactivity has a strong positive effect on learning (Hick, 1997.)

Practical: It is capable of presenting true-to-life situations that learners face every day

Students can be trained to be a practical learners - they learn best when faced with real problems that have real consequences Decision tree simulation, video simulations or simple animations allow students to learn-by-viewing, learn-by-doing or learn-by-coaching (Hick, 1997.) All are effective methods for developing motivation and increasing information retention

Engaging: Interactive learning with live-action video, audio, graphics, feedback, expert

advice, and questions and answers keep learners interested and reinforces skills Because

it is exciting, challenging, and fun to use, it encourages learners to return to the program again and again Through continual practice, learning is absorbed and integrated into daily performance (Hick, 1997.)

Multimedia becomes more accessible to teachers and students; its potential to become a tool to enhance learning result become a practical option when technology is spreading like a wildfire all around the world

2.1.2.3 Contributions of multimedia to education:

The role of technology and multimedia in language learning in general cannot be denied Practicing with audiotape in classroom or computer lab in high school and the university help build a foundation for learner’s ability to familiar with syntax and vocabulary of the target language On the other hand, computer is perceived as a tool of enhancement to help students in learning a second language The large amount of using computer in the target language instructions in the past decade attests this belief (Meskill, 1996.) Both audiotape and computer provide individualized positive outcomes to the target language which students can actively use and control in self-study On top of that, using multimedia in learning skills of the target language in general has more expectation since the growth of technology these days is fast and powerful, students can now interact with the target language which can help raising the interest in daily lessons, students are not forced to read or listen to such long and boring topics in the textbook when teachers hold the capability to find more interesting ones on the internet

However, arranging the combination of several kinds of multimedia into intelligent and pedagogically-driven lessons is a real challenge to material developers (Meskill, 1996.)

It is important to understand that we must first engage the attention of our students before they are ready to learn Multimedia helps teachers organize a more effective lesson by providing different instructions and learning styles (Meskill, 1996.) Having different ways to present information to the students allows teachers meet the needs of all students

in L2 classroom, multimedia also provides plenty of different tools that can support teachers in designing lessons which are easier to understand, students are now not just listening to the lesson but they can see, hear, imagine what things feel like as multimedia

is used to bring objects to life The more creative and dynamic a teacher is, the better his/her students are

Multimedia enables us to provide a way by which learners can experience tasks in a whole new manner The key to provide this experience is having simultaneous graphic, text, video and audio rather than in a sequential manner For example, in learning listening skills, students are now able to find interaction with the tasks instead of just sitting steady and listening to a conversation that is broadcasted through a tape

The pedagogical strength of multimedia is that it uses the natural information processing abilities that we already possess as human Our eyes and ears, in conjunction with our brain, form a formidable system for transforming meaningless sense data into information (Meskill, 1996.) The old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” often understates the case especially with regard to moving images, as our eyes are highly adapted by evolution to detect and interpret moving objects Including images or videos into listening tasks can help approaching students in many ways that we cannot possibly imagine The mind of a high school student is still young and it seeks for satisfaction not boring-wall-of-text For example, when teaching vocabulary, a video of

a song playing on a colorful background would be more valuable to the students, in this respect, using text only, even in a creative way, has obvious limitations as compared to the use of both text and moving images

2.2 Using multimedia as motivation

Abrahamson (1998) may represent the majority of multimedia advocates when he states that “a primary function of the use of television, computers, and telecommunications in distance learning is to motivate students rather than just to provide information to them” However, evidence for the motivational qualities of multimedia instruction has been elusive at best The best conclusion at this point is that overall, multimedia courses may

be more attractive to students and so they tend to choose them when offered options

What is motivation in particular?

Pintrich & Schunk (2002) in their review of research on motivation to learn suggest that the existing research focuses on one or more of three “indexes” or outcomes of

motivation: 1) active choice, actively starting to do something that one formerly

“intended” to do but had not started, 2) persistence, continuing to work towards a goal, despite distractions or competing goals, and 3) mental effort, “the number of non-automatic elaborations invested in learning” (Salomon, 1984.)

