A survey on lower secondary school students’ motivation to take extra courses in english

DECLARATION I hereby declare that the minor study entitled “A survey on lower secondary school students‟ motivation to take extra courses in English” was conducted by me for the degree o

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THÚY LAN ANH

A SURVEY ON LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO TAKE EXTRA COURSES IN ENGLISH

NGHIÊN CỨU ĐIỀU TRA ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC CƠ

SỞ THAM GIA CÁC LỚP HỌC THÊM TIẾNG ANH

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

` Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

HANOI, 2018

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THÚY LAN ANH

A SURVEY ON LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO TAKE EXTRA COURSES IN ENGLISH

NGHIÊN CỨU ĐIỀU TRA ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC CƠ

SỞ THAM GIA CÁC LỚP HỌC THÊM TIẾNG ANH

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Le Van Canh

HANOI, 2018

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the minor study entitled “A survey on lower secondary school students‟ motivation to take extra courses in English” was conducted by me for the degree of Master in English teaching methodology at University of Languages and International Studies under the guidance and supervision of Dr Le Van Canh, University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam The interpretations of the collected data were based on my reading of the target topic and they are not published in any form of books or articles For this study, no degree or diploma has been conferred on me before

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am so grateful to University of Languages and International Studies and the Faculty

of Post Graduate Studies for making it possible for me to study here I would like to heartily express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to all the Professors and lecturers of the university, especially my supervisor, Professor Le Van Canh who encouraged and directed me to finish this paper

I am also thankful to all of the students at PCT Secondary schools who helped me to do the survey as well as the interviews despite their busy time studying for their examination at school

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF CHARTS vi

ABSTRACT vii

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 General statement of the problem 1

1.3 The significance of the study 2

1.4 Research question 2

1.5 Context of the study 2

1.6 Organization of the thesis 2

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Definition of motivation 4

2.2 Motivational orientations in language learning 5

2.3 Motivation and the social context 9

2.3.1 The intergroup model 9

2.3.2 Situated language identity 10

2.3.3 Social theory of motivation 11

2.3.4 Motivational impact of learning situation 12

2.4 Role of motivation in language learning 13

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 15

3.1 Participants 15

3.2 Instruments 15

3.3 Data collection procedures 16

3.4 Data analysis procedures 16

CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 18

4.1 Findings 18

4.1.1 Questionnaire results 18

4.1.2 Interview Findings 31

4.2 Discussions 33

4.3 Pedagogical implications 35

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION 38

5.1 Conclusion 38

5.2 Limitation of the study 38

5.3 Recommendations for future and further research 38

REFERENCES 40

APPENDICES 44

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Number of students in extra English classes 18

Table 4.2 Teacher(s) in extra English classes 19

Table 4.3 The frequency of English extra classes 19

Table 4.4 Length of each class session 20

Table 4.5 Reasons for participating in English extra classes 20

Table 4.6 Additional reasons for choosing English extra classes 21

Table 4.7 Class preferences 22

Table 4.8 Evaluation of English extra classes 28

Table 4.9 Students‟ comments on English extra classes 30

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 Reasons for preferences of English extra classes 23

Chart 4.2 Reasons for preferences of English class at school 25

Chart 4.3 Reasons for choosing both classes 26

Chart 4.4 Reasons for disliking both classes 27

Chart 4.5 Evaluation of English extra classes 29

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

In the context of this globalized world, English has become the leading language that rolls the wheel of international communication (Phillipson, 1992) It is generally learned as a second language and used as an official language of many countries and world organizations Vietnam is not the exception which is influenced on the expansion

of English With the development of international businesses and trades, the capacity

of communicating in English plays a key role in all fields To meet the new trends, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has made national projects on education, especially on English subject The latest national project is the Decision N01400/QD-TTg on approving the 10-year National plan for “Teaching and Learning Foreign Language in the national Formal Education System in the Period of 2008 – 2020” which was issued on September 30th, 2008 However, until now, the effort of changing in public education system is still not as good as it was expected To supply a service which meets students‟ needs, many English institutions mushroom all over the country, especially in big cities As a matter of fact, these institutions attract a lot of students at varied ages

