Application of VARK learning styles model in promoting motivation of non english major students in english class in a police institution

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OFLANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************* NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ THƯƠNG APPLICATION OF VARK LEARNING STYL

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF

LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF

POST-GRADUATE STUDIES *************

NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ THƯƠNG

APPLICATION OF VARK LEARNING STYLES MODEL IN

PROMOTING MOTIVATION OF NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

IN ENGLISH CLASS IN A POLICE INSTITUTION

(Ứng dụng của mô hình học tập VARK trong việc nâng cao động lực học tập cho sinh viên không chuyên trong giờ học tiếng Anh tại một đơn vị giáo dục của Cảnh sát)

M.A THESIS (Applied program)

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF

LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF

POST-GRADUATE STUDIES *************

NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ THƯƠNG

APPLICATION OF VARK LEARNING STYLES MODEL IN

PROMOTING MOTIVATION OF NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

IN ENGLISH CLASS IN A POLICE INSTITUTION

(Ứng dụng của mô hình học tập VARK trong việc nâng cao động lực học tập cho sinh viên không chuyên trong giờ học tiếng Anh tại một đơn vị giáo dục của Cảnh sát)

M.A THESIS (Applied program)

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor : Dr Nguyễn Thị Mai Hương

Hanoi - 2019

This study was intended to investigate the application of VARK model topromote the motivational state of Non-English major students in a policeinstitution More specifically, the author strived to implement her treatmentwithin one cycle of an action research and aimed to examine (i) the students‟opinion towards VARK model, and (ii) the effectiveness of VARK towards themotivational state of the students in learning English

To gain the above mentioned objectives, an action research project wasconducted with the participant of 31 non-English major students at an academy

in Ministry of Public Security The data gathered from pre-treatment and treatment questionnaire distributed to the students, and interviews with some ofthe participants The duration of the treatment was 12 weeks and all the findingsreported in this study reflect the result of one cycle of an action research project

post-It was shown that the majority of the students benefited from the model and theirmotivation was positively influenced The most outstanding evidence was found

in the participants‟ remarkable improvement in spending time for English afterclass hour and their increasing linguistic level in terms of higher expectation inEnglish result and progress On the basis of the findings, it is suggested that it isimportant to adopt a new approach in teaching English to make the learningprocess more enjoyable

This research paper would not have been completed without the help of people

to whom I would like to express my deep gratitude

Firs and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr NguyenThi Mai Huong, my supervisor, for her wholehearted support, precious guidancewhich were decisive factor to the completion of my study

Also, I would like to give extend my special thanks to all the lecturers andofficers working at the Postgraduate Faculty, University of Languages andInternational Studies, for their supporting me while I was studying andconducting this thesis

I would like to give my warmest thanks to all the research participants, my dearstudents Without their valuable opinions and ideas in the questionnaires andinterviews, the research would not have been accomplished

Last but not least, I owe my colleagues at the Foreign Languages Department ofThe People‟s Police Academy and my family for their support Their patience andcare which helped me go beyond what sometimes looks like an enormous task

I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled “ Application of VARK learningstyles model in promoting motivation of non-English major students in Englishclass in a police institution”, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language TeachingMethodology at Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages andInternational Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi is the result of myown work I have provided fully documented references to the work of others.The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other university orinstitution wholly and partially

Hanoi, 2019

Nguyen Thi Ha Thuong

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLIL : Content and language integrated learningVARK : Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Mean scores of the 8 items on attitudes toward learning English 41 Table 2: Mean scores of the 8 items on the linguistic self-confidence 43 Table 3: Mean scores of the 7 items on students‟ classroom behaviors 45 Table 4: Mean scores of the 5 items on students‟ opinions towards the current teaching styles 46 Table 5: Mean scores of the 13 items on students‟ attitudes towards the VARK model 48 Table 6: Mean scores of the 3 items on students‟ attitudes towards learning English after participating in VARK teaching-learning model 50 Table 7: Mean scores of the 5 items on students‟ linguistic self-confidence after participating in VARK teaching-learning model 51 Table 8: Mean scores of the 7 items on students‟ classroom behavior after participating

in VARK teaching-learning model 52

Figure 1: Time for English after class 42Figure 2: Students‟ willingness to volunteer and ability to understandinstructions‟ guideline 44Figure 3: Students‟ concentration and desire to take challenging exercises 45Figure 4: Understanding about learner's preferences & styles and classroomatmosphere 47Figure 5: Time for English after class 50

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

DECLARATION iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 4

1.3 Scope of the study 4

1.4 Methods of the study 5

1.5 Significance of the study 7

1.6 Structure of the thesis 8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.1 An overview of motivation 10

2.1.1 Definition of motivation 10

2.1.2 Classifications of motivation 12

2.1.3 Components of foreign language learning motivation 16

2.2 Dörnyei’s framework for motivational strategies 17

2.2.1 Creating the basic motivational conditions 17

2.2.2 Generating initial motivation 18

2.2.3 Maintaining and protecting motivation 19

2.2.4 Rounding off the learning experience: encouraging positive self-evaluation 21

2.3 An overview of VARK model 23

2.3.1 What is VARK learning styles? 24

2.3.2 Understanding a visual preference 24

2.3.3 Understanding an aural preference 25

2.3.4 Understanding a read/write preference 26

2.3.5 Understanding a kinesthetic preference 26

2.4 Previous studies ……… 27

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Research design 29

3.1.1 Rationale for the use of action research 29

3.1.2 The action procedure 30

3.2 Research context 34

3.2.1 The academy context 34

3.2.2 Current learning and teaching of English at the Academy 35

3.3 Research participants 36

3.4 Research instruments 37

3.4.1 Description of the questionnaires 37

3.4.2 Semi-structured interview 38

3.5 Data collection procedures 39

3.6 Data analysis procedures 39

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 41

4.1 Pre-treatment 41

4.1.1 The English language learning motivational state prior the treatment 41

4.1.2 The students‟ opinions towards the current teaching styles 46

4.2 Treatment and Post-treatment 47

4.2.1 Research question 1: What are students‟ opinions towards the VARK model? 47

4.2.2 Research question 2: How does the VARK model affect the students‟ motivational state in learning English? 49

4.3 Summary of the findings 53

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 55

5.1 Conclusion 55

5.2 Pedagogical implications from the findings 55

5.3 Limitations of the study 56 REFERENCES 58 APPENDICES I

APPENDIX 1 IAPPENDIX 2 VIIIAPPENDIX 3 XIIAPPENDIX 4 XVIAPPENDIX 5 XVIIAPPENDIX 6 XVIIIAPPENDIX 7 XXV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

