Factors affecting motivation in learning speaking english of grade 10 students at thanh ba high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING SPEA

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-

GRADUATE STUDIES



PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT

THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

( Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng tới động lực học nói tiếng Anh

của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-

GRADUATE STUDIES



PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT

THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

( Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng tới động lực học nói tiếng Anh

của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016

Title:

Factors affecting motivation in learning speaking English of Grade 10 students

at Thanh Ba High School

I certify that the thesis is the result of my own research for the Degree ofMaster of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, VietnamNational University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree atany other university or tertiary institution

Hanoi, 2016

Phan Th Thùy Linh

This research has been accomplished with the help and encouragement of manypeople to whom I would like hereafter to express my deep appreciation

First and foremost, I would like to express my great attitude to my supervisor,

Dr Dương Thị Nụ for her invaluable inspiration, assistance and guidance during thetime I tried to complete this paper

I am thankful to all lecturers and staff of the Post-Graduate Department ofUniversity of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University fortheir scientific knowledge, guidance and enthusiasm during my course

I am greatly indebted to my students from class 10A1 to class 10A5 and mycolleagues at Thanh Ba high school for their participation and assistance withoutwhich this study could not have been successful

And my heartfelt thanks are due to my dear family members who are alwaysbeside me to support and encourage me to fulfill my study

This exploratory research is an attempt to investigate factors affectingmotivation in speaking English of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school.The main purposes of the study are to find out: types of motivation possessed bygrade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school, factors affecting students‟ motivation inspeaking English, activities and techniques applied by teachers and students‟preference and then give some suggested solutions for teachers to stimulate students

to speak and overcome the difficulties they face with in teaching speaking

This survey study was carried out with the combination of qualitative methodand quantitative method with some kinds of research instruments: questionnaires forstudents and teachers, follow-up interviews and class observations

The findings shows that grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school are notonly extrinsically, instrumentally but also intrinsically and integratively motivated.Besides, their motivation in speaking is affected much by the factors coming fromstudents‟ themselves, teachers and learning condition Based on theoreticalbackground of motivation and speaking, the researcher‟s knowledge, experienceand observation in teaching speaking, some recommendations for motivatingstudents to speak were suggested such as promoting students‟ internal factors,setting up a co-operative atmosphere in class, applying varying speaking activities,combining different materials or changing teachers‟ characteristics The researcherbelieves that these recommendations will be of help for high school Englishteachers in general and for English teachers at Thanh Ba high school in particular

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS vii

PART A INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Research Questions 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Scope of the study 2

6 Significance of the study 3

7 Design of the study 3

PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning 4

1.1.1 Definition of motivation 4

1.1.2 Types of motivation 5

1.1.3 Factors affecting motivation inL2 learning………6

1.2.1 Definition of speaking 11

1.2.2 Approaches to the teaching of speaking 11

1.2.3 The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking 12

1.2.4 Motivation in speaking in classroom 13

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 The setting of the study 15

2.2 Subjects 16

2.3 Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at Thanh Ba high school 17

2.4 Participants 17

2.5 Data collection instruments 18

2.5.1 Survey Questionnaires 18

2.5.2 Interviews 19

2.5.3 Class observations 20

2.6 Data collection procedures……….16

CHAPTER 3- DATA ANALYSIS 21

3.1 Results from students‟ pre- treatment and post-treatment questionnaires 21

3.2 Results from teacher‟s survey questionnaire (Post-treatment) 37

CHAPTER 4 MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 42

4.1 Major findings and discussions 42

4.1.1 Types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school 42 4.1.2 Factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English 42

4.1.3 Speaking motivational activities and techniques employed by teachers and students‟ preferences 44

4.2 Recommendations for motivating students to speak English in class 45

4.2.1 Promoting students‟ internal factors 45

4.2.2 Varying speaking activities 46

4.2.3 Managing speaking turns in class 47

4.2.4 Setting up a co-operative atmosphere in class 47

4.2.5 Combining the textbook and relevant materials 48

4.2.6 Recognizing the potential value of available facilities of the school and the Internet 48

4.2.7 Being enthusiastic, tolerant, helpful, creative and active 49

PART C CONCLUSION 1 Recapitulation of the study 50

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 50

REFERENCES 52 APPENDICES I

Second LanguageSecond Language AcquisitionVoice of America

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1 List of tables

Table 1.Reason for types of motivations 22

Table 2 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class 30

Table 3 Factors preventing students‟ speaking process 31

Table 4 Factors encouraging students to speak 33

Table 5 What teachers do to motivate students to take part in speaking activities 34 Table 6 Teacher‟s opinions on students‟ motivation of the speaking stages 37

Table 7 Problems teachers facing in teaching speaking 38

Table 8 Activities applied by teachers by frequency 39

Table 9 Techniques applied by teachers 39

Table 10 Activities applied by the teachers and students‟ preferences XV Table 11 Speaking activities applied by teachers XIX 2 List of charts Chart 1 Students‟ average marks in the first semester 21

Chart 2 Students‟ perceived importance of English 24

Chart 3 Students‟ aptitude to learn English speaking 25

Chart 4 Students‟ attitude to learn English speaking……….26

Chart 5 Students‟ effort in learn English speaking 27

Chart 6 Students‟ desire to learning speaking 27

Chart 7 Students‟ interest in speaking English 28

Chart 8 Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time 29

Chart 9 Students‟ reluctant of speaking English 29

Chart 10 Students‟ results after the treatment 32

Chart 11 Activities enjoyed most by students 34

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Nowadays, English is widely known as the major language of intercommunication,international commerce and business, science and technology and so on Therefore,people with good English proficiency are extremely needed in any fields of society

As a result, there has been a positive trend of teaching and learning English acrossthe country People, from children to adults, learn English with different purposes