1.2 General statement of the problem

When teaching English for lower secondary students, I recognized that a lot of students

at PCT Secondary school took private English courses after school although at the time

I conducted this research, students did not need to take part in an English test for their graduation exam I wonder what motivates them to take those courses I would like to find out whether there is any causal relationship between the formal teaching of English at the school and the students‟ motivation to take extra courses The

understanding can be helpful to teachers and school administrators in their efforts to improve the teaching and learning of English at the school

1.3 The significance of the study

The study makes benefits for English teaching and learning at lower secondary schools From the result of the paper, teachers may adjust their teaching ways to meet students‟

needs in the international globalization

The findings of this study may enrich the theory of teaching and learning English at secondary schools The result of the research can also be used as a reference for those who want to conduct a research in English teaching and learning process

1.4 Research question

The research study was conducted to survey secondary students from grade 6 to grade

9 in the academic year 2017-2018 at PCT Secondary school, Hanoi, Vietnam Its

objective was to find the answers to the following question:

- What motivates students to take extra courses in English?

1.5 Context of the study

The study was conducted at PCT Secondary public school in Hanoi, Vietnam It is a public school which follows Ministry of Education and Training‟s programs There are nearly 1700 students in total from grade 6 to grade 9 The average number of students

in each class is 45 students Students have three English class sessions every week

1.6 Organization of the thesis

This study is organized into five chapters

Chapter one covers the background, the significance of the study, the research question, the context of the study and the organization of the thesis

Chapter two includes four main categories of literature: Definition of motivation, different motivational orientations in language teaching, motivation and the social context, and role of motivation in language teaching

Chapter three comprises of the methodology including participants, instruments, data collection procedures, and data analysis procedures

Chapter four presents the findings of collected data consisted of survey results and interview findings

In the last chapter, the paper covers the conclusion interpreted from collected data Discussion, limitation of the study, pedagogical implications and further and future research are also mentioned in this chapter

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definition of motivation

Motivation is an essential component which has effects on teaching and learning process The effectiveness of this component is attested by a variety of theorists and scholars Dörnyei (2004) proved that “motivation is one of the main determinants of second/foreign language learning achievement” Spolsky (1989) had the similar view when he assumed that motivation is one of 74 conditions for success in second language learning According to him, motivation is an important link to students‟ learning and “the more motivation a learner has, the more time he or she will spend learning an aspect of a second language” It explains the reason why some learners pay much attention to lessons or try their hard to finish all tasks with high quality while others do not Therefore, many theorists have put their time and effort into searching motivation which is a complex concept and is defined in multiple ways However, the definition of motivation often becomes confusing because researchers do not provide a uniform definition of motivation (Dörnye, 2001) In fact, there is little consensus and much disagreement among researchers who involve in the study of motivation Dörnyei and Ottó (1998) defined motivation as “the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalised and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out.” Gardner (2010) was in agreement with Dörnye (2001) when he considered that motivation is a difficult-to-define construct He defined motivation as referring to a combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes towards learning the language Motivation is operationally defined

by Gardner and his associates in a slightly different way for the purpose of

measurement, as consisting of desire to learn the language, motivational intensity, and attitudes towards learning the language Pintrich & Schunk (1996:4) identified motivation as “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained” According to them, motivation is a process which cannot be observed directly but can

be inferred by behaviors as a choice of tasks, effort, persistence, and verbalizations They explain that motivation involves goals that provide an impetus for and direction

to action and that motivation requires physical or mental activity geared towards attaining goals Finally, these authors claim that motivation is an activity that is instigated and sustained; that is to say, starting toward a goal is important and often difficult since it requires taking the first step However, they suggest that motivational processes are critical to sustaining actions Although researchers have different views

of motivation; most of them agree that this component concerns the direction and magnitude of human behavior like the choice of a particular action, the persistence with it or the effort expended on it Additionally, motivation is responsible for why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity, and

how hard they are going to pursue it (Dörnyei (2001))

