Second language learning motivation a case study of students with visual impairment at a university in hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGÔ PHƯƠNG THANH SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION: A CASE STU

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGÔ PHƯƠNG THANH

SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION:

A CASE STUDY OF STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI (Nghiên cứu tình huống về động lực học tập ngôn ngữ thứ hai của sinh viên

khiếm thị tại một trường Đại học trên địa bàn Hà Nội)

MA THESIS – TYPE 1

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

NGÔ PHƯƠNG THANH

SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION:

A CASE STUDY OF STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

AT A UINVERSITY IN HANOI (Nghiên cứu tình huống về động lực học tập ngôn ngữ thứ hai của sinh viên

khiếm thị tại một trường Đại học trên địa bàn Hà Nội)

DECLARATION

I hereby state that the paper is the result of my own work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Art of Faculty at Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University of Hanoi This research has not been submitted to any other universities or intuitions

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan

or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Ngo Phuong Thanh

November 23, 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I am much honored to be supervised by Mr Mai Ngoc Khoi, to whom I would like to send my deepest gratitude It is him who gave me the confidence to work on visual impairment students – the subject that brought me a lot of inspiration I am too lucky to have you as my mentor It is obvious that without your all-around supervision and guidance, this thesis could not be finished

In addition, all my heart is dedicated to my parents, who have been standing

by my side, giving me tender care and support to tirelessly work on this paper Without you – my source of motivation, I would never have enough courage to finish the research

Moreover, many thanks should go to my boy friend Mr Truong Hoang Long for his continuous encouragement I fully appreciate your advice when I got lost with my thesis

Besides, I would like to thank my class classmates for being my motivation

to complete this paper

Last but not least, the research is dedicated to me myself – the brave strong girl who have gone through many struggles and constantly tried hard on this road I deserve to be proud of myself

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this work is to explore the motivation of students with visual

impairment through their longitudinal L2 learning journey To this end, the research

was conducted with two Vietnamese sightless learners at a University in Hanoi The

students‘ language learning autobiography and semi-structured interview were

employed to collect data Three findings emerged from the data analysis Firstly,

sightless students had clear goals for learning English such as to get an English –

related job, to communicate with other L2 speakers or to enhance knowledge

Secondly,their motivated learning behaviours were impacted by L2 learning

experiences Thirdly,they recognized learning difficulties as a source of motivation

Based on the findings, the thesis strongly suggests that parents and teachers should

empower sightless students to have a dream and shape their future L2 self by

providing them with a supportive and comfortable learning environment

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Motivation 5

2.1.1 Definitions of Motivation 5

2.1.2 Definition of L2 Motivation 5

2.2 Previous Research on Motivation and L2 Motivation 6

2.2.1 The History of Motivation Research 6

2.2.2 Traditional Approaches to L2 Learning Motivation 10

2.2.3 The L2 Motivation Revolution in the 1990s 12

2.2.4 Recent L2 Motivational Theories & The L2 Motivational Self System 16

2.3 Visual Impairment 20

2.4 Previous Research on L2 Motivation of Impaired Students 21

2.5 Previous Research on the Education of Visually Impaired Students in Vietnam 22

2.6 Research Gap 23

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research methodology 24

3.2 The setting of the study and participants 25

3.3 Data collection instruments and procedures 27

3.3.1 Language learning autobiographies 28

3.3.2 Interview 29

3.4 Data analysis methods 29

3.5 The Portrait of Participants 30

Summary 34

CHAP 4: FINGDINGS 35

4.1 Rationales for L2 learning 35

4.2 L2 learning experiences 43

4.3 L2 learning difficulties 48

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS & DISCUSSION 55

Conclusion 1 55

Conclusion 2 58

Conclusion 3 59

IMPLICATIONS 60

REFERENCES 64 APPENDICES I

Appendix A I Appendix B V Appendix C VI Appendix D XIX Appendix D XXXII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales for the study

Along with research in the field of English language learning and teaching history, second language (L2) learning motivation has always brought great passion and interest to the researcher The researcher, through her teaching experience, realized that learning motivation plays a vital role in students‘ process of language learning Consequently, the researcher has insistently sought ways to motivate her students as well as enhance their positive learning experience This attempt drove the researcher to do a study of L2 learning motivation

Moreover, the researcher believes that it is necessary to conduct a qualitative research which presents a close look at individual learners by taking learners‘ difference and identity into account It is undeniable that L2 learning motivation has constantly received noticeable attention of researchers and teachers However, the majority of researchon L2 learning motivation focuses only on the stable and generalized motives of learners (Zaragoza, 2011) For example, many studies applying quantitative approach investigate learners‘ contemporary motives in a specific time and ignore their past and future motivation Besides, by collecting a large range of participants, these studies try to single out the most noticeable and common motives but ignores learning differences and dynamic feature of motivation

Finally, it is the cases of students with visual impairment in the researcher‘s institution that urged her to do research on L2 language motivation of sightless learners In the context of Vietnam education, there are few language universities, such as University of Languages and International Studies, accepting students with visual impairment Realizing their learning difficulties, especially when these institutions have not provided enough support for these special learners, the researcher decided to study their learning motivation that was believed to keep them pursuing L2 learning and overcome learning barriers Therefore, the recent research

brings in an insight into language learning motivation as well as learning barriers of sightless students who are attending University of Languages and International Studies as well as the researcher‘s institution The researcher conducted this paper aiming at investigating the L2 learning motivation through the lens of sightless students as considering their L2 self and identity

2 Statement of research questions

The research was conducted to seek the answers for the following question: What factors affect second language learning motivation of visually impaired students?