English is a global language which has been believed to be a vital key leading tosuccess in such an integrated world According to Crystal (2006) report, thislanguage is spoken as the first language by approximately 330 to 360 millionpeople and the number of second-language speaker ranges greatly from 470million to more than 1 billion When combining native and non-native speakers,English is the most widely spoken language worldwide In Vietnam, learningEnglish has been a trend and students who are able to communicate fluently inEnglish can gain some certain privilege and their future career can be ensured.However, learners‟ attitude and motivation to learn English as a subject are notthe same and differences are found among regions, institutions, and classrooms.While some learners devote much of their time and effort in learning the targetlanguage, many appear to be unwilling and even indifferent to the necessity ofmastering English This fact is a result coming from various factors amongwhich motivation plays a considerably influential effect As Dörnyei (1994:273)

stated, “motivation is one of the main dominants of second/foreign languagelearning achievement.” Later, Dörnyei (2005: 65) emphasized the role ofmotivation since “motivation provides the primarily impetus to initiate secondlanguage learning and later the driving force to sustain the long and oftentedious learning process; indeed, all the other factors involved in secondlanguage acquisition presuppose motivation to some extent”

For nearly 5 years working at the institution, the author has talked with manynon-major English students most of whom share the same feeling that Englishcourse is the most difficult one To pass the entrance exam to attend theinstitution, the students must gain a pretty high result but not all of them areconfident in their language competence Passive classroom, unresponsivelearners, silent atmosphere in language class are frequently met; the author even

finds it uneasy to stimulate the fairly advanced learners and make them havemore active participation in the lessons.

Although the students are required to gain B1 level as a condition to receivegraduation paper, many of them feel reluctant to learn English and little progress

is made during the course As a language teacher, the author understands thatshe cannot effectively teach the target language if the relationship betweenmotivation and its effect on language acquisition is not recognized and valued

As Epstein and Rogers (2001) explained, because motivation has a vital role indeciding academic success, teachers need to develop various abilities to promotestudents‟ motivational level This notion was agreed by Grolnick and Ryan(1987) when they emphasized the role of motivation which has been linked tohigher grades and achievement in school

The department where the author has been working at was assigned by theDirectorate Board to design a new English course book for the police students.The title of the course book is “English for Police”, which has been applied inreal teaching-learning since 2016 There are 2 „English for Police‟ course bookswith the target of A2 and B1 level (in the Common European framework ofreference for languages) They provide a wide range of police-works-relatedtopics, all the tasks and activities are designed to enable learners to practice the 4communicative skills Since the content of the course books are about policeworks listed as investigation, surveillance, the penal code of Vietnam and so on,

it is challenging for both learners and teachers There have been many times theauthor heard about students‟ complaint about the pressure that they haveundertaken while studying the English course Consequently, there arouses anecessity in employing a teaching-learning model which can help increase thelearners‟ motivation and encourage them to participate in English classes

Stimulations will help students to be more attracted to learning sessions andinstantly give attention to the lessons instructed by the teachers It is also truethat teachers should be creative in diversifying education techniques in class by

addressing students‟ learning needs Effective learning method can drawstudents‟ interest and attention to the topic being taught Interest is an effectivenature and also the key factor that influences students to learn, as Harackiewicz,Smith and Priniski (2016:220) pointed, “interest is a powerful motivationalprocess that energies learning, guides academic and carrer trajectories and isessential to academic success.” Besides, in learning process, student diversity is

a factor which needs to be taken into consideration by teachers Drago andWagner (2004) affirmed that students possess the diversity in learning styleswhich has become their priority and teachers should effectively deliver thecourse according to the students‟ needs Teachers should be aware that beforeplanning their teaching process and assessment in classrooms, they shouldinitially consider this diversity factor Teachers must create the right learningatmosphere with students‟ academic achievement and their needs, so that,various learning experience structure are assignable to all students There havebeen many structures and models proposed by experts since the idea ofindividualized learning styles became popular in the 1970s One of them is VAKdeveloped by Walter Burke Barbe and colleagues in 1979 This notion ofsensory was later expanded by Neil Fleming, his VARK model was launched in

1987 through work done at Lincoln University (Fleming, 2006) This includesdiverse learning style such as visual, auditory, read or write and kinesthetic.Each learner is a unique individual who has his own strength and preferences.VARK learning styles model has great influence on the way teachers approachtheir classroom instruction It is vital to incorporate the intelligences andabilities to ignite students‟ competence so that they can reach the highest result

in learning process Personally, the author strongly believes that teachers canpromote new possibilities for learning, with greater emphasis on long-termlearning, this supports the development of students‟ creativity and criticalthinking Besides, different teaching strategies can foster a collaborativeclassroom in which students comfortably explore themselves and direct their

own learning Once boundaries are extended, barriers are broken through;anxiety or discomfort will be diminished, then, learning process becomes moreenjoyable.

As Kemp, Morrison, Ross (1998) suggested, it is important for the effectiveness

of teaching environments to take account of group or individual learners‟characteristics The author decided to choose VARK among many models tomotivate students to have more engagement in learning English and then tomotivate them practice their skills Although this model has received differentviewpoints from experts and it has not been introduced widely in Vietnam, thedecision was supported by a notion agreed by Murphy et al (2004), learningbased on VARK learning style model provides a medium for self-knowledgeand exploring opportunities in classrooms, thus, making a more productivelearning experience and enjoyment among students The author hopes thatstudents are given the opportunity to study in distinctive situations andpresentation methods until they are capable to identify the most suitabletechnique and their own individual learning style

1.2 Aims of the study

The study was conducted with an attempt to find a way of making the learningEnglish process more inspiring and enjoyable to a group of non-major first-yearpolice students at the People‟s Police Academy The students were expected tohave more involvement and play more active roles in classroom activities.Among a wide variety of motivational models, the author chose VARK(Fleming, 2006) to attract students and encourage them participating in thelearning process Specifically, it addressed the following research questions:

1 What are students‟ opinion towards VARK model?

2 How does the VARK model affect the students‟ motivational state in learningEnglish?

1.3 Scope of the study

Motivation plays a significant role in the process of learning a language.Language teachers cannot effectively teach a language if they do not understand

the relationship between motivation and its effect on language acquisition Inthis study, the author does not attempt to take all the aspects of the concept intoconsideration Due to time constraints, this action research just measured theEnglish learning motivational state of 31 first year non-English major policestudents from group TC3-D43 at The People‟s Police Academy before and afterthe writer‟s treatment as the application of VARK model (Fleming, 2006)during their first semester of the English course All of them are from differentmajors who are required to take a placement test to join an English class to avoidthe problem of multi-level learners The time when the research was conductedwas at the beginning of the second semester of the session 2017-2018 Theresearcher was also a participant who played the role of teacher appointed to be

in charge of the class from the beginning of the semester This promotes aconsistent procedure in implementing this research The data collectioninstruments include the survey questionnaire, and semi-structured interview toachieve the purpose of the research Moreover, all the learning activities weredesigned to ensure that they satisfy the VARK features and follow the content ofthe course book

1.4 Methods of the study

The research approach that the author employed is action research whichfollowed the procedures guided by steps in the action research cycle by Kemmisand McTaggart (1998) To come to the analysis and findings, the questionnaires,and semi-structured interview were adopted as the data collection instruments.The action taken in the study was VARK model (Fleming, 2006) designed forthe duration of 12 weeks and Dörnyei‟s framework of motivational strategieswas adapted The four steps of the action proposed by Kemmis and McTaggart(1998) were implemented as followed:

Step 1: Planning

When the author recognized the low motivational state of most of non-English major students at the Academy, she decided to make changes to address the

student‟s needs Firstly, the VARK survey was conducted to investigate eachstudent‟s learning styles and preferences Besides, pre-treatment questionnaireswere distributed to each learner so that the researcher could understand andmeasure the participants‟ motivational state in learning English The participantswere reminded not to write their names on the questionnaire and the researchercreated friendly, welcome atmosphere to ensure that all the answers receivedwould be honestly and freely made A report on types of students‟ learningstyles and motivation in the learning process was listed in a table with analysis.The data was analyzed to make a plan to tackle the issue The result suggestedthat the low level of motivation was resulted from classroom language activitieswhich are not only dull but also fail to address learners‟ needs and learningstyles Consequently, there arouses a need to adopt some new kinds of teaching-learning model like VARK (Fleming, 2006) to stimulus students‟ engagementand motivation because it helps the teachers explore the different preferencesand talents of each learner The researcher played the role as a teacher whoimplemented detailed lesson plans and create appropriate activities as well asprepare all the tools, visual aids so that the new teaching approach can be

applied in her classroom

Step 2: Acting

The VARK model is applied following some of Dörnyei‟s motivational

strategies in classroom All the activities should be consistent to the units

following the course syllabus In the first semester in which the action research

is implemented, learners are expected to gain level of A2 Step 3: Observing

After each period, the teacher wrote her teaching diary to notice any problems

that occurs The notes consist of 2 main parts: (1) descriptive information and

(2) reflective information In the first part, the researcher documented detail

information about the factual and settings of the class, any classroom behaviours,conversations or discussions, any non-verbal conversations that she

noticed All the information helps reveal the participants‟ feelings, attitudes,thoughts about the tasks/activities they were enrolling in The teacher also tried

to note down if there were people who remained silent for more than 3 periods.Besides, during the lesson, the teacher recorded the frequency of hand-raisingfrom participants in the namelist to mark their contribution and improvement Inthe second part, the researcher recorded her thoughts, question that came upduring observation This helps bring about an insight review of the lessons

because the researcher can focus on her impressions of the class atmosphere,ideas concerning things she should or should not implement to design moresuitable activities for the next period, and then have more concentration on

unanswered questions or unsolved problems that remain These notes werereviewed so that the researcher can have immediate and appropriate adjustmentfor the next period Moreover, at the end of each lesson, she conducted a shortmini-interview to investigate her students‟ feeling and encourage any suggestionfor the next English lesson

Step 4: Reflecting

After the duration of 12 weeks, the post-treatment questionnaire was conducted

to evaluate the influence of the model on student‟s learning motivation 03among the participants were randomly selected to complete the semi-structureinterview so that the writer can gather more in-depth data All of these wouldhelp to come to the analysis and findings to answer all the research questions

1.5 Significance of the study

This study describes, analyzes, and evaluates a research project to investigate theeffectiveness when applying VARK learning styles model (Fleming, 2006) inpromoting motivation in non-English major students when enrolling inlanguages class By conducting this research, it is hoped that the findings mayhelp teachers to have a closer look at the current situation of applying VARKlearning styles model (Fleming, 2006) in English classroom Teachers caninvestigate the success level when employing different types of activities in

developing students‟ proficiency Besides, teachers can look back their effort tointegrate this learning styles in communicative class for themselves; hence thebetter quality of teaching and learning can be reached so that students canbenefit from the activities.

VARK learning styles model (Fleming, 2006) offers English language teachers arichly diversified way of understanding and categorizing human cognitiveabilities, and combinations of abilities, heightening our awareness of whatmakes learning possible and effective for individual students By integratingVARK learning styles in the language classroom, teachers can easily approachthe areas of personal meaningfulness of their students because they highlight thedifference inherent in the students and employ appropriate activities that canignite individuals‟ competence at the center of teaching and learning process.All the four main types of learning styles (visual, auditory, reading/writingkinesthetic) can be brought into great consideration in the language classroomsince they constitute distinct frames for working on the same linguistic content.This diversity of presentations enables students to learn in their best way; at thesame time, boredom in lessons can be reduced significantly since languagelearning requires frequent reviewing over the same material if learning is to besustained

1.6 Structure of the thesis

This study is composed of five following parts:

Chapter 1: Introduction

It presents the back ground, aims, research questions, the significance, the scopeand the design of the study

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter conceptualizes the framework of the study through the discussion

of issues and ideas on definitions of motivations, types of motivation and VARKmodel

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The third chapter presents the context, the methodology that was employed inthe study including the subject, data collection instruments, data collectionprocedure and analysis

