Demotivating factors in learning english a case of first year non major students at university of labor and social affairs

COVER PAGE 2 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Thị Thu Thuỷ DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE OF FIRST YEAR NON- MAJOR STUDENTS A

COVER PAGE 2

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Lê Thị Thu Thuỷ

DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE OF FIRST YEAR NON- MAJOR STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF

LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Lê Thị Thu Thuỷ

DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN LEARNING ENGLISH: A CASE OF FIRST YEAR NON- MAJOR STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF

LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Field: English Language Code: 8220201

Supervisor: Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph D

HANOI, 2018

Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph D

Date:………

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph D, my supervisor, for his helpful and warm encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of my study In addition, many thanks go to the teachers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, GASS, for their interesting lessons from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of the thesis

The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation from the respondents (200 first-year non-major students at University of Labor and Social Affairs) who have been willing to take part in the study I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of this study

I also offer my special thanks to my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for their patience, endless love, and devotion Whatever choices I have made, they have always stood by me and believed in me I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS ……… Viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……… 1

1.1 Rationale……… ……… 1

1.2 Aim(s) of the Study……… ……… ………… 2

1.3 Research Questions……… ……… 2

1.4 Scope of the Study……….……… 2

1.5 Significance of the Study……… …… 3

1.6 Research Methods……… … 3

1.7 Structure of the Study……… …… … 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW……… …… 5

2.1 Motivation……….……… 5

2.1.1 Definitions of Motivation……… … 5

2.1.2 Types of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning… … 7

2.1.3 Motivation in Foreign or Second Language Learning… … 9

2.2 Demotivation……… … 11

2.2.1 Definitions of Demotivation……… … 11

2.2.2 Factors Demotivating Students in Learning Foreign Language……….…… ……

13 2.2.2.1 Teacher-Related Factors……….… 15

2.2.2.2 Learner-Related Factors……… … 20

2.2.2.3 Teaching and Learning Conditions……… 24

2.3 Previous Research on Language Motivation……….… 27

2.4 Previous Research on Language Demotivation……… 30

2.5 Chapter Summary……… 33

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY……… …… 34

3.1 Setting of the Study……….….…… 34

3.2 Participants……….……… 35

3.3 Data Collection……….………… 36

3.4 Data Analysis……….……… 40

3.5 Chapter Summary……… 40

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS……… 41

4.1 Findings……… ……… 41

4.2 Discussions……… ….…… 54

4.3 Chapter Summary……….………… 59

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION……….…… 60

5.1 Recapitulation……….… 60

5.2 Concluding Remarks……….……… 61

5.3 Implications……….…… 61

5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies……… 63

REFERENCES……… ……… 65

APPENDIX 2: Câu hỏi phỏng vấn……… ……… VIII APPENDIX 3: Answers for the Interview……… X APPENDIX 4: Results of Demotivating Factors Questionaire…… …… XV

ABSTRACT

This study is carried out to investigate the main factors that demotivate the first-year non-major students in learning English at University of Labor and Social Affairs There are 200 students who are from different faculties at the university take part in this study A questionnaire and an interview are chosen as the data collection instruments According to the results of the research, the students’ demotivation in learning English arises from three main factors relating to the students, the teachers and the learning conditions In particular, the students’ lack of English vocabulary and their personalities were the most demotivating factors in learning English, next the big size class with mixed abilities of students, and then followed by the teachers’ teaching methods as well as their commitment After analyzing and synthesizing the statistics, the researcher discussed and recommended some implications along with suggestions for further research Last but not least, it is much hoped that the results of the study could be useful for the development of teaching and learning English at University of Labor and Social Affairs

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 3: Factors Relating to Learning Conditions 48 Table 4: The Different Effects of Demotivating Factors 52

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 3: Factors Relating to Learning Conditions 49 Figure 4: The Different Effects of Demotivating Factors 52 Figure 5: The Different Effects of Demotivating Factors 53

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

ETL: English Teaching and Learning

L1: The First Language

L2: The Second Language

L3: The Third Language

FLF: Foreign Language Faculty

ULSA: University of Labor and Social Affairs

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

In the world today, the importance of English cannot be denied and ignored since English is the most common language spoken everywhere More people around the world than ever before are studying and learning English because it has become the international language of communication It is the reason why English has been a compulsory subject at schools in Vietnam for years

It can be said that motivation is one of the most important factors that determine the rate and success of language learners’ attainment: it provides the primary impetus to initiate the language learning and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process Motivation is defined as the extent that one strives to acquire the language because of the desire to do so and the satisfaction derived from it (Gardner, 1985) Motivation is, thus, considered significantly in its roles in language learning success In fact, how to learn English effectively is still a big question for many learners and teachers, especially for the university students who need English as an essential tool to improve their major knowledge Despite the fact that most of the students have been learning English since they were at secondary or high schools, their English is deficient

At University of Labor and Social Affairs (ULSA), English is an obligatory subject for all students They have to take an English exam to get level A2 certificate before graduating from the university According to our last term investigation, amongst 2.637 first-year non-major students attending to the first term final exam, only 38 students reached point A (1.4%), and 378 students got point B (14.3%) The investigation also revealed that there were 944 students reaching point D (35.7%) and 944 students (35.7%) failing the exam It

is clear that the students’ English learning results were not as good as we had expected Language demotivation seems to be one of the main factors affecting the students’ improvements

To the best of my knowledge, there have been no studies concerning the students’s demotivation in learning English carried out at ULSA before It is the reason why the author conducts a study named “Demotivating Factors in Learning English: A Case of First Year Non - major Students at University of Labor and Social Affairs”

1.2 Aims of the Study

The aim of the study is to improve the quality of English teaching and learning at ULSA In order to achieve the aim, the study is expected to reach the following objectives:

- Uncovering the factors demotivating the first-year non-major students in English learning

- Investigating the factors most frequently demotivating the first-year major students in English learning at ULSA

non Giving some suggestions to control the factors most frequently demotivating the first-year non-major students in English learning at ULSA

1.3 Research Questions

In correspondence with the aforementioned aim, the researcher attempts

to answer the following questions:

- What factors demotivate students’ English learning at ULSA?

