Rationale
It can not be denied that English is very important nowadays It is considered to be a very significant and necessary tool used in many fields such as science, technology, diplomacy and so on It is seen as a means to bridge the gap and promote mutual understanding and cooperation among countries in the world
In Vietnam, at present, the role of English has been more and more increasingly crucial because of the fact that Vietnam has succeeded in becoming an official member of WTO since 2006
Being aware of the great significance of English, more and more people desire to master it in hope of making English an useful means to serve their own purposes However, how to teach and learn English in general and English speaking skill in particular effectively is a matter of controversy Speaking skill should be kept in mind to be the most popular and effective way of communication
At Haiphong Polytechnics College (HPC), English is considered to be an important factor for students‟ success in future career Therefore, learning English, especially learning speaking is necessary for students when they finish their study and work on international ships However, there is a fact that during speaking lessons, students are often inactive and passive in participating speaking activities
The interaction between teachers and students is ineffective and restricted As a result, after the English course, students‟ competence of English is not much improved for working on board ships
For this reason, I would like to make a study on “How to motivate the first-year students at Haiphong Polytechnics College in speaking activities” Hopefully, this minor thesis will help motivate first-years students in English speaking lessons at
HPC in particular and enhance other students‟ oral and communicative practice in general.
Aims of the study
This study is an attempt to:
1 Investigate the current situation of teaching speaking skill to first-year students at HPC
2 Identify these students‟ demotivating factors in learning speaking skill
3 Propose some suggestions to motivate first-year students in learning speaking skill.
Research questions
1 What is the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill to and of the first-year students at HPC?
2 What are possible methods to motivate students in speaking activities?
Scope of the study
This study only investigates methods of motivating first-year students at HPC in learning speaking skill Because of the limited time and within an M.A minor thesis, the researcher intends to make a brief view of the current situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill for and of first-year students at HPC; identifies factors affecting their speaking stimulation; examines techniques and activities used by teachers and students‟ preferences and demands; suggests some recommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak English and overcome difficulties in teaching speaking.
Methods of the study
Quantitative and qualitative methods are used in the study The data collected for the study is from the students at beginning level and the teachers teaching English at HPC
Survey questionnaires are used as the main instrument to collect data and evidence for the study
Besides, to help the researcher gain a deeper and better view of the participants, learning conditions related to the study, the researcher‟s observation for three classes has been made used of as another instrument in collecting data.
Significance of the study
The results from the study are believed to be useful for both teachers and students in teaching and learning speaking skill
In theory, the study can be considered as one of helpful teaching material recourses in teaching speaking skill to non-major students at vocational colleges in general and at HPC in particular
In practice, from the results of the study, teachers can take use of suggested methods in motivating students when teaching speaking skill and students can find the ways to motivate themselves in learning speaking skill.
Design of the study
This minor thesis consists of three parts:
Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale, aims, research questions and scope of the study The methods, significance and design of the study are also included in this part
Part B, Development, includes three following chapters:
Chapter 1 presents background of motivation and teaching speaking In the chapter, the main approaches to motivation and de-motivation in foreign language teaching are discussed
Chapter 2 provides an overview of the study context, the research approach and information of participants and main instruments applied in the study
Chapter 3 presents the documentation and data analysis The analysis and discussion on the data are based on the survey questionnaire and classroom observation The recommendations and suggestions for speaking teaching improvements are also discussed in this chapter
Part C, Conclusion, summarizes major findings; limitations and directions for future research are also provided in this part.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Motivation in foreign language learning
There have been many researches in motivation and the research literature regarding the definition of motivation is various In general, all the motivation theories want to explain the fundamental question of why humans behave as they do, and therefore the answer is not simple and straightforward
Firstly, motivation is described as the impetus to create and sustain intentions and goal seeking acts (Ames & Ames, 1989)
Burden (1997:119) 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 as to the amount of effect people are prepared to expand in attempting to achieve their goals The role of the teacher thus becomes one of helping and enabling learners to make suitable decisions”
Dornyei (2001:613) defined motivation as “a general way of referring to the antecedents i.e the causes and the origins” 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” (2001:7) The author pointed out two dimensions of human behavior: direction and magnitude (intensity) which motivation concerns
According to Pintrich and Schunk (2002), motivation is “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained”
From the above, it can be deduced that motivation is a psychological trait which leads people to achieve a goal Motivation is what drives people to “behave” in a certain way or to take a particular action Simply, it can be understood that motivation is your “WHY”
1.1.2 Types of motivation in foreign language learning
Motivation can be classified in different ways Garder and Lambert (1985) introduced four major types of motivation: Instrumental motivation and Integrative motivation, Resultative motivation and Intrinsic motivation
Instrumental motivation: When learners need English as an instrument to reach a particular goal such as passing oral test, getting a good job with high salary and so on In this case, motivation is the reflection of an external need
Integrative motivation: When learners internally want to integrate themselves into the culture of the target language (English)
Resultative motivation: is known as the cause of achievement The fact shows that learners who experience success in learning may become more motivated to learn In some cases, motivation is the result of learning
Hermann (1980) stated that “it is success that contributes to motivation rather than vice- versa” Ellis (1997) also concluded that “the relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one.”
