A study into EFL learner motivation a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in TESOL

ABSTRACT The research was designed to investigate learner motivation at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology in terms of the reasons why the students learnt English as these reasons coul

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

A Study into EFL Learner Motivation

THE THESIS SUMMITED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL)

Supervisor Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN THANH TUNG

SEPTEMBER 2016

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “A Study into EFL Learner Motivation” is my own work Except for the reference which is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I qualified for or awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, 12 September 2016

Tran Thi Thuy Hang

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof

Dr Nguyen Thanh Tung, for his generous assistance and great devotion to guiding me through the preparation and completion of this thesis Without his great help, I would have never been able to finish this thesis

Secondly, I am sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the TESOL program at Ho Chi Minh Open University for their helpful instruction and dedication from 2012 to 2014

Thirdly, I want to express my thanks to all the students and English teachers at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology for their participation in this study

Finally, I am deeply indebted to my beloved family and my friends for their support and encouragement so that I could have motivation to complete this thesis

ABSTRACT

The research was designed to investigate learner motivation at Ho Chi Minh University

of Technology in terms of the reasons why the students learnt English as these reasons could reveal their motivation types and the factors affecting their learning motivation This study also aimed at determining the lecturers’ perceptions toward their students’ motivation

It has been said that the low English performance of the students in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) University of Technology has not received enough attention from any studies Therefore, the researcher conducted the research with 275 students and their twelve lecturers in twelve classes in the lowest English level course which requires the most motivational support All the students and the lecturers were asked to answer the questionnaires specially written for them Furthermore, twelve students chosen randomly and the lecturers participated in the one-by-one interviews with the researcher The results gathered from these questionnaires and interviews were analyzed with the support of SPSS

The results from the survey with 275 students indicate that the students are both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated to learn English However, their extrinsic motivation is the dominant because of the better job opportunity in the future and the usefulness for effective communication in the modern society The findings also show that both internal factors and external factors play an important role in enhancing learner motivation and performance Among those factors, the English teachers are considered as

a crucial element because they can help the students to follow their learning goals, create

a friendly classroom environment, give supportive feedback, conduct interesting classroom activities, and design the most suitable materials for their particular classes

In conclusion, although the lecturers could understand their students’ learning motivation types and applied varied methods to motivate the students to learn English in class, they also need more activities to increase the students’ time of using English outside the

classrooms and more support from the administrative staff at the university Based on the research findings, some pedagogical implications for the students, the lecturers and the administrative staff were withdrawn Hopefully, the results from this research can be helpful to improve learner motivation in particular as well as the quality of teaching and learning process at HCM University of Technology

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II

ABSTRACT III

TABLE OF CONTENTS V

LIST OF TABLES IX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS X

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.1.1 English in Vietnamese tertiary level 1

1.1.2 Main constraints in Vietnamese learner motivation 2

1.1.2.1 Vietnamese learning style 2

1.1.2.2 Teachers’ action and perception 3

1.1.2.3 Classroom organization 4

1.2 Statement of the problem 5

1.3 Purpose of the study and the research questions 6

1.4 The significance of the study 6

1.5 Limitations of the study 7

1.6 The organization of the study 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 Definitions of learner motivation 8

2.2 The importance of learner motivation 8

2.3 Learner motivation types 9

2.3.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation 10

2.3.2 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation 11

2.4 Research framework 13

2.5 Motivation factors 14

2.5.1 Internal factors 14

2.5.1.1 Goal setting 15

2.5.1.2 Expectancy 15

2.5.1.3 Self-confidence 16

2.5.1.4 Self-efficacy 17

2.5.2 External factors 17

2.5.2.1 Teachers 18

2.5.2.2 Feedback 18

2.5.2.3 Classroom environment 19

2.5.2.4 Materials 20

2.5.2.5 Activities 20

2.6 Teachers’ perceptions toward students’ motivation 21

2.7 Related studies on learner motivation 21

2.7.1 Around the world 22

2.7.2 In Vietnam 24

2.8 Research gap 27

2.9 Summary 27

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Pedagogical setting 29

3.2 Research design 30

3.2.1 Research subjects 30

3.2.1.1 Students 30

3.2.1.2 Teachers 31

3.2.2 Research methods 31

3.2.3 Research instruments 33

3.2.3.1 Questionnaires 33

3.2.3.2 Interviews 35

3.2.4 Analytical framework 37

3.3 Data collection procedure 39

3.3.1 Administering the questionnaires 39

3.3.1.1 Questionnaire for students 39

3.3.1.2 Questionnaire for lecturers 40

3.3.2 Administering the interviews 40

3.3.2.1 Interview with students 40

3.3.2.2 Interview with lecturers 41

3.3.3 Summary of the data collection procedure 41

3.4 Validity and reliability 42

3.5 Summary 45

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 46

4.1 Data analysis 46

4.1.1 Students’ questionnaire 46

4.1.1.1 Students’ profile 46

4.1.1.2 Students’ types of motivation 50

4.1.1.3 Factors affecting students’ motivation 53

4.1.2 Lecturers’ questionnaire 60

4.1.2.1 Lecturers’ profile 61

4.1.2.2 Lecturers’ perception towards students’ types of motivation 63

4.1.2.3 Lecturers’ perception towards factors affecting students’ motivation 65

4.1.3 Students’ interviews 72

4.1.4 Lecturers’ interviews 81

4.2 Discussion of the findings 90

4.3 Summary 92

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 93

5.1 Conclusions 93

5.2 Research findings 94

5.2.1 Findings for students 95

5.2.2 Finding for lecturers 96

5.3 Research implications 97

5.3.1 Implications for students 98

5.3.2 Implications for lecturers 98

5.3.3 Implications for administrative staff 101

5.4 Recommendations for further research 102

REFERENCES 105

APPENDICES 112

Appendix 1 112

Appendix 2A 113

Appendix 2B 115

Appendix 3A 117

Appendix 3B 119

Appendix 4 121

Appendix 5A 122

Appendix 5B 137

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 The procedure of delivering and collecting data 42