- How are the factors that most frequently demotivate the first year major students in learning English?

non-1.4 Scope of the Study

The data for this study are obtained through survey questionnaires administered to 200 first-year students majoring in Accounting, Insurance, Human Resource Management and Business Administration The investigation

is conducted at University of Labor and Social Affairs during the first semester

of 2017 educational year There are various factors affecting the students’ learning English; however, as the title of the study, the present research only focuses on uncovering the demotivating factors that directly influence the

1.5 Significance of the Study

Theoretically, the findings of the study contribute to the development of existing theories about students’ motivation and demotivation for learning English Moreover, the study expands our understanding about demotivating factors in learning English by adding a new context, ULSA, to demotivation research It provides more evidence about the influence of motivation and demotivation factors in learning English so that it helps to re-evaluate the importance of motivation as well as demotivation in the current context of foreign language teaching and learning In addition, by drawing insights from both students and teachers, this study contributes to our knowledge of the degree

of mutual understanding between students and teachers

Practically, the findings may provide useful guidelines for the ULSA authorities in general and Foreign Language Faculty in particular in developing English language materials/textbooks as well as better improving English teaching and learning quality The students’ answers to the above-mentioned variables should uncover the factors demotivating them in learning English It is targeted to a better understanding and improvement of the demotivating conditions where they face This will lead to measures in solving the student’s language learning problems as revealed in their responses, which may assist these students to achieve a sufficient level of English at ULSA

1.6 Research Methods

To achieve the objectives, both qualitative and quantitative methods will

be exploited in this case study The data will be collected via interviews, and survey questionnaires

1.7 Structure of the Study

In addition to the references and appendices, the thesis is composed of five chapters:

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

CHAPTER 2: Literature Review

CHAPTER 3: Methodology

CHAPTER 4: Findings and Discussions

CHAPTER 5: Conclusion

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is concerned with the conceptions of motivation, motivation

in foreign language learning, demotivation, demotivating factors, previous studies on demotivation

2.1 Motivation

Motivation is complex to define because different researchers defined it differently Motivation determines the level of learners’involvement in language learning

2.1.1 Definitions of Motivation

Many researches have been undertaken and most of them have referred to the definition of motivation All the motivation theories in general want to explain the fundamental question of why humans behave as they do, and therefore we cannot assume any simple and straightforward answer

an external incentive or reward; it is therefore the process of arousing, maintaining and controlling interest An understanding of motivation is essential

in the study of the psychology and behavior of the learner During the last forty years a number of different interpretations of motivation have been given and many theories have been advanced in the area of language learning While some

of the theories are stronger than others, each has its own merits

Motivation in schoolwork consists chiefly in leading pupils to a realization of the need for the knowledge and culture which the schools are trying to impart We would all agree with the statement that motivation is not a process of forcing, because the major task of the teacher is not coercing but encouraging, inspiring and guiding the students to achieve their objectives This

is why motivation is fundamental in explaining the success or failure of teaching

a foreign language

According to Dornyei (2001), the current spirit in motivational psychology is characterized by cognitive approach in which individuals’ behavior is influenced by their conscious attitudes, thoughts, beliefs and

interpretation of things or in other words, how mental processes are transformed into action In his view, what people do firstly was determined by their beliefs about its value and then face with difficulties together with the support they get, i.e people or environmental working-is motivation He defined motivation as an abstract, hypothetical concept that we use to explain why people think and behave as they do He also stated that motivation explains why people decide to

do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activities

as the process involved in arousing, directing and sustaining behavior It is true that though we may observe the learner's behavior we cannot directly observe his motivation Every teacher can observe poor behavior of a student in the classroom and can also shape the learner's personality Most psychologists refer

to motivation as an important element in behavior, but it is not the only determining factor, and may be very dangerous if misused

Motivation is the main and key factor for learning a second language Students, who have positive attitude and motivation in them for learning, will surely succeed to attain their goal Gardner (1985) defined motivation as the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitude toward learning the language In his account, motivation

is involved in three main factors including effort, desire and favorable attitude that belong to the interior dimension of learners He believed that motivation to learn a foreign language is determined by basic predispositions and personality characteristics such as the learner’s attitudes toward foreign people in general, and the target group and language in particular, motives for learning, and generalized attitudes

William & Burden (1997) assumed that from a cognitive perspective, motivation is concerned with such issues as why people decide to act in certain ways and what factors influence the choice they make It also involves decisions

their goals The role of the teacher thus becomes one of helping and enabling learners to make suitable decisions

In addition to that, Brown (1994) defined motivation with certain terms like inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire and these terms motivate the learners

to perform in a particular action Oxford and Shearin (1994) mostly agreed with Brown (1994) as they believed in self-desire to achieve a goal

In a nutshell, motivation is complex to define because different researchers defined it differently Motivation determines the level of learners’ involvement in language learning, therefore it is important to know the influence

of motivation in students’ performance as well

Different researchers have provided different definitions of motivation as they conduct researches on motivation in different situations, i.e different countries, with different people and cultures as well as different teaching -learning conditions In this study, the researcher understand motivation under three important factors of motivation found by prior researchers: (1) personal and sociocultural factors, (2) classroom environment factors, (3) internal factors and it should be also remembered that motivation is not static, it will evolve naturally to keep up with the rising complexity of modern societies