Intrinsic motivation: plays an important role in most learners‟ success or failure For them, what happens in the classroom will be of great importance in determining their attitudes to language and in supplying motivation
Intrinsic motivation, generally, refers to the fact of doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation (Deci and Ryan,
Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide variety of behaviors that are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sake (Deci and Ryan, 1985) Schulz (1991:18) said that the concept of extrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which the learning environment (i.e the teacher, materials, curriculum, learning tasks etc.) contributed to or detracted from intrinsic motivation of the learner to acquire a language
According to Bo (2009), no matter how motivation has been classified, all kinds of motivation work in the second language learning context, and each kind contributes to the learners‟ progress in different ways and to different degree It is hard to say which is the most effective since they are sometimes overlapping with one another
1.1.3 Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking
In his research, Nunan (1999: 235) pointed out some preconditions for effective motivation:
Supportive environment: including orderly classroom, skilful teacher is skilled in classroom management; students are nonanxious and feel comfortable taking risks, feedback is positive
Appropriate level of difficulty: tasks are neither too easy nor too difficult; students know what they have to do, criteria for success are clear
Meaningful learning: students know what and why they learn; activities are meaningful; the relationship between activities and objective is clear; tasks are sequenced so that new tasks build on and extend ones that come before; students are given a reason to be in class
Strategies: motivational strategy is matched to instructional need; particular strategies are not overused; teacher uses a range of strategies; there is a learning- how- to- learn dimension to instruction
Content: students can relate content to their own experience; topics are interesting
1.2 Demotivation in foreign language learning
Dornyei (1998: 143) defined de-motivation as “specific external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action”
Deci and Ryan (1985) used a term “a-motivation”, which 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 (1998) pointed out that “demotivation 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.”
1.2.2 De-motivating factors in foreign language learning
According to Dornyei (1998), factors demotivating students‟ learning are 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);
Interference of another foreign language being studied;
Basing on Dornyei‟s study (1998), factors affecting students‟ motivation can be classified into student‟s factors, teacher‟s factors, and teaching and learning conditions
The first factors are students‟ intelligence and aptitude Intelligence, according to Lightbown and Spada (1999: 52), referred to “performance on certain kinds of test” and aptitude is something which “involves both underlying language learning capacity and a capacity to handle decontextualized language” (Ellis, 1997: 522)
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 53) also pointed out that language aptitude was usually described as a combination of four factors: (1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds, (2) the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, (3) the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples and (4) the ability to memorize new words
The second is students‟ personality In the eyes of many language teachers, the students‟ personality constitutes a major factor contributing to success or failure in language learning Ellis (1997:523) has proved that extroverted learners are advantageous in the development of the kind of language associated with basis interpersonal communication skills and that extroverted learners may also be more likely to participate actively in oral communication Shared the same view with Ellis, Lightbown and Spada (1999:54-55) listed a number of personality characteristics that have a great influence on the success of second language learners: extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness
Teaching speaking skill in foreign language
Florez (1999) defined speaking was “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information” It is
“often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving”, but it is not completely unpredictable In other words, “speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning” (Balley, 2005:2)
Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill It is often thought of as a “popular” form of expression that uses the unprestigious “colloquial” register Speaking is in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted In his own view, Mackey (1965) showed that
“oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning” According to Mackey, for the student who wants to be good at speaking, he/she has to choose the right forms, put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings
1.3.2 Approaches to the teaching of speaking
In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to translate from one language to another The Grammar translation method, therefore, does not really prepare students to speak English, and it is not entirely appropriate for students who want to improve their speaking skills This method is not consistent with the goals of increasing English learners‟ fluency, oral production, or communicative competence In grammar-translation lessons, speaking consists largely of reading translations aloud or doing grammar exercises orally There are few opportunities for expressing original thoughts or personal needs and feeling in English (Bailey, 2005: 16)
The direct method and audiolingualism
The direct method focused on “everyday vocabulary and sentences”
(Richards and Rodgers, 1986) and lessons were conducted entirely in the target language The Direct Method emphasized speaking in that “new teaching points were introduced orally” rather in writing Also, lessons emphasized speaking and listening, which were practiced “in a carefully graded progression organized around question and answer exchanges between teachers and students”
The direct method strongly influenced the development of the Audiolingual Method Nunan (2003) pointed out that in Audiolingualism, speaking was taught by having students repeat sentences and recite memorized dialogues from the textbook Repetition drills- a hallmark of the Audiolingual Method- are designed to familiarize students with the sounds and structural patterns of the language Lessons followed the sequence of presentation, practice, and production
Because the Grammar translation method, the Direct method and Audiolingualism “did not lead to fluent and effective communication in real-life situations” (Ellis, 1990:29), the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) evoked The goal of language teaching in the light of CLT is to develop communicative competence In CLT classroom, learners are encouraged to contribute as much as they gain, and learn in an independent way CLT favors interaction among small numbers of learners with a purpose to maximize the time each learner learns and uses languages, shares information and negotiates meaning
Though interaction learners‟ experience can be modified, many kinds of learning strategies made aware and applied, and especially classrooms move away from teacher-centeredness to learner-centeredness, which is an essential element to raise learners‟ motivation in language learning CLT features more interaction-based activities, such as role-plays and information gap tasks Pair work and group work are typical organizational features of interaction-based lessons in CLT
1.3.3 The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking
Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, the practice stage and the production one In each stage, the role of the teacher is different
At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role The teacher introduces something new to be learned and present it in such a way that the meaning of the new language is as clear and memorable as possible The students listen and try to understand At this point of the lesson, the teacher is at the centre of the stage Therefore, teacher‟s time spending should be sensible so that the students get enough time to practise themselves
