Motivation for learning english among undergraduate students and its impact

1 MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING ENGLISH AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT Bui Thi Thu Trang ABSTRACT As Confucius said “Need to study is not as good as like to study, like to study is not as good[.]

MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING ENGLISH AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND ITS IMPACT Bui Thi Thu Trang ABSTRACT As Confucius said: “Need to study is not as good as like to study, like to study is not as good as enjoyment to study.”, motivation has a big impact on the success or failure of foreign language acquisition This paper mainly discusses the impact of motivation in language teaching To reach the aim of this paper, the term motivation and its types are introduced and explained Afterwards, they are followed by a discussion and some beneficial implications for teachers to awake, sustain and strengthen students’ motivation INTRODUCTION From my experience in teaching English for undergraduate students for many years, most of my students are either motivated extrinsically or demotivated It seems that students are quite vague about the role of English in their future career or their personal development Most students are reluctant to be physically and mentally present in the classroom They complete the tasks because of the fear of failure in a compulsory subject, which may have a short-term effect on students’ results However, for a long-term goal and substantial development, more motivation is necessary for students to exert efforts and be involved actively in class activities Learners’ motivation plays a crucial role in foreign language acquisition Motivation is a prerequisite for learning and the development of responsibility Without students’ motivation, the classroom atmosphere will become boring Therefore, it is important to think about students’ motivation as the core of language teaching DEFINITION AND TYPES OF MOTIVATION 2.1 Definition of motivation Motivation is the motive for all human actions This is an intrinsic state, which provides vitality and directs people into purposeful acts The basis of motivation is emotions, but specifically, it is based on avoidance, negative emotional experiences and seeking positive emotions Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behaviour Actually, it is often used to describe certain sorts of behaviour A student who studies hard and tries for top grades may be described as being "highly motivated" Such statements imply that motivation has a major influence on our behaviour Motivation can be defined as a concept used to describe the factors within an individual which arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal Another way to say this is that motivation is goal-directed behaviour 2.2 Types of Motivation Motivation has long been a major problem for most teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or as a foreign language not only in the Vietnam but also elsewhere The main reason is that most of students have low motivation to learn English In addition to that, while most of them have a vague sense that whether "English will be useful for us future" or not, they don't have a clear idea of what that means, nor is that a very strong motivator; it's too vague and too far off 2.2.1 Integrative & instrumental motivation Integrated motivation means learning language with the intention of engaging in people's culture and instrumental motivation implies that learners learn languages to support more career-related or motivational purposes These two types of motivation can influence and control procedures and learning outcomes Cook (2000) continues to believe that integrated dynamics and tools proposed by Gardner and Lambert are useful and effective factors for learning second languages Gardner (1985) and Ellis (1994) also introduced the types of motivation mentioned The former happens when students like to participate or be a member of a certain crowd and culture The latter increased when the learner predicted that many of the benefits he proposed would be available while learning certain languages Comparing these two types of dynamics, Ellis (1994) believes that the best and perfect motivation is the integrated motivation He believes that integration dynamics are more competent and organized In fact, students who not have integrated or instrumental motivation will actually encounter problems and difficulties to learn and acquire knowledge of the second language in the classroom and in general, language learning will difficult for them (Cook, 2000) 2.2.2 Intrinsic & extrinsic motivation It's important to understand that human beings are not all the same Thus, effectively motivating students requires that teachers gain an understanding of the different types of motivation Such an understanding will enable teachers to better categorize students in classroom and apply the appropriate type of motivation Teachers will find each student different and each student's motivational needs will be varied as well Intrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from within The individual has the desire to perform a specific task because its results are in accordance with students' belief system or fulfill a desire and therefore importance is attached to it Extrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from outside In other words, teacher's desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source Note that even though the stimuli are coming from outside, the result of performing the task will still be rewarding