Table 2 Students’ information (gender) 46

Table 3 Students’ information (English in their university entrance exam) 47

Table 4 Students’ information (mid-term score) 48

Table 5 Students’ information (English learning experience) 49

Table 6 Students’ information (using English outside the classroom) 50

Table 7 Students’ reasons for studying English 51

Table 8 Factors related to the students 54

Table 9 Factors related to the teachers 56

Table 10 Other motivational factors 58

Table 11 Lecturers’ information (gender) 61

Table 12 Lecturers’ information (academic qualification) 61

Table 13 Lecturers’ information (teaching experience) 62

Table 14 Lecturers’ perception toward students’ reasons of learning English 63

Table 15 Lecturers’ perception toward motivational factors related to the students 66

Table 16 Lecturers’ perception toward motivational factors related to the teachers 68

Table 17 Lecturers’ perception toward other motivational factors 70

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

EFL: English as Foreign Language

L2: Second Language

HCM: Ho Chi Minh

M: Mean

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

1.1.1 English in Vietnamese tertiary level

English has become the most important foreign language in Vietnamese educational system at all levels However, English is especially emphasized at tertiary level because it plays a crucial role in the future of the leaners who expect to have a better career and position in society These leaners need English not only for graduation requirement but also for a ticket to an international working environment and higher income Nevertheless, the matter of English in Vietnamese universities is complicated and disappointed

After completing the 10 credits within the first and second years of study, very few training branches are allowed to provide further English training for students Most universities do not have policies or regulations to encourage their learners to continue learning a foreign language (Phan H T., 2010, p 5)

Phan’s statement pointed that English education in universities has not effectively prepared students for the demand of English after their graduation As the result, the English proficiency of the majority of university students and graduates are quite disappointing They do not appear to be confident with their English (Tran T T., 2013, p 139) In an effort to discover the reasons behind that unpromising consequence, Tran (2013) in her study mentioned learner motivation as a vital factor affected English learning process in Vietnamese universities She reported that good motivation can be viewed as a factor which can positively lead to the successful enhancement of English teaching and learning at universities (p 141) In addition, she also had further analysis in Vietnamese setting:

The teaching of English in Vietnamese universities received many criticisms from the participants They all suggested that the current English teaching and learning

at universities was ineffective and disappointing It negated their motivation and made them lose their hope in English learning (p 141)

Therefore, in order to improve the current English achievement in universities, learner motivation should be the center of attention The following section turns to focus on learner motivation

1.1.2 Main constraints in Vietnamese learner motivation

Despite of the previously mentioned essential influence of learner motivation on English learning process, it is believed that Vietnamese university students obtain a low level of motivation Tran and Richard Jr (2007) wrote that:

Despite the current extrinsic pressures to learn English as a foreign language in Vietnam, many students don’t seem ever to have developed any interest in learning English, or if they have, they seem to have lost that interest for some reason, that is, they have become demotivated (p 81)

Sharing the same point view, Phan and Le (2009) also noted that Vietnamese students are not strongly or appropriately motivated As the result, the students turn to lose their enthusiasm and confidence in English learning (p 164) That situation has received a number of studies analyzing the constraints of learner motivation in Vietnamese tertiary system As the result, Vietnamese learning style, teachers’ action and perception as well

as classroom organization are viewed as the main constraints The following section will discuss Vietnamese learning style

1.1.2.1 Vietnamese learning style

The first constraint refers to Vietnamese passive learning style The Confucianism even now maintains its influence on preventing leaners from interrupting their teachers with questions (O'Sullivan, 1997, p 51) Moreover, Le (1999, p 4) noted that “influenced by Confucianism, students feel rude if they interrupt, question, or argue with their teacher”

In other words, raising learners’ voice in class is discouraged because of ethic boundaries

in society Therefore, Vietnamese students tend to be passive in classrooms and depend

on their educators Nguyen (1989) and Tran (1999) reported that: “The attempt to have insight into Vietnamese students’ voices remains limited owing to the commonly held belief that teachers are traditionally considered the knowledgeable “expert” Ly (2007, p 153) also contributed: “students may think that it is more beneficial to let teachers decide their needs, because teachers know more about what they need to learn and how their knowledge will be assessed in examinations” Dang (2010, p 6) continued the argument with his point that Vietnamese students are accustomed to getting the knowledge from their teachers Learning actively is not a common habit of Vietnamese students (Le S T.,

2011, p 38) Accordingly, Vietnamese learners gradually lose their own interest in classrooms and the ability to set their goals in learning English This situation results in the fact that Vietnamese student motivation has been decreasing considerately, which triggers their low English proficiency The next section will discuss the teachers’ action and perception

1.1.2.2 Teachers’ action and perception

Besides Vietnamese learning style in the last section, the second constraint, Vietnamese teachers’ action and perception, also has an important effect on learner motivation

“Teachers were found to have a strong impact on students’ demotivation or motivation to learn” (Tran & Baldauf, 2007, p 100) However, the influence of Vietnamese university educators is believed to be negative Luu (2011) raised his convincing points:

The word “ignore” is highlighted since numerous teachers understand the position

of the learner element in their teaching strategies Nevertheless, they do not want

to explore it due to such factors as time constraints, energy insufficiency (due to teaching several hours a day), brief and unrepeated teaching of a particular class, and pride in their degrees or ranks It is their “pride” that a number of teachers even take students’ resistance as an offence, but teaching students without understanding them is a greater offence like doctors treating patients without investigating their medical histories (p 285)

Based on Luu’s opinion, the reasons why Vietnamese lecturers have remained traditional demotivating teaching style have been certainly clarified However, another important cause is discovered in teachers’ perception Tomlinson and Bao Dat (2004) found that

“teachers believe their students to be passive, not willing to participate in classroom activities, and seldom speaking English in the classroom For these reasons, they keep on using a lecturing style in class” (p 38) Holding that unsupportive viewpoint, teachers are unable to motivate themselves and their students to create a successful English teaching and learning process Furthermore, some special circumstances at a tertiary level have exacerbated the problem Tran (2013) wrote about university teachers as follows:

Despite knowing different modern language teaching methods (at least by names), they normally did not bother to use these methods This was because (1) no one

‘forced’ them to use these methods, (2) it was too hard to make use of the new methods given the current situation of class size, limited resources and the need to provide enough for-the-exam-knowledge to students and (3) renovate teaching style required time and efforts, but no incentives were given for the teachers who spend their time to make use of new teaching methods (p 142)

Thus, the negative influence of teachers’ action and perception must be recognized as a serious constraint against learner motivation Moreover, classroom organization will be mentioned in the next part

1.1.2.3 Classroom organization

In addition to learning style, teachers’ action and their perception, classroom organization

is also justified for its significance The first aspect to mention would be overcrowded classrooms Classrooms of one lecturer with more than 40-50 students tend to encourage traditional passive learning and teaching process Nevertheless, the difference in students’ English level, the second aspect, is central to low learning motivation “In most universities, students who have already learnt three or seven years of English at school are still placed in a class with the students who had not learnt any English before entering

university”, which leads to the fact that “students who had to relearn English felt bored, while the others felt nervous and lacked confidence” (Tran T T., 2013, p 141) Consequently, not only students with a low English level but also those with a high one find English classroom unexciting to participate in This issue shows that the gap in English proficiency among university students contributes to the decrease in learner motivation and the quality of English teaching and learning at universities

In short, Vietnamese learning style, teachers’ action and their perception together with classroom organization have created a number of difficulties for leaner motivation in supporting English competence at a tertiary level Furthermore, the statement of the problem is presented in the next part

1.2 Statement of the problem

English has become the predominant foreign language in Vietnam Therefore, English educational system at all levels has received the most attention from the government and society However, the outcome of English teaching and learning process at a tertiary level could not satisfy the social expectation In an attempt to find out the possible reasons for that issue, learner motivation with its powerful influence on English learning is emphasized Despite Vietnamese learning style, teacher’s action and perception and classroom organization as main constraints, learner motivation is believed to be the factor supporting English learning practice at universities Nguyen (2012, p 73) emphasizes that if Vietnamese students get proper encouragement, they can become motivated and eager to follow English learning process However, “teachers’ lack of knowledge about their students’ real reasons for learning a language is one of conditions that impede our full understanding of students’ motivation for L2 learning (Oxford & Shearin, 1994, as cited in Zhao, 2012, p 100) That point raised the significant concern over teachers’ understanding of learner motivation Consequently, leaner motivation at universities in Vietnam needs to be further investigated for higher understanding and encouragement Therefore, the purpose of the study is presented in the next part

1.3 Purpose of the study and the research questions

Based on the findings of the previous studies, this research is an attempt to (i) investigate what motivation types the students at HCM University of Technology have, (ii) discover the most supporting motivation factors for these students, and (iii) explore their teachers’ perception of learner motivation To achieve the aims set up above, the study is conducted with an effort to find out the answers to the following research questions:

1 What kind of learner motivation do the students at HCM University of Technology hold?

2 What are the most important factors influencing learner motivation at HCM University of Technology?

3 How do the teachers at HCM University of Technology perceive their students’ motivation?

1.4 The significance of the study

Motivation plays an important role in English learning because it can contribute to the success of learning process The findings of this paper hopefully could inform teachers of their leaners’ motivation types and motivational factors affecting their learning achievements Therefore, the English learning and teaching at HCM University of Technology can develop, as once the students are motivated, their English results can be improved Furthermore, the research findings can help the school administration deeply understand the effects of learning environmental factors on the students’ outcomes in order that they can provide the students with more teaching facilities as well as better learning conditions Moreover, the study also suggests some practical implications for better motivation support in their classrooms at HCM University of Technology or other universities sharing common features

1.5 Limitations of the study

The study only deals with the first year students in the first level (English 1 according to the internal program) of HCM University of Technology Therefore, it mostly aims to be applied in this university, not to be generalized to other universities Furthermore, the study does not cover all motivation factors because of the time limit

1.6 The organization of the study

The study includes five chapters

Chapter 1 presents the study background, the reasons why the researcher choses this topic, the purposes and research questions, as well as the organization and limitations of the study

Chapter 2 reviews relevant theories on learner motivation definition, types of learner motivation and the factors affecting learner motivation

Chapter 3 describes the design and methodology in which the study is carried out It involves research method, research design, population and sample, instruments, data collection procedure and method of analysis

Chapter 4 presents the data analysis and discussion of the findings

Chapter 5 summarizes the study and offers some limitations of the study, implications and recommendations for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of learner motivation

Because of the essential influence of learner motivation, there are a considerable number

of studies discussing its definition and types According to Oxford and Shearin (1994, p 12), learner motivation has been viewed as an important encouragement to start and maintain a long term language learning process Therefore, many authors conducted numerous studies on motivation and provided their definitions of learner motivation Thus, “it is not possible to give a simple definition” for leaner motivation (Gardner, 2006,

p 242) The researchers supporting behaviourism defined motivation as “the anticipation

of reward" (Brown, 2000, p 160) Nevertheless, the cognitivists shared the opinion that students’ decisions should have been mentioned when discussing leaner motivation because of "the choices people make as to what experiences or goals they will approach

or avoid, and the degree of effort they exert in that respect" (Keller, 1983, p 389) However, Al-Tamimi and Shuib (2009, p 31) claimed the constructivists also focus on social contexts on the way searching the definition for leaner motivation In short, learner motivation can be defined as "the fulfillment of needs” and it “is rewarding, requires choices, and in many cases must be interpreted in a social context” (Brown, 2000, p 161) That can be the explanation for the fact that “even though some students might be naturally enthusiastic about learning, many (of them) need or expect their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them” (Ullah & Fatema, 2013, p 130) Therefore, learner motivation is defined as a fulfillment of needs in a social context seems to the most appropriate in the context of the study with the investigation of the tertiary level and the teachers’ perception toward learner motivation The next part is written for the understanding of the importance of learner motivation