2.2 Motivational orientations in language learning

In this section, I will outline prominent motivational orientations related to language learning field Orientation, according to Gardner‟s (1985) motivation theory, is not part

of motivation, but it is sought through the acquisition of the second language and

functions as motivational antecedents Its role is to help to arouse motivation and direct

it towards a set of goals Gardner and Lambert (1959, 1972) categorized two classes of orientations which are integrative orientation and instrumental orientation The former refers to a desire to learn a second language in order to meet learners‟ need in communicating with people in the second language group or becoming a valued member of that language community In general, the integrative motivational

orientation relates to a positive interpersonal attitude toward the second language group In addition, Gardner and Lambert (1972) also suggested that individuals with an integrative orientation would demonstrate greater motivational effort in learning a second language and then achieve greater second language competence By contrast, the latter refers to a desire to learn a second language for a specific purpose or practical goals like job promotion or progress in one‟s studies In fact, there was a variety of researches which involve in this formulation; however, the results of them have been inconsistent (Au, 1988; Gardner, 1985) While some early authors shared the view of the importance of the integrative orientation, others did not give approval to the model because the instrumental orientation predicted the second language outcomes or the integrative orientation had a negative correlation with proficiency (Chihara &Oller, 1978; Lukmani, 1972; Clément and Kruidenier, 1983) Among them, Clément and Kruidenier (1983) supposed that these discrepancies resulted from definitional problems and the influence of social milieu They suggested four other motivational orientations which are common to all groups of learners: (1) travel, (2) friendship, (3) knowledge, and (4) the instrumental orientations There were several similar studies of Dörnye & Noels (1994), Belmechri & Hummel (1998) and Ozkut (1990) which had the same view with Clément and Kruidenier (1983) However, the desire for contact and identification with other members in second language group is not fundamental to the motivational process In fact, it is relevant to socio-cultural contexts Rather, these four orientations may be seen to sustain motivation Because this conceptual came to a standstill, scholars have paid much attention to the nature of language learning motivation One of the formulations which related to the nature of language learning motivation is the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan (1985, 1995)) These theorists mentioned to two general types of motivation which are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation According to Deci and Ryan (1985), intrinsic motivation is found on innate needs for

competence and self-determination This kind of motivation refers to an individual‟s motivation to perform a particular activity because of internal rewards such as joy, pleasure and satisfaction of curiosity By contrast, for extrinsic motivation, the individual expects to achieve instrumental and extrinsic reward such as good grades or praise from others In line with the notion of autonomy and intrinsic motivation, the self-determination theory offers an interesting look at motivation by setting a different agenda for language teachers The focus should be on „how people can create the conditions within which others can motivate themselves‟ rather than focusing on „how teachers can motivate learners‟ In general, Deci and Ryan‟s theory of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation could explain and predict how orientations and learning outcomes are related to each other

Goal theories have also been a central feature if second language motivation research According to Anderman & Midgley (1998), goal theories focus on the reasons or purposes that students perceive for achieving There are two goals theories (the goal-

setting theory and the goal orientation theory) have influences on motivation The goal setting theory is mainly developed by Locke (1996) on three fundamental pillars First,

it is philosophically sound for it is in line with the philosophical theories that assume individuals‟ control of their actions Second, it is in line with the introspective evidence revealing that human action is normally purposeful Lastly, it is practical The theory suggests that goals have two aspects: internal (ideas) and external (condition sought) Locke (1996) and Locke & Latham (2002) assumed that individuals‟ characteristics could enhance their motivation as below:

• The more difficult the goal, the greater the achievement (easy tasks do not give a sense of achievement)

• The more specific or explicit the goal, the more precisely performance is regulated (general goals like „do your best‟ do not really cause individuals to do their best)

• The highest performance is yielded when the goals are both specific and difficult

• Commitment to goals is most critical when they are specific and difficult (commitment to general or vague goals is easy since general goals do not require much commitment and vague ones can be „manipulated‟ to accommodate low performance)

• High commitment to goals is attained when the individual is convinced that (a) the goal is important and (b) attainable