Chapter 4: Results and Discussions

The fourth chapter consists of a comprehensive analysis of the data and a

discussion on the findings of the action research Chapter 5: Conclusion

This last chapter proposes a summary of the findings, recommendations,limitations and directions for further study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter proposes a review of the literature related to motivation in learningEnglish and VARK model In each section, the definition and explanation of thekey terms is presented together with the studies worldwide

2.1 An overview of motivation

As Dörnyei (2001:1) agreed, “„motivation‟ is best seen as a broad umbrella termthat covers a variety of meanings.” In the field of second and foreign languageacquisition, the concept of motivation came from social psychology The initialpurpose of this literature review is to discuss the motivation definition and types

of motivation

2.1.1 Definition of motivation

Motivation is a multifaceted construct and different researchers in psychology andother social science disciplines define it in many different ways Dörnyei (1998)argued on the exact definition of „motivation‟ He commented, “although

„motivation‟ is a term frequently used in both educational and research contexts, it

is rather surprising how little agreement there is in the literature with regard to theexact meaning of the concept” (p.117) The word “motivation” derives from the

Latin word “movere” and stands for „to move‟ According to The Short Oxford English Dictionary, motivation is “that which moves or induces a person to act in a

certain way; a desire, fear, reason, etc which influences a person‟s volition: alsooften applied to a result or object which is desired.” However, to think ofmotivation as belonging only to the initial stages of an action, that is as concernedwith arousing initial interest and turning it into a decision to engage in someactivity – is only a limited understanding of the term The need to maintain thisstate of arousal, to determine someone to make the necessary effort to complete anaction is also of great importance This notion was supported in a definition byWilliam and Burden (1997:120) who defined motivation as “a state of cognitiveand emotional arousal which leads to a conscious decision to act, and which givesrise to a period of sustained intellectual and/or physical effort in

order to attain a previously set goal (or goals).” Then, motivation is a conceptwhich is usually associated with interest, commitment, enthusiasm, andpersistence to achieve goals.

Success in second language learning is often related to the concept of „motivation‟.Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of alanguage learner, as Dörnyei (2001:1) stated, “language teachers frequently use theterm „motivation‟ when they describe successful or unsuccessful learners.” Theterm motivation in a second language learning context is seen according to Gardner(1985:10) as “referring to the extent to which the individual works or strives tolearn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced inthis activity.” He also explained the term with the precision of mathematicaldemonstration: motivation is a combination of effort plus desire to achieve a goalplus favorable attitudes towards the goal to be accomplished (Gardner, 1985:11).Then, motivation consists of these following components: effort to achieve a goal,desire to learn the language, satisfaction with the language activity and attitudestowards the goal

While a variety of definitions of the term “motivation” have been suggested, thispaper will use the definition suggested by McDonough (2007:369) who saw it

as, “motivation is what moves us to act, in this context to learn English, to learn

to teach English, or to teach it.” He described motivation as a “property of thelearner” which it is also a transitive concept and it can also come from a coach

or a teacher Especially in school, students are often unmotivated to follow thelesson wherefore their teachers should be able to motivate them Motivation isdynamic and changes over time, especially in the usually long-drawn outprocess of language learning It is thus remarkably complex and the teacher'srole in influencing the learners‟ motivation central, and difficult It goes farbeyond the provision of reward (itself dependent on the learner's self-efficacy)

It involves providing a supportive and challenging learning environment, butalso facilitating the development of the learners‟ own motivational thinking,

beyond simply identifying their original orientation The author also takesanother definition into consideration which was proposed by Crookes andSchmidt (1991), motivation involves interest in and enthusiasm for the materialsused in class; persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels ofattention or action for an extended duration; and levels of concentration andenjoyment.

In short, each approach to motivation reflects different perspectives and thereexist differences in the teaching contexts, with different fields, in differentteaching-learning conditions and even with different learners and teachers Most

of the educationalists and researchers identified the 3 components of motivation:the choice of learning a language, the effort expended on it and the persistencewith it

orientations labelled integrative and instrumental which have become the most

widely known concepts associated with Gardner‟s work in the second languagefield

Integrative orientation refers to the positive disposition of an individual to learn

a language, its culture, and its community as Gardner (1985:82) defined as “amotivation to learn a second language because of positive feelings toward thecommunity that speaks that language.” It is thought that students who are mostsuccessful when learning a target language are those who like the people thatspeak the language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with

or even integrate into the society in which the language is used (Falk 1978)

When someone becomes a resident in a new community that uses the targetlanguage in its social interactions, integrative motivation is a key component inassisting the learner to develop some level of proficiency in the language Itbecomes a necessity, in order to operate socially in the community and becomeone of its members.

On the other hand, instrumental orientation refers to the practical reasons of an

individual to learn a language This orientation is the utilitarian counterpart ofintegrative orientation in Gardner‟s theory, pertaining to the potential pragmaticgains of second language proficiency, such as getting a better job or a highersalary or gaining a scholarship This feature was stated in Hudson (2000) as thedesire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of a secondlanguage, and Gardner and Lambert (1959:267) when they mentioned the

“utilitarian value of linguistic achievement” Instrumental motivation is oftencharacteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no socialintegration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place,

or in some instances is even desired

There was disagreement about the effects of integrative and instrumentalmotivation on language learning As mentioned later by Gass and Selinker(2008), integrative motivation was regarded as superior to instrumentalmotivation for predicting the success of second language learning, because ifstudents respect the target culture, they may read literature or practice thelanguage and thereby be able to improve their language skills (Vaezi, 2008).However, argument can be found in Dörnyei (1990) who suggested thatinstrumental motivation could be more important than integrative motivation forforeign language learners since foreign language learners are not likely to havesufficient knowledge and experience to take part in the culture of the people whospeak the target language in their early stage of language learning Over the pastdecade, different studies conducted worldwide revealed that instrumentalmotivation and integrative motivation play a supportive role

respectively in different situation, towards distinct respondents While it isagreed that integrative motivated learners might have a significant and strongreason to learn the second language, Gardner's emphasis on integrativemotivation for language learning may not fit in all language learning situations(Schmidt, Boraie, and Kassabgy, 1999) Actually, integrative and instrumentalmotivations are not necessarily mutually exclusive Later, Brown (2000) statedthat learners rarely have a single type of motivation when learning a secondlanguage The motivation of learning a second language is usually acombination of different forms of orientations He has cited an example ofinternational students who are residents in the United States The internationalstudents learn English for academic purposes while wishing to be integratedwith the people and culture of the country at the same time This example hasclearly shown that integrative and instrumental motivations can mutually exist.

