Bài thi Phương pháp Nghiên cứu khoa học

Scope of the study In order to select participants for the pilot study, an invitation letter was sent via email to 50 English major and non-English Vietnamese employees aged between 17

Assignment requirements Name:

Class:

Subject: Research Methodology

Topic: An investigation into the motivation of non-native

English speaking employees working for foreign companies in Ho Chi Minh city to upgrade their English level as L2 adult learners

CONTENT

I Rationale

It is interesting to note that adult learning theories have been largely absent from mainstream research into L2 motivation, despite a great proportion of L2 learners being adults While the key theoretical models and frameworks in L2 motivation research are not age-specific, they have been chiefly validated by studies conducted with learners in schools and universities This literature review argues that adult motivation to learn and participate in

learning presents characteristics worth investigating and bringing into the broader scholarly debate on L2 motivation

II Aim of the study

The aim of this research was to explore the motivation of adult course and, more specifically, to uncover the factors which the participants perceived as key in shaping and sustaining their

motivation during a nine-month period

Although a study of this kind was never designed to identify correlations between motivational variables and retention rates, it was believed that it might help to shed light on the factors

contributing to the completion of a beginner FL course by adult learners when others fail to do so

III Research questions

Following on from the research aim, the study set out to address three main questions:

How do adult L1-English learners view their motivation during

a beginner‟s FL course?

What factors do they perceive to be motivationally significant

at different stages of the course and overall?

In their view, how do the above account for their completion of the course and for their wish to carry on learning the language?

The above research questions encapsulate what Mason (2002) describes as “the intellectual puzzle” (p.19) which, in my case, developed during a ten year period of teaching Italian in adult and higher education The puzzle began to emerge as a series of

simple questions, which many reflexive teachers of adults are likely to ask themselves at some point: What makes adult

language learners tick? What is it that drives some to return week after week when so many drop out, particularly in the early stages

of learning a language?

Seeking clarity in the L2 motivation research literature led, instead, to further questions and problematizing For instance, could existing L2 motivation theories explain the dynamics of FL

learning motivation in adults? How did foreign language

motivation differ from second language motivation? In terms of a comprehensive theory, would Gardner‟s concept of

integrativeness be relevant to my students or would Dörnyei‟s L2 Motivational Self-system be more widely applicable? Should the answer be found in the cognitive, in the affective domain or

elsewhere altogether? It soon became apparent that it would be beyond the scope of this research to explore a large number of issues in any depth Nevertheless, the fundamental question of what generates and, above all, sustains the motivation of adults on

a FL beginners‟ course from their perspective, has remained the central focus of this study

In formulating aims and questions, care was taken to avoid variable and causative relationships, which research of this type cannot attempt to make Instead, the study set out to describe, explore and ultimately interpret and understand the participants‟ stories and experiences The next sections discuss the choices of

research paradigm, research type and tradition employed by the study

IV Scope of the study

In order to select participants for the pilot study, an invitation letter was sent via email to 50 English major and non-English Vietnamese employees (aged between 17 and 21 years), inviting them to take part in the survey questionnaire and focus groups A total of 13 students (7 English major and 6 non-English major) who agreed to take part in the pilot study were selected, as it is recommended that the translated survey instruments need to be piloted with a group of between three to ten people who are as close to the future participants as possible (Beauford, Nagashima,

& Wu, 2011) This group of participants had similar

characteristics to the participants of Studies 1 and 2 in that they are Vietnamese, fell within the same age range (aged from17-21 years), and were studying English Most importantly, they were able to comment on the wording of the translated scales After

completion of the questionnaires, these participants also took part

in the focus groups Litosseliti (2003)

postulates that a focus group can be conducted with between three and ten people For the purposes of the focus group in the pilot study, 7 English major students were allocated in one group and 6 non-English major students were asked to work in another group

V Methods of Study

Development of Research Paradigms in L2 Motivation

Research

Locating this Research Program as Mixed Methods Research This present research used mixed methods to answer five

research questions:

RQ1 What types of motivation do English major and

non-English major students report when they are learning non-English in higher education in Vietnam?

RQ2 What are the similarities and differences in motivation between English major and non-English major students?

RQ3 What are the similarities and differences in their levels

of motivational intensity, autonomy, competence and relatedness between English major and non-English major students?

RQ4 What are the relationships between motivation and

motivational intensity, autonomy, competence and relatedness for English major and non-English major students?

RQ5 In what ways do lecturers, peers and parents influence Vietnamese students’ motivation to learn English?