In general, despite deriving from different purposes, every one wants to turn English

to become their own instrument in their lives

In the process of teaching and learning English, there are many factors affecting thesuccess of language learners such as attitude, age, personality, motivation and so on,among which motivation plays an important role Researchers on motivation havepointed out that learners who are highly motivated can learn a foreign languagebetter than those who are not and vice versa

With some years of experience in teaching English in some foreign language centerand two years of experience in teaching English at high school, I have realized thatmotivation is one of the key factors that determine students‟ success or failure inlanguage learning For teaching and learning speaking skill, the great impact ofmotivation is not an exception Although motivation in learning English is not anew topic, it still is an unsolved problem of Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba Highschool This is the reason why I choose studying on factors affecting motivation inspeaking English of grade 10 students as the topic for my minor thesis This studywill examine types of motivation that students have in speaking and point out somefactors that affect their motivation to speak It also investigates the activities andtechniques applied by teachers, students‟ preferences and demands, and somedifficulties teachers faced in teaching speaking The researcher hopes that this studywill figure out a concrete picture of motivation in speaking English of grade 10students at Thanh Ba high school and it will be of help for teachers who want toincrease students‟ motivation in speaking English learning

2 Aims of the study

The aims of the study are to investigate the factors affecting motivation in learningspeaking English of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school Some mainpurposes covering the study are summarized as follows:

(1) To point out some factors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking English

(2) To give some suggestions for teachers to stimulate students in speaking Englishand overcome the difficulties they have to face with in teaching speaking Englishfor grade 10 students

3. Research Questions

1. What are the factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English?

2. What have teachers done to motivate students in learning speaking English?

4 Methods of the study

To carry out the study, qualitative method was mainly used with two instruments: afollow up interview and an informal observation All the comments, remarks,recommendations and conclusion provided in the study were based on the dataanalysis of the study

In addition, to make the data collected more reliable and authentic, quantitativemethod was applied The data collected for the study come from two sources: the

10th grade students and all teachers of English at Thanh Ba high school

Survey questionnaires, two for students (pre- and post- treatment questionnaires)and one for teachers, were used to gather information and evidence for the study

5 Scope of the study

Studying motivation and its effects on the second language have been paid attention

to by many researchers so far This study only investigates the factors affectingmotivation in speaking English of grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school.Because of the limited time and within an M.A minor thesis, the researcher intends

to make a brief view of the current situation of teaching and learning Englishspeaking skill of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school; identifies factorsaffecting their speaking stimulation; examines techniques and activities used by

teachers and students‟ preferences and demands; then suggests somerecommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak English and overcomedifficulties in teaching speaking.

6 Significance of the study

First, the information about types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students inthis minor thesis is believed to be useful for the teachers of English in general andteachers of English at Thanh Ba high school in particular Second, identifying somefactors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking English, pointing out students‟preferences and demands to activities and techniques applied by teachers arebelieved to be helpful for all teachers when teaching speaking Third, giving somerecommendations for teachers to motivate students to speak English and overcomeobstacles and difficulties in teaching speaking is expected to be beneficial

7 Design of the study

The study is divided into three parts: the Introduction, the Development and theConclusion

Part A: Introduction- deals with the rationale, aims, scope, methods, significance

and design of the study

Part B: Development- consists of three chapters.

Chapter 1- Theoretical background- is intended to give some theoretical

background related to motivation and speaking

Chapter 2- Methodology- presents the situation analysis, participants, data

collection instruments, data collection procedures Chapter 3- Data analysis-

analyses collected data

Chapter 4- Major findings, discussions and recommendations

Part C: Conclusion- is a review of the study, suggestions for further research and

limitations of the study

PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning

1.1.1 Definition of motivation

Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positivecorrelation with second language achievement and proficiency The motivatedlearners are usually more active in learning, while unmotivated learners are morelikely to cause classroom disturbances However, motivation is extremely difficult

to define and measure In Atkinson‟s point of view (cited in Arnold, 2000:13),motivation is a term used to describe what “energizes” a person and what directs hisactivity While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person‟sthought and defined it as „the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a personthat initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitiveand the motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized,operationalized and acted out‟(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9) In his word, Ellis statedthat „motivation involves the attitudes and effective states that influence the degree

of effort that learners make to learn an L2‟ (Ellis, 1997: 75) Similarly, Brown(2000: 160) indicated that „motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushessomeone to do things in order to achieve something‟

It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition in differentways However, they all share the same point of view that motivation combineseffort and desire plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination of internaland external influences This research, therefore, will follow the definition ofmotivation proposed by Gardner (1982: 132- 147) that motivation is perceived to becomposed of three elements including effort, desire and affect Effort refers to thetime spent studying the language and the drive of the learner Desire indicates howmuch the learner wants to become proficient in the language, and affect illustratesthe learner‟s emotional reactions with regard to language study

1.1.2 Types of motivation

According to the point of view of many previous researchers, motivation can bedivided into three types: Integrative and instrumental motivation, intrinsic andextrinsic motivation, and resultative motivation

Firstly, about integrative motivation, Falk (1978), Finegan( 1999:568) and Lambert(1974:98) shared the same conception that integrative motivation is the desire tobecome familiar with or even integrate into the target language culture, whereas,instrumental motivation is something which concerns „the practical value andadvantages of learning a new language‟ (Lambert 1974: 98- cited in Ellis, 1997),such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for ajob, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material,translation work or achieving higher social status

Secondly, motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic Intrinsic motivation refers to thefact of doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived fromparticipation (Deci and Ryan, 1985), for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provided.Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation is what comes from outsidesuch as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear for punishment, Schulz (1991:18)said that the concept of extrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which thelearning environment (i.e the teacher, materials, curriculum, learning tasks etc.).Lastly, resultative motivation refers to the result of learning In terms of this,Hermann (1980) stated that „it is success that contributes to motivation rather thanvice- versa‟ (cited in Ellis, 1997) and Ellis (1997) has the same point of view: „therelationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one A high level

of motivation does stimulate learning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goalscan help to maintain existing motivation and even create new types.‟