3 Aims& objectives of the study

First of all, the study aims to explore what motivate students with visual impairment to learn L2 before and after they enter the University Secondly, it is to investigate what factors impact on their L2 learning motivation

4 Scope of the study

The aim of the study is to investigate the language learning motivation of students with visual impairment in and outside classroom setting Therefore, the two visually impaired students at University of Language in International Studies were selected as the targeted population of the research The selection of core participants based on three criteria: visual impairment, previous academic background and willingness to join the research The research was conducted at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education of the university, which is the biggest provider of English teachers for the whole country Every student in this faculty is English major and future English teacher, so it is important for them to master English language Moreover, this faculty accepts students with visual impairment and recently there are some sightless students attending it Therefore, it might be the best context to carry out the research of language learning motivation

of visually impaired students

5 Methods of the study

The study employs case study to investigate what motivate visually impaired students to learn L2 The research goals are achieved by means of qualitative data The study was carried out by some steps as follows:

First, the language learning autobiography was employed to find out their second language learning stories in the connection with learning motivation

Second, personal interviews with two students were conducted in order to:

 Study their rationales for learning

 Study their past and present learning experience to find out how L2 learning motivation was generated and changed

 Find out the difficulties in students‘ L2 language learning and their impacts on L2 motivation

Then, the data were collected, sorted and analyzed qualitatively to obtain realistic results

To end with, pedagogical implications for enhancing students‘ motivation in L2 language learning was proposed based on the results found from all data collection instruments

6 Significance of the study

The study is considered to be significant for some reasons Firstly, the results will, for a certain extent, help the English teachers and parents who are educating and fostering visually impaired students raise awareness of the importance of motivation in L2 learning Secondly, the paper is expected to contribute information

on sightless students‘ L2 learning motivation, as the second language education for students with disabilities has not received enough concern Hopefully, the study will bring about the insight into language learning motivation and barriers of sightless students to others who are learning or are going to learn the English language, and then, encourage them to step forward on their English language learning journey

with essential preparation Finally, the study might be a source of material for students to study motivation in learning from the lens of sightless people

7 Design of the study

This research consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter aims at stating the research problems as well as the significance

of the study, proposing questions to answer, and explaining the used methodology

Chapter 2: Literature review

This includes the explanation of key definitions of Motivation, L2 learning motivation and L2 motivational self-system Moreover, it presents the review on different previous works on Motivation and L2 Motivation to point out the research gaps

Chapter 5: Conclusions

In this chapter, the three conclusions of the paper will be presented

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

as the reasons, desire and willingness for acting in a certain way, according to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionaries Hence, a motivation study is the study of why people think and behave as they do (Graham & Weiner, 2006)

2.1.2 Definition of L2 Motivation

Motivation was initially studied seriously in the language learning realm as social psychologist recognized its strong impact of social and cultural elements on learners‘ academic achievement (Dörnyei, 2003) In the educational field, the most influential motivation theory in second language acquisition is proposed by Gardner (2001) with the revised definition of motivation as ―a central element along with language aptitude in determining success in learning another language in the classroom setting‖ (p 2) Similarly, Crookes and Schmidt (1991) defined motivation to learn a second language as the learner's orientation regarding the goal

of learning a second language According to the present author‘s knowledge, L2

motivation is concerned with the reason why a learner studies L2, the persistence and willingess to pursue it and the desire to succeed in learning it Once more,

―Motivation, like the concept of gravity, is easier to describe (in terms of its outward, observable effects) than it is to define Of course, this has not stopped people from trying it.‖ (Covington, as cited in Dornyei, 2001, p.7) Due to the complexity of motivation, the history of motivation in second language teaching

and learning has witnessed various debates when researchers study it

2.2 Previous Research on Motivation and L2 Motivation

2.2.1 The History of Motivation Research

In education and psychology fields, different researchers suggest their own different way to approach students‘ motivation in acquisition second language Hence, educators witness almost hundred motivational theories such as Socioeducational model (Gardner, 1985), Expectancy-Value Theory (Martin, 1970s), Attribution Theory (Bernard, 1970s), so on and so forth According to Graham and Weiner (2006), ―the development of theory in the field of motivation has had disparate impact at different points in history‖(p.63) Through the history of scientific theories of motivation, a wide range of studies and practices have emerged, developed and reformed In this chapter of the study, the researcher will provide an overview of the growth and changes in this field

There are two main approaches toward motivation: ―Mechanistic approach‖ and ―Cognitive approach‖ (Graham & Weiner, 2006) The mechanistic approach was raised at the beginning of its history The theories belonging to the mechanistic period (1930-1960) try to understand ―what moved a resting organism into a state of activity‖, with heavy reliance on concepts such as instinct, drive, need, energisation, and homeostasis (Weiner, 1990) Pintrich and Schunk (2002) found out in their survey of motivation in education that human behaviour was mainly perceived in many primary explanations as 'mechanistic', nonhuman action and following the principles of laws of nature (as cited in Lamb, 2007) The two most noticeable theories of this approach, Hull‘s Drive theory and Lewin‘s Field Theory, had their

own formulas to measure human motivation According to Hull‘s Drive theory, when a response toward a stimulus was followed by a satisfying state of affairs, the strength of the bond between that stimulus and response would be increased, and then, formed a new habit Hence, he proposed a formula: Behaviour = Drive x habit Lewin‘s Field Theory, on the other hand, stated that behaviour was determined by both person and environment (Behaviour = f(P,E) It was agreed by Hull & Lewin that motivated behaviour determined by needs of the person (tension/drive), a priority of the goal object, and a directional variable (Graham & Weiner, 2006) This period clearly brought influence upon most of the theories in L2 motivation that formed later

However, the 1960s brought about important changes The mechanistic views of behaviourism went through the counter opinion of humanistic psychologists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Proposed by Maslow in

1970 (as cited by Dornyei, 2001), the famous ―Hierarchy of Needs‖ distinguished between five basic classes of needs, which were defined as:

• physiological needs (e.g hunger, thirst, sexual frustration);

• safety needs (need for security, order and protection from pain and fear);

• love needs (need for love, affection and social acceptance);

• esteem needs (need to gain competence, approval and recognition);

• self-actualisation needs (need to realise one's potential and capabilities, and gain understanding and insight)

According to the hierarchy, physiologically based needs have to be satisfied first, before we can strive for the deeper happiness and fulfillment that comes from satisfying our higher-level needs Hence, he stated that ―the central motivating force

in people's lives (unlike in rats' or dogs') is the self-actualising tendency, that is the desire to achieve personal growth and to develop fully the capacities and talents we have inherited.‖ (Dornyei, 2001, p.8)