2.1.2 Types of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning

Motivation can be classified in different ways In some studies,

motivation is categorized into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

According to Harmer (2001), intrinsic motivation refers to the personal satisfaction of doing something and fulfilling inner needs (i.e learning for personal satisfaction) Extrinsic motivation relates to external influences and outer incentives This type of motivation develops in time as values are closely related to social demands and their practical rewards (i.e learning for external appraisal)

Harter (1981) and William & Burden (1997) distinguished five separate dimensions forming motivation in the classroom environment, each of which is determined by an intrinsic and extrinsic pole:

Intrinsic Extrinsic

Preference for challenge Vs Preference for easy work

Curiosity, interest vs Pleasing teacher, getting grades Independent mastery vs Dependence on teacher in

figuring our problems Independent judgement vs Reliance on the teacher’s

judgement about what to do Internal criteria for success vs External criteria for success

Although the Harter’s division of motivation should not be ignored, as it

is based on valuable theoretical assumptions, it is not fully acceptable because in reality motivation consists of many overlapping layers Indeed, many times we behave on the bases of a mixture of both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons Moreover, most teachers would agree that both have significant impact on the L2 learner motivation and are closely linked and in most cases they are not employed separately

The multi-dimensionality of motivation was proposed by Vallerand & Ratelle (2002) who invented a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation They put forward a hypothesis that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are present at three levels of generality: global, contextual and situational level Global level motivation is defined as an individual difference that applies to general situations and results in general consequences Motivation

at the contextual level deals with involvement in certain fields of human activity such as class relationships, school activities, and hobbies The situation level refers to particular activities at a certain time, for example preparation for an important exam or writing homework The type of motivation can be different

on each level

This hypothesis might be very helpful for teachers who try to find out why students sometimes feel motivated and perform well and in several other

main goal is to speak English well to be able to communicate with people from other countries would be most likely highly motivated at global level They would enjoy learning the language generally, watching films, listening to music etc., but when they are supposed to learn a certain grammatical rule to obtain a good mark at school, their motivation might decrease as their situation level motivation is not activated by a reward in the form of a good mark or knowledge

of the rule On the other hand, this hypothesis can also explain why some students are able to perform very well in the tests and exams but their ability to communicate is rather poor

2.1.3 Motivation in Foreign or Second Language Learning

Motivation is one of the major individual difference variables that has proved to have significant impact on the language learning process (e.g Dornyei, 2001; Harmer, 2001; Schunk, Pintrich & Meese, 2007) It is not difficult to understand why such great importance is attributed to the motivation

in second language acquisition; it is obvious that learning is most likely to occur when there is a will to learn

Motivation is something that is directly related with behavior A person sets his mind up to figure out a certain work and does accordingly It can be assumed that motivation has relevant and crucial value in learning a second language that influences the success of language learning Therefore, motivation cannot be denied in learning a second language Many researchers have shown that motivation plays an important role in determining the result of foreign/ second language learning process According to Brown (2007), “motivation is one of the most important factors that will influence students’ English achievement or performance It has a close relationship with students’ success or failure in English teaching in college Therefore, teacher must pay more attention to this aspect” Motivated students are likely to learn more and learn more quickly than students who are less motivated They also participate willingly, actively and pay more attention to a certain learning task or activity and gain more success and high marks Without motivation the learner cannot

perform or learn a language Motivation makes purposes clearly visible Learning a different language is very challenging but if the leaner has internal desire to learn any language, he/she can do well It is an internal or external desire in people, which increases learners’ interest to learn a different language

to achieve a goal Motivation can be both internal and external Internal motivation is, learner’s self-desire or preforming any activity for own sake On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is more related with any award or punishment

Spolsky (1969) studied the attitude of learners of a second language towards the language and its native speakers After testing three groups of foreign students studying in the U.S.A., he found that integrative motivation generally accompanied higher scores of proficiency in English From this, he concluded that a student learns a language better when he wants to be a member

of the group speaking that language According to him, learning a second language is a key to possible membership of a secondary society; the desire to join that group is a major factor in language learning He emphasized therefore the importance of attitude The student's attitude towards the people speaking the other language will have a great effect upon how well he learns

The best known theory which affects all research carried out after 1972 is the socio-psychological theory of second or foreign language learning discussed

by Lambert and Gardner (1972) They argued that if the learner is psychologically prepared to adopt the different aspects of behavior which characterize members of the other linguistic and cultural groups, these aspects are basic for the success of the learner in the second language This theory provided a hypothesis to study the phenomenon of second and foreign language learning It is essential to take into consideration the attitude of the learner and his parents towards other ethno-linguistic communities

In short, it is clearly that motivation produces the first impulse to start the process of learning and it also greatly contributes to the determination to

able to persist in such wearing and long-lasting activity Learning a language is remarkably different from learning the other subjects at school as language is an integral part of the culture, customs and habits of the society where it is spoken, thus the language learner should also learn how to associate with these established manners of interaction and behavior to use the language appropriately Therefore, the positive attitude towards the language speaking country should be promoted to achieve desired outcome

2.2 Demotivation

Demotivation is a relatively new issue in the field of second/foreign language learning

2.2.1 Definitions of Demotivation

According to Cambridge English Dictionary (2009), “demotivate” means

“to make someone less enthusiastic about a job” Because there are only a few things useful or valid in their mind when doing anything, they do not want to fulfill that task or strive to perform it without any effort

It is claimed (Deci and Ryan, 1985) that demotivation means the relative absence of motivation that is not caused by a lack of initial interest but rather by the individual’s experiencing feelings of incompetence and helplessness when faced with the activity