To sum up, in my point of view, students‟ motivation can be divided into two maintypes as extrinsic, instrumental and intrinsical or integrative motivation In somecases, resultative motivation are both of them depending on students‟ desire

1.1.3 Factors affecting motivation in L2 learning

1.1.3.1 Some previous researches on motivation

Garden, R M I (2013) Factors affecting students‟ academic motivation toachieve Excellence in Level 1 NCEA English (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy).University of Otago

Ibrahim Abdelrahim Ibrahim Humaida (2012) Motivation to Learn English amongCollege Students in Sudan, , Faculty of Arts & Science-Tabarjal, Aljouf University,King Saudi Arabia

Naghmeh Babaee (2012) Motivation in Learning English as a Second Language,University of Manitoba

Nhung, N.T.M (2003) Motivation and Factors Affecting Motivation in LearningEnglish Writing of the Freshment at the Department of English and Anglo-American culture, VNU-CFL Unpublished MA Dissertation CFL-VNU

Ratanawalee Wimolmas, A Survey Study of Motivation in English Language

Learning of First Year Undergraduate Students at Sirindhorn International InstituteofTechnology (SIIT), Thammasat University, Thailand

Although there are many previous researches on motivation and factors affectingmotivation in learning English, the studies focus on other subjects as the first yearstudents, or students of non-English majors and scope of the study is focus on writing skill or motivation in learning in general That the reason why this study was carried to find out clearly factors affecting motivation in learning, especial inspeaking English skill

1.1.3.2 Dornyei’s extended motivational framework.

Dornyei (2001:112- 113) analyzed L2 learning motivation within a framework of three levels, which offers a vast list of motivational components;

(1) Language level involves factors related to the L2 such as the culture, thecommunity as well as practical values and benefits connected with learningL2

(2) The learner level involves individual characteristics that the learner brings tothe learning process These characteristics include learners‟ self- confidence,self- efficacy, need for achievements, causal attributions, the perceived L2competences, and goal orientations and so forth.

(3) Learning situation level is associated with situation- specific motives of L2learning within a classroom and it is divided into three aspects The first iscourse- specific motivational components which are related to the syllabus,the teaching materials, the teaching method and the learning tasks Thesecond is teacher- specific motivational components which concern themotivational impact of the teacher‟s personality, behavior and teaching style.And the third is group- specific motivational components which are related

to the group dynamics of the learner group

1.1.3.3 Williams and Burden’s framework of the L2 motivation

Williams and Burden (1997) analyzed L2 learning motivation in a framework oftwo factors: internal and external Internal factors encompass various componentssuch as intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency,mastery, self- concept, attitudes, developmental age, stage and gender and otheraffective states (confidence, anxiety, fear) External factors include significantothers (parents, teachers and peers); the nature of interaction with significant others(mediated learning experiences, the nature and amount of feedback rewards, thenature and amount of appropriate praise, punishments and sanctions); the learningenvironment (sense of comfort, resources, time of day, week, year, size of class andschool, class and school ethos) and the broader context (which includes wider andfamily networks, local education system, conflicting interests, cultural norms andsocietal expectations and attitudes) (Cited in Dornyei, 2001: 114)

1.1.3.4 Factors affecting student motivation in L2 learning

There have been some studies on the factors affecting students‟ motivation inlearning a foreign language so far Above are two L2 motivation frameworks thatrefer to some factors such as language level, learner level, learning situation level

(Dornyei, 2001) and internal and external factors (Williams and Burnden, 1997).Although researchers have had some different views in this issue, they all havecome to an agreement with a list of common factors affecting students‟ motivation.These factors can be divided into three groups: teacher‟s factors, students‟ factorsand learning condition factors.

 Students’ factors

The first factors are students‟ intelligence and aptitude Intelligence, according toLightbown and Spada (1999: 52), refers to „performance on certain kinds of test‟and aptitude is something which „involves both underlying language learningcapacity and a capacity to handle decontextualized language‟ (Ellis, 1997: 522).Lightbown and Spada also point out that language aptitude is usually described as acombination of four factors: (1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds,

(2) the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, (3) theability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples and (4) the ability tomemorize new words (1999: 53)

The second is students‟ personality In the eyes of many language teachers, thepersonality of the students constitutes a major factor contributing to success orfailure in language learning Ellis (1997) has proved that extroverted learners areadvantaged in the development of the kind of language associated with basisinterpersonal communication skills and that extroverted learners may also be morelikely to participate actively in oral communication (1997: 523) Shared the sameview with Ellis, Lightbown and Spada list a number of personality characteristicsthat have a great influence on the success of second language learners: extroversion,inhibition, self- esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness(1999: 54- 55)

The third factor is learners‟ age Children are believed to be better than adults inacquiring an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native- like fluency

in particular Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn thesyntax and the vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like

pronunciation is impossible for them Also, they concluded that younger learnershave a greater chance of attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learnersmay show faster progress at the beginning, but are probably surpassed by the youngones in the end.

The fourth factor is learning style The term „learning style‟ refers to thecharacteristic ways in which individuals orientates to problem- solving Keefe(1979) defined learning style as „the characteristic cognitive, affective andphysiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learnersperceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment… Learning style is

a consistent way of functioning that reflects underlying causes of behavior‟ (cited inEllis, 1997: 499)

The last factor is learners‟ belief Most learners have strong beliefs about howlanguages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered Little, Singleton andSilvius found out „past experience, both of education in general and of languagelearning in particular, played a major role in shaping attitudes to language learning‟(cited in Ellis, 1997: 478- 479)

Firstly, appropriate teacher behavior in classroom is very important It is considered

a powerful „motivational tool‟ Alison (1993) stated that teacher‟s behavior could

„persuade‟ or „attract‟ students to engage in on- task behaviors (cited in Dornyei2001: 120) „The teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supportsstudents‟ learning efforts Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks

because they know that they will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make amistake‟ (Good and Brophy, 1994 - cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121).