In the second half of the 20th century, the ―cognitive revolution‖ in psychology transformed our views of motivation; instead of being explained as

machines with instinct behaviours, ―humans were seen as essentially rational creatures guided by their own thoughts and beliefs about the world and their place

in it‖ (Lamb, 2007, p.19) As stated by Dornyei (2001), cognitive theories ―places the focus on how the individual's conscious attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, and interpretation of events influence their behaviour; that is, how mental processes are transformed into action ( ) In other words, whether people decide to do something

is determined first by their beliefs about the values of the action, and then about their evaluation of whether they are up to the challenge and whether the support they are likely to get from the people and institutes around them is sufficient.‖ (p.8)

Within the overall cognitive view of motivation that characterises the field, there is a surprising number of alternative or competing sub-theories Created by Dornyei (2001), the table below might provide the readers with an overview of motivation theories belonging to the cognitive approach

SUMMARIES

MAIN MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENTS

MAIN MOTIVATIONAL TENETSAND PRINCIPLES

Expectancy –

value theory

Brophy (1999),Eccles and Wigfield (1995)

Expectancy of success; the value attached to success

on task

Motivation to perform various tasks is the product of two key factors the individual's expectancy

of success in a given task and the value the individual attaches to success on that task

Achievement

motivation

theory

Atkinson and Aynor (1974)

Expectancy of success, incentive values, need for achievement, fear of failure

Achievement motivation is determined by conflicting

tendencies

Self – efficacy

theory

Bandura (1997)

Perceived efficacy

self-Self-efficacy refers to people's judgment of their capabilities to carry out certain specific tasks, and, accordingly, their sense of efficacy will determine their choice of the activities attempted, the amount of effort exerted and the persistence displayed

Attribution Weiner (1992)

Attributions about past successes and failures

The individual's explanations (or

`causal attributions') of why pastsuccesses and failures have occurred have consequences on

the person‘s motivation to initiate future action

Self-worth

theory

Covington (1998)

Perceived worth

self-People are highly motivated to behave in ways that enhance their sense of personal value and worth

Goal setting

theory

Locke and Latham (1990)

Goal properties:

specificity, difficulty and commitment

Human action is caused by purpose, and for action to take place, goals have to be set and pursued by choice

Intrinsic and extrinsic

motivation

Intrinsic motivation concerns behaviour performed for its own sake Extrinsic motivation involves performing a behavior as

a means to an end, that is, to receive some extrinsic reward or

l (1999)

Environmental influences

A great deal of human motivation

socioculturalcontext rather than from the individual

Theory of

planned

behaviour

Ajzen (1988),Eagly andChaiken (1993)

Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived

behavioural control

Attitudes exert a directive influence on behaviour, because someone‘s attitude towards a target influences the overall pattern of the person‘s responses

―social learning theory‖ respectively The common principle behind the theories is

that "individuals maximize their hedonic pursuits by selecting those activities with the highest likelihood of reaching the most valued goal" (Weiner, 1992) In other word, people pursue activities they deem valuable and relevant to the personal goals that they desire to reach

In a nutshell, the history of motivation research has proved the surprising variety of theories Despite its limitation, each theory has its own influence in the development of the field, and each has contributed to our understanding of motivation in its own unique way

2.2.2 Traditional Approaches to L2 Learning Motivation

Besides the development of motivation research, L2 learning motivation research shows an evolution from the social psychological explanation of the connection between motivation and L2 achievement to the effort to establish a more comprehensive accounting for the complex and multifaceted concept of motivation

in different contexts (Lee, 2001)

Early research in L2 motivation (from around 1960) witnessed the germination of socio-psychological period, which includes the development of many theories Examples of such theories are Gardner and his colleagues‘ theory of L2 motivation (e.g., Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993), linguistic self-confidence (e.g., Clément, 1980), intergroup model (e.g., Giles & Byrne, 1982) and acculturation theory (e.g., Schumann, 1978)

For about three decades until the late 1980s, the majority of significant research regarding motivation in L2 learning was stemmed and developed in a social-psychological framework by two Canadian psychologists, Roh C Gardner and Wallace E Lambert.The Socio-educational model of motivation developed by Gardner and Lambert‘s (1970s) draws an important relationship between motivation and orientation or ―goal‖ In their view, "motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning and language‖ (Lee, 2001)

Basic Model of the Role of Aptitude and Motivation in Second Language

Acquisition (Gardner, as cited in Dornyei, 2001)

The authors proposed two terms that are commonly used in the field of

motivation: Integrative orientation refers to the positive disposition of an individual

to learn a language, its culture, and its community On the other hand, instrumental

orientation refers to the practical reasons of an individual to learn a language such

as being hired, getting a good salary, passing an exam and travelling abroad

After three decades of development with rare challenges, the psychological framework has to face with increasing criticisms According to Keblabi (n.d.), most criticisms were raised against the concept of integrative motivation and its definition The notion of integrative motivation has no parallel in mainstream motivational psychology Dornyei (2005), on the other hand, categorized Gardner et al.‘s studies as ―macroperspective‖ as these researches have focused on specific groups‘ L2 learning motivation, not on each L2 learner‘s individual motivation This limitation might also be seen in the other studies which

social-OTHER SUPPORT

OTHER FACTORS

MOTIVATION

LANGUAGE ACHIVEMENT

LANGUAGE APTITUTE

INTERGRATIVENESS

ATTITUDE TOWARD LEARNING STUATION

In all, at this stage of history of L2 motivation, Gardner proposed most of the theories in L2 motivation (Guerrero, 2015) There were other theories about motivation after Gardner and Lambert However, they also place the focus on the importance of attitudes and feelings of language learners towards the L2 communities and the L2

2.2.3 The L2 Motivation Revolution in the 1990s

In the 1990s, there was a shift from a social psychological view of motivation to more educational and cognitive views The current spirit in L2 motivation research is characterized by the cognitive approach, which intended to