Each of these indices plays a different role in the learning process and some may not be related to learning On one hand it is possible that active choice (e.g the choice to engage

in multimedia learning by choosing to start a multimedia lesson or to select a multimedia course alternative over a more traditional option) may be facilitated by attractive multimedia features such as ease of access, flexibility of scheduling and the personal control students are often able to exercise when starting, pausing or moving between different sections of a multimedia materials

There is a persistent belief among some segments of the education and training communities that the most effective learning experiences are those in which learners navigate unstructured multimedia learning environments or solve novel problems presented without instructional supports (Land & Hannafin, 1996.) It is believed that the roof of motivation is self-study environment where students can discover knowledge without any higher level supports and the best way to motivate students is to let students motivate themselves Multimedia is the tool teachers need to aid this belief According

to Clark (2001), multimedia offers extraordinary benefits to education including a wide range of instructional options and, with sufficient instructional design, considerable reductions in the time required to learn without the supports of teachers

2.3 Applications of multimedia and types of multimedia

2.3.1 Multimedia applications for the classroom

Rose & Meyer (2002) states that there is a clear disconnect between the media students are accustomed to using outside the classroom and the media they predominantly use within the classroom Students spend copious amounts of their free time socializing, shopping, and even studying on the Internet, where they are flooded with text, images,

video, animation, and sound in what is a complex multimedia environment Schwartz & Beichner’s study (1999) pointed out that the younger generation is intimately familiar with multimedia, accustomed to receiving and sharing information in a range of formats

In contrast, students spend most of their time in the classroom viewing printed text and listening to a teacher This disconnect is troublesome While students are accustomed to having a range of means to communicate and process information outside of school, they must conform to a more restrictive media environment within school Printed text is one-size-fits-all, but students' learning strengths, needs, and interests are all over the map Thus, the traditional print-driven curriculum raises a number of barriers to access and learning

Integration of multimedia into instruction can help to reduce curriculum barriers and improve learning for all students The following part provides a basic introduction to multimedia and describes how it can be used to support student learning listening

2.3.2 Types of learning and teaching multimedia applications

There are numerous types of multimedia Below we review a selection of different multimedia forms, focusing on their potential for supporting diverse learners

Speech simulator

Digital texts can be read aloud using recorded human voice or a text-to-speech programs Read-aloud is an intrinsic feature called talking books, but with text-to-speech software, virtually any digital content, including web-based texts can be read aloud Read-aloud offers potential benefits to many students, including students with poor visual ability, students with decoding problems and students with anxiety in reading (Borgh & Dickson, 1992.)

It may be easier for students to recognize errors when listening versus reading a material

By listening to a passage that they have just written, students may be able to revise more

successfully Thus, the motivation of students is stimulated because they can actually listen to their own materials

CD-ROM storybooks

CD-ROM storybooks offer digital text in combination with features such as animations, illustrations, speech, and sound (Doty, Popplewell & Byer, 2001.) For example, a CD-ROM storybook might offer the story text together with animations, vocabulary definitions, and sound effects Thus, they can accompany students with speaking or reading anxiety because the students’ mission is to sit back and listen to a CD-ROM However, this kind of multimedia does not always have pedagogical value Some storybooks feature extremely entertaining animations and sound effects that, while entertaining, do not directly support access or learning Therefore, teachers need to be wise in order to select CD-ROM storybooks carefully and with consideration of individual student characteristics

Video & animation

Xin & Rieth (1992) states that video can be used to present to students a real-world context within many kinds of situations are visualized These approaches are valuable in helping to engage and motivate students, in providing students with alternatives to text, and in supporting to create an integration of listening skills and visual interactions

Hypermedia

Hypermedia refers to hyperlinked multimedia – the linkage of text, audio, graphics, animation, and/or video through hyperlinks often used throughout using the software Microsoft Power Point Hypermedia offers a powerful means to integrate curriculum content with entertainment which provides learning motivation in students Digital texts can be enriched with a range of instruction (MacArthur & Haynes, 1995.) For example, vocabulary definitions might be presented as text, pictures, and animated graphics Background information might be presented as a map, video, annotated bibliography

with text and audio, or illustrated timeline Listening tasks might be presented as pictures attached to vocabulary that helps students easy to recognize as well as remember

Computer games

Turgut & Irgin (2009) have noted how young learners’ playing online games promotes language learning and especially vocabulary skills They would be best advised to try to play online games that are useful resources for language learning By far the most commercially successful multimedia works are computer games, whose short but rich history is linked with the development of multimedia technologies Games like Myst introduced consumers of all ages to the effective use of images, animations, and environmental sound to create a fictional world characterized by navigation and puzzle-solving Games can be installed by using CD-ROM, DVD or collected from the internet

Multimedia encyclopedia

A common form of educational and reference multimedia is the multimedia encyclopedia Encyclopedia contains information on people, place, events and things (Encyclopedia Britannica Interactive multimedia, 1999.) Multimedia encyclopedias are the logical extension of the print genre, taking advantage of the world – wide – web where people from all over the world can access and make edition on English teaching and learning materials just by using a simple set of computer with internet

Computer Software

Computer software also known as computer programs which is written to benefit computer’s users in many different ways depend on the user’s intention In curriculum situations, the capacity of computer software is broad and inclusive (Wordreference.com,

2007.) It even permits us to provide presentations by human instructors that have been

“record” on video and presented on a computer screen as well as all instructional methods, include interactivity between instruction and learners Computer software can