for the individual performing the task There is another concept in the area of motivation that Ryan & Deci (2000) suggests is Self-Determination Theory; Ryan & Deci (2000) stated that Theory of Self decides to classify and distinguish different types of motivations according to different reasons, causes or goals in order to reinforce deeds or achievements In proportion to this theory, the most fundamental difference is between internal motivation and external motivation Internal motivation is the eagerness and excitement to and participate in certain activities because an individual feels that they are attractive and pleasant Students with intrinsic motivation tend to stay with complex issues and gain knowledge from their slips and mistakes (Walker, Greene, & Mansell, 2006) In addition, the internal motivation is essential and fundamental to the integration process, through which elements of an internal knowledge and knowledge can be assimilated or mixed with new knowledge External motivation, on the other hand, is the tendency to engage in activities for reasons that are not linked to activities These reasons may be predictions of rewards or penalties, such as success in exams or high scores (Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006) Intrinsic motivation is a motivation to perform an activity for itself In fact, individuals have intrinsic motivation to and practice activities and jobs because they feel that such activities are interesting External motivation, on the other hand, is the motivation to perform a job or an activity as a means or way to achieve a goal People who are motivated to jobs because they think their contributions will bring great results like rewards, teacher admiration or evading (punishment) penalties (Pintrich & Schunk, 1996) 2.2.3 The role of motivation in EFL students’ perceptions of teacher/learner responsibilities and learner abilities Regarding the question whether motivation plays a role in autonomy or autonomy plays a role in motivation, the first view suggests that autonomy is a prerequisite for motivation Dickinson (1995) explains this view stating that “a measure of individual involvement in decision making in one's own learning enhances motivation to learn” (Dickinson, 1995, p 165) Defining autonomy as both an attitude towards learning and a capacity for independent learning, Dickinson (1995) proposes two theories of cognitive motivation “attribution theory” and “selfdetermination theory” Deci and Ryan’s (1985, p34) self-determination theory differentiates between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by putting them on a continuum where learners choose to learn at their own will “in the absence of a reward contingency or control” , or where they perform an activity simply for an external reward or to avoid punishment Autonomy, thus, is an essential component in intrinsic motivation The second theory, the attribution theory, is concerned with learners’ perceptions of the reasons for success and failure in learning These perceptions are important because, they will influence their future performance because learners should also have control over learning success and failure in order to take responsibility for their own learning In another study, Fazey and Fazey (2001) also concluded that the students who had internalized motivation possessed attributes that would enable them to be self-determined in their studies The hypothesis of this present study is that motivation is a prerequisite for autonomy, for “motivation may lead to autonomy or be a precondition for it and absence of motivation seemed to inhibit practice of learner autonomy” (Spratt, Humphreys & Chan, 2002, p.262) It is clear that students believe that they should decide the objectives of the lesson together with their teachers, but the materials, the activities, and the time allocated to these practices should be decided by their teachers When it comes to making progress outside the class, most students take the responsibility on themselves, leaving almost none to their teachers Students also tend to share their teachers’ responsibilities in terms of evaluating their learning and the course Most of them state that they should evaluate the course and their learning together with their teachers Learning Objectives The students believe that they should decide the objectives of the English course together with their teacher They mostly acknowledge that the teacher has knowledge and experience; but the students add that since they are the ones who want to learn English, they should learn what they need and thus they should decide the objectives together with the teacher in accordance with their own educational aims Additionally, the students state that their teachers should decide what they should learn next in their English lessons Again, they mostly explain that it is the teacher who is expert, knowledgeable, and experienced, and thus it is the teacher’s responsibility to ‘plan’ and it’s their responsibility to ‘stick to’ the plan A few students even put forward that students might ‘abuse’ this or there might be ‘chaos’ if they were given the chance to so A few students question with sarcasm what their teachers would if they took this responsibility on themselves as well Learning Process in Class: The students’ general impression is that, after deciding the objectives together with their teachers, their teachers should be the ones to decide the materials, the activities and the time spent on these practices The students usually mention their teachers’ experience, education and knowledge A few students, however, state that it could be