In some cases, it is difficult to divide instrumental and integrative motivations.Additionally, students‟ learning goals were broken up into different motivationclusters One of the most general and well-known distinctions in motivation

theories is that of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as Vallerand (1997)

reported As Schmidt et al (1996) cited in Carreira (2005), intrinsic-extrinsicdistinction is similar to integrative-instrumental distinction, but not identical.Deci and Ryan (1985) claimed that intrinsic motivation concerns behaviorperformed for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and satisfaction such

as the job of doing a particular activity or satisfying one‟s curiosity This notion

is later supported by Coon and Mitterer (2012), intrinsic motivation occurs whenthe individual acts without any obvious external rewards and he simply enjoys

an activity, take it as a chance to explore his potentials In brief, this type ofmotivation is internal; the individual invests time, money and energy in thechosen activity for personal reasons Unlike intrinsically motivated learner, aperson who is extrinsically motivated might learn the target language even when

he or she has no interest in it, solely for the purpose of receiving the anticipated

reward or avoiding punishment Extrinsic motivation is driven by desire forreward from outside: parents, employers, teachers or others This type ofmotivation may have a negative purpose to avoid punishment, ridicule or loss ofstatus (Ryan and Deci, 2000) and it also involves “performing a behavior as a

means to an end, that is to receive some kind of reward e.g good grades”

(Dörnyei, 2003:39) These rewards are “tangible benefits or cost, if the reasonfor learning the language is taken away there is no incentive to continueengagement in the learning process” (Dörnyei, 2003:39) In short, extrinsicmotivation is external force drives a learner to learn a second language fortangible rewards or pressures, rather than for the fun of it

It is important to notice that motivation changes over time, as Dörnyei (2003)suggested And it cannot be viewed as a stable attribute of learning that remainsconstant for several months or years; however, a student‟s motivation fluctuatesgoing through certain ebbs and flows Such variation may be caused by a “range

of factors, such as the phase of the school year, e.g motivation might decreasewith time or the type of activity that the students face” (Dörnyei, 2003:21) Thiswas earlier mentioned in Dörnyei and Schmidt (2001) that each individual‟smotivation for success at a given task are based on their attitudes, beliefs, theirability to have some sort of control over the task, the perceived value of the task,and the apparent competence for the task It could be concluded that eachstudent processes the task and activities differently, and a person‟s motivation isnot fixed, it can change in learning process Someone may start off withinstrumental motivation but this develops later into integrative motivation Or,students may start with integrative motivation but later can lose over time theirinterest in learning a second language and change their motivation in aninstrumental one Likewise, students in different contexts may be motivated tolearn a second language by different orientations and their reasons to learn mayroot from intrinsic or extrinsic factors With different groups of learners,researchers and teachers can explore different knowledge and come up with avariety of findings

2.1.3 Components of foreign language learning motivation

In this paper, the author would mention two famous frameworks of secondlanguage motivation which were proposed by Dörnyei (1994) and Williams &Burden (1997)

According to Dörnyei, his framework (see appendix 5) is a good example of the

„educational approach‟ as it specifically focused on motivation from a classroomperspective It conceptualized second language motivation in terms of three levels:

The first level is language level encompasses various components related to

aspects of the second language, such as the culture and the community, as well

as the intellectual and pragmatic values and benefits associated with it That, is,this level represents the traditionally established elements of second languagemotivation associated with integrativeness and instrumentality

The second lever is learner level involves individual characteristics that the

learner brings to the learning process, most notably self-confidence, whichreflects the influence of Richard Clément‟s work on the topic

Lastly, the learning situation level is associated with situation-specific motives

rooted in various aspects of second language learning within a classroom setting:course-specific motivational components (concerning the motivational impact ofthe teacher‟s personality, behaviors and teaching style/practice); and group-specific motivational components (related to the characteristics of the learnergroup)

Later, in 1997, another detailed framework of motivational components wasoffered by Marion Williams and Bob Burden (see appendix 6) as part of a largeroverview of psychology for language teachers They also considered secondlanguage motivation to be a complex, multi-dimensional construct, but thegrouping of the components followed different principles form the earlierframework The principal grouping category in this construct is whether the

motivational influence is internal or external, and within these two categories

they distinguished a number of subcomponents, following some current themes

in educational psychology

2.2 Dörnyei’s framework for motivational strategies

As Dörnyei (2001) defined, motivational strategies are techniques which can beemployed to increase the individual‟s goal-related behavior, they are theinfluences that are purposefully utilized in order to gain enduring positiveeffects Motivational strategies are employed consciously to maintain ongoingmotivated behavior and protected it from distracting tendencies and also togenerate and promote learner‟s motivation

And he emphasized motivation generally refers to an important humancharacteristic which is rather complex One of the reason for this is thatmotivation is an aspect of the classroom environment and normally we look atthe characteristics of the whole learner group rather than the individual learner.However, the term “motivation” is associated with an individualisticperspective, it focuses on the individual‟s values, attitudes, goals and intentions.Dörnyei (2001) proposed a process-oriented organization which focuses both onthe individuals and learning environment It includes: (i) creating the basicmotivational conditions, (ii) generating initial motivation, (iii) maintaining andprotecting motivation, (iv) encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluationand (v) rounding off the learning experience: encouraging positive self-evaluation

2.2.1 Creating the basic motivational conditions

This step offers the initial motivation conditions used to promote classroommotivation Such conditions are: appropriate teacher behaviors, a pleasant andsupportive atmosphere in the classroom, a cohesive learner group withappropriate group norms Among the 3 conditions, Dörnyei (2001) concludedthat the teacher behavior is the most important motivational tool A teacher‟sbehavior is considered to be „appropriate‟ when they involve 4 general points:enthusiasm, commitment to and expectations for the student‟s learning,relationship with the students, relationship with the students‟ parents Thesecond condition – atmosphere in the classroom ranks number 2 among the

motivational dimensions And the ideal classroom climate can be identified asthe sense of mutual trust and respect among the members The factors to form an