Secondly, teacher‟s good relationship with the student is also a key element ofmotivation in student learning The teacher should establish the relationship ofmutual trust and respect with students This relationship also involves findingopportunities to talk with them on a personal level and letting them know thatteachers have thought about them and that their individual effort is recognized.(Dornyei, 2001: 120)

The third factor is teacher‟s enthusiasm Csikzentmihalyi (1997) said that teachersneeded to be „enthused and involved in the teaching process and in the materialthey are teaching‟ (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 178) Csikzentmihalyi also points outthat enthusiastic teachers are the ones who love what they are doing, who show bytheir dedication and their passion that make students willing to pursue knowledge(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 177- 178)

The last factor is teacher‟s commitment to the students‟ academic progress.Teachers should care for what their students have learnt and succeeded (Dornyei,2001) They should also offer concrete assistant, responding immediately when help

is requested, correcting tests, arranging extra- assignments and so on

In short, teacher‟s attitude, behavior as well as the general level of theircommitment towards the students, their learning and their subject matter, constitutesome of the most prevailing influences on student motivation Dornyei says that

„teachers are the designated leaders of the class group‟ and therefore, they cannotlack their responsibility for maintaining their own commitment to the teachingprocess because the lack of this responsibility will cause „psychological absence‟from teaching process, which is the fastest way to undermine the motivational base

of the learners

 Teaching and learning condition

Teaching and learning condition involves classroom atmosphere and physicalcondition A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere will create motivation;

it encourages students to express their opinions and thinking MacIntyre (1999) andYoung (1999) pointed out that students‟ anxiety created by a tense classroomclimate was one of the most potent factors that undermined learning effectivenessand L2 motivation (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121).

Physical conditions are important, too Physical conditions refer to something inclassroom such as classroom‟s size, classroom‟s facilities (chairs, desks, tables,electric facilities…) Hammer (1992) stated that physical conditions had greatimpact on students‟ learning as well as their attitude towards the subject matter.Physical condition affects both teacher and students‟ motivation The large class,the poor facilities will decrease the relationship between teacher and students, and

as a result, will decrease motivation

1.2 Theoretical background of speaking in L2 learning

1.2.1 Definition of speaking

Florez (1999) defined speaking was „an interactive process of constructing meaningthat involves producing and receiving and processing information‟ (cited in Balley,2005: 2) In other words, „speaking consists of producing systematic verbalutterances to convey meaning‟ (Balley, 2005:2) Bygate (1997) stated that speakingwas a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill Speaking is

in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak,and so take the skill too much for granted In his own view, Mackey (1965) showsthat „oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the rightpatterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in theright order to convey the right meaning‟(cited in Bygate, 1997: 5) To sump up,speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one‟s feelings orthinking by oral words

1.2.2 Approaches to the teaching of speaking

There are three approaches the teaching speaking: the Grammar- translation method,The Direct Method and Audiolingualism and Communicative Language Teaching

11

In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and totranslate from one language to another This method is not consistent with the goals

of increasing English learners‟ fluency, oral production, or communicativecompetence The Direct Method strongly influenced the development of theAudiolingual Method Speaking is taught by having students repeat sentences andrecite memorized dialogues from the textbook Because two above methods did notlead to fluent and effective communication in real- life situations, theCommunicative Language Teaching (CLT) evoked The goal of language teaching

in the light of CLT is learner- centeredness to develop communicative competencewhich is an essential element to raise learners‟ motivation in language learning.CLT favors interaction among small numbers of learners with a purpose tomaximize the time each learner learns and uses languages, shares information andnegotiates meaning CLT features more interaction- based activities, such as role-plays and information gap tasks Pair work and group work are typicalorganizational features of interaction- based lessons in CLT

In summary, among some approaches of the language teaching methods mentionedabove, CLT is the most appropriate way to teach students to communicate Myminor thesis is about factors affecting students‟ motivation to speak English inclass, so what I have to find out are what affecting students in speaking English andhow to motivate them to speak English better In terms of speaking skill, I think thatCLT is one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to speak in secondlanguage Therefore, I have decided to choose CLT not any other method to teachspeaking and doing my treatment of the study

1.2.3 The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking

Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, thepractice stage and the production one In each stage, the role of the teacher isdifferent

At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role, introducessomething new to be learned, and is at the center of the stage At the practice stage,

the teacher is like the skillful conductor of an orchestra, giving each of theperformers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that it issatisfactory At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role ofmanager and guide Students are given opportunities to use language freely andexpress their own ideas.

To sum up, the teacher works as a motivator and his/ her roles closely relate to thethree stages of learning Whatever teacher is doing in the classroom, his/ her ability

to motivate the students, to arouse their interest and involve them in what they aredoing, will be crucial Therefore, some key factors of teacher‟s role are teacher‟sown performance- the mastery of teaching skills, which depend on teacher‟s carefulpreparation; teacher‟s selection, and presentation of topics and activities, and, ofcourse, teacher‟s own personality, which, in language teaching, must be flexibleenough to allow the teacher to be both authoritative and friendly at the same time

1.2.4 Motivation in speaking in classroom

1.2.4.1 Motivation in the classroom setting

Lightbown and Spada (1999: 57- 58) stated that the content is interesting andrelevant to their age and level of ability, where the learning goals was challengingyet manageable and clear, and where the atmosphere was supportive and non-threatening, teachers could make a positive contribution to students‟ motivation tolearn Two researchers replicated findings from studies by Graham Crookes andRichard Schmit (1991) and pointed out some pedagogical practices for teachers tomotivate students in classroom setting: Motivating students at the opening stages oflessons, remark teachers make about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels

of interest on the part of the students; Varying the activities, tasks and materials;Using co- operative rather than competitive goals: students must work together inorder to complete a task or solve problem These techniques will increase the self-confidence of students, including weaker ones