―bring the focus of the investigation back to the psychological field emphasizing mainly cognition (or mental processes)‖ (Guerrero, 2015, p.98) In this period, the learning contexts and the needs of the students and teachers in the classroom were considered more significant than the community and the social context Such moves were led by Crookes and Schmidt (1991) who called for a ―Reopening [of] the research agenda‖ of L2 motivation In this article, they urged language educators to look beyond the dominant socialpsychological model of motivation and in particular to question whether ―attitudes‖ or ―goal orientations‖ are good predictors

of actual learning behaviour:

―When teachers say that a studentis motivated, they are not usually concerning themselves with the student's reason for studying, but are observing that the student does study, or at least engage in teacher desired behaviour in the classroom and possibly outside"

(Crookes & Schmidt, 1991: 480)

According to Lee (2001), Crookes and Schmidt (1991) stated that the L2 learner plays an active role at many levels of the learning process In this respect, they attempt to explain the relationship between motivation and L2 learning at four different levels:

(1) the micro level, which deals with motivational effects on the cognitive processing of L2 stimuli.,

(2) the classroom level, dealing with techniques and activities in motivational terms;

(3) the syllabus level, at which content decisions come into play; and

(4) considerations relevant to informal, out-of-class, and long-term factors (p 483)

On the other hand, the researchers proved the limitation of Gardner's works and other researches of social psychology framework by pointing out that these studies put too much focus on social dimension, and in effect, ignored other essential aspects of motivation New L2 motivation constructs were proposed to fill this gap and then, showed that there was more to motivation such as interest, relevance, expectancy, and outcomes Dornyei‘s (1994) framework of L2 motivation is an elaborate example:

LANGUAGE LEVEL Integrative motivational subsystem

Instrumental motivational subsystem

Satisfaction (one has in the outcome) Affiliative motive (to please the teacher) Authority type (controlling vs autonomy supporting)

Direct socialisation of motivation

* Modelling

* Task presentation

* Feedback Goal-orientedness Norm and reward system Group cohesiveness Classroom goal structure (cooperative, competitive or individualistic)

In this framework, the researcher offered an extensive list of L2 motivational components, which is conceptualize into 3 components: language level, learner level and learning situation level These levels represented integrative and instrumental elements, individual characteristics and situation-specific motives rooted in various aspects of L2 learning within a classroom setting respectively (Dornyei, 2001) According to Lee (2001), by reflecting three aspects of languages: the social dimension, the personal dimension and the subject matter dimension, this mode1 has added ―internal‖ and ―external‖ motivational factors to Gardnerian account of L2 learning motivation

In his article ―Motivation in second and foreign language learning‖ (1998), Dornyei stated the framework‘s usefulness as it ―[emphasised] the multidimensional nature of L2 motivation, [pulled] together a number of different lines of research and [provided] an elaborate enough specification of relevant motives for the purpose of in-depth analysis of particular learning situations and design of intervention techniques to enhance them‖ (p.126).However, he also pointed out that the list lacks an indication of anyrelationships between the components; the components listed are quite diverse, and then, the framework also lacks a goal componentand does not reflect sufficiently recent findingsin self-determination theory

Another comprehensive framework is proposed by Williams and Burden (1997), which categorized motivational components into internal factors and external factors

INTERNAL FACTORS EXTERNAL FACTORS

Intrinsic interest of activity Significant others

optimal degree of challenge teachers

Perceived value of activity peers

personal relevance The nature of interaction with significant anticipated value of outcomes Others

intrinsic value attributed to the activity mediated learning experiences

Sense of agency the nature and amount of feedback

locus of control re: process and

outcomes

the nature and amount ofappropriate praise

ability to set appropriate goals Mastery punishments, sanctions

locus of causality The learning environment

feelings of competence comfort

awareness of developing skills and

mastery in a chosen area

resources

feelings of competence time of day, week, year

realistic awareness of personal

strengths and weaknesses in skills

required

The broader context

personal definitions and judgements of

success and failure

wider family networks

self-worth concern the local education system

learned helplessnessAttitudes conflicting interests

to language learning in general cultural norms

to the target language societal expectations and attitudes to the target language communityand

the 1990s has intrinsic motivation come to be the main focus in L2 motivation research Moreover, the role of teachers‘ impact on students‘ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as, student autonomy has also become the main focus of recent L2 motivational research

In conclusion, during this period there was a greater interest in learners and their learning experiences as opposed to the focus on the attitudes towards the L2 in the previous period This focus possibly proved to be fundamental for other researchers in order to understand that L2 motivation was not only influenced by social and psychological aspects, but it was also influenced by more specific aspects inside the classroom such as the curriculum, the syllabus, the learners‘ needs, and the role of the teacher

2.2.4 Recent L2 Motivational Theories & The L2 Motivational Self System

As reviewed in the previous part, the history of motivation research shows an evolution from the mechanic view (which explained human behaviour as a response toward needs and environment) to the cognitive view (which stated human behaviour was guided by person‘s thought and belief) Along with motivation research development, L2 motivational theories witness the shift from social-psychology framework (which tried to investigate the relationship between motivation to learn L2 with L2 environment) to recent approaches (which focus more on learners‘ self and their learning experiences) It is obvious that the trend of motivation and L2 motivational science has been gathering in the personal self In other words, motivation actively shaped through personal meaning-making, intentionality and reflexivity The reason lies behind this movement might be the realization that ―individuals and L2 motivation involve a dynamic process rather than the static conception previously considered‖ (Guerrero, 2015, p 110) In addition, it is widely agreed that ―learners are unique and possess different personal, social, familiar, and professional characteristics that might influence their motivation towards the L2 learning process‖ (Guerrero, 2015, p 101) One of the most influential researchers of the recent study movement is Ushida (2009, as cited

in Gao & Lamb, 2017) who pointed out the limitation of previous researches is

―that they seek to make generalisable predictions about what kinds of motivation might lead to what kinds of learning behaviour in what kinds of context, and thus to identify what kinds of pedagogical intervention might be needed to change maladaptive patterns of motivation and so improve learning behaviours and outcomes.‖ One question is raised that whether these ―generalisable predictions‖ are actually valuable and can be applied to all learner groups The answer is obviously not as each individual learner is different in their background, culture, characteristic, learning environment, learning goal and so on Realizing that in-depth investigation of L2 learning motivation from uniquely individual people‘s perspectives seems necessary, new generations of L2 motivational research have emerged with three approaches: ―Person-in-context‖, ―the L2 motivational self-system‖ and ―Complex dynamic system‖ (Guerrero, 2015) The recent study, which also focuses on L2 learning motivation from each participant‘s personal perspectives, utilizes the second language (L2) Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005) as a frame of reference