By contrast, the goal orientation theory was developed in a classroom where children‟s learning and performance could be explained (Dörnyei, 2001) Pintrinch & Shunck (1996) assumed that this theory is one of the most vigorous motivation theories in the classroom According to this theory, an individual‟s performance is closely related to his or her accepted goals There are two types of goal orientations (Ames & Archer, 1988; Ames, 1992): performance vs mastery (or learning) orientations Learners who are mainly related to looking good and capable posses performance orientation Those who are more concerned with increasing their knowledge and being capable possess the second one Dweck (1985) suggested a distinction between these two types of orientations “Put simply, with performance goals, an individual aims to look smart, whereas with the learning goals, the individual aims to becoming smarter”

However, it is possible to see that the goal theories correlate with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as the self-determination For instance, the integrative & instrumental motivation (from Gardner‟s theory) and the intrinsic & extrinsic motivation (from the self-determination theory), with some researchers, have no difference between them (e.g Soh, 1987) Additionally, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation in the self-determination somehow correlate with the goal orientation theory

In general, different motivational orientations in language learning that I have just described above make two latent assumptions which are learners could be driven by

one motive at a time and a contextual stimulus can trigger only one type of motivation Some researchers confirmed that learners could be simultaneously driven by different motives For example, to “foster sustained learning, it may not be sufficient to convince students that language learning is interesting and enjoyable; they may need to

be persuaded that it is also personally important for them” (Noels, et al, 2000) Keblawi (2006) also confirmed in Oxford's (1994) assumption that learners might have mixed motives In addition, he stated that a certain stimulus might trigger different motives at a time For example, a statement of the kind “I study English because I want

to pursue my high studies” can involve instrumental aspects (boosting one‟s chances of

a better career), intrinsic ones (feeling the satisfaction of knowing things and of being

an educated person) or achievement motivation (getting high marks that enable one to get access to a university) The kinds of motives triggered depend on the intention of the learner

2.3 Motivation and the social context

Different motivational orientations I reviewed in the previous section lead to an issue that motivation is static Dörnyei and Ottό's (1998) perception of motivation is

“dynamically changing cumulative arousal” Keblawi (2006) shared the same view with Dörnyei and Ottό when he confirmed that motivation might change over time This scholar found that many learners‟ motivation was different at different times and

it depends on the context

2.3.1 The intergroup model

According to Giles and Byrne (1982), the intergroup model offers a situated social psychological framework in order to investigate the conditions that people from groups

of ethnic minorities in multi-culture acquire and use the dominant language The individual‟s self-concept is the main concept of this framework and a positive self-image is one of significant motivating force These two scholars adopted social

identification theory as their guiding framework They also suggested that social identity related to not only significant linguistic processes and practices but also second language acquisition In their framework, they comprised concepts of “ethnolinguistic vitality”, “group boundaries” and multiple group membership” “Ethnolinguistic vitality” refers to factors like status factors, demographic factors, and institutional factors These factors determine a specific ethnic minority‟s distinctiveness as a collective entity “Group boundaries” determine the degree of ease or difficulty of individual mobility in and out of group membership “Multiple group membership” refers to different groups such as professional groups or organizations that individuals take part in besides their own ethnic group These multiple groups have influences on the prominence of an individual‟s identification in the ethnic category The intergroup model could explain the reason why a specific ethnic group still maintains their language while they are embedded in dominant groups However, some scholar does not support this framework because it does not indicate the way that the individual‟s quest for a positive identity relating to the group members‟ collectiveness (William, 1992)

2.3.2 Situated language identity

Situated language identity is the research on ethnic identity and ethnolinguistic vitality According to Clément and Noels (1992), the main hypothesis of social identity theory

is that individuals desire to view themselves positively and their image is determined socially Hence, the desire to build and maintain a positive social identity is closely related to the motivation of linguistic practices Clément, Noels and their colleagues also indicated a number of factors that have an impact on social identity such as the relative minority or majority of the speaker in the immediate surroundings; the private

or public facet of language use; or the quality and quantity of connection with other ethnic group members

2.3.3 Social theory of motivation

Norton (2000; Norton Pierce, 1995), drawing on the social theory, initiates the term