2.2 The importance of learner motivation

The previous part introduced many definitions of learner motivation from many previous studies This part focuses on the essential role of learning motivation in language

learning In the long-term development of English learning and teaching, “motivation is

… one of the most important elements in learning Without motivation, learning is not likely to take place , if the learners are not motivated to learn, there will be little learning” (Nation, 1975, p 115) The importance of learner motivation was also highlighted by McDonough (1983, p 142) with the statement that learner motivation is one of the most essential factors deciding the students’ success or failure in English learning Moreover, according to Oxford and Shearin (1994, p 12), learner motivation should be considered as a primary support to begin and retain language learning in a long term In addition, Lifrieri (2005, p 4) reported that “when asked about the factors which influence individual levels of success in any activity – such as language learning – most people would certainly mention motivation among them” Furthermore, Tran and Baldauf

Jr (2007, pp 79-80) in their paper in the case of Vietnamese students summarized that

“motivation is one of the main determining factors in an individual’s success in developing a second (L2) or foreign language (FL)” because “it directly influences how much effort students make, (…)how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over”

In short, leaner motivation plays a crucial role in English language learning process Consequently, it should be encouraged and enhanced in an attempt to improve students’ English competence in Vietnamese universities However, there are some constraints against Vietnamese learner motivation as focused in the next sections The next part will introduce some learner motivation types and explain the researcher’s choice of the most appropriate concepts in this research

2.3 Learner motivation types

In addition, learner motivation is generally classified into two pairs, integrative orientation and instrumental orientation (Kang, 2000) or intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985) The comparison among them is still under formidable argument with different points of view This section is going to explain the meanings of

those pairs and the researcher’s choice to apply the more suitable pair in the study The

first pair, integrative and instrumental motivation is discussed in the next part

2.3.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation

In a social psychological framework, learner motivation was identified based on two types of orientations: integrative orientation and instrumental orientation (Kang, 2000, p 2) Benson (1991) suggested that integrative motivation represents an expectation to be bilingual and even bicultural In other words, integrative orientation is related to a positive tendency to the target language group and a desire to be accepted as a member in that group (Dörnyei, 2001b, p 49) On the other hand, instrumental orientation describes reasons for language learning associated with the potential realistic benefits Norris-Holt (2001) supplemented that point with further explanation that “with instrumental motivation the purpose of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material, translation work, or achieving higher social status Instrumental motivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no social integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place, or in some instances is even desired” (p 2) Different currents of ideas have been introduced to discuss the comparison between integrative and instrumental motivation Generally, as Lei Zhao (2012, p 101) stated, instrumental orientation is greatly appreciated because it is considered as a stronger effort when learners become active That point of view has been supported by a number of studies in the following years Norris-Holt (2001, p 3) was successful in borrowing the ideas from Taylor, Meynard and Rheault (1977); Ellis (1997); Crookes Schmidt (1991) to suggest that integrative motivation has played a more important part to maintain a long-term learning process However, a study carried out by Lukmani (1972) reported an opposite fact that instrumental motivation predominated in the second language learning process

of the Indian female learners Dörnyei (1990) also found that under-intermediate learners tend to get higher improvement by the force of instrumental motivation than by one of

integrative motivation However, in higher level of language proficiency, learners must possess integrative motivation to really learn the language and get further achievement It means that instrumental motivation should be stressed as an essential factor affecting language learners’ performance while integrative motivation is stressed as an indispensible condition for overall higher success in second language acquisition Therefore, Brown (2000) shared the view that both integrative motivation and instrumental motivation are important in language learning In his study, the finding showed that the international students living in America were learning English for academic purposes and social integration It led to the conclusion that integrative and instrumental motivation should not be exclusively separated because students generally employ the combination of them in their learning However, there is also another pair of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation researched in many studies about language learning, which will be discussed in the next part

2.3.2 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

In self-determination theory, Deci and Ryan (1985) classified motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation according to the reasons or goals of the learners Csikszentmihalyi and Nakamura (1989) provide the definition that motivation is intrinsic when the reasons for participating to the activities start from the enjoyment the activities possess, and that motivation is extrinsic when these reasons come from outside of the activities themselves Their concepts were repeated in Ryan and Deci’s (2000, p 55) study with the statement that intrinsic motivation is connected to performing in an activity because it is interesting itself while extrinsic motivation refers to the performance resulting from separated outcomes like prizes, money, job promotion, grade, or positive feedback, etc Another study later also shared the similar definition that learners are intrinsically motivated by the pleasure and interest within the activities and extrinsically motivated by the consequence apart from the pleasure and interest within the activities (Noels, 2001, pp 45-46) In the comparison between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Brown (1994) believed that intrinsic motivation is more powerful in encouraging students

to pursue their language learning career This view is supported by Ushioda (1996) who wrote that learners “may work efficiently in the short term in response to external rewards and incentives, but their motivation is unlikely to sustain itself autonomously if the learning experience does not generate internal or intrinsic rewards” (p 22) His point

is sensible because solitary extrinsic motivation could turn learners to become passive because the disappearance of extrinsic rewards can discourage them from persisting studying However, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are essential in language learning process as Pan, Zang and Wu (2010, p 154) said “the intrinsic motivation is sometimes thought to relate to long-term success Extrinsic motivation is thought more related to short-term success.”