1.2.4.2 Factors affecting students unwilling to speak in classroom

Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors affecting the reluctance of the student tospeak up in class: students‟ perceived low proficiency in English, students‟ fear ofmistakes and derision, teachers‟ intolerance of silence, uneven allocation of turnsand incomprehensible input(cited in Nunan, 1999: 234) In his investigation, Oxford(1998) also stated some factors that decrease students‟ motivation in classroom: Theteacher‟s personal relationship with the students, the teacher‟s attitude, styleconflicts between teachers and students about the amount of structure and conflictsabout the amount the degree of closure or „seriousness‟ of the class, the nature ofthe classroom activities, including irrelevance, overload and repetitiveness (cited inDornyei, 2001: 146) In summary, although two researchers give many differentfactors, it might be gathered in three factors group as students‟ factors, teachers‟factor and learning condition‟s factors

1.2.4.3 Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking

According to Nunan (1999), there are some preconditions for effective motivationsuch as: supportive environment( including orderly classroom, teacher‟s classroommanagement skill; students‟ comfortable feel in taking risks, feedback is positive),appropriate level of difficulty, meaningful learning (meaningful activities; the clearrelationship between activities and objective), strategies and content( students canrelate content to own experience; topics are interesting) (Nunan, D 1999: 235)

In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledgerelated to the topic of the study It has discussed some concepts and ideasconcerning to the issue of motivation in general and motivation in L2 study inparticular Besides, some different aspects related to speaking were also discussed,especially some aspects related to factors affecting students‟ speaking motivation

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 The setting of the study

The study was conducted at Thanh Ba high school, a rural school of Phu Thoprovince Currently, there are ten teachers of English, 30 classes and over 1350students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12 Most of students come from villagesand town in the district Like other high schools in Vietnam, English was taughthere as a compulsory subject However, the teaching of English, especially forGrade 10 has met some difficulties The first difficulty is that English is not paidmuch attention by most of students in school because one- fifth of the tenth gradestudents wish to take university entrance exam in English The second is teachershave to teach in the large size classes with at least 45 students for each class.Therefore, teachers will face with some problems in monitoring work, givingfeedback, setting up communicative tasks as well as paying attention to all studentsduring class time The third is most of the students are not familiar with teaching inEnglish They say that they do not understand if all English lessons are taught inEnglish They also feel quite uncomfortable and pressured when using English toexpress themselves The last is the lack of materials for reference and self- study.There is a library at school but there are not many books, English newspapers andmagazines for reference Moreover, some facilities needed for learning such ascomputers, projectors are not enough There are no language labs and libraryInternet for students, too

In school year 2015- 2016, the students at Thanh Ba high school continue to takepart in new syllabus which was designed following communicative approach Itrequired students not only expert in doing grammar exercises but also in practicingmulti- skills Normally, there are only three periods (135 minutes) of studyingEnglish every week Yet, it is not enough for the students to practice and developtheir skills as well as to enrich their background knowledge, vocabulary andstructure capacity What‟s more, English is hardly used to talk outside class As aresult, these factors may affect students‟ motivation in learning English especially

in learning English speaking So, it is advisable for the teachers to employ varioustechniques to arouse students‟ interest in learning English speaking They, then,may improve their speaking skill and other language skills.

to talk because they have no effort and aim to learn Some are afraid of talking asthey fear to make mistakes and lose face, and sometimes they fear to get bad marksand be paid bad attention from teachers By and large, students have few chances topractice English and to speak it out

 Teachers

Thanh Ba high school consists of ten teachers of English aged from 24 to 56 All ofthem have been teaching at school for at least two years They have got theUniversity Bachelor‟ Degree in English and Certificate of English LanguageProficiency Level B2 and C1 As rural teachers, they have few opportunities to

upgrade their teaching and do not have a lot of teaching facilities and materials tohelp their work Despite all these disadvantages, they are helpful, friendly anddedicated teachers Most of them want to devote their whole lives for teaching.They all have a great desire to acquire knowledge of how to teach English well aswell as how to widen their English background Also, they are always willing tohelp their students tackle with difficulties in learning.

2.3 Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at

Thanh Ba high school

As mentioned in chapter 1, CLT method is applied in teaching speaking English atThanh Ba high school as the way to increase students‟ motivation Following aresome communicative activities and techniques that the researcher have used duringher doing treatment: encouraging students to work in pairs, groups and individual,using some techniques for developing speaking skills, combining textbook andrelevant materials, giving feedback regularly, creating the co-operative atmosphere,varying communicative activities, giving suggested questions, and applying somespeaking activities such as completing dialogue practice, role play, interview,games, free discussion and problem solving, structure- based activities, making upsentences orally, question and answer exchanges, picture description, rankingexercises, story telling, rearrangement, visual aids (pictures, maps, music,…)

2.4 Participants

The participants for the survey questionnaires were 90 students of two classes (10A1 and 10 A5) which were selected randomly from class 10 A1 to class 10 A10 and

10 teachers of English These students have learnt the new syllabus since they were

in Grade 6 When participating this study, they were in the second term of theschool year In researcher‟s observation, their English proficiency and level ofmotivation was as quite equal as others‟

Ten teachers of the school were selected to get the objective data Among thoseteachers, some have had many years of teaching (more than 10 years); some others

have just experienced teaching for few years The results from these teachers willgive objective view on students‟ motivation in speaking.