In 2005, Dornyei proposed that the ‗L2 Motivational Self System‘ was made

up of the following three components:

(1) Ideal L2 Self, which is the L2-specific facet of one‘s ‗ideal self‘: if the person we would like to become speaks an L2, the ‗ideal L2 self‘ is a powerful motivator to learn the L2 because of the desire to reduce the discrepancy between our actual and ideal selves Traditional integrative and internalised instrumental motives would typically belong to this component

(2) Ought-to L2 Self, which concerns the attributes that one believes one ought to possess to meet expectations and to avoid possible negative outcomes This dimension corresponds to Higgins‘s ought self and thus to the more extrinsic (i.e less internalised) types of instrumental motives

(3) L2 Learning Experience, which concerns situated, ‗executive‘ motives related to the immediate learning environment and experience (e.g the impact of the

teacher, the curriculum, the peer group, the experience of success) This component is conceptualised at a different level from the two self-guides (Dornyei, 2005)

According to Fellner, Apple and Silva (2017), L2 motivational self-system model stems largely from the concepts of possible selves and Self-Discrepancy Theory The model proposes that language learners are guided by visions of

―second language selves‖, one which attracts them toward becoming an idealized L2 user (ideal L2 self) and one which pushes them from societal obligation or a fear

of failure (ought-to L2 self) In other words, ideal L2 self reflects desirable future images after attaining L2 proficiency referring to job stability, financial situation, and respect from others Ought-to self, on contrary, offers a self-guild to avoid negative consequences such as failing an exam or disappointing one‘s parents To

be more specific, while the first concept relates to personal hopes, aspirations or wishes, the second one refers to parents, teachers, and social pressures Dornyei and Ushida (2009) explained the assumption in the theory is that ―if proficiency in the target language is part and parcel of one‘s ideal or ought-to self, this will serve as a powerful motivator to learn the language because of our psychological desire to reduce the discrepancy between our current self and possible future selves‖ (p 4) For that reason, the imagination of what we want to become and what we need to become might foster a powerful motivation to reach our L2 learning goal In term of L2 Learning Experience, it includes situation-specific motives such as the curriculum, the L2 teacher, the peer group and the teaching materials, which can have a strong influence on motivated behavior (Papi, 2010) Dornyei (as cited in Alshehri, 2013) described L2 learning experience as an independent source of motivation: ―For some language learners the initial motivation to learn a language does not come from internally or externally generated self images but rather from successful engagement with the actual language learning process‖ (p 60) Moreover, he also stated that L2 learning experience had an important role in creating and maintaining the future visions of ideal and ought to self

The combination of these three dimensions, which could be summarized as the learners‘ vision of themselves as L2 speakers, the social pressures from the outside and a positive environment, are supposed to motivate to learn an L2 By proposing the three dimensions (ideal self, ought to self and L2 learning experience), Dornyei‘s (2005) model has shared a significant voice to explain L2 motivation, in which individual selves are seen as a core value However, one of the limitations of this theory lies in the lack of the relationship between its three components

Since L2 motivational self-system was introduced, it has been widely applied

in recent studies Huang and Chen (2017) believed that because of the globalization

of this modern age, learning English is an essential educational skill and its use is independent of a clearly defined target community Hence, the L2 Motivational Self System is now arguably more relevant than the construct of integrativeness Kim (2009) used L2 Motivational Self System as a framework of inquiry to clarify the theoretical interface between Complex Dynamic Systems theory and Socialcultural theory in L2 learning motivation In the article L2 Selves in Motivation to Learn English as a Foreign Language: The Case of Taiwanese Adolescents, Huang and Chen (2011) utilized the model as a frame of reference to investigate whether adolescent English learners in Taiwan exhibit unique self-related motivation influenced by their socio-educational experiences related to English learning Also based on the notion of L2 Motivational Self System, Zaragoza (2011) analyzed how Mexican learners were engaged in a bi- or plurilingual learning project, learning more than one foreign language in order to build a plurilingual identity In addition, Madkhali (2016) applied Dornyei‘s model to examine what type of motivation might lead to use English outside classrooms and what motivates them to learn English language In all, almost all of the L2 motivational studies which used Dornyei‘s L2 motivational self-system as theoretical framework show the applicability and practicability of it

To sum up, it can be said that Dörnyei‘s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System model is significant in explaining L2 motivation By putting a strong focus on learner‘s self and identity, the model engages the motivation of particular rather than generalised learners Hence, the present study utilizes Dornyei‘s model as a powerful guideline to obtain a thick description and holistic understanding of visual impairment students as well as their L2 motivation The two learners joining the research will be explored as the whole people (not abstract models), ― who bring particular identities, histories, goals and motives; for whom learning a language is just one small part of their lives; who are not just ‗language learners‘ and perhaps

do not see themselves in these terms.‖ (Ushida, 2009)

2.3 Visual Impairment

It is not difficult to define visual impairment According to Doctor Salvin (n.d.), the term describes ―any kind of vision loss, whether it's someone who cannot see at all or someone who has partial vision loss‖ Williams (n.d.) shared the same idea when explaining the term as losing part or all of ability to see He also added that this condition was permanent despite the intervention of eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery On the other hand, they also agreed on the causes of visual impairment as

- Glaucoma,

- Cataracts,

- Trachoma,

- Diabetic retinopathy

- Amblyopia, or the lack of use of an eye in childhood

- Eye injuries, such as accidentally being poked in the eye at work

- Inherited conditions, such as retinitis pigmentosa

- Infections such as German measles and chlamydia that can be transmitted from the mother to a fetus during pregnancy