Under the discussion of the relationship among integrative, instrumental, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Lei Zhao (2012, p 110) offered a significant explanation:

The intrinsic and extrinsic motivation provide us another perspective to understand the source of motivation This model is not meant to replace the integrative-instrumental distinction, but rather to complement it (Oxford, 1996) According to Kang (2000), foreign language learning orientations, in settings where most learning of English takes place in the formal classroom, might consist of sub-components of Gardner’s traditional integrative/instrumental orientations as well as intrinsic/ extrinsic orientations, depending on the contexts

Based on that view, it is possible to say that the two pairs of motivation constructs are important but the model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation seems to more sufficient for the detailed investigation of leaner motivation at HCM university of Technology where English is learnt as a foreign language in formal classrooms Therefore, the researcher attempts to employ two concepts, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, to investigate the types of learner motivation in this study Besides the types of learner motivation, the motivation factors also get great attention from many researchers because they are the direct elements affecting learners’ motivation and performance The

following section will discuss a framework listing the most important factors in the research on learner motivation in English learning

2.4 Research framework

From many previous studies on learner motivation, the researcher found the framework

of learner motivation designed by Williams and Burden (1997) the clearest one in contents and presentation (See Appendix 1) This framework was also employed by Zhao (2012) in his research, “Investigation into motivation types and influences on motivation: The case of Chinese non-English majors” The framework listed all the motivational factors which were divided into two groups consisting of the internal factors and the external factors

The first group includes intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency, mastery, self-concept, attitudes, developmental age and stage, gender, and other affective states For more details, the arousal of curiosity and optimal degree of challenge are mentioned in the intrinsic interest of activity while personal relevance, anticipated value of outcomes and intrinsic value attributed to the activity explain the perceived value of activity Furthermore, the sense of agency includes locus of causality, locus of control process and outcomes as well as the ability to set appropriate goals In addition, mastery focuses on feeling of competence, awareness of developing skills and mastery in

a chosen area and self-efficacy Besides, self-concept aims at personal realistic awareness, strengths and weaknesses in skills required, personal definition, judgments of success and failure together with self-worth concern learned helplessness Moreover, the attitudes toward language learning in general mean the attitudes to the target language and to the target language community and culture Confidence, anxiety and fear are also mentioned as other affective states

The second group of the factors is external factors which consist of significant others, the nature of interaction with significant others, the learning environment and broader context The significant others are the people who can strongly affect the students’

learning performance, such as their parents, their teachers or peers The nature of the interaction between them and the students are explained by the mediated learning experience, the feedback, rewards or punishments Furthermore, the comfort, resources, time, and size of the classrooms are highlighted in the learning environment The broader context consists of wider family networks, the local education system, conflicting interests, cultural norms, and societal expectations and attitudes In short, there are many factors which can influence English learning motivation However, this research is only capable of concentrating on some most outstanding elements which received the most attention in other previous studies due to the limit of time, the maximum length of the paper and the available resources Those elements are present in the next section

2.5 Motivation factors

Besides motivation classification, “it is important to find out the underlying causes of students’ motivation in English learning and the possible factors that influence students’ sustaining motivation, especially in a practical sense to teachers who want to stimulate students’ motivation” (Zhao, 2012, p 100) Although many frameworks of motivational factors have been introduced, Williams and Burden’s (1997) model seems to be comprehensible to investigate in this research study As leaner motivation is considered

an important condition for acquiring a foreign language, the factors which can increase or decrease leaner motivation also receive great attention in many frameworks Williams and Burden (1997) provided a comprehensive framework including significant internal and external factors However, this framework covered too many aspects for a study to investigate Therefore, in this study the researcher plans to focus only on some key factors which have been emphasized in many previous studies The factors can be classified into two groups, internal factors and external factors The first group is discussed in the next part

2.5.1 Internal factors

Internal factors refer to learner’s perceptions of themselves and their control in the activities (Williams & Burden, 1997, p 137) There are many studies written about the

internal factors of the language learners In those studies, goal setting, expectancy, confidence, and self-efficacy of students have been remarkably discussed The first factor, goal setting, is explained in the next part

self-2.5.1.1 Goal setting

Goal setting is considered as an important factor to powerfully influence language learning process With strong goals in their mind, the students can pursue their learning career for a long time and win all the difficulties to gain their achievements Schunk (1991) found out three elements affecting learners’ goal setting process They are specificity, proximity, and difficulty level The specificity informs learners about the effort they need to make in order to achieve in a particular level Proximity supports learners with the understanding of their ability in many sub goals which are believed to give them a sense of making progress and an increasing motivation That point was highlighted by Oxford and Shearin (1994) in their conclusion that goal setting could distribute an outstanding stimulation in language learning motivation The goal difficulty can have an effect on the attempt learners determine to make so that they can be successful in the task Therefore, it is reasonable to claim that setting goals requires learners to actively engage the activity Consequently, that requirement results in learners’ motivated behaviors (Williams & Burden, 1997) In addition, “having goals and expectations leads to increased motivation, which in turn leads to a higher level of language competence” (Karaoglu, 2008, p 2) The expectation of the students is explained in the next part

2.5.1.2 Expectancy

Expectancy was described as the noticed possibility for leaners to succeed (Dörnyei Z , 1994) Based on expectancy-value theory, the combination of learners’ expectancy of task success and their values following it create leaner motivation That point can be explained that greater individual’s expectation and values of the goal are likely to produce higher positive motivation (Dornyei, 2001) He also gave a simpler logical explanation that “we do things best if we expect to succeed, and, to turn this statement

round, we are unlikely to be motivated to aim for something if we feel we will never get there” (as cited in Dörnyei, n.d ) Hence, students’ expectation plays an essential role in language learning procedure Their expectation can be shown by what they hope to get from English, from a particular language course or even from each English task and activity in their classrooms Besides expectancy, the learners’ self-confidence is also significant for English accomplishment The next part will give more details about students’ confidence

2.5.1.3 Self-confidence

In the discussion on learner self-confidence, self-confidence is viewed as a belief that a person is competent to participate well in a task and gain the achievement (Dörnyei, 2001b)

Previously, Dörnyei (1994) stated self-confidence can be seen as a primary motivation force in the occasion learners cannot have the direct exposure to the native target language speakers Moreover, he contributed five suggestions to support language learners’ self-confidence in relation with other extrinsic factors:

- Teachers can foster the belief that competence is a changeable aspect of development

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

- Everyone is more interested in a task if they feel that they make a contribution

- A small personal word of encouragement is sufficient

- Teachers can reduce classroom anxiety by making the learning context less stressful

(as cited in Thanasoulas, 2002, p 4)

The suggestions above highlighted the crucial position of the teachers in encouraging their students’ self-confidence by creating friendly classroom environments, conducting group works, organizing games, giving compliments when they perform well or ask the students to help them prepare for the learning activities Furthermore, students’ self-efficacy is noteworthy; so it is discussed in the next part