„emotional safe zone‟ in class can be named as the norm of tolerance, the use ofhumour and the physical environment (the classroom decoration andarrangement) Lastly, a considerable importance is put on group cohesivenessand group norms To make the learning process more enjoyable, it is needed tocreate a sense of „community‟ with a strong feeling of „being together‟ which ispromoted during interaction, co-operation, the sharing among members and so

on Besides, it is agreed that there is needed to be „rules of conduct‟ whichdetermine what class members can and cannot do It is noticed that classmembers include not only the students but also the teacher

2.2.2 Generating initial motivation

The motivational dimension related to this phase refers to choice motivationbecause it leads to the selection of the goal or task to be pursued Dörnyei (2001)divided these facets into five broad groups

The first is enhancing the learners‟ language-related values and attitudes

It is explained that each person has a value system which involves his attitudes,beliefs and feelings This value system has a decisive role in forming theperson‟s preferences and approaches to activities Dörnyei (2001) distinguishedthree relatively value dimensions: (1) intrinsic value – relates to the interest inand anticipated enjoyment of the actual process of learning the target language(2) integrative value – relates to the target language itself (the culture it convey),the attitudes toward the language and its speaker, and (3) instrumental value –relates to the results and benefits of the learning process

The second group is increasing the learners‟ expectancy of success Dörnyei(2001: 57) wrote that “Expectancy is in the mind of the learner.” When the

learners are motivated and have a positive mood, it is more likely to increasetheir expectancies There are several methods to heighten the learners‟expectancy of success: provide sufficient preparation, offer assistance, let

students help each other, make the success criteria as clear as possible, modelsuccess, consider and remove potential obstacles to learning.

Thirdly, it is important to increase the learners‟ goal orientedness Because thereexist the „official class‟ goal, the „group‟ goal and the „individual‟ goal, theteacher should carefully considers: individual goals, institutional constrains andsuccess criteria

Furthermore, the teachers should make the teaching materials relevant for thelearners Because one the demotivating factors for learner is when they learnsomething has little relevance to the needs Then, need analyses is necessary and

it can be done by interviews, chats, discussion, writing assignments, andquestionnaires With the obtained information, the teachers can link the topicsand activities to students‟ real life experiences and preferences

The very last group is creating realistic learner beliefs Generally, learners havetheir own beliefs about language learning; however many of them are notcorrect It is important for both teacher and students to discuss and make it clearabout: the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature

of language learning, learning and communication strategies, motivation andexpectations

2.2.3 Maintaining and protecting motivation

It is unavoidable that the initial motivation may fade out and it needs to beactively nurtured Because human behaviour is rather complex and ongoinghuman behavior can be modified in many different ways, the range ofmotivational strategies relevant to this phase is wide and Dörnyei (2001)surveyed the 8 most powerful executive areas

The first area is making learning stimulating and enjoyable To encouragefurther student involvement, teachers can create a more enjoyable learningenvironment by applying three main types of strategy: breaking the monotony oflearning, making the tasks more interesting, increasing the involvement of thestudents

Secondly, it is adviced that teachers should present tasks in a motivating way.This actually is about the way teachers administer tasks and offer a moreexciting way to introduce or to present the topics to be learnt There are threefunctions that a motivating introduction of an activity should have: explainingthe purpose and the utility of a task, whetting the students‟ appetite, providingappropriate strategies to do the task.

Thirdly, setting the specific learner goals is another effective strategy Becausethe more specific the goals is, the easier the learner can structure the learningprocess When setting goals, it is important to keep in mind these characteristics:clear and specific, measurable, challenging and difficult, realistic Dörnyei alsomentioned a suggestion by McCombs and Pope (1994) which simplified thefeatures of a goal into an „ABCD‟ principles: achievable, believable,conceivable and desirable

Besides, protecting the learners‟ self-esteem and increasing their self-confidenceshould not be neglected It is crucial aspect of motivational teaching practice tobuid the learners‟ confidence Playing the roles of a facilitator, guider andsupporter, a teacher can apply direct or indirect ways which can be suggested as:providing experiences of sucess, encouraging the learners, reducing languageanxiety and teaching learner strategies

Another strategy to be mentioned is allowing learners to maintain a positivesocial image Because school is not merely an educational environment, whenengaging in a class, the learners are put in a context where they can gain lessonsand implications about the social life At the same time, to make the learningprocess friendly and motivating, it is advised that teachers should allow theirstudents to maintain a positive social image

Furthermore, in the teaching and learning process, cooperation among thelearners should also be encouraged and promoted It has been proved thatstudents in cooperative environments have more positive attitudes towards

learning There are many reasons for the favourable impact of cooperation onmotivation, some of them are: it fosters class cohesiveness; it increases thelearners‟ expectancy of success; it achieves a synthesis of academic and socialgoals; there is a sense of obligation and moral responsibility; and it helps create

a positive emotional tone

Regarding the learners as independent individuals, teachers should also createlearner autonomy Learner autonomy is closely related to motivation inpsychology because according to the „self-determination‟ theory, the freedom tochoose and to have choice, rather than being forced to behave followingsomeone else‟s desires, is a prerequisite to motivation Teachers can present anautonomy-supporting teaching practice by following these two points: (1)increase learner involvement in organizing the learning process This can beachieved by: allowing learners choices about aspects of the learning process,giving students positions of genuine , encouraging student contributions andpeer teaching, encouraging project work and allowing learners to use self-assessment procedures (2) a change in the teacher‟s role This is described asnon-traditional teaching style and the teachers will play the role of facilitator, ahelper and instructional designer who leads learners to discover and create theirown meanings about the world

Last but not least, teachers should promote self-motivating learner strategies It

is a fact that not all classrooms are ideal for learners to study; many of them canhave environmental distractions or distracting emotional and have adverseconditions However, it is students‟ self-motivating capacity that push thelearning quality It is suggested that self-motivating strategies are made up offive main classes: commitment control strategies, metacognitive controlstrategies, satiation control strategies, emotion control strategies andenvironmental control strategies

2.2.4 Rounding off the learning experience: encouraging positive evaluation

self-This last phase concerns the learners‟ retrospective evaluation of how thingswere performed Students‟ appraisal of their works and performance depend not

only on the level of success they achieved but also on the way they themselvesinterpret their achievement It is the teachers‟ role to help their students to have

a more positive light when evaluating their successes and failures in a moreconstructive way This will become feasible if the teachers follow the strategies

as described below

The very first strategy is promoting motivational attributions Attribution theory

is relevant to the study of language learning for two reasons: (1) failure inlearning a second language is very common (2) language aptitude is afrequently-mentioned notion It is suggested to promote effort attributions andprevent ability attributions This can be done by: providing effort feedback,refusing to accept ability attributions, modeling effort-outcome linkages,encouraging learners to offer effort explanations and making effort andperseverance a class norm