- Age-related macular degeneration

In conclusion, the definition of visual impairment condition and its causes are highly agreed by experts

According to Tran (2008), Vietnam had a great number of the impaired people (about one million) This fact was caused by tough and prolonged wars and nature condition The majority of disable peopleare concentrated in rural and mountainous areas where their living conditions are still limited That makes it more difficult for children with disabilities to be able to expose to L2 and have the opportunity to study L2 For that reason, L2 language learning of sightless students should be received attention from the government, educators and parents

2.4 Previous Research on L2 Motivation of Impaired Students

Even though motivation is acknowledged as being important in the education

of all students (Sideridis & Scanlon, 2006), relatively little research has been conducted on the field for students with disabilities Among these studies, much of attention was drawn to the role of motivation in enhancement of impaired students‘ academic achievement.Margalit (2003) concluded that motivational cognitions, which ―mediate[d] the impact of stress from failure, might play a critical role in the healthy functioning of students with learning disabilities (LD) at school‖ Nelson and Manset – Williamson also contributed new information about the role of motivation toward students with LD In their experimental study, they pointed out that cognitive intervention that concluded motivational components might influence students‘ affective experience along with their achievement Sideridis, Morgan, Botsas,

Padeliadu andFuchs (2006), authors of the article Predicting LD on the Basis of

Motivation, Metacognition, and Psychopathology: An ROC Analysis, stated that

motivation was essential for teachers to understand reading comprehension difficulties

of learners with learning disabilities and provided recommendations for practice

On the other hand, ―there is some research that focused on providing ways to

foster L2 learning motivation of students with LD Weiser, in her Ways to Motivate

and Engage Students with Learning Disabilities article, provided manyeffectivestrategiesandinstructionalroutines to help students with LD increase their motivation and engagement For instance, she discussed how to give feedback and presented RAFT – writing – to – learn strategy and Think – Tac – Toe

activity.‖Besides, Jedynak (2010) provided suggestions for teachers to encourage L2 learning motivation of visually impaired students In her study, one of the most noticeable points is that materials and in-class activity should be well-prepared to ensure the suitability for sightless students These two studies emphasize the teachers‘ role but lack of concern about learners‘ autonomy and self-regulation On

the contrary, Csizér (2015), in his An investigation of the self-related concepts and

foreign language motivation of young Deaf and hard-of-hearing learners in Hungary

study, paid attention to intrinsic motivation The study aimed to describe the foreign language learning motivation of 14-19 year old learners with a severe or profound hearing loss However, due to the large scale of the research (with 105 participants), it could not present a deep understanding of motivational issues related to self and identity

In terms of teaching L2 to sightless students, Coşkun (2013) believed in the

essence of training teacher to teach visually impaired learners His study English

Language Teaching for the Visually Impaired Learners: Training Non-native English Teachers presented key stages of an international project aiming to train

non-native English teachers in Turkey to become aware of the concept of using T3

as a vehicle for teaching English A similar study was done to introduce tools and aids for visually impaired learners such as screen readers, touch screens with voice, Braille devices, MP3 players, large print books, magnified screens, real objects and

so on (―Teaching English to Visually Impaired Learners‖, n.d.) In addition, the study also presented challenges of teaching English to the visually impaired, classroom tasks to avoid or adapt, useful communication skills to teach and tips for teaching sightless students

2.5 Previous Research on the Education of Visually Impaired Students in Vietnam

Beside the scarcity of international research on L2 learning motivation of impaired students, it is, also, hard to find a study on this topic conducted in Vietnam However, there are some studies of the education of visually impaired

children in Vietnam The research Đại Cương Về Giáo Dục Trẻ Khiếm Thịhas a

detail and sufficient presentation of the sighted and education (Tran, 2008) It was divided into four main parts: the common issues of visually impaired children, skill development for the visually impaired, visual assistant system and Vietnamese education system for the sightless The first part seems to be the most noticeable one as it provided profound insights of the sightless‘ mentality, cognition and language as well as barriers related to these concepts However, the information was generalized sometimes For example, when introducing features of the sightless‘ mentality, the author concluded that they were shy, unconfident and passive in communication It is undeniable that being sightless does not lead to the consequence that they are reluctant to communicate In addition, early intervention for children with visual impairments has been received noticeable attention from

educators in Vietnam In his research Technical Methods to Improve the Quality of

Early Intervention for Blind Children (Aged 0 through 6 Years) at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School – Da Nang City, Nguyen (2011) stated the essence of

enhancing the quality of early intervention for sightless children and presented some technical methods to fulfill the given goal

2.6 Research Gap

Due to the limited number of study on the topic, the recent research, which has a strong focus on the individual self, is hoped to make contribution tothe field of L2 learning motivation of students, particularly those with visual impairment in Vietnam Secondly, while other researchers studied specific group‘s L2 learning motivation, the researcher will try to analyze each L2 learner‘s individual motivation By relying on a qualitative approach, the recent research can avoid being macro perspective as the previous studies which applied the quantitative design Finally, as the researcher mentioned before, many previous works of L2 motivation mainly paid attention to the stable and generalized motives of learners‘ motivation to learn L2 but neglected the complexity and dynamic of motivation In this research, the researcher will delve into the lifelong experience with L2 of the

learners through the lens of L2 motivational self-system framework and through autobiography instrument, and then, point out the movement in their L2 motivation