At the practice stage, it is the students‟ turn to do most of the talking while teacher‟s main task is to devise and provide the maximum amount of practice, which must the same time be both meaningful and memorable The teacher‟s role, then, is completely different from that at the presentation one The teacher is like the skilful conductor of an orchestra, giving each of the performers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that it is satisfactory
At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of manager and guide Students are given opportunities to use language freely
Sometimes students can make mistakes at this stage, but mistakes are unimportant
The more important is that students have chance to use language as they wish, to try to express their own ideas Moreover, they become aware that they have learnt something useful to them personally, and are encouraged to go on learning
However, students will probably seem to the teacher to lurch backwards and forwards rather than make steady progress It will not be so easy for the teacher to measure students‟ performance as it was at the practice stage, nor is there any easy recipe for success Therefore, what is needed is flexibility, tolerance, patience on teacher‟s part-and, above all, an understanding of the learners‟ difficulties
In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge related to the topic of the study It has discussed some concepts and ideas concerning to the issue of motivation and demotivation Besides, some different aspects related to speaking were also discussed, especially some aspects related to factors affecting students‟ speaking motivation The following chapters will display the detailed description of the methodology, the procedures and the
METHODOLOGY
Context of the study
HPC was founded in 2001 as a private vocational school At this time the scale of the school was quite small with two hundred students in two majors: ship navigation and marine engine operation After nearly 15 years of development, HPC has been a big vocational college in Haiphong with 21 majors and 6000 students from 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam However, ship navigation and marine engine operation are still two key majors in the training curriculum Up to now, the college has trained and provided thousands qualified sailors to the shipping market
English is a compulsory subject in the training curriculum of the college
Especially, for these two majors mentioned above, English is very important and necessary as students in these two majors will work on international ships after graduating The English program at the college is comprised of General English
(120 class hours for first-year students) and ESP (240 class hours for second and third-year students) This thesis works with freshmen‟s studying of English for communicative purposes In the first year at the college, the students are equipped with basic knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in everyday life and four language skills through the main course book “Language in Use” (Beginner)
The researcher and other teachers are full-time teachers of English at the college
Most of them teach general English and have at least five years of teaching experience
Students at HPC are from 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam Most of them are from the rural areas of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, especially students at Navigation and Marine Engine Operation Department Some have been learning English for seven years while some others have no knowledge of English as they studied French or Russian at high schools Generally, students‟ English proficiency is at beginning level with basic knowledge of grammar and their language skills are very bad
To find answers to the research questions, the study collects data from survey questionnaires and classroom observation
Questionnaire is one of the most popular instruments in obtaining broad and rich information It is easy to prepare and helpful to the researcher to get great amount of information within a short period of time
Along with questionnaire, observation is applied to help the researcher clarify information which cannot be provided in the questionnaire
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions
Part 1 is to get students‟ information about their age, place of birth, the duration they have learnt English
Part 2 is designed to collect information on students‟ current situation of English speaking learning at HPC and factors affecting their motivation in speaking lessons
The purpose of the questionnaire is to obtain a snapshot of students‟ motivation in learning English speaking, their problems, preference, and their expectations on teachers
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions
The first part is to get personal information about the teachers (gender, age, teaching experience)
The second part has four questions, the purpose of which is to find out teachers‟ current teaching method, their difficulties in teaching speaking to first- year students, which the researcher will base on the current context or situation to make some suggestions to help teachers improve their teaching method in order to motivate students in speaking lessons
Observation will be also carried out by the researcher at HPC to make the study more reliable The observation was carried out in the second semester of the school year 2013-2014, the class performance was observed in three classes in Marine Engine Department Each class performance lasted three class hours (total
135 minutes) Teachers have taken notes on the activities of the class
Sixty first-year students were selected from five classes to take part in the research All of them are male students because they learn at Navigation and Marine engine departments Almost of them come from the northern provinces of Vietnam and live mainly in the rural areas of these provinces As I mentioned above, before entering the college, most of them had learn English for three years or seven years at high schools but the placement test results show that their level of English obtained is still very low and only a few of them are at elementary level
Ten of fourteen teachers selected from English department have taught English for at least five years They have taught both general English and ESP
Their average age is thirty two and at the time the research is carried out they are teaching general English for Marine engine and Navigation classes in the second semester of the school year 2013-2014 These teachers have graduated from different universities in Vietnam including University of Language and International Studies, Hai Phong Private University and Hai Phong University
Although they come from different backgrounds, they have many things in common: enthusiasm of teaching, eagerness of learning experiences from experienced teachers and are taking part in intensive and higher training courses Up to now, five teachers have successfully gained Master degree, and one is preparing for his MA Graduation Thesis
The time for data collection lasted for six weeks from the third month of the second semester of the school year 2013-2014 This was the time when students completed two-third of the term Students may have an overview on the difficulties of English speaking learning in the first year at the HPC
During the first two weeks, the questionnaires were delivered to sixty first- year students in five classes at Marine Engine and Navigation department The students had 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire The purpose and importance of the study were explained The researcher also helped students clear with the contents of the questions and how to answer them All questions from students were clarified by the researcher during the completion of questionnaire
In the next week, the survey to the teachers was delivered to ten teachers teaching English speaking skills for the first-year students in the Marine engine and Navigation department, the time for them to complete it was for ten days
In the last three weeks, the classroom performance was observed The detailed notes were kept and interpreted, and then the results were drawn out.