2.5.1.4 Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is related to learners’ judgment of their capabilities to perform in a particular activity In order words, self-efficacy means that the students clearly know about their ability in learning English, their strengths and weaknesses It helps learners to determine their choices, desire and persistence for the tasks assigned Dörnyei (1998, p 119) claimed that students with low self-efficacy tends to consider learning difficulties as serious negative disincentive or even as their personal drawback That perception possibly makes students demotivated to persist their learning On the contrary, high self-efficacy can assist learners to confidently encounter threatening obstacles and maintain their effort and motivation despite the failure Therefore, learner self-efficacy should be seen as an important factor influencing motivation and learning outcomes In addition to internal factors mentioned, the importance of external factors is examined in the following section

2.5.2 External factors

While internal factors are related to learner’s perceptions of themselves and their control

in the activities, external factors refer to the contextual elements from the outside environment, not from the learners themselves These factors are believed to be essential

in increasing learner motivation level and encouragement for learner persistence on the journey to attain their academic goals although each learner is affected by external factors

in a different way (Williams & Burden, 1997, p 139) Some most effective factors discussed in many previous studies are teachers, feedback, classroom environment, materials, and classroom activities The first factor, teachers, will be presented in the next part

2.5.2.1 Teachers

Teachers are a significant factor in supporting learners’ success because teachers’ personality and teaching style are viewed as factors influencing learner motivation (Williams & Burden, 1997) Teachers’ personality contributes to learners’ perception about their teachers, even the classroom and language learning process That perception could arouse leaner motivation to learn more actively in class In addition, teachers’ teaching style which is the way teachers construct an activity and support students to finish it also has an effect on learner motivation (p 133) Moreover, teacher and student’s rapport can be highlighted because it increases students’ enthusiasm in the activities (Dornyei, 2001, p 120) For further description, Ullah and Fatema (2013) borrowed Reeve and Jang’s (2006) idea to state that “when the teacher talked constantly, gave detailed directions, asked controlling questions, gave deadlines, criticized students, and gave answers before students finished, students were found demotivated On the contrary, students reported feeling engaged and motivated for the tasks when teachers listened, asked what students wanted, provided a rationale for work, picked up on student questions, gave encouraging feedback, and recognized challenges ” (p 131) Therefore, teachers’ personality, teaching style and rapport with students should be taken into account to nourish leaner motivation Furthermore, the feedback from the teachers is so influent that it got written in many studies as presented in the next section

2.5.2.2 Feedback

Besides the factors mentioned above, feedback could be a noticeable force negatively and positively influencing learner motivation (Schmidt, Boraie, & Kassabgy, 1996) Wheldall and Merrett (1984) observed that the feedback may include praises, merit mark or teacher comment and non-verbal action (as cited in Willaims and Burden 1997) Moreover, Schmidt, Boraie, & Kassabgy (1996) added motivating feedback is required to provide the necessary information which can help students to improve in their learning practice It means to say “giving positive feedback should not be mistaken for correcting mistakes

without giving explanations” (Karaoglu, 2008, p 2) In addition, Dörnyei (n.d) provided more straightforward qualities of possitive feedback :

1 Appropriate motivational feedback can have a gratifying function, that is, by offering praise it can increase learner satisfaction and lift the learning spirit

2 By communicating trust and encouragement, motivational feedback can promote a positive self-concept and self-confidence in the student

3 Motivational feedback should be informative, prompting the learner to reflect constructively on areas that need improvement (p 730)

Moreover, classroom environment is also essential to students’ English learning process The following part will introduce some studies on the importance of classroom environment

2.5.2.3 Classroom environment

Classroom environment is considerably important to students’ English improvement because learning is considerably affected by the environment where it takes place (Good

& Brophy, 1986) Thanasoulas (2002) made the point more understandable and sensible

by writing that “learner motivation will reach its peak in a safe classroom climate in which students can express their opinions and feel (…) they do not run the risk of being ridiculed “ (p 3) Furthermore, as cited in Kubanyiova’s (2006, p 1), “the classroom environment is powerful in activating motivational beliefs of the students” (Pintrich, Marx, & Boyle, 1993) That point is also supportively complemented that “creating a safe and comfortable environment where everyone feels like a part of the whole is one of the most significant factors in encouraging motivation” (Karaoglu, 2008, p 1) In addition to classroom environment, materials can immensely affect learner motivation The following part will show the role of the materials in language learning

2.5.2.4 Materials

The materials, especially their contents are considered as a significant element affecting the learners’ learning process The important requirement for motivating materials is specified to be the interest they contain (Crookes & Schmidt, 1991) For clearer explanation, the contents of the materials should be both appealing and relevant to their students’ daily life to attract them into the English lessons However, the interest does not only come from the contents but also from the attractive appearance elements, such as

“varied typographical layouts, color illustrations, photographs” (Zhao, 2012, p 103) so that the materials can awake learners’ eager and curiosity to create learner motivation It means that the materials with beautiful and logical layouts, pictures, charts, graphs can create learners’ desire to use them and learn them From the influence of the contents and the appearance elements of the materials in supporting English learning, it can be concluded that “besides activities, materials also play an important role in motivating students’ learning” (Zhao, 2012, p 103) The next part will discuss another important factor in encouraging learner motivation, the learning activities

2.5.2.5 Activities

The successful activities can greatly create positive effect on students’ learning routine According to Ames (1992), classroom activities should be various, meaningful, relevant, challenging, and supporting learners’ skills, knowledge and control in order to boost students’ motivation in learning In order words, the teachers should use many different activities to keep learners interested in the lessons Their activities need to related to the target lessons and relate to learners’ background or daily life Their difficulty level should

be considered carefully so that they can give the students both sense of success and challenge Moreover, Karaoglu (2008) added that pair and group activities are supposed

to be the expected factors because pair and group activities can be used from the very outset, reducing the pressure of teacher–student interaction and allowing students to feel recognized by their peers He also claimed that “the feeling of becoming a part of the whole is one of the strongest motivational factors” (Karaoglu, 2008, p 1) Therefore, pair

work and group work activities are considered as highly effective activities to motivate English learners The information about classroom activities is the last factor affecting learner motivation in the paper The next part will focus on the teachers’ perception toward students’ motivation