In this study, the researcher narrows the focus to two participants In order to explore carefully their L2 learning motivation, a case study is applied to look closely at contexts, people, and change over time (Casanave, 2010).The study employs case study to investigate how visually impaired students perceive L2 learning motivation The research goals are achieved by means of qualitative data Among kinds of designs, the researcher chose a case study for this study because it provides an in-depth and detailed analysis of a particular case or a subject According to Birnbaum, Emigand Fisher (2005) the main advantage of case studies

is that they allow the researcher to focus on the individual in a way that is rarely possible in group research Case studies successfully ―provide insights into the complexities of particular cases in their particular contexts‖ (Birnbaum, Emig& Fisher, 2005, p 127).Therefore, a case study is a suitable design for the recent study

as the aim of the study is to conduct an in-depth exploration of the participants‘ specific learning motivation It is noteworthy that the subjects of this study are sightless students who might have uniqueness in learning experience, learning difficulties and sources of motivated behaviours By applying case study, the researcher was able to shed light on their unique difficulties in learning English and learning experiences Moreover, this case study brought the researcher a good opportunity to provide thick description of the participants‘ L2 learning motivation Finally, it was useful to compare and contrast the sources of motivated learning behaviors between the two sightless students Specifically, the present author uses language learning autobiography and semi-structuredinterview to investigate L2 motivation of sightless students

Ha language learning autobiography Semi-structured interview Hang

3.2 The setting of the study and participants

For the last two years, the researcher has been employed as an English language lecturer in two different universities in Hanoi She has taught hundreds students with various backgrounds, characteristics, learning behaviours and sources

of motivation While applying different methods to motivated her students and improve their academic achievement, she recognized that there was no single method or technique that can be applied to all students Also, each language learner

is a unique self and has different learning motivation Hence, the curiosity and passion for L2 learning motivation and learning differences have gradually emerged and urged the author to do research on these topics Accidently, her mentor and her best friend as well as her colleague informed her that there were sightless students studying at a language university in Hanoi It is noteworthy that there are a few

impaired students who can actually pursue their L2 learning journey until university The author believed that there might be a great motivation which drives them to persiston learning despite their disability That thought urged the author to conduct a motivation research on these high achieving learners Consequently, she decided to recruit them as participants of her motivation research

The research was conducted at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education of a University in Hanoi To select core participants, the researcher set up three criteria: visual impairment, previous academic background and willingness to join the research In terms of previous academic background, the author selected participants those had the different previous academic backgrounds because the author wanted to see how different learning experiences might effect to each individual learners‘ motivation As regards to willingness, as the data was collected through interview and language learning autobiography, participants need to be willing to share deeply about their L2 learning For the mainpurpose of this study, two visually impaired learnersattending this university were selected

Name Age Gender Level of English Student status

Ha 22 Female Advance Last year student

Hang 22 Female Intermediate Second year student

In terms of their impairment condition, the two participants cannot see at all Hang is congenitally blind Ha, on the other hand, lost all of her ability to see when she was seven due to the degeneration of her eyes As they are sightless, their learning, generally, is different from normal students They use Braille writing devices to write and Braille documents to read They also have a recorder to record lessons Since they were able to use laptop, they can type out lessons‘ content and make use of software that supports screen reading such as Jaws and NVDA Thesoftware transmits texts displayed on the computer screen into auditory or tactile format In terms of learning English, the two participants think that the most effective way to self-study islistening to English stories, songs and movies then notingdown new words and repeating after these inputs They also practice speaking

skill by talking with classmates and foreign friends The most noticeable difficulty when learning L2 is reading skill as they cannot see at all The support of screen readers is limited because not all of learning materials are soft copy available and format – supported

3.3 Data collection instruments and procedures

In the present study, language learning autobiography and semi-structured interview were employed as data collection instruments

As the participants of the recent research are quite special, the researcher tried to find data collection instruments that are subtle but are able to get rich information also Clearly, language learning autobiographyis asuitable choice It is undeniable that writing is the best way to tell a story, and at the same time, convey thoughts, feelings and ideas Novel and diary are cases in point Through writing autobiography, the two participants had an opportunity to recollect second language experience, and then, shared their stories meticulously and honestly They might feel comfortable while writing about their L2 learning journey as they did it privately and they fully took control of what they want to share without the interference of the researcher.As Kim (2007) stated, language autobiography can provide an emic perspective (an insider‘s subjective view) which served as a life narrative By that way, the researcher can grasp their lifelong experience with language learning and understand how their previous experiences had influenced their current level of L2 learning motivation

As Kvale (1996) notes, qualitative interview ―attempts to understand the world from the subjects‘ point of view‖ (p 6), hence it helps researchers get details and in-depth subjective information (Carolyn &Palena, 2006) This advantage fits the recent research because its aim is to investigate the L2 motivation from the lens

of sightless students In addition, interview is a flexible and effective method to collect qualitative data because it helps the researcher to dig deep into any complex and interesting information by keep asking questions around specific points Furthermore, the environment outside the classroom while collecting information

using interviews is comfortable and relaxing for interviewees, especially when they might be shy and reluctant to share about their disability and learning barriers Finally, an interview enables the researcher to investigate students‘ L2 learning motivation from a longitudinal perspective (past and present learning experiences) Regarding this merit, an interview is a suitable choice for the researcher to gather the data

In conclusion, language learning autobiography enabled the researcher to collect the participants‘ lifelong L2 learning experience and learning motivation Interview, on the other hand, helped the researcher to dig deep into interesting and valuable information that she had collected from language learning autobiography

3.3.1 Language learning autobiographies

First, the participants were asked to write an autobiography of their L2 learning journey The researcher did not require them to follow any given format but provide them a list of guideline questions:

- How do you define yourself?

- Who would you like to become?

- What is your very first English learning experience? How do you feel about it?

- Why do you study English? Do you have any learning goal or motivation?

- Do you have any learning barriers?

- Have you overcome these barriers? How?

- Are there any differences in your learning experiences (before and after you entered the University)?

- What / Who affected your learning motivation? How?