Questionnaire for the students
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions
Part 1 is to get students‟ information about their age, place of birth, the duration they have learnt English
Part 2 is designed to collect information on students‟ current situation of English speaking learning at HPC and factors affecting their motivation in speaking lessons
The purpose of the questionnaire is to obtain a snapshot of students‟ motivation in learning English speaking, their problems, preference, and their expectations on teachers.
Questionnaire for the teachers
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions
The first part is to get personal information about the teachers (gender, age, teaching experience)
The second part has four questions, the purpose of which is to find out teachers‟ current teaching method, their difficulties in teaching speaking to first- year students, which the researcher will base on the current context or situation to make some suggestions to help teachers improve their teaching method in order to motivate students in speaking lessons.
Observation
Observation will be also carried out by the researcher at HPC to make the study more reliable The observation was carried out in the second semester of the school year 2013-2014, the class performance was observed in three classes in Marine Engine Department Each class performance lasted three class hours (total
135 minutes) Teachers have taken notes on the activities of the class
Sixty first-year students were selected from five classes to take part in the research All of them are male students because they learn at Navigation and Marine engine departments Almost of them come from the northern provinces of Vietnam and live mainly in the rural areas of these provinces As I mentioned above, before entering the college, most of them had learn English for three years or seven years at high schools but the placement test results show that their level of English obtained is still very low and only a few of them are at elementary level
Ten of fourteen teachers selected from English department have taught English for at least five years They have taught both general English and ESP
Their average age is thirty two and at the time the research is carried out they are teaching general English for Marine engine and Navigation classes in the second semester of the school year 2013-2014 These teachers have graduated from different universities in Vietnam including University of Language and International Studies, Hai Phong Private University and Hai Phong University
Although they come from different backgrounds, they have many things in common: enthusiasm of teaching, eagerness of learning experiences from experienced teachers and are taking part in intensive and higher training courses Up to now, five teachers have successfully gained Master degree, and one is preparing for his MA Graduation Thesis
The time for data collection lasted for six weeks from the third month of the second semester of the school year 2013-2014 This was the time when students completed two-third of the term Students may have an overview on the difficulties of English speaking learning in the first year at the HPC
During the first two weeks, the questionnaires were delivered to sixty first- year students in five classes at Marine Engine and Navigation department The students had 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire The purpose and importance of the study were explained The researcher also helped students clear with the contents of the questions and how to answer them All questions from students were clarified by the researcher during the completion of questionnaire
In the next week, the survey to the teachers was delivered to ten teachers teaching English speaking skills for the first-year students in the Marine engine and Navigation department, the time for them to complete it was for ten days
In the last three weeks, the classroom performance was observed The detailed notes were kept and interpreted, and then the results were drawn out.
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
Results from students’ questionnaire
The first part includes the questions to gather the participants‟ information of age, hometown and the duration of learning English Of 60 students, 75% come from the rural areas and only 25% from urban areas Their average age is 20.95, which is 3 years older than the average age of first-year students
For English learning duration, 75% students had been learning English for 7 years, 15% for 3 years and 10% for nearly one year
Question 1: What is/are your purpose(s) of learning English?
Purpose(s) Students Rate a To communicate to foreigners 36 60% b To know about English-speaking countries 18 30% c To prepare for survival in English speaking countries 30 50% d To entertain 27 45% e To fulfill the college requirements 9 15% f To get good results at the exams 15 25% g To prepare for the future job 58 96%
The above table revealed that to prepare for the future job was the main purpose of English speaking learning In addition to this, 60% of the students wanted to learn English for the purpose of communicating with foreigners 45% students learn English to entertain while only 15% students learn English to fulfill the college requirement and 25% to get good results at the exams In the table above, 50% of the students who completed the questionnaire was reported to prepare for survival in English speaking countries and 30% for knowing about English-speaking countries These are remarkable rates It can be said that the main types of motivation the students had in English speaking learning are integrative and instrumental motivation and the reasons for learning English are various
3.1.3 Demotivating factors in a speaking lesson
Question 2: What are your main demotivating factors in a speaking lesson?