Dornyei (2001) defined de-motivation as specific external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action However, not all the researchers agreed with this definition Sakai and Kikuchi (2009) noted that Dorneyi limited the original definition of demotivation to only external factors and they also pointed out that in fact, Dorneyi (2001) himself considered self-confident reduction and negative attitude as demotivating factors in learning process Then they felt the need to extend Dorneyi’s definition of demotivation, concluding both external and internal factors which reduce or diminish motivation during the process of learning The loss of interest or pleasure in learning can deprive from different

sources of demotivation, such as teachers and teaching methods, learners themselves, learning conditions like physical conditions and the textbook

In addition, as mentioned above, there are 2 types of motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation These two variables motivate differently but they have

a connection From the sources of motivation, researchers have shown a detailed description of motivation which can be influenced internally or externally Thus, the other side of motivation, demotivation, also discusses both inside and outside factors that reduce motivation in language learning process In 2001, Dorneyi noted that demotivation refers to lack of motivation resulting from realizing that there is no point He also stated that the relative absence of motivation that is not caused by a lack of initial interest but rather by the individual’s experiencing feelings of incompetence and helplessness when faced with the activity Indeed, demotivation is a decrease of motivation Demotivated learners were once motivated, but in some contexts, due to unpredictably external causes, they became demotivated Demotivation might appear when having an attractive alternative or distraction For example, a student decides to play computer games instead of going to school

Dornyei and Ushioda (2011) have argured that some demotives can lead

to general demotivation regarding the particular activity (e.g a series of horrendous classroom experiences can reduce the learner’s self-efficacy) Dornyei (2011) pointed out that de-motivation does not mean that all the positive influences that originally made up the motivational basis of a behavior have been got rid of It only means that a strong negative factor restrains the present motivation with some other positive motives still remain ready to be activated

In this study, demotivation can be thought of as a process of reducing or weakening learners’ interest and motivation which involves in both external and internal factors

2.2.2 Factors Demotivating Students in Learning Foreign Language

Chambers (1993) carried out a survey with 191 pupils of 4 schools in Leeds in Britain on their explanations about de-motivation and a questionnaire

to 7 teachers about the main characteristics of the demotived pupils The results

of the study show the underlying causes of students’ demotivation perceived were quite different by the teachers and the students The teachers’ interpretations are quite coherent They consider that demotived students make

no effort to learn, lack belief in their own capabilities, demonstrate laziness and are unwilling to learn

Students’ understandings, however, vary from person to person Some blame their teachers because teachers frequently criticize students and explain things insufficiently Teachers use old-fashioned teaching materials and inferior equipment, thus losing their students and being ignorant of it Others accuse the number of students in the class and language room facilities In sum, Chambers found that students believe that de-motivation originates from different sources: home, previous language learning experience, the perception of the teacher and students’ low self-esteem, etc It’s clear that teachers’ understandings are very different from students’ perceptions Therefore, Chambers (1999) concluded that

“seeking the help of pupils might be a good place to start” (p.16), thereby stating the importance of communication and cooperation between teachers and students

Muhonen (2004) conducted a qualitative study on factors that discourage pupils from learning the English language The data for the study were collected

by means of a retrospective writing task in which the pupils were asked to describe the issues that had a negative impact on their motivation to learn English and explain in what way these demotives had influenced their motivation The finding from his study revealed main themes of demotivation:

- The Teachers

- Learning Material and their Contents

- The Learner Characteristics

- School Environment

- The Learners’ Attitudes towards the English Language

Comparing demotivating factors and English grades revealed that the average grade of those pupils who considered the English language as demotivating was significantly lower than of those pupils whose demotivation resulted from the teacher or the learning material

According to Dornyei (2001), main categories of factors that demotivate students in foreign language learning as follows:

- The Teacher (personality, commitment, competence, teaching method);

- Inadequate School Facilities (group is too big or not the right level, frequent change of teachers);

- Reduced Self-Confidence (experience of failure or lack of success);

- Negative Attitude towards the L2;

- Compulsory Nature of L2 Study;

- Interference of Another Foreign Language being studied;

- Negative Attitude towards L2 Community;

- Attitudes of Group Members;

- Course-book

Among these main factors, the Teacher is the most important factor that can influence learners’ demotivation Teachers can or cannot engage students in long way of learning a new language Teachers can motivate students by implicating many different types of enjoyable strategies and vice versa It is very important to make the classroom atmosphere relaxed and friendly Many students have the content in themselves but they cannot perform because of the lack of confidence Teachers can demotivate the learners by their negative attitudes, boring teaching process, old fashioned teaching aids in classrooms That can make the students more uninterested in exploring or learning about the language

In short, researchers have argued a lot of different factors demotivating students in foreign language learning, however, according to the author, they can

be classified into 3 main groups: teacher-related factors, learner-related factors, teaching and learning conditions

2.2.2.1 Teacher-Related Factors

According to Dornyei (2001), demotivating factors related to teacher consist of teachers’ personalities, commitment, competence and teaching methods

Teacher’s Personalities

Cruickshank, Jenkins, and Metcalf (2003) stated that the personality is the totality of character and behavioral traits to an individual No two persons are alike in this respect, not even identical twins There is no doubt that the teacher’s performance can have a great impact on the student’s motivation and thus achievement Firstly, it should be emphasized that helping students to generate intrinsic motivation should be one of the essential duties of the teacher who is responsible for the choice of schoolwork, teaching method, and organization of the classes Thus all of the elements of the teaching/learning process should be considered with respect to individual needs, preferences and capabilities of the students It is also the teacher’s task to promote positive attitude toward the English language as a subject William & Burden (1997) pointed out that apart from the way the teacher presents the subject, the teacher’s good personality is another very important aspect affecting the student’s motivation All learners tend to be influenced by their personal feelings about their educators, and thus, their perceptions of their teachers and of the interactions that arise between them and their teachers will have great impacts on their motivation to learn Therefore, students will feel discouraged, demotivated, lazy, indifferent, sleepy and noisy in the classroom if the teacher’s personality is not good and not interesting On the other hand, it can be said that the teacher’s negative attitudes have a strong impact on the student’s demotivation