2.6 Teachers’ perceptions toward students’ motivation

Teachers’ perceptions toward students’ motivation should be considered as an important element to enhance learners’ outcomes When the teachers hold the positive view about students’ motivation, they believe that it is possible to encourage their students to learn better and try their best to invest on their lessons and teaching career and become more qualified When the teachers understand correctly the types of their learners’ motivation, they will have the most suitable strategies to improve the quality of their lessons Therefore, the students could benefit the most from well-qualified teachers to gain the best learning results Moreover, students tend to have more positive attitude towards the target language if their teachers show their positivity and encouragement in teaching and learning process In short, teachers’ perceptions toward their students’ motivation have a great effect on learners’ attitude and academic outcomes The following section will share some reviews of many related studies on learner motivation in Vietnam and other countries in the world

2.7 Related studies on learner motivation

L2 learner motivation is an issue which has been investigated in many studies in all over the world, and different findings were determined from those research In the paper, some studies were summarized to draw a picture of the concept of motivation, the methods to conduct some similar research and to highlight the important informative findings Therefore, the researcher could get more ideas and a wider view to conduct the study more effectively The following parts focus on the studies on L2 student motivation in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular

2.7.1 Around the world

In the USA, Igoudin (2008) carried out an investigation into student motivation at Long Beach city College Ten adult students were chosen for the research with survey and interview The findings reported that these adult learners made a great attempt to participate in the English course in order to join the USA community where English is the first language Although they also showed their interest in English itself, the need of social membership was still be outstanding as the extrinsic motivation Furthermore, personal goal setting was discovered to be the best motivation factor Overall, Ignoudin successfully contributed to the literature on learner motivation Nevertheless, as he mentioned, the small-scaled sample seemed to limit the effect of extrapolation to adult student motivation

In Yemen, Atef Al-Tamimi and Munir Shuib (2009) conducted the study with the sample

of 81 petroleum engineering students at Hadhramout University of Sciences and Technology (HUST) in order to identify their motivation and attitudes towards English learning process They borrowed the works by Gardner’s (1985) and Cooper and Fishman’s (1977) to construct their questionnaire and interviews focusing on instrumental motivation, integrative motivation and personal motivation The findings revealed that personal reasons played an important role in learning motivation However, instrumental motivation had the primary impact on the students’ motivation The study based on many previous studies to convincingly demonstrate the instruments employed and result discussion However, because there were no female students in the samples, the findings could be limited in generalization

Continuing to more convincingly support the superior power of intrinsic motivation, Pan , Zang and Wu (2010) conducted a survey on leaner motivation in Qingdao Agricultural University in China The participants are 25 students in Advanced English class and 25 students in Ordinary English class The finding showed that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are important to the learning process However, the students were more motivated by intrinsic motivation, especially in Advanced English class Therefore, the

authors claimed that" logically, intrinsic motivation is more important than extrinsic motivation in contributing to English learning Therefore, there is relationship between the motivation type and achievement.” (p.155)

However, Lei Zhao (Zhao, 2012) came to an opposite comment in his research,

“Investigation into Motivation Types and Influences on Motivation: The Case of Chinese Non-English Majors”, with 124 college students and their twelve teachers in China In that study, the findings given from the questionnaires showed that extrinsic and instrumental motivation predominate intrinsic and integrative motivation Furthermore, both internal factors and external factors greatly influenced learner motivation although they were not emphasized in pedagogical consideration The findings also highlighted that there was a gap between students’ motivation and their teachers’ understanding of that aspect Subsequently, the author pointed out three practical implications so that teachers could overcome that gap In general, this research was successful in providing persuasive results with carefully written questionnaire adopting questions by Gao et al (2004) and the explanation from Chinese social demands and non- English majors’ features

In Bangladesh, Md Mohib Ullah and Sayeda Fatema (2013) carried out a similar research to investigate the reasons why some students were less motivated in reading classes They collected the data by close-ended questionnaire from thirty five students and open-ended questionnaire eleven teachers who were randomly selected The findings reported that students themselves, their teachers, materials and setting were the reasons for the situation Although the study provided practical implications for the students and teachers in question, it was relatively unconvincing because of the weak inconsistence between literature review and the questionnaire Furthermore, the reasons suggested in the questionnaire mainly focused on extrinsic factors while intrinsic factors appeared to

be ignored That limitation could lead to the lack of persuasive arguments in the discussion related to intrinsic factors

2.7.2 In Vietnam

Ly (2007) conducted a research into learner motivation at a university in the center of Vietnam Those thirty third year English-major students participated in the study by answering the open-ended questionnaire The findings showed that both extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation played an important role in encouraging their writing performance That result raised an opposite practice to the argument emphasizing on the domination of extrinsic motivation in previous relevant studies In addition, when it comes to motivation factors, teachers’ feedback was considered as an essential encouragement

Furthermore, the students expressed their commitment to active learning and topic selection It meant that Vietnamese students would have been potential to learn independently and passionately if they had been highly motivated However, the result of the study could not be generalized widely because the participants were English- majors , which explained why they appeared to be more interested in English learning

In their research, Tran Thi Thu Trang and Richard B Baldauf Jr (2007) investigated

demotivation as resistance to English learning at University of Economics in central Vietnam One hundred non-English major sophomores shared their English learning experience in their essays The analysis of these easy ultimately confirmed demotivation

as a major problem in foreign language learning It also revealed that teachers, teaching methods and students’ knowledge gap demotivated the learning practice Furthermore,

the students wrote that their awareness of the important role of English in their future career provided the greatest motivation In other words, the extrinsic motivation has featured in English learning while teachers’ behaviors, teaching approach together with the gap between students’ prior English competence and current tertiary level seem to primarily affect leaner motivation Thus, the researchers contributed valuable information leaners’ motivation and demotivation However, their analysis should have taken account

of intrinsic motivation so that the study could be more informative and convincing