Table 2: Students’ main demotivating factors in a speaking lesson
Factors Students Rate a Low language proficiency 54 90% b Lack of confidence 42 70% c Mother-tongued inference 20 33% d Attitudes of group members 18 30% e Unthusiastic teachers 0 0% f Teacher‟s inference in your speaking 17 28% g Unsuitable speaking topics 5 15% h Unsuitable textbook content 24 40% i Boring speaking actitivities 32 52% j Stressful classroom atmosphere 33 55% k Crowded class 15 25%
As clearly stated from Table 2, with 90%, low language proficiency is the first reason for students‟ demotivation in a speaking lesson The second factor affecting students in speaking is lack of confidence with the rate of 70% Stressful classroom atmosphere is the third factor accounting for 55% while boring speaking activities also makes up 52% It can be said that low language proficiency, lack of confidence and stressful classroom atmosphere are three main reasons for students‟ demotivation in a speaking lesson Students also find that unsutable book contents and mother-tounge inference affect their interst in a speaking lesson with the rate of 40% and 33% alternatively The rest factors are crowded class, teacher‟s inference in speaking, attitudes of group members and unsuitable speaking topics In general, students‟ main demotivating factors in a speaking lessons mostly come from student themselves and learning condition
3.1.4 Activities used by teachers and students’ preferences
Question 3: What activites below does your teacher use to motivate you in a speaking lesson? What activities do you like?
Table 3: Teachers’ activities and students’ preferences
Students’ preferences Students Rate Students Rate a Games 51 85% 53 88% b Teaching aid application: projectors, video players… 30 50% 57 95% c Providing useful language for the speaking tasks 39 65% 54 90% d Role play 18 30% 39 65% e Authentic situations 39 65% 56 93% f Discussion (in pair, in group…) 30 50% 50 83% g English and Vietnames speaking alternatively 48 80% 42 70% h Compliment 39 65% 48 80% i Post activities (questionning, interviewing, practicing ) 18 30% 48 80%
As can be seen from table 3, the activities preferred by most students were those whose modern teaching aid is applied (95%), authentic situations (93%), providing useful language for the speaking tasks (90%) and games (88%)
Discussion (83%), compliment (80%) and post activities (80%) are also in favor of some students English and Vietnames speaking alternatively by teachers and role play are also attractive activities 70% and 65% alternatively In contrast, the rate of activities applied by teachers is not equal to those preferred by students From the above data, it can be seen that most of students prefer Communicative Language Teaching method which maximizes their involvement in the lessons and develop their communicative competence In general, there is still a gap between the teachers‟ activities and students preferred ones Teachers should realize this for their speaking teaching improvement
3.1.5 Students’ expectation on teachers’ teaching
Question 4: What do you expect your teachers to do to motivate you to speak in English speaking lessons?
Table 4: Students’ expectation on teachers’ teaching
Students Rate a Let you choose topics to discuss 51 85% b Give you more time to work in pair or in group 45 75% c Let you choose partners who share the same opinion with you 20 33% d Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability 54 90% e Vary speaking activities flexibly 48 80% f Others 6 10%
The data from Table 4 clearly shows that90% of students expect teachers to give them speaking tasks suitable to their ability 85% of students agree that letting them choose topics to discuss can help them speak more in speaking lesson while 80% students think that varying speaking activities flexibility will increase their motivation in speaking The students also believe that if teachers give them more time to work in pair or in group they will speak more Only 33% of students think that if they can choose partners who share the same opinion with them they will be more ready to speak
It can be said that giving students speaking tasks suitable to their ability and letting students choose topics to discuss can help them a lot in expressing their ideas freely and creatively Besides, it is necessary for teachers to invest more time in varying speaking activities flexibly, designing speaking tasks suitable to students‟ ability and give students more time to work in pair or in group to help them take part in speaking lessons.
Results from teachers’ questionnaire
All 10 teachers in the survey are female and their average age is 32.3 Their experience of teaching English varied from 3 to 17 years and their average time of teaching speaking is 9.1 years The textbook “Language in Use” - Beginner- has been used as the textbook since 2010; therefore, they have taught this textbook for four years
3.2.2 Teacher’s opinions towards teaching English speaking and students’ motivation in speaking English
Question 1 Which stage of a speaking lesson do you think necessary to motivate students?
Table 5: Teacher’s opinions on teaching English speaking and students’ motivation in speaking English
Stages Teachers Rate a The warm-up stage 1 10% b Pre-speaking stage 0 0% c While-speaking stage 0 0% d Post-speaking stage 0 0% e All above mentioned stages 9 90%
As is shown table 7, most of the teachers (90%) agreed that they should motivate students in all stages of the speaking lesson, from the warm-up stage to the post-speaking stage Only one teacher claims that motivation was needed in the warm-up stage
Question 2 Which teaching methods do you currently apply to teaching English now?