By that way, they can freely express their story along with their perception, idea and feeling without being affected by the researcher They were instructed to write about their L2 learning history since their early childhood and express how their previous learning experiences had influenced their current level of L2 learning motivation They typed their language learning autobiography on their laptop and

then, sent them to the researcher‘s email address The data then was collected and investigated before their interview All the autobiographies were written in English

3.4 Data analysis methods

As stated above, the data collection instruments were language learning autobiographies and semi-structured interviews The data set was then analysed Thematic analysis (Merton, 1975) is followed According to Braun and Clarke (2006), ―thematic analysis provides a flexible and useful research tool, which can potentially provide a rich and detailed, yet complex account of data‖ As highlighted before, the aim of the study is to conduct an in-depth exploration of the participants‘ specific learning motivation; hence, thematic analysis is suitable for this purpose Moreover, thematic analysis is ―a process of coding the data without trying to fit it into a pre-existing coding frame, or the researcher‘s analytic preconceptions‖ (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p.83).Hence, thematic analysis can guarantee the reliability and objectiveness of the result

First, the researcher read through the entire data set several times and then, searched across the data set to find repeated patterns of meaning At this very first stage, there were some ideas, identification of possible patterns were shaped and emerged such as learning environment, perception of L2 language learning and

learning experience These meanings were then noted down and made ideas for coding Then, the researcher coded data by writing notes on the texts and tagging and naming selections of text within each data item Because the researcher did not want to miss any interesting ideas, she coded for themes relating to the topic (such

as integrative / instrumental motivation, identity, learning difficulty, culture interest, extrinsic / intrinsic motivation, learning experience and rationales for learning) The researcher sorted the different codes into potential themes, and collated all the relevant coded data extracts within the identified themes At the end of this phase, the researcher had a collection of main themes (rationales for learning, learning experience and learning difficulties), and sub-themes, and all extracts of data that had been coded in relation to them These three themes were chosen because they were the most prevalent themes across the data set, and, together they captured an important element of the participants‘ L2 learning motivation After that, the author reviewed the themes by reading all the collated extracts for each theme to make sure they appeared to form a coherent pattern The recent author also checked their relevance to the framework L2 motivational self – system

3.5 The Portrait of Participants

In the following part, the researcher is going to present the portrait of the two participants by analyzing the data taken from their learning autobiography and semi-structured interview

Ha: A girl with determination

It is noteworthy that Ha, a last-year student, had an impressive academic performance She shared that she rarely had any bad mark, despite the fact that she was studying at one of the top Universities of languages in Vietnam:

Excerpt 1: Ha’s interview

Sometimes, I got bad points Actually, I considered them as bad

points, but they are not too low Because normally my points are

pretty well, but they are always the same Therefore, I was not

being satisfied with myself

Ha expressed herself as a small gentle girl but having a strong will To her, her visual impairment is not a disadvantage but a difference, hence, she wants to receive the same learning condition with others and fair evaluation, not priority

Excerpt 2: Ha’s language learning autobiography

My visual disability seems to make me different from other peers

in my university I do not consider it a shortcoming; it is just a

difference I receive the same education and assessment as other

students although this difference brings me some disadvantages in

studying

Born and raised in Hanoi, she is lucky to be able to access to English early and keep pursuing her language learning road despite the limited opportunities for L2 learning of sightless people The first time she exposed to English was 18 years ago and from then on, English has been her thing

Excerpt 3: Ha’s language learning autobiography

Look back to 18 years ago, when I was a four-year-old girl, I

started learning English by usually sitting next to my cousin and

listen to what his sister taught him To be honest, at first, I had no

particular purpose of learning English I joined my cousin‘s lessons

because I had not got anybody to play with while he was busy

studying In another word, I learnt English for fun By this way,

English was subconsciously absorbed, and since those days, my

love for English emerged Having begun with a limited number of

vocabulary and structures, I, day by day, got used to making

simple conversations in English My first communicative partner

was no one else, but my cousin

Not only interested in learning English, but Ha also had a dream to become

an English teacher She mentioned in her interview that she understood the limitation on her opportunity; hence, she had to try her best to overcome all challenges From her first talk to the researcher, she showed her identity as an

independent girl, not a person with physical defect She had a strong determination

to express herself:

Excerpt 4: Ha’s language learning autobiography

I believe that I am able to do whatever others can, but in another

method Whenever daunting feeling caused by unexpected troubles

invades my mind, I hear a voice inside my heart: ―Calm down! Be

stronger! You are the only person who can escape yourself from

this unpleasant situation‖ And I do what my heart says Afterward,

I have overcome all challenges I think it can be the response to

those who were once afraid that I would drop the courses early due

to their difficulty

Hang: A girl with dreams

Compare to Ha‘s gentle and calm characteristics, Hang possesses lovely and outgoing traits in her personality Hang lived in Nam Dinh, where has fewer opportunities and information about English language learning for sightless people For that reason, it took her two years to hear about a university which is open to students with visual impairment Now, she is a second-year student and she does not hide her proud of that At the same time, she is also nervous about the learning journey ahead However, difficulties have never been able to stop her from moving forward She once expressed her feeling for English:

Excerpt 5: Hang’s language learning autobiography

English is one of my favorite subjects because learning a foreign

language is my fascination when I was a child I started to learn

English since 2009

Her love for English is not the only reason for her studying Hang shared her dream to study abroad and have an English related job with a happy and energetic voice:

Excerpt 6: Hang’s interview

I: What about your long-term goal of learning English?

Q: My long-term goal is to study abroad

I: Have you chosen any country yet?

H: Maybe it is Australia, because Australia is very supportive full

of opportunities

I: After studying abroad, do you have any other plans?

H: I plan to apply for NGO to have more opportunities to help

people with disabilities

She seems quite optimistic about her future as an L2 language learner Hang

is a girl with beautiful dreams However, these dreams all have the same root, which

is her will to support people with physical limitation

Excerpt 7: Hang’s language learning autobiography

In the future I want to become an English teacher because I hope to

have an opportunity to help the blind people like me As their

chances of approaching English are low, I really want to teach

them so that they will get more job opportunities

When the researcher asked her about her hobby of reading English products, she once again expressed her desire for helping students like her:

Excerpt 8: Hang’s interview

I: Do you read the documents, books, newspaper because you want

to gain more knowledge or for any other purpose?

H: I want to enrich my knowledge Moreover, later, when I teach

the visually impaired students, maybe I will tell them stories and

share the information that I have read from those materials

In conclusion, the two participants have several similarities First, they both have exposed to English since they were children and have a positive attitude towards this language Second, their learning goal, as well as their dream, is becoming an English teacher However, Ha pursues her goal to prove her ability and identity Hang, on the other hand, try her best on her learning journey to support sightless community