“investment” instead of “motivation” to describe the “socially and historically constructed relationship of learners to the target language” According to this scholar, the term “investment” is explained as a process of acquiring a range of symbolic and material resources in order to promote the value of learners‟ cultural capital The main reason for learning is the desire to have a good return on that investment.Additionally, she assumed that different students do not have the same image communities, and that those imagined communities are best understood when they are put in the context of a learner‟s unique investment in the target language and the conditions that that learner speaks and practices it This scholar has introduced the concept of investment in Norton Peirce (1995) which signals the socially and historically constructed relationship of 166 Learner Contributions to Language Learning learners to the target

language, and their often ambivalent desire to learn and practise it Additionally,

Norton (2013, 50-51) also stated “The conception of instrumental motivation presupposes a unitary, fixed, and a historical language learner who desires access to material resources that are the privilege of target language speakers The notion of investment, on the other hand, conceives of the language learner as having a complex social history and multiple desires The notion presupposes that when language learners speak, they are only exchanging information with target language speakers, but they are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world… Thus an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner‟s own identity, an identity which is constantly changing across

time and space.”

Maehr and Braskamp (1986) have a similar construct when they mentioned the term

“personal investment” to “capture the underlying meaning of the disparate behavioural patterns commonly associated with motivation”

“It is important to remember that motivation is a dynamic process Personal

investment occurs as part of a continuous stream of ever –changing events … Personal

investment is both a product and a producer of dynamic interaction with a variety of

persons, situations, and events The effects of one‟s personal investment feed back to

affect the continuing investment of oneself We can take a picture of the variables in

motivation at any given moment, but such a static portrayal seldom does justice to what

in reality is a very dynamic and continuous flow of events.”

Maehr and Braskamp (1986:10-12)

2.3.4 Motivational impact of learning situation

2.3.4.1 Parents

Gardner (1985) suggested that parents play a significant role in shaping student

motivation He classified two main dimensions (an active role and a passive role) that

parents play in children‟s learning process An active role includes encouragement,

support and monitoring In contrast, a passive role comprises indirect modeling and

communicating attitudes which relating to second language learning and the second

language community This theorist also indicated that these two above roles are in

harmony in many cases; however; when they are in conflicts, the passive role has more

effect on students‟ learning process Additionally, he confirmed that parental

encouragement closely related to the development of learning attitudes and effort in the

learning the foreign language of children (Gardner et al., 1999)

2.3.4.2 Teachers

Clark and Trafford (1995) stated that the relationship between teacher and students

play a significant role in learners‟ attitudes towards language learning as well as group

characteristics in class Dörnyei (1994) offered a model of teacher-specific motivational components comprises three main parts which are affiliative motive (to

satisfy the teacher), authority type (controlling and autonomy supporting) and direct socialization of motivation (modeling, task presentation and feedback) What is more, Noels and his colleagues confirmed that the teacher‟s support and positive feedback positively affect learner‟s learning attitudes (Noels et al (1999))

2.3.4.3 Learner group

Learner group is one of the vital factors has a close relationship with the study of foreign language as well Clément et al (1994) investigated that groups contributed to the learners‟ motivation Dörnyei supported this theory by his finding that maintenance

of effective group norms showed a connection with written home assignment preparation and homework completion Hotho – Jackson (1995) shared this view when

he examined the effect of the group context in the learners‟ tendency to give up their language study

2.3.4.4 School

The research on school effects on learners‟ motivation has been developed in educational psychology Dörnyei (2001) indicated that by conducting researches on characteristics, educational psychology found reasons why in specific learning contexts, public schools do not succeed in promoting learners‟ second language competence while institutions like language schools or universities or colleges achieve significant success

2.4 Role of motivation in language learning

The aim of this part is to examine which exactly the role of motivation in second language learning is In fact, there is a variety of factors which have effects on second language learning However, motivation is considered an influential role in language learning A lot of studies show many that teachers and researchers have stated that motivation which is one of the key factors has effects on the success of second/foreign

language learning Among these studies, Masgoret and Gadner (2003) affirm the

“responsible for achievement in the second language” which means that motivation is the most influential and direct factor that affect language achievement Dörnyei (2001) has the same view when he states that “Most teachers and researchers would agree that

it has a very important role in determining success or failure in any learning situation”