Table 6: Teachers’ current teaching method
Teachers Rate a Communicative language teaching 6 60% b Audio-lingual 0 0% c Grammar-translation 1 10% d Combination:
Communicative language teaching & Grammar-translation 3 30%
As clearly stated from table 7, the teaching method currently applied by 60% of the participants is communication teaching whereas 30% of the total use teaching combination to teach in English lessons Most teachers in the survey prefer the combination of communicative language teaching and grammar-translation Only one teacher (10%) applies grammar-translation as her main teaching method The result states clearly that teaching speaking has become increasingly popular at HPC but the important issue raising here is how these teachers do to teach speaking effectively although communicative teaching is applied by a large number of the surveyed teachers
3.2.4 Difficulties in teaching English speaking
Question 3 What are your difficulties in teaching English speaking for
Table 7: Difficulties teachers often faced in teaching English speaking
Difficulties Teachers Rate a The students‟ lack of motivation in learning speaking skill 7 70% b The students‟ laziness in pair work and group work 6 60% c The students‟ low English proficiency 10 100% d The students‟ unequal participation 5 50% e Crowed class 3 40% f Multi-level class 6 60% g Unsuitable class hour 2 20% h Lack of teaching aids 7 70%
In the above table, all of the teachers perceive that in their speaking teaching, they have some difficulties All of them (100%) agree that their students have low English proficiency The second difficulties are their students lack motivation in learning speaking skills (70%) and lack of teaching aids (70%) The third difficulties are the students‟ laziness in pair work and group work (60%) and multi- level class (60%) These five difficulties are the biggest problems the teachers have to deal with in their teaching speaking Besides, some teachers think that they have difficulties in teaching speaking because of the students‟ unequal participation (50%) Three teachers (30%) suppose that crowded class makes their teaching ineffective whereas two teachers (20%) claim that their teaching is affected by unsuitable class hour It can be seen that teachers‟ difficulties mostly come from student‟s factors and teaching and learning condition factors
3.2.5 Techniques and activities applied by teachers
Question 4 Which of the following techniques do you use to motivate students to speak English?
Table 8: Techniques applied by teachers in motivating students
Techniques Teachers Rate a Creating a co-operative atmosphere 3 30% b Creating a natural speaking environment 4 40% c Using supplementary materials 8 80% d Giving feedback regularly 7 70% e Giving rewards 3 30% f Providing students with interesting topics 5 50% g Providing students with useful language for the speaking tasks 10 100% h Designing appropriate speaking tasks to the students‟ abilities 4 40% i Letting students talk freely 7 70% j Varying communicative activities flexibly 6 60% k Applying visual and audio teaching aids 5 50%
The statistics in table 9 reveal that to motivate students all teachers (100%) chose providing students with useful language for the speaking tasks The second technique applied by most teachers is using supplementary materials (80%) In fact, class observation shows that this will help the speaking lesson more attractive and interesting to students 70% teachers agree that letting students talk freely and giving feedback regularly at the same time are good ways to motivate students 60% of teachers suppose that by varying communicative activities flexibly, they will attract students‟ attention in the lessons Half of the teachers (50%) choose providing students with interesting topics and applying visual and audio teaching aids as their ways of motivating students These activities will reduce stressful class atmosphere Only 30% teachers think that creating a co-operative atmosphere and giving rewards are helpful in motivating students The rest of teachers (40%) believe that they will motivate students by creating a natural speaking environment and designing appropriate speaking tasks to the students‟ abilities Refering back to students‟ result, it can be seen that there is a big gap between the teachers‟techniques of motivation and students‟ expectation in speaking lessons.
Findings and discussions
According to the results collected from two questionnaires distributed to sixty students and ten teachers and researcher‟s observation at HPC, some findings can be categorized in the following sections:
3.3.1 The current situation of learning speaking of first-year students at Haiphong Polytechnics College
Firstly, the results from data analysis show that most of the first-year students at HPC are learning speaking English because of their preparation for their future career after they finish their study Two other reasons for their studying speaking are that they would like to communicate to foreigners and prepare for their survival in foreign countries It can be concluded that first-year students at HPC are learning speaking English as an instrument but not for their own interest This is somehow an obstacle to teacher in motivating students in learning speaking
Secondly, the statistics from data analysis also point out four main demotivating factors which students face when they learn speaking: a Low language proficiency
This factor is the main reason preventing students from speaking The result of placement test for first-year students showed that students‟ level was just at the beginning level In addition, the statistics from the survey prove the fact that mother-tongued inference has bad influence on their participation in English speaking lessons b Lack of confidence
This is the second factor affecting students to speak in speaking lessons
They feel shy and not willing to speak because they are afraid of being laughed by their partners whenever they make mistakes or when being asked by their teachers
Being feared of speaking in front of other members in the class also makes them reluctant to speak in lessons c Stressful classroom atmosphere
Class observation shows that a number of thirty-five to forty-five students in each class along with five-class hour English lessons will create a stressful and tense atmosphere for both teachers and students Teachers and students cannot highly concentrate on teaching and learning during five class hours which will gradually reduce teaching and learning effectiveness d Boring speaking activities
From the survey results, it can be concluded that some teachers‟ activities demotivated students obviously During the speaking lessons, more than half students became uninterested because of teacher‟s boring and monotonuos actitivities In addition, the topics that teachers gave students are not attractive enough to students when more than half of the student thought that they were boring and not interesting at all
It can be said that first-year students are currently dealing with some problems during their learning speaking These problems mainly come from students themselves and learning and teaching condition