Teacher’s Commitment to the Students’ Progress

According to Hussin, Maarof, and D’Cruz (2001), teachers need to find creative ways to teach the language and increase the student’s motivation to

learn the language and to eventually appreciate the language There are a number of methods that English instructors can use to motivate students in class, and instructors should flexibly employ the most suitable method for the class Furthermore, Kabilan (2000) indicated that teachers should develop a mutual relationship with their learners In order to develop a mutual relationship with their learners, teachers need to understand students who are from different backgrounds, have different interests, future goals, aims for English learning, and most importantly, different personalities Once they understand them better, teachers are able to apply specific teaching and communicating strategies tailored to each student, thereby creating a trusting relationship between a teacher and student Once a relationship develops, the classroom will become comfortable and enjoyable enough for students to learn positively from the teacher without any hesitation

Dörnyei (2001), except the above mentioned motivational factors, laid stress on the importance of teacher’s enthusiasm as teachers who are really enthusiastic for their subject can affect their students’ attitude to learn it English teachers that exhibit their passion for the language, underline advantages of mastering it, utilize a lot of authentic material, appreciate the culture of the English-speaking countries and enjoy talking about them certainly influence their students so that they could see the value of learning the language

Teacher’s competence

The European Union has identified three broad areas of competences that teachers require: (1) Working with others; (2) Working with knowledge, technology and information, (3) Working in and with society

Scholarly consensus is demonstrating that what is required of teachers can

be classified into three categories:

- Knowledge (such as the subject matter itself and knowledge about how

to teach it, curricular knowledge, knowledge about the educational sciences, psychology, assessment etc.)

- Craft skills (such as lesson planning, using teaching technologies, managing students and groups, monitoring and assessing learning etc.)

- Dispositions (such as essential values and attitudes, beliefs and commitment

A few studies by Ferguson and Womack (1993) also concluded that teacher’s qualification, i.e knowledge, education and experience account for a large share of the variance in students’ achievement than any single factor Teacher’s competency such as behavior, skills and knowledge related to school performance Effective teachers are those with high competency in knowledge and skills In addition, teaching a language that means introduce the culture of that language If the teacher lacks knowledge of speaking countries, his or her lessons are less interesting to students

Teacher’s incompetence is a critical issue that faces many education systems, students and parents Many researchers have agreed that one of the most demotivating factors is teacher’s incompetence Not being aware and considerate of a student's feelings further illustrates a level of incompetence Another sign of an incompetent teacher is the display of a general lack of professionalism Losing students' work, failing to grade papers on time and being late are also all results of teachers’ incompetence

To sum up, personality defects are at the root of an educator's incompetence and an incompetent educator is simply not suited to teaching Understanding characteristics of incompetent educators is an important aspect of improving and developing the education system

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods including the teacher’s techniques and activities are of great impact on learners’ motivation Without good techniques and interesting activities, learners may be left in confusion and boredom while dealing with learning tasks There are different types of language teaching methods which can be categorized into 7 main methods:

(1) Grammar Translation Method:

The Grammar Translation Method is not new It has had different names and has been applied by language teachers over a long period of time At one time it was called the Classical Method as it was first used in the teaching of the classical languages, Latin and Greek Since the nineteenth century it has been known as the Grammar Translation Method and widely practiced in different educational contexts According to Brown (2007), this method mainly focuses

on grammatical rules, memorization of vocabulary of various declensions and conjugations, translation of texts and doing written exercises

(2) Direct Method:

This method came into effect when teachers thought that learning how to use a foreign language for the purpose of communication was the goal of instruction The Direct Method became very popular when the Grammar Translation Method was not found effective in helping students use the target language communicatively Richards & Rogers (2001) summarized the core principles of the Direct Method: Clearly classroom instructions, daily practice

on vocabulary and sentence, intensively oral communication skills, inductively grammar teaching, speech and listening comprehension focus, pronunciation correction The Direct Method was widely accepted at the beginning of the twentieth century; however, it did not enjoy its popularity in public education system due to limited budget, classroom size, time and teacher background

(3) Audio-Lingual Method:

The Audio-Lingual Method was based on linguistic and psychological theory This method is basically an oral-based approach like the Direct Method However, there are some differences between them First of all, whilst the Direct Method acquires vocabulary through its exposure to its uses in specific situations, the Audio-Lingual Method emphasizes the students’ use of grammatical sentence patterns Secondly, the Direct Method has a strong theoretical ground in linguistics and psychology It is the reason why in this method, the sentence patterns of the target language are thought to be practiced

Method enjoyed many years of popularity but it did not last for long River (1964) explored the misconceptions of the Audio-Lingual Method and its ultimate deficiency to teach long-term communicative proficiency

(4) The Silent Way:

The Silent Way is the name of language teaching method created by Gattegno (1963) This method focuses on discovery, creativity, problem solving and the use of accompanying materials It is assumed that the teacher should not talk much in the classroom but the learner should be motivated to practice the language as much as possible Color charts and Cuisenaire rods are common tools of this method This method was a popular educational trend in 1960s which encouraged independence, autonomy and responsibility of learners It means that the student in this kind of classroom have to work together to solve any language problem, meanwhile the teacher is only a facilitator and keeps silent most of the time as the name of the method Richards and Rodgers (1986) summarized the method into three major features: (i) Learning is

facilitated if the learner discovers or creates, (ii) Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects, (iii) Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned

(5) The Natural Approach:

The Natural Approach is aimed at the goal of basic personal communication skills improved through daily language situations-conversations like shopping, listening to the radio…The teacher is held accountable for providing comprehensible inputs Learners do not have to say anything during

“the silent time” until they are willing to do so Krashen (1982) argued that in the natural approach, the leaners would benefit from delaying production until speech emerges A great deal of communication and acquisition should take place when learners should be relaxed in the classroom

(6) Communicative Language Teaching:

The late 1980s and 1990s witnessed the development of approaches that focus on the communicative properties of language, and classrooms were

increasingly characterized by validity, real-world reflection, and meaningful tasks It is claimed (Richards and Rogers, 1986) that Communicative Language Teaching is best considered an approach rather than a method Thus although a reasonable degree of theoretical consistency can be discerned at the levels of language and learning theory, at the levels of design and procedure there is much greater room for individual interpretation and variation than most methods permit

(7) Community Language Learning:

The basic principle of this method is to set up interpersonal relationships between the teacher and the student to improve and accelerate the learning process The students first establish interpersonal relationships in their native language while the teacher pays close attention to students’ needs In this context, the student is not thought of as a learner but as a client The native instructor of the language is not considered as a teacher, but rather, is a language counselor whose task is to communicate empathy for the client’s threatened inadequate state and to support him linguistically Brown (2007) pointed out some weaknesses of this method Firstly, the teacher as a counselor can become nondirective while the students often need some directions, especially in the first period Secondly, the Community Language Learning follows an inductive strategy of learning instead of deductive learning which is both widely accepted and efficient strategy of learning Finally, how this method succeeds or not concisely relies on the translation expertise of the counselor

2.2.2.2 Learner-Related Factors

There are many factors demotivating students in second or foreign language learning, however these following factors are inferred to be the most determinant

Learner’s Lack of English Vocabulary

In learning a foreign language, vocabulary is an indispensable part since there is an obvious connection between students’ vocabulary size and their

undervalued in the field of English language acquisition for a long time English

as foreign language learners face the problem of their inability to use language skills effectively and lack of vocabulary could be one of the causes that hinders their achievement growth

Saengpakdeejit (2014) believed that the students use the English language both inside and outside the classroom settings, they still encounter problems in their learning and they generally see unknown words as the first problem to overcome She pointed out that the problem above may be because vocabulary has been recognized as crucial to language use in which insufficient vocabulary knowledge of the learners led to difficulties in second language learning Additionally, according to her, mastering vocabulary is one of the most challenging tasks that any learner faces while acquiring another language Thus,

in the case of language learning, students need to be educated with the strategies which can help the learners acquiring the meaning of words

Cameron (2001) believed that vocabulary is central to the learning of language at primary level to enrich learners’ language Thus, there should be a strategy to help students learn vocabulary Many strategies can be applied by a teacher to teach vocabulary effectively, such as word list and flashcards In one investigation on flashcards, Komachali & Khodareza (2012) studied the effect of using vocabulary flashcard on Iranian pre-university students’ vocabulary knowledge The result showed that flashcards could lead the students to a higher level of vocabulary improvement

It can be implied that lack of vocabulary is becoming increasingly evident among the learners of English and this situation is no match for their needs for words The student can gradually get demotivated unless he has a wide range of vocabulary In that case, he cannot understand the teacher’s lecture and then feel learning English becomes more and more difficult

Learner’s Personality

Personality which is considered to be a pattern of unique characteristics that give a person’s behavior a kind of consistency and individuality plays an

important role in acquiring a second language A number of studies have been conducted in order to investigate and explore how the personality of the learner can be of influence on his/her second language acquisition endeavor

Wright and Taylor (1970) pointed out that personality is about those relatively stable and enduring aspects of the individual which distinguish him from other people, and at the same time from the basis of our predictions concerning his future behavior Child’s (1968) described personality characteristics as more or less stable internal factors that make one person’s behavior consistent from one time to another and from one situation to another Furthermore, findings of some studies that investigate personality traits are basically grounded in the assumptions that learners bring to the classroom not only their cognitive (general mental) abilities, but also positive states which influence the way they acquire the language Brown (2000) listed self-esteem, inhabitation, risk-taking, anxiety, empathy and extroversion as personality factors Many researchers on demotivation of learners’ personalities have shown that individuality is one thing and personality is another Personality is built after one is born Different leaners have different actions and attitudes to the same input as a function of the ways in which their personality affects their perception and interpretation of the world

Learner’s Lack of Confidence

According to Juhana (2012), it is commonly understood that students’ lack of confidence usually occurs when students realize that their conversation partners have not understood them or when they do not understand other speakers Yoshitake (1991) & Viswat and Jackson (1993) defined the student’s lack of confidence in this way, “…the students are constantly told from childhood to sit quietly and listen to the teacher, and not to stand up and speak out unless called upon.” (p.16)

According to Krashen (1982), learners with high motivation, confidence and a good self-image, and with a low level of anxiety are well

self-low motivation, little self-confidence and with a high level of anxiety obviously become unsuccessful Therefore, in order to overcome the lack of confidence, learners should hold these factors mentioned above to receive good results Dubin and Olshtain (1986) suggested that instead of expecting the teacher to make all decision, learners need to develop initiative and willingness to take on the part of responsibilities Moreover, students who lack confidence are usually found to be extremely fearful and timid, reluctant to express their opinions and even unable to utter a complete meaningful sentence in class

In short, less confident learners feel uncomfortable and threatened when they are asked for participating in all activities, they are not able to take tasks as required, and these are like challenges to them They lack faith in their own capabilities and are more concern about being criticized or rejected by others

