AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY - HOÀNG THỊ HIẾU AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, năm 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HOÀNG THỊ HIẾU AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages(TESOL) Code: 60140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor:Trịnh Thị Thơm, Ph.D Nghệ An, năm 2017 DECLARATION I, Hoang Thi Hieu, certify that this thesis is the result of my own study and that it has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially Author: Hoang Thi Hieu ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, my sincere thanks are due to my respectful supervisor Trinh Thi Thom, Ph.D for her continual, invaluable support, encouragement, guidance and ideas I would like to express my great gratitude to all the teachers and colleagues at Le Van Huu high school for their help in answering surveys and their willingness to share their ideas on the relevant problems with me I would also like to give my special thanks to the students in classes 10A5, 11B3 and 12C6 who actively participated in doing the surveys and responding to my interviews It is my pleasure to acknowledge my debt to my family, my relatives who encouraged and helped me to check the thesis Eventually, the study has been completed to the best of my knowledge; however, mistakes and shortcomings are unavoidable Therefore, I am looking forward to receiving comments and suggestions from any readers for the perfection of the course work TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT The current study aims at investigating the demotivating factors in speaking lessons among high school students at Le Van Huu High school, Thanh Hoa province Demotivation is a relatively new issue in the field of second language (L2) motivation In this study, several previous studies were reviewed to investigate demotivation of learners of English in order to identify common demotivating factors It also reports a survey study which explored demotivating factors for students at Le Van Huu high school in the speaking lessons Through the data analysis, five demotivating factors were extracted: (1) teachers’ competence and teaching style; (2) learning environment and facilities; (3) assessment of speaking skill; (4) lack of self-confidence and (5) minor intrinsic motivation The results showed that the teachers’ competence and teaching style were demotivating factors for many Le Van Huu high school students, especially for less motivated learners Contrary to what previous research suggested, textbook and curriculum were not a very strong source of demotivation Based on the results, some pedagogical implications were put forward for solving the problem LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1: First language L2: Second language FL: Foreign language EFL: English as a Foreign Language TL: Target language MOET: Ministry of Education and Training CLT: Communicative Language Teaching LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Tables CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays English as an international language has become increasingly essential in most countries around the world Thus, a large number of students are being required to learn it through compulsory programs in schools and universities As a result, in Vietnam English plays a crucial role on the path of industrialization and modernization of the country as well as in the process of integration and globalization in the world The current state of teaching and learning English has been investigated in a lot of research (e.g Le: 1999; Pham: 2007) There is a fact that students have to pass English examinations to graduate, but many of them fail to learn it successfully Students have lost their communicative competence, which means little attention has been paid to communicative skills such as listening and speaking In addition, under the effect of traditional methods, students are believed to be indifferent to such skills They mentally withdraw or look for strategies to pass the required exams with minimum effort Language learning is influenced directly or indirectly by numerous factors One of the most major factors is ‘Motivation’; over the past decades, researchers, as well as educators poured much ink in an attempt to illustrate this key term which affects the learning process to a large extent It is seen as the desire that directs ones’ behavior In the book “Motivation factors in language learning” (2009), Makiko Ebata says that motivation plays the vital role in language learning; provides the primary impetus to initiate learning L2 and later driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process Without sufficient motivation, students cannot accomplish long-term goals and teachers cannot ensure their achievement According to Trang and Baldauf (2007): Motivation is crucial for L2 learning because motivation directly influences how much effort students make, how much often students use L2 learning strategies, how much students 10 Chambers, G (1993) Taking the “de” out of demotivation Language Learning Journal Chaney, A L, and T.L.Busk (1998) Teaching Oral Communication on Grades K-8 Boston: Allyn & Bacon Christophel, D.M, & Gorham, J (1995) A test –retest analysis of student motivation, teacher immediacy, and perceived sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes Communication Education, 44, 292 – 305 10 Creswell, J.W (1997) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 11 Doff, A Teach English: A Training Course for Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press in Association with the British Council, 1990.6 Dornyei, Z (1994) Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom The Modern Language Journal, 78, 273-284 12 Dornyei, Z (1998) Demotivation in foreign language learning Paper presented at the TESOL 98 Congress, Seattle, WA, March 13 Dornyei, Z (2001) Teaching and researching motivation London: Longman 14 Ellis, R (1990) Instructed second language acquisition Oxford: Basil Blackwell 15 Falout, J., & Maruyama, M (2004) A Comparative Study of Proficiency and Learner Demotivation The Language Teacher, 28(8), 3-9 16 Florez, M A (1991) Improving Adult English Language Learners' Speaking Skills Applied Linguistics, 1-4 Retrieved from: http://resources.marshalladulteducation.org/pdf/briefs/ImprovingPronun.Florez.pdf Good, 17 Gardner, R.C (1985) Social psychology and second language learning: the role of attitudes and motivation Edward Arnold, London 18 Gillham, B (2000) Developing the questionnaire New York Continuum 88 19 Gorham,J & Christophel,D.M (1992) Students’ perceptions of teacher behaviours as motivating and demotivating factors in college classes Communication Quarterly, 40, 239 -252 20 Gorham, J (1997) A comparative analysis of teacher and student perceptiona of sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes Communication Education, 46 (4), 245-261 21 Hamada, Y & Kito, K (2007) Demotivation in Japanese high schools JALT Conference Proceedings, Tokyo: JALT (168 – 178) 22 Hammerly, H (1991) Fluency and Accuracy: Toward Balance in Language Teaching and Learning Oxford Journals, Clevedon, Avon, England: Multilingual Matters 23 Howarth, P (2006) Increasing student interaction Retrieved October 2006 from www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/speak/interaction.shtml 24 Hymes, D (1972) On Communicative Competence In J.B Pride & J.Holmes (Eds.) Sociolinguistics Harmondsworth, England:Penguin Books 25 Makiko Ebata (2009): Motivation Factors in Language Learning Digital Hollywood University (Tokyo, Japan) cocomaki4(at)hotmail.com 26 Norris,J H (2001) Contributing Factor in Second Language Acquisition The Internet TESL Journal, Vol 7, No 6, June 2001 27 Nunan, D (1996) Language Teaching Methodology Phoenix ELT & Prentice Hall Macmillan 28 Oxford, R.L (1998) The unraveling tapestry: teacher and course characteristics associated with demotivation in the language classroom Demotivation in Foreign Language Learning Paper presented at the TESOL 98 Congress, Seatle, WA, March 29 Pattison, P (1992) Developing Communication Skills Cambridge University Press 89 30 Richard,J.C & Rodgers, T.S (1986) Approaches and Methods in Language teaching Cambridge University Press 31 Richards, J & Lockhart, C (1994) Reflective teaching in second language classrooms Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 32 Soureshjani, K H., & Riahipour, P (2012) Demotivating Factors on English Speaking Skill: A study of EFL Language Learners and Teachers' Attitudes World Applied Sciences Journal, 17(3), 327-339 33 Terry, C (2008) How to teach speaking in an EFL class Peru: ICPN SanMiguel pp 1- 29 Retrieved Mai 12, 2013 from www.fr.slideshare.net/suartini/howto-teach- speaking-in-an-EFL-class-ii-carolina-terry-8386560 34 Ur, P (1991) A course in language teaching: Practice and theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 35 Le Van Canh (1999) A historical review of English Language Education in Vietnam Hanoi National University 36 Pham Hoa Hiep (2007) Communicative Language Teaching: unity within diversity.EFL Journal 37 Pham Van Hoa & Le Viet Ha (2009) Nghiên cứu động học Tiếng Anh học sinh trung học phổ thơng Quảng Nam Tạp chí Khoa Học Công Nghệ Đại học Đà Nẵng – Số (34), 163- 171 38 Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh (2007) Textbook Evaluation: The Case of English Textbooks currently in use in Vietnam’s upper secondary school Seameo Regional Language Centre 39 Hoang Thi Ngan (2007) Motivating students to speak at Gia Loc senior secondary school M.A Minor Thesis CFL – VNU 40 Tran Thi Huyen (2007) A study on how to motivate students at Hanoi University of industry to speak English M.A Minor Thesis CFL –VNU 41 Tran Thi Thu Trang & Richard B Baldauf Jr (2007) Demotivation: Understanding Resistance to English Language Learning – The Case of Vietnamese Students The Journal of ASIA TEFL, Vol 4, 1, 79 – 105 90 APPENDICE APPENDIX 1: STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE DEAR ALL STUDENTS, This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into “An investigation into demotivating factors in speaking lessons among High school students” Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appropriated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your corporation! Please choose the answer(s) you think it is correct 91 For questions 1, 2, 3,4,5,6 and 10 participants must choose only one answer while for others (questions 7, and 10) they can choose more than one answer How much you feel interested in learning English speaking skill? A very interested B interested C quite interested D not very interested E not interested at all What was your grade of English when you were at lower secondary school? A – 10 B – C – D - E < How you think of the importance of learning English speaking skill? A Very important B Important C Quite important D Not very important E Not important at all How is your effort in learning English speaking skill? A very high B high C quite high D low E very low How much time you spend learning speaking English every day? A Under one hour C hour – hours B hours – hours D over hours Below is a list of statements about demotivating factors in learning English speaking skill Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with each statement by ticking the column that best represents your answer I feel demotivated in learning speaking English because (of) 92 Statements Strongly Agre Undecide Disagre Strongly agree e d e disagree My peers not like speaking English I am not encouraged to speak English at school and in the place I live My class size is too big, therefore I rarely have opportunity to speak Technologies such projector, video, TV as and Internet are not used very often 5.Teacher’s personality (unpleasant, not enthusiastic, lack of caring, like criticizing students, easy to get angry ) and competence I lost interest in English or the purpose for study English I am not confident and afraid of losing face in speaking lessons I not like teacher’s teaching style Ways of correcting mistakes and errors are rude 10 Classroom activities are boring and overload 11 Speaking skill is not assessed very often and no exams for it 12 The English use in 93 textbooks is too difficult and long 13 The topics in textbooks are boring and difficult How does teacher’s teaching style demotivate you? A Using old-fashioned teaching methods and materials B Not giving clear enough instructions C Using inferior equipment D Not giving sufficient explanations E Neglecting to give any feedback F Less interacting with students Other ideas…………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………….