From the result collected in the survey, it can be recognized that most of the surveyed students expect their teachers to let them choose appropriate topics to discuss and give them more time to work in pair and in group and at the same time provide them with suitable and interesting speaking tasks because these activities can help students a lot in expressing their ideas freely and creatively Also, they wish teachers to vary speaking activities flexibly to avoid bore in learning Teachers should pay more attention to students‟ needs so as to help promote their motivation in speaking lessons effectively
3.3.2 The current situation of teaching speaking for first-year students at Haiphong Polytechnics College
Beside student‟ factors in learning speaking; the data analysis also points out some teacher‟s factors in teaching speaking:
According to the survey, communication teaching is applied by a large number of teachers From class observation result, however, some teachers still focus much on grammar-translation approach They concentrate on accuracy and form more than fluency Some teachers combine communicative language teaching and grammar-translation method in their teaching but it is not really effective
In addition, from class observation, it shows that some teachers seem to prefer explaining grammatical rules and words in speaking lessons This will be considered useful for students‟ speaking if it is performed in a suitable time but in fact teachers spend much time on this which leads to talking time for students is limited and affects their involvement in speaking lessons Students do not have enough time for creative and active study According to the result of the survey, the number of students expect their teachers to give them more time to work in pair and group in speaking lessons occupy a not small percentage
Moreover, although most of the teachers agree that motivation should be applied at all stages of a speaking lessons, in fact, most of them only pay attention to motivation at the warm-up stage, other stages especially post-speaking stage are not seriously performed In general, there are still some shortcomings that teachers should be aware of
Teachers’ difficulties in teaching speaking
The result from the survey indicates that teachers have met difficulties in teaching speaking to students The majority of the surveyed teachers say that large – the students‟ low English proficiency and the students‟ lack of motivation in learning speaking skill are the two main reasons affecting their teaching These two reasons are closely related to each other In addition, crowded class is also a problem for their teaching With at least thirty-five students, and sometimes up to forty-five in each class make it difficult for teachers to design suitable speaking tasks or manage students‟ involvement in speaking lessons Finally, lack of teaching aids is another trouble for teachers which somehow reduce their effective teaching
Speaking motivational activities employed by teachers and students’ preferences
Most students preferred teachers using modern teaching aids in their lessons because this will increase the lesson‟s attraction to students However, only some teacher can apply this in their teaching because of the limitation of teaching condition The second activity that draws students‟ interest is authentic situations because this activity will increase students‟ knowledge and real experience about daily life, however, only 65% teachers could apply it in their teaching Providing useful language for the speaking tasks activity is one of student‟s favorite activities while only 65% teachers used it Students are also fond of games and discussion (in pair, in group…) because they reduce stressful class atmosphere and increase understanding among students Other activities like compliment, post activities and role play are also preferred by students but not applied regularly by teachers In general, most of students prefer communicative teaching method which maximizes interaction between teachers and students and among students
Teachers’ techniques of motivating students in speaking lessons
The techniques applied by most teachers in motivating students are providing students with useful language for the speaking tasks and using supplementary materials It shows that teachers depend mainly on teaching material in motivating their students which will gradually make students reluctant in speaking
Two other techniques that most teachers use are letting students talk freely and giving feedback regularly because they give students more speaking opportunity basing on their ability and teachers can encourage them by giving them feedback regularly
To encourage students to take part in speaking lessons, teachers should design appropriate activities for students, vary communicative activities flexibly and provide them interesting topics These ways of teaching are students‟ stimulation out of boring and monotonous activities However, findings from the survey reveal that only half teachers apply them in their teaching Moreover, from students‟ survey result, it is clear that activities made by teachers are not interesting enough to draw students‟ attention or in other words not suitable with students‟ ability
Also according to the survey, only a few teachers create a natural speaking environment or give reward to students though these techniques are considered useful in reducing boring and stressful class atmosphere and increase students‟ interest in speaking lessons
Conclusions
Teaching speaking is always a great concern of all teachers at HPC There have been issues arising in the process of teaching and learning speaking skill, one of which is how to motivate students in speaking activities and help them improve speaking capability Therefore, the study was set out to answer two questions:
1 What is the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill for and of first-year students at HPC?
2 What are possible methods to motivate students in speaking activities?
To investigate the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill for and of first-year students at HPC, the researcher carried out two survey questionnaires with English teachers and students at Navigation and Marine engine department The data collected from these two survey questionnaires revealed some facts about teaching and learning English for and of first year student at HPC From the findings, the following conclusions can be drawn out:
The type of motivation that first-year students are possessing is instrumental motivation They consider learning English as an instrument for their future career
Students are dealing with some factors preventing them from participating in speaking activities These factors come from students themselves, teachers and learning condition
The teachers‟ current teaching method is communicative language teaching and they are dealing with some difficulties in teaching speaking to first-year students Although teachers have applied various activities and techniques in order to motivate students in speaking lessons, students‟ feedback is out of their expectation
Basing on these conclusions, the researcher has offered some suggestions for teachers, students and college rector These suggestions aim to enhance the co- operation from all three sides in teaching and learning speaking They encourage self study and activeness in learning speaking from students; promote creation, flexibility and enthusiasm in teaching from teachers and call for support in renovating training program and teaching materials from the college rector
It is hoped that this study will be one of useful teaching material recourses in teaching speaking skill to non-major students at vocational colleges in general and at HPC in particular.