Learner’s Belief

It is true that beliefs which are created by means of learners’ experiences direct them in their perception of language learning and affect the methodologies and approaches they assume to be right for their foreign/second language learning On the other hand, learners’ beliefs are contextually shaped

by location, community, culture, language, nature and sometimes even religion Many researchers are concerned with the importance of learners’ belief

Lightbrown & Spada (2001) stated that these believes are usually based on previous learning experiences and assumption (right or wrong) that a particular type of instruction is the best way for them to learn Chamber’s study (1993) showed that lack of belief in learners’ capability, laziness and unwilling to learn are the main characteristics of the demotivated students in Britain Cotterall (1995) in his research work on learners’ beliefs and how they affect learners’ learning strategies has opined the actions and experiences of language learners are both positively and negatively influenced by learners’ belief He also claimed that students’ attitudes to learning and the insight and beliefs that control them can have intense impact on the learning behavior

It is clear that what determines whether a person succeeds as a learner depends much on his/her own beliefs about learning Therefore, without understanding what the belief system of a learner is, how it emerges or operates, and how it functions in learning, our knowledge of human learning will be

deficient

2.2.2.3 Learning Conditions

It can be shown that learning conditions such as physical conditions, the textbook and class atmosphere are important factors demotivating students in learning English

Physical Conditions

According to Harmer (2001), the physical conditions refer to the classroom size, chairs, desks, tables, lights, temperature, and boards – such conditions had great impacts on students’ learning as well as their attitude toward subject matter These conditions therefore can affect students either positively or negatively if the facilities are inadequate Students need to be in classrooms that inspire them – spaces that are light, airy, and filled with examples of work that they aspire to do Everything about the physical space should be designed so that there is little to distract from teaching and learning

There is a plethora of research that examines the classroom is not only a psychological but & physical environment Environments communicate expectations to those who come into it For example, if you walk into a funeral, the dim lights, soft music, and rows of seats indicate that you are expected to remain quiet, respectful, and have a seat However, when you walk into Disneyland, the loud upbeat music, wide open spaces (depending on the day), and colorful decorations encourage you to enjoy yourself as much as possible Therefore, teachers need to set up their classroom in such a way that it communicates to students what is expected of them In a classroom, first impressions are extremely important The decoration: posters, flowers, funny objects influence strongly the atmosphere More importantly, teachers should

personalizing the classroom can be seen as students exercising increasing control over their environment

Another important factor relating to physical education has directly effects on students’ achievement is student density which is the number of individuals that occupy a given space If a classroom is too crowded, students might feel threatened by an invasion of personal space It is suggested that this causes more deviant behavior because there is a decrease in privacy and an increase in the ability socially interact These aspects are determined by the cultural context of the students Therefore, teachers should always keep an eye

of caution out for students that may be signaling signs of anxiousness or stress due to a high student density If this occurs, teachers can rearrange classroom furniture (filing cabinets, student and teacher desks) in order to help students not feel so crowded

Classroom Atmosphere

There is no doubt that classroom atmosphere is crucial in all our classrooms Dörnyei (2001) in his book entitled Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom says that teachers should strive to build a norm of tolerance and encourage risk taking In order to ensure that learners feel safe and being supported, Dörnyei suggested making clear to the students that mistakes are a natural part of learning and it is the responsibility of the teacher to establish these norms It is aimed to ensure learners feel comfortable and that they will not be criticized or made to feel embarrassed if they do make a mistake He also emphasized the positive effect of humor in the classroom Here

he did mean that the teacher should simply tell jokes with a view to develop a relaxed attitude where the teacher and learners don’t feel like they have to take themselves too seriously Finally, Dörnyei suggested allowing learners to be self-managed in the classroom In other words, allowing learners some freedom

and control over the classroom environment

Lightbown & Spada (2001) also agreed that supportive and threatening atmosphere makes a significantly contribution to learner’s

non-motivation In other words, unfriendly, stressed, uncomfortable and boring classroom atmosphere can tremendously demotivate students in learning and acquiring knowledge Scheidecker and Freeman (1999) referred to the ideal classroom climate as: "When one watches students enter such a classroom, one classroom, one gets an overwhelming sense that the students shed emotional baggage at the doorway This is an emotional safe zone." (p 138)

L2 teachers should be reminded that students are very sensitive with respect to their self-esteem It also should also be taken into account that poor self-esteem produces insecurity, diminishes communication and increases demotivation Therefore, teachers’ constant praise and feedback are extremely important All in all, teachers should endeavor to avoid harsh comments or labeling, and help students draw their own problem-solving strategies for the repetition of the same mistakes

The Textbook

It is impossible to decide whether the current textbooks are the best choice for fulfilling the demand of foreign language teaching and the students of foreign language Textbooks play an indispensable role in the teaching /learning process since they are the primary elements of conveying knowledge to learners One of the essential roles of textbooks is to make a wide range of knowledge available to the learners in an organized and logic way Hutchinson and Torres (1994) argued that any textbook has a very important and positive part to play in teaching and learning of English They stated that textbooks provide the necessary input into classroom lessons through different activities, readings and explanations Thus, textbooks will always survive on the grounds that they meet certain needs According to Sheldon (1988), textbooks are regarded for both teachers and students as ‘the visible heart of any ELT programme’ (p 237) Sheldon (1988) also identified three main reasons that the textbooks are so heavily utilized First of all, teachers find developing their own classroom materials an extremely difficult, arduous practice Secondly, teachers have

profession Thirdly, external pressures restrict many teachers Each of these

reasons present an accurate analysis of the strains experienced by teachers, and

using course books is one of the most efficient and readily available ways in

which to relieve some of these pressures Richards (2001) stated any learning

program may have no impact if it does not have textbooks as they provide

structure and a syllabus Besides, the use of a textbook can guarantee that

students in different classes will receive a similar content and therefore, can be