better if the teacher provided them with a set of materials to choose from and then they could decide on the materials which appeal to their interests Learning Process outside Class: Nearly all of the students state that it is their own responsibility to decide what they learn outside the class and make sure they progress outside the class The commonly put forward reason is that when they are outside the classroom, they are alone and since English cannot only be taught by the teacher in the classroom, it should be them who are responsible for learning outside the class A number of students also mention that because teachers have a lot of students, it would be impossible for teachers to take interest in or identify weaknesses of each and every student However, some of the students also indicate that they may not identify their weakness on their own because they might not know how to so, so they suggest getting some help, advice, or counselling from their teachers in this regard Learning Outcome: The common belief among students is that evaluating the course is a responsibility which should be shared by both parties A teacher should evaluate his/her own lesson and the students should evaluate the teacher’s lesson The course would then be much more beneficial if it were evaluated both by them and by their teachers In terms of evaluating their own learning, students tend to share the responsibility with their teachers, students should be able to evaluate their own learning by continuously monitoring themselves and watching their progress However, since they lack knowledge and experience in doing so, they may be incapable of ‘objectively’ evaluating their own learning, so they state that they need their teachers to ‘control’ and to ‘check’ their learning outcome Whether autonomy precedes motivation or motivation precedes autonomy, this mutual practice of decision-making would doubtlessly have a positive effect on students’ motivational and autonomous behaviors Therefore, the most important implication of this study is that we need to raise autonomous teachers to raise autonomous learners, and the schools or the institutions should allow room for teachers to act autonomously enough to raise autonomous students It should be kept in mind that since autonomy is not an all-or-nothing concept, every small step taken towards autonomy would help students to get more and more autonomous DISCUSSION 3.1 “Pair work” or “Group work” One of the successful ways, if the teacher is resourceful and skillful enough, to motivate students to participate in the lesson is to use “pair work” or “group work” appropriately Language is best learned through the close collaboration and communication among students This type of collaboration results in benefits for all or both learners In fact, learners can help each other while working on different types of tasks such as writing dialogues, interviews, drawing pictures and making comments about them, play roles Researches have shown that learners have differences in mastering skills While one student is good in drawing, another can be good in expressing ideas verbally; a third other student can be good at role play and imitation Besides, some students find it less stressful, if not much comfortable to learn certain rules or usages of language from their peers and comrades than from their teachers Finally, communicative language teaching requires a sense of community and an environment of trust and mutual confidence which “pair work” or “group work” can provide 3.2 The seating of the students The way the students are seated in the classroom will often determine the dynamics of the lesson Indeed, a simple change in the seating pattern can make an incredible difference to group coherence and student satisfaction The seating pattern students use may, in some cases, not be fully under teachers’ control For example, the desks are fixed to the ground or the school has strict rules about not moving the furniture Student numbers are also going to be an issue Teachers have different preferences for seating arrangements and groups seated round small tables is often one choice This is probably the best option for the larger classes in this range, but for smaller numbers and with adult or teenage students The horseshoe shape, which teachers find has all of the advantages of groups, and none of the disadvantages A horseshoe may be desks in a U-shape with a hollow center, students in a semicircle on chairs with armrests and no desks, or students seated around three sides of a large table, with the teacher at one end 3.3 Role play This is another technique to vary the pace the lesson and to respond to the fundamental notion of variety in teaching Teachers are advised to use the role- play activity in order to motivate their students and to help the less motivated learners take part in the lesson Besides, certain tasks in the student’s book are followed by a role- play activity where it becomes a necessity to undergo such an activity As good examples of that we can state: the hide (item) and guessing game, dramatizing an interview of customer and shop assistant, doctor and patient conversation 3.4 The Error Correction It is always asked whether we should correct all students’ errors, whenever they occur The reasonable answer is that if we stop at every single error and treat it with no room for errors to take place, this will lead to a gap of communication and students will be too much afraid of making mistakes Hence, due to being too much obsessed with making errors, students will be too much reluctant to participate Thus, teachers should be aware of when to