Limitations of the study
A considerable effort has been made to investigate motivation in speaking English of the first-year students at HPC However, due to limited time and ability, there are a number of related areas which the researcher cannot cover in the study
Firstly, subjects of the study are only the first-year students of two departments, not all the students in the college Secondly, the researcher purely concentrates on studying students‟ motivation in speaking skill; does not focus on some related skills such as listening, reading, and writing Third, the time for study is limited which is not enough to apply the new teaching methods to students and evaluate their effectiveness in teaching and learning speaking skill Therefore, the researcher just stops at offering suggestions for teachers, students and the college rector
Finally, the study has not evaluated the effect of the current textbook in teaching speaking for first-year students These shortcomings somehow make the reliability of the study reduced.
Suggestions for further study
With above limitations, the following suggestions are proposed to make the research more reliable and applicable for college training program:
Students of all levels in the college should be included
New teaching methods should be carried out and their effectiveness in teaching and learning skill should be also evaluated
The effect of speaking motivation on other skills such as listening, reading and writing should be considered as a focus of the study
Textbook evaluation should be carried out to improve the effectiveness of the textbook in teaching speaking for first-year students
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This survey questionnaire is designed for the research into how to motivate the 1 st -year students in speaking activities Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, not for sharing or revealed for any other purposes
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
3 How long have you been learning English? year(s)
II Current situation of learning speaking at Haiphong Polytechnics College
1 What is/are your purpose(s) of learning English a To communicate to foreigners b To know about English-speaking countries c To prepare for survival in English speaking countries d To entertain e To fulfill the college requirements f To get good results at the exams g To prepare for the future job h Other (please specify):
2 What are your main demotivating factors in a speaking lesson? a Unthusiastic teachers b Stressful classroom atmosphere c Crowded class d Unsuitable speaking topics e Boring speaking actitivities f Unsuitable textbook content g Low language proficiency h Attitudes of group members i Lack of confidence j Teacher‟s inference in your speaking k Mother-tongued inference l Other (Please specify):
3 What activities below does your teacher use to motivate you in a speaking lesson? What activities do you like?
Activites Teacher Preference a Role play b Discussion (in pair, in group…) c Providing useful language for the speaking tasks d English and Vietnames speaking alternatively e Games (at warm-up stage, …) f Compliment g Teaching aid application: projectors, video players… h Authentic situations i Post activities (questionning, interviewing, practicing ) j Other (Please specify):
4 What do you expect your teachers to do to motivate you to speak in English speaking lessons? a Let you choose topics to discuss b Give you more time to work in pair or in group c Let you choose partners who share the same opinion with you d Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability e Vary speaking activities flexibly f Other (please specify):
This survey questionnaire is designed for the research into how to motivate the 1 st -year students in speaking activities Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, not for sharing or revealed for any other purposes
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
4 How long have you been teaching English? year(s)
5 How long have you been teaching speaking skill? year(s)
II Current situation of teaching speaking at Haiphong Polytechnics College
1 Which stage of a speaking lesson do you think necessary to motivate students? a The warm-up stage b Pre-speaking stage c While-speaking stage e All the above mentioned stages f Other (please specify):
2 Which teaching methods do you currently apply to teaching English now? a Communicative language teaching b Audio-lingual c Grammar translation d Combination (Please specify………)
3 What are your difficulties in teaching English speaking for 1 st year students? a The students‟ lack of motivation in learning speaking skill b The students‟ laziness in pair work and group work c The students‟ low English proficiency d The students‟ unequal participation e Crowed class f Multi-level class g Unsuitable class hour h Lack of teaching aids i Other (Please specify):
4 Which of the following techniques do you use to motivate students to speak English? a Creating a co-operative atmosphere b Creating a natural speaking environment c Using supplementary materials d Giving feedback regularly e Giving rewards f Providing students with interesting topics g Providing students with useful language for the speaking tasks h Designing appropriate speaking tasks to the students‟ abilities i Letting students talk freely j Varying communicative activities flexibly k Applying visual and audio teaching aids l Other (Please specify):
1 Well-prepared, well-organized in class
2 Appropriately prepared objectives of the class
3 Clear and concise instruction language
6 Material is presented at the students‟ level of comprehension
7 The teacher show interest and enthusiasm
8 Teacher moves round class, use eye contact
9 There are balance and variety of activities
10 Examples and illustrations used effectively
11 Instructional aids and resource material used effectively
13 Teacher explores genuine situations in the class
14 Structures are taken out of artificial drill contexts and applied to the real contexts of the students‟ culture and personal experiences
16 Clarity, tone, and audibility of voice
17 Pronunciation, intonation, fluency are appropriate and acceptable use of language
20 Teacher organizes effectively individual, pair and group work
21 Teacher controls and directs the class