………………………………………………………………………… To what extent, classroom activities demotivate you? A boring B overload C repetitive D irrelevant What is your opinion on the following communicative teaching activities used by your teacher? Activities Much like Like Ok Dislike Repetition drills with word cues guided dialogues role plays information gaps free discussion and problemsolving pair work or group work 10 What you think motivates you to learn English speaking skill? A teacher’s interesting teaching methods 94 Not like at all B teacher’s enthusiasm and help C friends and teacher’s encouragement D interesting topics and comprehensible inputs E meaningful and helpful classroom activities F proper assessment Other ideas…………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………….………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 2: TEACHERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE DEAR TEACHERS, This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into “An investigation into demotivating factors in speaking lessons among High school students” Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appropriated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your corporation! General information Full name………………………………………………………………………… Gender: Male Female Age: ……………………………………………………………………………… How long have you been teaching English: year(s)? To answer question 2, 3, and teachers must select only one answer among alternatives, meanwhile, with question they could choose more than one what demotivates your students to learn English speaking skill? a the class size is too big, therefore students rarely have chance to speak b teachers are not encouraging c classroom activities are boring and overload 95 d Students lost interest in English or the purpose for study English in rural areas e Students are not confident and afraid of losing face in speaking lessons f the English use in textbooks is too difficult and long g the topics in textbooks are boring and difficult h technologies such as projector, video, TV and Internet are not used very often i speaking skill is not assessed very often and no exams for it Other ideas………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… …………………………………………………………………… How tolerant are you when students keep making mistakes? a very tolerant (silent until they finish their task, smile and help them realize correct mistakes) b tolerant (silent but not willing enough to smile and supportive) c a bit tolerant (stop them and correct) d impatient (get angry) e pay no attention to their mistakes When your students are reluctant to speak, what can you do? a get angry and ask them to stand b get them to speak c encourage them to speak by asking easier questions d let them sit down and not ask again e encourage them to speak by using different teaching techniques Other ideas………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… …………………………………………………………………… 96 What you to create good relationship with students to help them participate in speaking activities? (You can choose more than one) a remain in the teacher’s seat b stand in front of the class near the blackboard c stand close to students who tend to speak much d stand near the students who are not willing to speak e go round the class to give help How often you use the following communicative teaching activities? Activities Always repetition drills with word cues guided dialogues role-plays information gaps free discussion Usually Sometimes Rarely and problem-solving Thank you very much! 97 Never APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW (FOR STUDENTS) Question 1: Have you ever been demotivated in learning English speaking skill? If yes, when? Question 2: In your opinion, what makes you feel demotivated in learning English speaking skill? Question 3: What you think about speaking skill? Difficult or easy? Question 4: In your opinion, is practice English important? Question 5: Why you learn speaking in the class? (your interest, improve your knowledge of English, chance to speak to foreigners or future jobs?) Question 6: How is your attitude and effort in learning English speaking skill? Question 7: Have you ever been not able to complete a speaking task? Why? Question 8: How you feel about your aptitude of English speaking skill? Question 9: Do you make great effort in learning English speaking skill? Question 10: Apart from the lessons in the classroom, you often use English for communication? Question 11: What you think about the curriculum and textbook? (difficult, easy, long or boring ? 98 99 APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW (FOR TEACHERS) In your opinion, what problems your students face in learning English speaking skill? How you check your students’ mistakes in speaking lesson? What speaking activities you use to encourage your students to speaking English in class? Which speaking activity is the most effective for your students’ participation? What can you to help your students to take part in speaking activities? 100 APPENDIX 5: CHECKLIST FOR CLASSROOM OBSERVATION Class: ……………………………………………………… Date: ……………………………………………………… Unit: ……………………………………………………… Lesson: …………………………………………………… Teacher in charge: ………………………………………… Section Kinds of speaking activities teacher uses: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… Section Students’ time of participation in speaking activities in class ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… Section The ways the teacher assessed students’ speaking performance ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… Section Teacher’s competence and teaching style ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………………… Section The learning environment and facilities in class ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 101 ……… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….……………………………………………………………………… 102 ...Nghệ An, năm 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY HOÀNG THỊ HIẾU AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Major: Teaching... ? ?AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN SPEAKING LESSONS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? ?? As one of the first attempts to explore the demotivation in the context of learning English speaking. .. demotivate high school students? ?? speaking skills at Le Van Huu High school? What are possible solutions to overcome the demotivating factors in speaking lessons among high school students at Le Van Huu