Secondly, it is needed to provide motivational feedback in the teaching process.Besides grades, feedback does contribute to changes in students‟ behaviors.Feedback has at least 3 functions: (i) gratifying function – praise can increaselearner satisfaction and improve the learning spirit; (ii) communicating trust andencouragement, motivational feedback can result in a positive self-concept andself-confidence; and (iii) informative and promote the learner to reflectconstructively on the fields that need improvement

Another strategy to be take into consideration is increasing learner satisfaction.Satisfaction relates to the recognition of success, it is important because itvalidates effort, reinforces the value of experience and affirms the entirelearning process Teachers can choose among these techniques: monitor andrecognize learners‟ accomplishments, take time to celebrate success, regularlytake stock of progress, include tasks which involve the public display orperformance of the outcome, make progress tangible, provide a reinforcingevent for positive closure at the end of significant units of learning

Lastly, offering rewards and grades in a motivating manner is advisable Therole of rewards and grades has been the most controversial area Although

rewards and grades are usable and can be applied in any teaching context, thesesimplistic devices actually do motivation a great deal of damage The potentialdamages of rewards can be: (1) they undermine the existing motivation (2) theydivert the students‟ attention away from the real task (3) students can easilysuccumb to the „min-max principle‟ when they attempt to maximize rewardswith a minimum of effort Besides, there are some concerns related to givinggrades: (1) extreme pressure to meet the standard can occur, which may results

in cheating or uncritical students (2) the importance of having good grades mayoverweight the learning process (3) the learners‟ ability may attract moreattention that the effort (4) learners anxiety may increase due to the knowledgebeing assessed Then, teachers are advised to be cautious and have a motivatingmanner when offering rewards and grades, other forms of motivational practicesare suggested to try

The author followed this strategies framework as background to develop theapplication of VARK model in her action research to answer all the researchquestions

2.3 An overview of VARK model

Many researchers recognized that each person prefers different learning stylesand techniques and there are theories that aim to account for differences inindividuals‟ learning Gordon (1998) proposed that learning styles have effects

on educational process and how students perform Dunn and Griggs (1998)simply defined learning style as the attitude, favorites and conducts that learnersadopt in their learning Duff (2000) defined learning style in a more complicatedway, a cognitive composite, affective, and psychological factor which act as anindicator on how individuals interact and respond to learning environment.Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far lessuse of the other styles Others may find that they use different styles in differentcircumstances People can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well asfurther develop styles that they already use well

There are many models on learning styles that can be identified from earlierstudies such as models developed by David A Kolb, Peter Honey and AlanMumford, Walter Burke Barbe, Neil Fleming and so on The researcher chosethe one developed by Neil Fleming in 2006 to employ in her action research andthis part aims to analyze the theory related to this model, namely VARK.

2.3.1 What is VARK learning styles?

VARK model was developed by Neil Fleming in 2006; actually, this model wasexpanded upon the earlier three learning modalities (which was identified byVAK) proposed by Walter Burke Barbe in 1979 The VARK (visual,aural/auditory, read/write and kinesthetic) Learning Style falls under theumbrella of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) NLP “encompasses the threemost influential components involved in producing human experience:neurology, language and programming” (Dilts, 2016, para 1) NLP investigatesthe interactions between how neurological (mind) and linguistics (language)within an individual impact behavior (programming)

This learning style is modified by classifying students to four different modeswhich based on different senses, namely visual, aural, reading, and kinesthetic.And the name of the model itself, originated from those senses prefix letters (V,

A, R, and K) According to Ismail (2010) cited in Norasmah and Mohd (2010),dividing students according to modes is necessary so that the effectiveness ofeach lesson to different VARK learning mode can be observed Murphy et al.(2004) added by saying that learning based on VARK learning style modelprovides a medium for self-knowledge and exploring opportunities inclassrooms, thus, making a more productive learning experience and enjoymentamong students

2.3.2 Understanding a visual preference

Visual learners learn by seeing, they have a high ability for visual recall Thesestudents prefer to use list to maintain their advance rate in learning as well as

arranging their ideas and mind Apart from that, visual students are easy to bedisturbed or change in focus by movements or actions, whereas, noise, usually

do not bother them (Drago & Wagner, 2004) They frequently use handmovements while talking and have a tendency to look upwards when thinking(Pritchard, 2009) Moreover, visual students like to use Visual representationssuch as figures, pictures, posters, maps display and symbolic tools such asgraph, flowcharts, hierarchies, models, and arrow which represent printedinformation They also are able to explain a concept to others by drawing afigure or picture (Murphy et al 2004) Miller (2001) in his study explained that

as much as 29 percent of the students are more inclined to visual learning stylewhere they possess intelligence in using pictures, and optical illusion andmodels in three dimensional forms According to Piping (2005) cited inNorasmah and Mohd (2010), students that have visual intelligence are usuallyrich with imagination and are inclined to be creative and imaginative Flemingadded the need to recognize that visual learners prefer graphics The writtenword would not be as valuable, especially when used as a visual additive in aclassroom with only words on media “It must be more than mere words inboxes that would be helpful to those who have a Read/write preference”(Fleming, 2017)

2.3.3 Understanding an aural preference

Aural/auditory learners learn by listening, they favor the audio and have a highability for auditory recall These students give more attention to the wordsdelivered by teachers They prefer to listen than writing lecture notes; repetition,summaries are their preference and they benefit from discussions, lectures,stories As Murphy et al (2004) pointed, aural students discuss on answers or bylistening to recording over then examination topics Students who learn with thismode are easily interrupted noise (Drago & Wagner, 2004) Pritchard (2009)added, these learners are likely to tilt their heads and use eye movements whenconcentrating or recalling information According to Miller (2001), this type of

students can remember information through loud reading or mouthing whenreading, especially when learning something new Students can strengthen theirmemory by listening again to audio tape recordings, by teaching other people anddiscussing with teachers After lectures end, discussion about topics which weretaught with classmates, is a way to clarify their understanding Aural studentsusually read easily, narrate cleverly, write story or poetry effortlessly, learn foreignlanguage fast, have good vocabulary, spell smoothly, like to write letters, and ownstrong ability in remembering names or facts (Armstrong, 2004) Within thislearning style, Fleming (2017) added chatting and email as they possess moreabbreviations, colloquial terms, slang and non-formal language.