VI. Tentative Design of the Study

Stage

s

Participant

s

Data Collection Instruments

Data Collection Pilot

Study

Thirteen

Vietnames

e emploees

who were

working in

Ho Chi

21-item Language Learning Orientation Scale- Intrinsic Motivation,

To pilot the translated questionnaire in order to ensure the equivalence

of the translated

Translated questionnaire was

administered

to employees Discussions

Minh City Extrinsic

Motivation and Amotivation Subscales (LLOS ̶ IEA)

(Noels et al., 2000)

10-item Motivational Intensity Scale

(Gardner, 2010)

12-item Basic Psychological Needs Scale

(Carreira, 2012)

Semi-structured questions (focus

questionnaire and the original

questionnaire

To pilot the interview procedure in order to refine the focus group questions

with employees about the wording of the

questionnaire were

conducted

Guided questions used in the

groups focus groups

were asked and refined for later use in Study 2

Study

1

422

second-year

employees

21-item Language Learning Orientation Scale- Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation and Amotivation Subscales (LLOS ̶ IEA)

(Noels et al., 2000)

To identify the types of

motivation reported by employees

To explore the similarities and differences in types of and levels of motivation between employess

Online questionnaire was sent to empolyees

10-item

Motivational

Intensity Scale

(Gardner, 2010)

12-item Basic

Psychological

Needs Scale

(Carreira, 2012)

To investigate the differences in the level of

motivational intensity, self-perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness between employees

To examine the relationships between different types of

motivation and motivational intensity,

autonomy, competence and relatedness

Study

2

36

employees

who

completed

the

questionna

ire were

asked to

take part in

two focus

groups (six

employees

in each

focus

group)

Semi-structured focus group questions

To explore why employees were studying English and if they

differed in their motivation to learn English (to verify the finding

in Study 1)

To explore employees’

perceptions of how parents, teachers and peers influence

Before each focus group began

participants were asked to provide a written response to a number of questions which were further discussed in the focus group

their motivation Guided

questions were asked to facilitate focus group discussions Focus groups were

conducted in Vietnamese The Pilot Study had two objectives: (1) to pilot the translated

questionnaires and (2) to pilot the focus group questions As the participants of the program of research were employees, the

questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese The translated

questionnaire was piloted with a small number of participants in order to get their feedback on accuracy, clarity and cultural

appropriateness of all items in the translated questionnaire The

issues relating to instrument translation, participant selection and

the procedure of the pilot study are discussed later in this chapter

Study 1 sought to answer RQs 1 ̶ 4 In order to address these

research questions, a questionnaire made of three measures was

employed as the data collection instruments A detailed

explanation of each measure used in Study 1 occurs later in this

chapter

Study 2 aimed to provide more explanation for RQ1, RQ2, and

explored perceived influences that their lecturers, peers and

parents have on their motivation, which addresses RQ 5 Study 2

collected qualitative data by means of focus groups and students’

written responses to a number of questions The original

qualitative data were in Vietnamese, which were then translated

to English for analysis

VII Outline of Literature Review

Chapter 1: Introduction

Overview Globalisation and English Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education in Vietnam .

Chapter 2: The Broader Context of Vietnam

Overview Vietnam: The Land, History, People and Culture

Chapter 3: Motivation to Learn a Second Language

Chapter 4: Research Design

Chapter 5: Study 1

Chapter 5: Study 1

VIII References

Richards, J C (2005) Communicative language teaching

today Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Rigby, C S., Deci, E L., Patrick, B C., & Ryan, R M (1992)

Beyond the intrinsic- extrinsic dichotomy: Self-determination in

motivation and learning

Motivation and Emotion, 16, 165-185 doi:

10.1007/BF00991650

Ronnås, P., & Sjöberg, Ö (1991) Economic reform in

Vietnam: Dismantling the centrally planned economy The

Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 7(1), 7-19 doi: 10.1080/13523279108415069

Ruesch, A., Bown, J., & Dewey, D P (2012) Student and teacher perceptions of motivational strategies in the foreign

language classroom Innovation in Language Learning and

Teaching, 6(1), 15-27 doi:10.1080/17501229.2011.562510

Ryan, R M (Ed.) (1991) The nature of the self in autonomy and relatedness New York: Springer

Ryan, R M., & Connell, J P (1989) Perceived locus of

causality and internalization: examining reasons for acting in two domains Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(5), 749-762 doi: 10.1037/0022- 3514.57.5.749