All participants took part in the survey by responding to the two kinds ofquestionnaires, two for students and one for teachers Besides, some students werealso invited to take part in a follow- up interviews in order to get a complete lookinto the research issues

2.5 Data collection instruments

2.5.1 Survey Questionnaires

The instruments used in this study consisted of two questionnaires: twoquestionnaires for students and one for teachers According to Bill Gillham, usingquestionnaires has some advantages: low cost in time and money; easy to getinformation from a lot of people; respondents can complete the questionnaire when

it suits them, analysis of answers to closed questions is straightforward; lesspressure for an immediate response, respondents‟ anonymity; lack of interviewerbias, standardization of questions (but true of structured interviews); can providesuggestive data for testing an hypothesis The questionnaires were designed in bothclose and open-ended questions The questionnaires for students were written inVietnamese to make sure that students understood all questionnaire items

2.5.1.1 Questionnaires for students

2.5.1.1.1 Pre-treatment questionnaire

This pre- treatment questionnaire was designed with three main parts with 12questions Part I was about the students‟ personal information which includedstudents‟ gender, place of domicile and their average mark of English subject in thefirst term of Grade 10 Part II was designed to elicit the students‟ opinions abouttheir motivation in learning speaking English Students‟ motivation was measuredwith their aptitude, interest, attitude, desire and effort in learning Part III wouldcollect some information relating to factors affecting students‟ motivation inlearning speaking English

2.5.1.1.2 Post-treatment questionnaire

Post-treatment questionnaire encompassed 12 questions which was divided intothree parts Part I was the same as part I in pre- treatment questionnaire Part IIincluded 8 questions which would gather information about students‟ motivationchanges after applying some new teaching techniques in speaking English Part IIIaimed at collecting information about teacher‟s applying activities in teachingspeaking English and students‟ preference of these activities

2.5.1.2 Questionnaire for teachers

The survey to the teachers with eight questions was about what problems teachersoften faced with in teaching speaking English, what they had done to motivatestudents to speak it It comprised two sections: Part I was the demographicinformation, which contained the teachers‟ gender, age, the number of years theyhad been teaching English language in high school Part II was about teacher‟sopinion on students‟ motivation in speaking, activities and techniques they had beenusing to motivate the students

2.5.2 Interviews

Survey questionnaires were used as the main instrument in this study However, theusing of questionnaires also has some disadvantages: The answers may be simpleand superficial, the respondents are unreliable and motivated, and may face withliteracy problems, the researchers may have little or no opportunity to correct therespondents‟ mistakes and hallo effect (which concerns the human tendency toovergeneralize)… (Dornyei, Z 2005: 10- 13) This is true for the study of

motivation, which is an abstract, attitudinal concept Therefore, the interviews werecarried out in a following week after the post- treatment with ten participants whohad considerable changes in attitude and motivation in learning speaking English.The aim of the researcher for interviews is to get better insights into the researchquestions and to discuss for further information about the items raised in thequestionnaires

The questions for interviews were compiled in a paper sheet All the interviewswere carried out in Vietnamese in the form of an informal conversation between theresearcher and the students The data collected from interview were recorded,transcribed, and then translated into English for the purposes of the study.

2.5.3 Class observations

Apart from the survey questionnaires for both teachers and students and theinterviews, class observations were employed to clarify and test the validity ofinformation about students‟ motivation and their reaction to teachers‟ appliedtechniques The observations were carried out in several English lessons before andduring the treatment For each lesson, the researcher observed in 45 minutes Shedesigned a checklist for what she wanted to observe (See appendix 7) Students‟reactions towards the teacher‟s activities, techniques and behaviors; theirparticipation in the activities and their feedback after the activities were all takennotes on the spot

2.6 Data collection procedures

First, the pre-questionnaire was delivered to students at the beginning of the secondterm to measure „input motivation‟ After collecting information from the pre-questionnaire, the teachers taught the students for four months with applying thenew techniques, and then the post-questionnaire was given to students to gatherinformation of students‟ motivation changes, students‟ attitudes towards techniquesand activities applied by teachers and their preferences The questionnaire forteacher was conducted after doing the post treatment to gather information aboutteacher‟s attitudes towards students‟ motivation in speaking and the effects of theactivities and techniques that they had applied

Besides, the class observations were carried out before and during the treatment tocheck and get the data for research Finally, the follow-up interview of tenparticipants was carried out in the following week to get further information for thestudy

CHAPTER 3- DATA ANALYSIS

3 1 Results from students’ pre- treatment and post-treatment questionnaires 3.1.1 Personal information

The first and the second questions were to gather the participants‟ information ofgender and hometown The total number of the students in the survey was 90 ofwhich 47 were females and 43 were males All of them came from countryside,among them 76.7% were living in village and only 23.3% were living in town.The next question was about participants‟ experience in learning English About78.9 % had been learning English for over 4 years (4 years at secondary school andone semester at high school) Only 21.1 % had been learning English for over sixyears because they had studied English at primary school for 2 years

Chart 1 Students‟ average marks in the first semesterThe subjects had finished the first semester of Grade 10 school year at high school.Their average marks in English varied from 3.5 to 9.3 About 48.9% of them hadmarks from 5 to 6.4, 26.7% from 6.5 to 7.9, 6.6% had got over 8 Meanwhile,17.8% got marks under 5 (from 3.5 to 4.9) It can be seen that the average marks ofthe subjects were not too high, which might reflected that they had little concern toEnglish learning

3.1 2 Students’ motivation in learning speaking English

3.1.2.1 Types of motivation

The researcher had mentioned some types of motivation in chapter 1 of this study

In this part, the researcher focused on such types of motivation possessed by Grade

10 students at Thanh Ba high school They were integrative, instrumental,resultative, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Reasons