Another investigation into leaner motivation was written by Phan and Le (2009) The research involved 100 high school students in Quang Nam The results of the survey research revealed that these students wanted to learn English mainly for a well-paid and high-ranking job in the future In addition, the results also claimed that the related subjects in their textbooks primarily affected their learning motivation Thus, the authors capably showed that teachers seem not to be the most essential factor influencing learner motivation as other studies tended to imply Although the paper was not conducted in universities, its findings appear to be relevant to my paper because the students’ ages are relatively close

In her thesis, Phan (2010) examined the motivation of Vietnamese technical English majors and the influencing factors The data was collected from the semi-structure interviews and seven students’ weekly diaries over the course of ten months The findings reported that these students are intrinsically motivated to learn English in class and outside the classroom However, the aim of gaining the scholarships, surpassing their classmates and pleasing their parents were still most highly prioritized Moreover, the study revealed that the students were more motivated when the classroom activities and materials were relevant to their interests and knowledge Direct communication with native speakers was also recognized to be a strong motivation stimulus In other words, the paper successfully pointed out that extrinsic motivation overrode intrinsic motivation while external factors seemed to be superior to internal factors Nevertheless, the small sample with only females made it difficult to generalize the results in other contexts Another key problem of the thesis was that the information from some interview was poor due to students’ inadequate English proficiency when they chose to speak English Another research on English language learners’ motivation at University for Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam was conducted by Luu (2012) In his study, the questionnaire sets were distributed to 290 students and seven English teachers in other to investigate motivational factors affecting the first-year, second-year and third-year students’ learning progress and how to enhance these factors The finding reported that

the students were both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated Nevertheless, they were encountering many obstacles on the way to achieve their academic success Among these difficulties, their studying style, heavy curriculum and difficult materials are the most serious factors influencing their achievement Furthermore, the results from the teachers’ survey showed that the teachers understand and appreciate the importance of learner motivation Luu’s (2012) research provided the updated informative data about learner motivation at a non-majored English university in Vietnam Although the results is positive, it raised that fact that Vietnamese learners were in need for higher motivational support from their teachers to overcome the learning difficulties

Another study of English teaching and learning at tertiary level in Vietnam was carried

out by Tran (2013) Thirty seniors from different universities were interviewed to

investigate the factors affecting their English learning process According to the interviews, it was believed that the students had a strong motivation for English learning because they were aware of the importance of English in persuading a good job and a bright future However, their motivation seemed to be greatly decreased by many external factors form their English programs In more detail, the students complained that a big classroom with more than 50 students could not be a good learning environment Furthermore, there was a serious gap in English competence among that big group of students in one class In addition, uninteresting textbooks and passive teaching methods also provided a great source of demotivation In short, Tran’s writing discovered and evidently discussed the external factors negatively influencing students’ motivation at Vietnamese universities

(Ho) (n.d) conducted a study in order to explore learner motivation and attitude at Danang University 120 male and 120 female students as a mixture of English-majored and non- English majored voluntarily participated in the research The results of the observation, questionnaire and interview showed that the English-major students were more motivated in English learning process than the non-English major students According to non- English majors, satisfying their university requirements and

maximizing their employment qualification appeared to be the primary motivation to learn English Thus, Ho effectively demonstrated the difference in leaner motivation between English- major students and non- English major students Nevertheless, the study might have been more useful if the author had provided deeper investigation into motivation factors for further implication

2.8 Research gap

There are a numerous studies conducted in an attempt to investigate learner motivation and the factors which can have an effect on leaner motivation in English language learning setting The findings of the recent studies greatly focus on the motivation types learners in question hold and the motivational factors which influence on their motivation arousal the most so that the implication could be suggested for more effective learning outcomes However, the results are facing the difficulty in generalization because they are different in diverse countries and academic settings Moreover, those studies were conducted long time ago, which may lead the possibility of outdated implication to support learners’ motivation and performance in the current society In addition, there has been little discussion on leaner motivation with the research subjects all of whom are non-English major in HCM city Therefore, this paper is planned to examine student motivation and teachers’ understanding about it at HCM university of Technology in Vietnam

2.9 Summary

A clear understanding about learner motivation definitely supports the study on it and the application on teaching and learning process Therefore, chapter 2 has defined the definition of learner motivation and its importance to language learners Moreover, some theories about the types of learner motivation were also presented Additionally, to motivate the learners successfully, the internal and external motivational factors were mentioned and discussed Besides, the teachers’ perception toward learner motivation was also introduced Besides, the chapter has dealt with the recent studies on learning

motivation in the world and in Vietnam The next chapter, chapter 3 will describe the research methodology

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

The previous chapter presented the important theoretical guidelines for the investigation into learning motivation among students This chapter, Chapter 3 was divided into four parts in order to explain the methodology used in the research Part 1 introduced the pedagogical setting Part 2 described the research design by clarifying the subjects, research methods and research instruments Part 3 reported the process of data collection Part 4 summarized and ended this chapter

3.1 Pedagogical setting

Despite of an increasing amount of studies on the aspects mentioned in the preceding chapter, there are just few research conducted on learning motivation of non-English major students at HCM University of Technology in Vietnam HCM university of Technology is a famous university with an outstanding educational and scientific achievement in its long history The students educated in the university are considered to

be talented in technological field, which can be proved by the great amount of scholarships they receive every year from national and international organizations as well

as a high possibility of working overseas after graduation However, to many of the students, English courses could be the most challenging in the framework That point might be explained by the fact that there is around 30% of the students fail in their English course each semester Although the educational system based on credits allows the students to retake the course, the unsatisfied repeating courses leads to a cost of extra time budget, energy, expenditure and insecurity about their English competence Therefore, the practice of teaching and learning English in the HCM University of Technology may need for attention for improvement

Furthermore, according to the social conversations among the researcher with the teachers working at this university, these teachers seem to reach the same conclusion that learner motivation is the main reason for the failing percentages of the English courses The students do not want to go to class; they do not like English; they can learn better but they do not want to learn English, etc are the arguments the teachers have generally