evaluated in the same way In other words, textbooks provide the standards in

instruction Moreover, they include a variety of learning resources such as

workbooks, CDs, cassettes, and videos, etc., which make the learning

environment interesting and enjoyable for learners They do not only provide a

framework for teachers in achieving the aims and objectives of the course, but

also serve as a guide to the teacher when conducting lessons The content of

English language textbooks influences what teachers teach and learners learn

It is the fact that not every course book is interesting and attractive to

students Dorneyi (2001) states that when students do not like the course book,

they describe it as the worst or incredible bad course book in the world It is

strange that students feel motivated with the course book they hate

2.3 Previous Research on Language Motivation

Svobodová’ (2015) carried out a research on the most important factors

that influence the motivation of the students to learn the English language and

the character and intensity of these factors In the research, he analysed the

motivational factors in relation to the gender, year of study and the grades in

English to reveal the differences between the motivations of the investigated

groups of students In order to collect data from a large number of students, a

questionnaire survey was used for the purpose of this diploma thesis and was

conducted in the upper-secondary Hotel School in Poděbrady The survey

revealed that the most important factors that influence the motivation to learn

the English language belong to the category of instrumental motivation,

integrative motivation and the teacher influence The results of the research also

indicate that the students are predominantly motivated intrinsically as their motivation is stimulated by the personal satisfaction of learning the language, fulfilling inner needs and by the desire to become well educated not by the outer incentives and social demands This research was designed to find the factors that the students of the upper secondary school consider the most motivating However, the research was carried out with limited number of participants which made the use of advanced statistical methods impossible thus the results

of the study can only indicate the potential application of the findings to broad population In order to utilize the research for the purpose of all schools in the Czech Republic, it would be fundamental to increase the investigated sample size and the diversity of the participating schools Furthermore, the instrument which was employed for the purpose of this study was a questionnaire Certain disadvantage of this method are that the participants may not be cooperative enough to assess all the statements precisely and may complete the questionnaire without due consideration To avoid the superficiality of the responses, it would be necessary to either interview the students individually or

to give a detail explanation of the researched topic in the preceding lesson However, both procedures would be extremely time consuming for the researcher and for the students as well Additionally, the questionnaire was conducted in English thus the students might have responded inaccurately due to the misunderstanding of the researched statement Therefore, in order to prevent from inaccurate and superficial responses, the questionnaire was piloted prior to its administration Furthermore, the researcher was always present when the students were completing the questionnaire, explained the importance of the survey in the teaching process and was available to answer any questions regarding the comprehension of the statements

Zaman’s study (2015) dealt with the different views of motivation and how it worked for language acquisition along with the influence of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in second language learning In the study, questionnaire has

essential information for the research, questionnaire method has been used Primary data is collected by the researcher through Self-Administrative Questionnaire from the respondents This was very time consuming and make the respondent to think about the matter carefully and give their best answers Respondents were selected from different private universities of Banani and Mohakhali area Twenty respondents were mostly graduate and undergraduate male and female students selected from different universities The research has done through structured questionnaire which will fill up by the respondents For interview session eight teachers were selected from two different private universities There were 11questions in the questionnaire for the students Those questions were based on motivation and the purpose of the research Questionnaire was close-ended Researcher took the interviews of the teachers

by asking them some questions Those questions were inserted to get the descriptive and elaborate opinion from the teachers After the analysis of the data, researcher found some positive outcomes of motivation Many of the students in Bangladesh (55%) speak in English because it is their enthusiasm Students are learning a second language for their own satisfaction or desire that helps them to learn better It is learners‟ intrinsic motivation that influences learners’ desire to learn Students are externally motivated as well Students want to improve their proficiency in English because they want to get a better job (30%) and to make a good impression among the people (30%) The study showed that motivation is playing an important role for students’ language learning and their performance It is very necessary to create positive and supportive atmosphere for them Teachers play a major role for the motivation

of students To get more descriptive and elaborate opinion the researcher interviewed some teachers of private university They are experienced for making materials for language learning Teachers can motivate students by eradicating their fear or anxiety Teachers-students relationship has to be friendly and interactive Teachers will inform the purposes or achievement for learning It may motivate the students to learn better The author has clearly

explained motivation in students’ performance and examines the role of teachers

to motivate the students’ performance However, the researcher finished the field work in a short time Only one week for interview was not enough In addition, the number of the population was only twenty; this is a very small group of population for research Moreover, there were eleven questions in the questionnaire Some students felt bored to answers this questions, this can affect the result of the study

Đoàn Hoàng Đức (2009) conducted a study on the motivation in English speaking learning among the second year tourism-major students at Tourism and Foreign Language Faculty, Sao Do Industrial College The study employed 4 main instruments such as the questionnaire, the interview and observation 67 students were selected at random to take part in the research and six teachers who had been teaching English speaking skills (using the text book ESP designed by the teachers of English Division in Tourism and foreign languages Department, SCI) at least for one year were invited to join in the research He found out that the main types of motivation the students had in English speaking learning are integrative and instrumental motivation Most of them (70%) want

to English firstly for a future job, and secondly for better understanding of the foreign tourists In addition, the teachers have also played great an important role in motivating students in English speaking classes In Duc’s study, he explored motivation and demotivation in English speaking learning at the same time, meanwhile the tiltle of the study was only about motivation Moreover, when analyzing the role of teachers in English classes, the author has not highlighted how it motivated the students in English speaking learning In addition, the research was carried out with limited number of participants which made the use of advanced statistical methods impossible, it would be fundamental to increase the investigated sample size

2.4 Previous Research on Language Demotivation

Sakai and Kikuchi (2009) explored Japanese high school students’