To get high marks

A compulsory subject in the syllabus and the final

exam

Interest in English language, people and culture

To sing and listen to English songs

For the future job

To take university entrance exam in English

To study abroad

Table 1.Reason for types of motivationsTable 1 reveals that passing the final exam is the main reason of students‟ studyingEnglish The highest percentage (92.2%) of the students wanted to learn Englishbecause they thought that English was one of the compulsory subjects for learning

at school and their final examination The others (33.3%) wanted to learn Englishbecause they would take English as a main subject in the university entrance exam.The future job was also the thing that students concerned 46.7 % of them thoughtthat English was necessary for their future job Clearly, these students knew the role

of English in the modern life when foreign language was considered the mainmeans of communication In some small talks with the researcher at break, somestudents revealed that they studied English speaking only for their future Followingare what they said:

- Yes, I study English speaking because I see it will be necessary for my job inthe future It is easier to get a good job with higher salary if our Englishspeaking skill is good

- I know when I study at university; I have to study English, too So, whydon‟t I study it now? Though I am very busy with studying Math, Physics

and Chemistry for my subjects of university entrance exam, I sometimes spend time for English.

At the same time, about 21.1% of participants answered that they were interested inEnglish, especially English people and culture The same answers with the samerespondents also revealed they liked English because it helped them sing and listen

to English songs When answering the researcher‟s question, one interviewee said:

- I have studied English at secondary school I am truly fond of listening andsinging English songs When I listening an English song which I understand it‟s meaning, I feel very satisfied

About 11.1% of the respondents claimed they wanted to study abroad in the futurethough so far they had not known whether they could achieve their wishes or not;and that was the reason why they tried to study English

The lowest percentage of the students (6.7%) affirmed they were learning Englishbecause their average marks in English were higher than that in other subjects

In short, types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students were quite varied Thehighest percentage was the students who possessed extrinsic motivation with thereason that they studied English for passing the examination and for therequirements of their teachers because English was one of their compulsory subjects

at school The lower percentage was the respondents with instrumental orientation.These ones studied English for passing university entrance exam, getting a good job

in the future or going abroad to study The last one was some possessed integrativeand intrinsic motivation with the underlying reasons that they studied Englishbecause of their enjoyment for English language and culture Among these figures,some students identified as having a combination of both intrinsic and instrumentalorientation In general, students who possessed extrinsic motivation often feltunwilling and forced to learn English while students with instrumental andintegrative orientation were quite eager to learn English

3 1 2 2 The changes of students’ motivation on speaking English

Question 2 How is speaking skill important to you?

As can be seen from chart 2, in pre- treatment, in general, most of students wereaware of the importance of English in their studying (the high percentage of therespondents (43.3%) considered speaking skill quite important to them) However,some of them (3.3%) did not admit this This was because these students learntEnglish with extrinsic motivation not for their interest It was, thus, the teacher‟srole to find ways to stimulate the students to take part in the learning in the class.

Chart 2 Students‟ perceived importance of EnglishHowever, after the treatment, the number of students considered speaking veryimportant increased from 21.1% to 25.5% while the number of students whounderestimated the importance of speaking reduced to 6.7 % All studentsconfirmed the important role of speaking to them in the future When talking withthe researcher, some students expressed the same opinions: “At first I learnt Englishspeaking in order to get oral marks only, now I am changed, I am studying it for myfuture”

Question 3 How is your aptitude to learn speaking English?

Chart 3 indicates the changing of aptitude to learn speaking English between treatment and post- treatment Before the treatment, all students seemed not tobelieve in their capacity of learning English 52.2% estimated their aptitude at lowlevel while only 8.9% believed they had high enough ability Surprisingly, thestudents with high aptitude were up by 8.9% to 13.3% at the post treatment.Similarly, the number of the students believe in their aptitude increased Only the

pre-smallest percentage of the respondents (10%) did not believe in their ability ofspeaking with the thinking that they could not speak English well despite speaking

it in the simplest way When evaluating their capacity for a foreign language, theyseemed to depend on their results of this subject at the first semester and their need

of it in the future

Chart 3 Students‟ aptitude to learn English speaking

Question 4 How is your attitude to learn English speaking?

Chart 4 Students‟ attitude to learn English speaking

It can be seen from chart 4, students hold a positive attitude towards Englishspeaking Over half of the respondents had the positive attitude before thetreatment After the treatment, this number slightly increased The number of thestudents with very low attitude decreased from 15.6% to 6.7% while the studentwith high one also increased to 14.4%, an increase of 10% The highest percentage

were also the students with OK attitude, which increased by 7.8%, from 43.3% to51.1% In observation process, the researcher saw that students‟ attitude towardslearning was quite good They all had enough basic materials and textbook and most

of them always put attention to the teacher‟s lecture

Question 5 How is your effort in learning speaking?

Chart 5 Students‟ effort in learning speaking

As can be seen from chart 5, in the pre- treatment, although the majority of thestudents affirmed that they had positive attitude towards English speaking, theireffort in learning was still very low Over half of the respondents had low or verylow effort, only 14.5% of them had high or very high one Observations in class alsopointed out that students‟ participation in speaking activities was not voluntary.Very few students took part in task completion and were willing to speak out

However, after the treatment, the most significant increase was the students with

OK effort, at 51.1% Then, the number of the high effort students also went up Noticeably, the low effort students considerably reduced, from 54.4% down to 21.1% It could not be denied that all students realized the importance of English speaking in their study and in the future They, therefore, effort for learning English.When answering the researcher‟s question in the interview, one student showed: “If

I speak English well, I will be easy to find a job in the future I think so.” Question

6 How is your desire to learn English speaking?

The figure shown in chart 5 reveals that students‟ desire to learn speaking Englishslightly changed after the treatment The students with high desire rose up to 37.8%,

a little increase of 2.2%, whereas the student with OK desire increased by 4.5%,from 34.4% to 38.9% students However, there was still the students with very lowdesire, which occupied 2% of total

Chart 6 Students‟ desire to learn English speaking Question 7 How much do you feel interested in speaking English in class?