In a study which carried out by Dörnyei in 1990, he also indicated that achievement was clearly influenced by motivation At this point, in fact, Dörnyei, Masgoret and Gadner share the view but they use different words to express their perspectives Furthermore, Dörnyei (1998) shares Spolsky‟s view when he assumes that motivation provides urge to learning of second language and then the driving force to maintain the learning process It seems that motivation determines the extent of active, personal involvement in second language learning Additionally, Oxford & Shearin, (1994) show that motivation directly influences on how often students use second language learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers and how long they persevere and maintain second language skills after language study is over An individual with the most outstanding abilities without motivation cannot complete long long-term goals, and suitable curricular as well as good teaching method cannot ensure students‟ achievement (Dörnyei & Csizér, 1998)

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

This study was carried out to examine secondary students‟ motivation to take extra classes in English Data was collected by means of a questionnaire and interviews According to Silverman (2000), using multiple methods in a research design would also help to “give a fuller picture and address many different aspects of phenomena” Therefore, I decided to use both questionnaire and interviews to explore the same issue (learners‟ motivation) with the purpose of confirming the validity and reliability of the process (Tellis, 1997) The interviews were conducted based on the results from questionnaire analysis, and the findings from in-depth interviews supported me explaining the results of the questionnaire

3.1 Participants

The target students‟ population in this study was students who took part in extra English classes after school in the academic year 2017-2018 at PCT Secondary school, Hanoi, Vietnam The total number of students did the survey were 794 male and female students in grade 6, 7, 8 and 9 Among them, only 22 students were involved in the interviews

3.2 Instruments

The primary method used in this study was a questionnaire It comprised 2 sections: I and II In the first section, 6 items were used to collect information relating to students‟ extra classes and motivation that they joined these classes Additionally, students needed to answer a question on which English class they prefer (class at school or the extra one) and what the reasons were The second section included questions which aimed to identify learners‟ feelings of their extra classes

All the questions were written in Vietnamese in order that they were comprehensible to young learners and they could express their ideas about the target issue

Interviews were followed the questionnaire to add depth to the quantitative results

3.3 Data collection procedures

In the late of February, 2018, I started delivering the survey to students at PCT Secondary school It took me about 15 minutes for each class (There are 33 classes in total) Before administering the questionnaire, I informed the participants of the objectives and significance of the study as well as encouraged them to do the survey truthfully When they finished the questionnaire, they were asked to check whether their answers were incomplete or not The total number of questionnaire papers delivered to students was 800 Among them, 794 papers were collected, and 728 papers were analysed 66 papers were excluded from analysis because students did not finish more than 5 questions These papers may not contain true answers because they did not really want to do the survey Therefore, I removed them from the data analysis to guarantee the validity of the data

After collecting data from the questionnaire, I selected a number of students to continue with interviews These students were involved in the interviews because their reasons belong to four most mentioned reasons why they take extra classes Before interviews were conducted, students were encouraged to expose their own views honestly and they were guaranteed that their answers would not affect their equal treatment at school Furthermore, a comfortable atmosphere was created during the interviews to ensure valid results To record the interviewees, a notebook was used

3.4 Data analysis procedures

The data which was collected in this paper consisted of quantitative and qualitative The quantitative data in the questionnaire was analysed by using SPSS (Statistical

Package for Social Sciences) as well as percentages, and the qualitative data from the survey was tallied To analyse the qualitative part of the data in the interviews, a content analysis was used The interviewee‟s responses in Vietnamese for each question were transcribed and then translated into English These responses then were finally analysed in terms of themes which was related to the target issue of the research

CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Findings

4.1.1 Questionnaire results

Table 4.1 Number of students in extra English classes

Percent

Cumulative Percent

Table 4.2 Teacher(s) in extra English classes

Percent

Cumulative Percent

Table 4.3 The frequency of extra English classes

Percent

Cumulative Percent

Table 4.3 illustrates the frequency of English extra classes per week 1-2 class-session English extra classes are the most preferred by students at this secondary school The figure for these classes is highest, at 90% By contrast, 3-4 class-sessions, 5-6 class-sessions and others are lower, at 6%, 0.7% and 3.3% respectively

Table 4.4 Length of each class session

Percent

Cumulative Percent

Table 4.5 Reasons for participating in extra English classes

Cases

Studying English in extra classes is more

effective than at school 229 14.9% 31.5%

Teachers in extra classes teach better than

those at school 145 9.5% 20.0%

Teacher creates more chances for us to

speak English compared to at school 167 10.9% 23.0%

I want to get high marks in English at

Table 4.5 illustrates the data on reasons that students involved in English extra classes Among six reasons was listed on the survey questionnaire, the reason that students desire to get high marks in English at school is chosen most, at 27.7% The figures for

“I want to be good at English to study abroad” and “Studying English in extra classes is more effective than at school” are lower, at 17% and 14.9% respectively The reason involving parents in student‟s decision accounts for 13.6 % while the figure for that relating to chances of speaking is 10.9% The proportion of the reason relating to the quality of teachers is lowest, at 9.5%, compared to 6.4% of other reasons which were added by students The table below shows a list of reasons most added by students

Table 4.6 Additional reasons for choosing extra English classes

1 To better my English level/ broaden knowledge

3 To practice my speaking skill

4 To study at a good high school

5 I like to study

6 My friend asks me to join it

7 To go abroad / study abroad/ settle abroad

8 To pass a gifted high school access exam

9 I want teachers to pre-teach English lessons

11 To play games in English

12 To communicate with foreigners

13 To join IELTS tests

14 I want to be the best student in my class at school

15 There is a lot of homework to do

16 I learn English for free

17 To easy to get a job in the future

18 To work and co-operate with other countries

19 I want to review my English knowledge

20 To follow my dream (football)

Reasons which were added by students in the above table mostly origins from social impact, and the data shows that students take extra classes in order to become qualified people to satisfy their expectation in the future

Table 4.7 Class preferences

Percent

Cumulative Percent

English class at school 163 22.4 22.4 24.5

English extra class 465 63.9 63.9 88.3

Like both 85 11.7 11.7 100.0

Table 4.7 shows the percentage of classes that students prefer joining Students in this secondary school are most attracted by English extra classes The figure for those is highest, at 63.9% The percentage of students who prefer English class at school and those who like both accounts for significantly lower, at 22.4% and 11.7% respectively,

a difference of 10.7% The figure for those who do not like both is lowest, only at 2.1% Chart 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.44 explain reasons for students‟ choices In this survey, students also explain reasons for their choices I listed most referred reasons for their answers below

Chart 4.1 Reasons for preferences of extra English classes

12.7 11.9

10.3

10 8.9 7.7

6

3.7 3.4

2.5

02468101214

According to the results from chart 4.1, there are a lot of factors that make students prefer their extra classes to ones at school Factors which were referred in chart 1 are most mentioned by students in the survey Comfort, freedom and no stress on marks are most attracted by students who took part in extra courses The figure for that accounted for 12.7 In addition, lesson easy-understandings, fun and extensive knowledge, communication in English and some other factors that created by teachers

in classes also interest students a lot Besides, the quality of English teaching at school also affects students‟ choices The results show that not effective teaching quality or low-level English teachers at school push students to find extra learning courses Besides, some other factors at the lower number (I did not put them on the chart) that mentioned by students were an active atmosphere, English programs that match students‟ levels, much grammar practice, looking after and mentoring students, etc

Chart 4.2 Reasons for preferences of English class at school

Chart 4.2 depicts reasons why students like English classes at school better than extra courses Lesson easy-understandings are voted at the highest number, at 15.8 Moreover, there are a lot of other factors relating to fun, knowledge sharing among friends, comfort, learning through playing, etc Other factors (not in the chart) were referred at a lower number in the survey were exciting atmosphere, good teachers, or effectiveness in teaching and learning, etc