2.3.4 Understanding a read/write preference

This preference is for information displayed as words Students with thetendency of reading prefer printed word and text as a method to gaininformation They like list, glossary, textbooks, lecture notes, or circulation.This preference emphasizes text-based input and output – reading and writing inall its forms but especially manuals, reports, essays and assignments Thesestudents like to arrange lecture notes into sketch form, paraphrase classroomnotes, and study multiple choice exam questions (Murphy et al 2004) Besides,according to Drago and Wagner (2004), these students are note takers Theystudy better through note taken from lecture or from difficult reading materials.Not surprisingly, many teachers and students have a strong preference for thismode (Fleming, 2017)

2.3.5 Understanding a kinesthetic preference

Although measured as a separate category in VARK, learning throughkinesthetic is a measurement mode, regarded to the combination of varioussense functions The key is that people who prefer this mode are connected toreality, “either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice orsimulation” (Fleming & Mills, 1992:140-141) This idea is also supported by(Murphy et al 2004) when he stated that “priority kinesthetic referring to

learning achieved using experience and practice.” In other words, kinestheticstudents should go through experience to learn something and they value theirown background of experiences and less so, the experiences of others They

prefer demonstrations, simulations, videos and movies of “real” things, as well

as case studies, practice and applications The key is the reality or concretenature of the example As Drago and Wagner (2004) describes thecharacteristics of predisposing kinesthetic students as those who emphasizemore in experience in learning something and usually, they have high energyand prefer to apply touch, movement, and interaction to their environment.According to Armstrong (2004), students that possess this type of intelligenceare fond to move and are active, quick in learning physical skills, fond to thinkwhile moving, perform well in certain athletic field, more likely to usemovements as an aid for remembering various cases, have good coordinationand awareness on tempo, and are easy to relax

2.4 Previous studies

Many researchers have implemented researches and studies related to learningstyles but a moderate number of them selected VARK learning styles model towork on Firstly, some researchers from the University of Joensuu (now mergedinto the University of Eastern Finland) measured the learning preferences ofstudents enrolled across a number of undergraduate computing courses(Bednarik Fränti, 2004) The group used the VARK Questionnaire to determinestudents‟ learning preferences to explore whether students with a particularpreference would perform better across the courses they were studying Theirresults showed no strong evidence that students who preferred a single modalitywould be more successful across courses Students with a balanced VARKprofile had slightly better performance Later, another work conducted byHussain (2017) came to conclude that VARK model is a famous one due to itssimplicity and effectiveness in consistent with its pedagogical implications.More specifically, it promotes learners to attain process and

retain new information as a learning process Recently, a small group of 3researchers at Sripatum University-Chonburi Campus and Burapha Universityhave employed VARK model to categorize the students in computer course(Veena Khongpit, Krich Sintanakul, and Thanyarat Nomphonkrang, 2018) Theresearch results revealed some statistic about the participants‟ learning styles.Besides, it was found that the teaching material design should be done bycreating creative activities and environment in consistent with the learningabilities of the learners in order to promote their motivation and perception.Regarding the effectiveness of using a VARK methodology on studentachievement and learning outcomes, two researchers implemented a study atAustralian Catholic University in Australia (Wright & Stokes, 2015) Theirparticipants were in economics classes The VARK model was used to bothdiagnose the learning styles of the students in the classroom as well as underpinthe teaching and learning strategies implemented in each economics unit Itshowed the importance to consider these preferences in developing teaching andlearning approaches To most successfully develop these skills, it is important todevelop activities that promote interest and relevance for the students and allowsfor students to progress at their own pace In short, there was very little result to

be found about the application of VARK learning styles in language learning orits relation to any approach related to motivational theory Then, this actionresearch project appears to approach a very new path in second/foreign languageteaching section in Vietnam

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter explains the methodology of the current research, including theresearch design, the participants, the data collection instruments and procedure,and data analysis

3.1 Research design

The research is carried out to answer the following research questions:

1 What are students‟ opinion towards VARK model?

2 How does the VARK model affect the students‟ motivational state in learningEnglish?

3.1.1 Rationale for the use of action research

Carr and Kemmis (1986:162) defined action research as “a form of reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in social situations in order toimprove the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding ofthese practices, and the situations in which the practices are carried out.” Thisdefinition reveals that action research is is tied to self-reflection and it isproblem-focused Besides, Ferrance (2000) clarified action research as a process

self-in which participants examself-ine their own educational practice systematically andcarefully, using the techniques of research The author wishes to become aparticipant who enrolling in the process of making changes and offer aninsightful picture of the teacher-researcher‟s own teaching practice

This action research initially aims to solve an immediate problem of the author‟steaching context As Burns (2010:2) stated, action research involves “taking aself-reflective, critical, and systematic approach to exploring your own teachingcontexts” This was also supported by Denscombe (2010:6) who wrote that “anaction research strategy's purpose is to solve a particular problem and to produceguidelines for effective practices.” It can be understood that action research is areflective process of progressive problem solving to improve the addressedissues It is undertaken by people whose aim to improve their strategies,

practices and knowledge of the environment within which they practice Thetwo typical features namely as problem-focus and contextual-specificity ofaction research enable the writer to select it as the most suitable one toimplement her study.

3.1.2 The action procedure

The action research was conducted during 12 weeks of the first semester of theEnglish course of D43 (it was within the duration of the second semester ofsession 2017-2018) The author developed her study in 4 steps followingKemmis and McTaggart (1998) action research cycle: (1) Planning(understanding a problem and identifying potential strategies) (2) Acting(executing the strategies), (3) Observing (noticing outcomes of the strategies),and (4) Reflecting (evaluating the outcomes of the strategies) In the secondstep, Dörnyei‟s framework of motivational strategies was adapted and it wasconducted in four phases

Step 1: Planning

The researcher-teacher realizes the problem when English appears to be the leastfavored subject to a large number of non-English major students, silent learningatmosphere was commonly seen in English classes Pre-treatment questionnairewas conducted to target at students‟ motivational state prior the treatment Thequestions assess the students‟ attitude towards learning English, their linguistic