correct errors and how to that without any hurt and humiliation In a learner- centered classroom, it should be better to correct errors, which students make unconsciously, whenever there is a gap of communication or when not treating the error will result in a misunderstanding of the idea expressed Concerning the ways of how to correct errors, there are several techniques which the teacher, who is seen as the monitor, should choose from them according to the type of the error and task where the incorrect form of language occurs Among these ways of correction, we can state self-correction, peer correction and teacher correction Although the levels of students’ motivation and their rating themselves good are found to be related, there is no meaningful relationship between students’ motivation levels and their abilities about their and their teachers’ responsibilities In other words, this study fails to claim that high-motivated students are likely to share more responsibilities with their teachers; or those who rated themselves very poor tend to put more responsibilities on their teachers 3.5 Effects of Motivation on Learning Styles Deep learners respond well to the challenge of mastering a difficult and complex subject These are intrinsically motivated students who are often a joy to teach Strategic learners are motivated primarily by rewards They react well to competition and the opportunity to best others They often make good grades but won’t engage deeply with a subject unless there is a clear reward for doing so They are sometimes called “bulimic learners,” learning as much as they need to well on a test or exam and then promptly forgetting the material once the assessment is over.Handle strategic learners by avoiding appeals to competition Appeal to their intrinsic interest in the subject at hand Design your assignments (tests, papers, projects, etc.) so that deep engagement with the subject is necessary for success on the assignments Do so by requiring students to apply, synthesize, or evaluate material instead of merely comprehending or memorizing material Surface learners are often motivated by a desire to avoid failure They typically avoid deep learning because they see it as inherently risky behavior They will often what it takes to pass an exam or course, but they won’t choose to go beyond the minimum required for fear of failure Handle surface learners by helping them gain confidence in their abilities to learn and perform “Scaffold” course materials and assignments by designing a series of activities or assignments that build on each other over time in complexity and challenge Encourage these learners often and help them reflect on what they’ve learned and what they’ve accomplished CONLUSIONS Language acquisition motivational research has much to offer the language classroom Clear definitions and an understanding of motivation theoretical constructs within an educational psychology framework can assist both students and teachers to achieve their goals In essence, non-denominational students are not motivated to study Teachers are also very passionate about the profession The problem is that EFL teachers' teaching methods in Asian countries have not created enough conditions for students to develop their abilities Learning activities should be designed in a way that contributes to capacity building self-study by setting up a study plan, implementing and adjusting the plan study and ultimately evaluate your own learning outcomes and progress REFERENCES 1.https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=YblRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=Bre wer,+E.+W.,+%26+Burgess,+D.+N.+(2005)&source=bl&ots=XeeRqrNX4w&sig=ACfU3U2 LmkCPHduBJpUY9NjDWXzXtTbcYg&hl=vi&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjTibmqi7fjAhXKpI8 KHW0xDY8Q6AEwDnoECAcQAQ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED387840.pdf Cook, V (2000) Linguistics and second language acquisition Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 4 Cook, V (2000) Second language learning and language teaching Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd Crump, C A (1995) “Motivating students: A teacher’s challenge” Sooner Communication Conference, Norman, Oklahoma Cook, V (2000) Deci, E L., & Ryan, R M (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior New York: Plenum Dickinson, L (1995) Autonomy and motivation Ellis, Rod (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Fazey, D., & Fazey, J (2001) The potential for autonomy in learning Studies in Higher Education 10 Gardner, R.C (1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning London BNM/.,MEdward Arnold 11 Spratt, M., Humphreys, G., & Chan, V (2002) Autonomy and motivation: Which comes first? Language Teaching Research 12 Pintrich, P R., & Schunk, D H (1996) Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 13 Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006) International magazine on business and social science Number 24 [Special Problem - December 2012] 233 ... Gardner and Lambert are useful and effective factors for learning second languages Gardner (1985) and Ellis (1994) also introduced the types of motivation mentioned The former happens when students. .. internal motivation and external motivation Internal motivation is the eagerness and excitement to and participate in certain activities because an individual feels that they are attractive and pleasant... Deci, 2006) Intrinsic motivation is a motivation to perform an activity for itself In fact, individuals have intrinsic motivation to and practice activities and jobs because they feel that such