Chart 7 Students‟ interest in learning speakingChart 7 reveals that before the treatment, the majority of the students are notinterested in learning speaking (46.7%) and only the lowest percentage of therespondents (4.4%) affirmed their interest very high For them, they learnt Englishbecause of the pressure from outside such as requirement of the teachers andparents, the need for the exam… not because of their willingness However, after

the treatment, it was interesting to note that there was a sharp increase of the

interested students in learning English speaking The number of student with quite high interest increased from 11.1% to 45.6% Contrary to this, the number of the respondents with little interest was down to 14.4% The rest changed insignificantly,from 16.7% down to 7.8% for students with no interest, from 4.4% up to 20% for highly interested students One student also expressed her opinion in the interview:

“When I started to learn English, I like it very much However, the teaching method demotivated me Now, my interest has considerably increased” The researcher‟s observation pointed out that students‟ interest in English speaking had been

changed Most of them were more eager to learn Question 8 How often do you speak English in English class time?

Chart 8 Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time

The frequency of speaking English in class time also shows how much effortstudents wanted to master it Chart 8 represents that only 10% of the respondentsspoke English willingly whereas 35.6% spoke it rarely and 5.6% never spoke exceptfrom the teacher‟s requests

It was understandable that students‟ changes in interest would lead to the changes inthe frequency of the participation in speaking The students who never spoke exceptwhen asked by teacher reduced to 3.3% while the students who usually spoke increased

by 25.6% The changes also happened to the number of students who sometimes spoke

in classroom with a decrease of 12.3%, from 35.6% down to 23.3%

3.1.3 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in

class Question 9 Do you feel reluctant to speak English in class?

The figures shown in chart 9 reveals that before treatment, the majority of them(46.7%) claimed they often felt reluctant to speak, while only 7.8% of therespondents spoke English willingly In observation, the researcher also found outthat most students did not speak English voluntarily Only when the teachers gotoral test marks or required, did they have to spoke up in front of the class Whenanswering researcher‟s questions, one student said: “I don‟t want to speak in classalthough I know class is a good environment for me to practice I don‟t feel self-confident” Shared the same idea, another student also said: “I know the importance

of speaking English in my study and future, but I don‟t know why I can‟t speakwillingly Indeed, I am afraid every one will laugh at me ”

Surprisingly, the number of reluctant speakers dramatically reduced after thetreatment (from 46.7% down to 24.4%) The students who like speaking increasednearly half of the total In the follow-up interview, one student gladly said: “At first,

I felt very difficult to express my opinions in English Now, it is easier I can talkwith my friends and teachers in English.”

Chart 9 Students‟ reluctance of speaking English Question 10 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in

class

There are learners‟ factors, teacher‟s factors and teaching and learning conditionsthat make learners unwilling to speak Here I only mention two factors: learners‟factors and teacher‟s factors

Fear of mistakes and derision

Low proficiency in English

Being not accustomed to speaking

Uneven allocation of turns

Teacher‟s boring teaching

Teacher‟s intolerance of silence

Table 2 Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class

Table 2 represents the most influential factor was teacher‟s boring teaching(64.4%) The second factor was the fear of mistakes and derision (62.2%).Similarly, when answering the researcher‟s question, one interviewee said: “I amnot self-confident enough to speak in front of my teacher and classmates I amafraid of making mistakes.” The next one (56.7%) was the students who were notaccustomed to speaking because they lacked of knowledge background or newvocabulary but they had the habit of preferring to listen more than speak 43.3%students blamed their reluctance of speaking for low proficiency in English In theinterview with the researchers, two students stated: “I like speaking English But Isometimes cannot find words and structures to express my ideas” Anothercomplained: “My English knowledge is not very good That‟s why I don‟t speakmuch in class” Besides, some other students suggested that the way teachersbehaved in teaching also had a great impact on their speaking motivation 40%complained their teachers favored the better students when soliciting responses.That was the reason why some lower proficient students in class had few chances tospeak out The smaller number of the students (36.7%) mentioned to the teacher‟sintolerance of silence that made them unwilling to speak Teachers often gave themlittle or no wait time for speaking After instruction, teachers required them to speak

up immediately, which caused them pressured and stressed

In short, there are a variety of the factors that students had to face with These factors came from students as well as from teachers In order to be better in English speaking activities

in class, the changes need be done between both teachers and students Teacherschange teaching methods and students change the way they learn.

Question 11 Factors preventing students‟ speaking process

Factors

Difficulty in finding words or structures

Difficulty in finding ideas

Teacher‟s unenthusiasm

Teacher‟s interruption or anger

Too much teacher‟s talking time

Table 3 Factors preventing students‟ speaking process

As can be viewed from the table, 56.7% of the students could not find words orstructures to express their opinion when speaking as the result of the lack ofvocabulary and grammatical knowledge for learning The next, learners could notfind ideas for their speech (47.8 %) because most students lacked the backgroundknowledge in English Other factors which related to teachers included teacher‟sunenthusiasm (33.3%), teacher‟s interruption or anger (26.7%) and teacher‟s toomuch talking time (22.2%) In researcher‟s observation, she had found out thatteacher‟s characteristics played an important role in students‟ speaking process Shefollowed two lessons at one class In the first lesson, the teacher taught withfriendly, enthusiastic, joyful and a bit funny attitude, she realized that most studentswere eager to take part in lesson including even lower proficiency ones In thesecond, the teacher was a bit stricter with no smile The results, certainly, were verydifferent Not many students wanted to participate in the lesson except from theteacher‟s requirements Some better students‟ talking time was reduced The classatmosphere was rather quiet and all students seemed very uncomfortable It,therefore, can be said that teacher‟s factors were not the most important but thedecisive ones that maintain students‟ speaking process