An investigation into efl learning motivation in listening of grade ten students at huong hoa high school quang tri province

CHAPTER - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Language globalization has become an irreversibly evident fact on a large scale It is essential for social development and integration trend Therefore, language has become a powerful and effective means of communication than ever English is the most widely spoken language in the world It is a national language of a number of countries such as the United States, large parts of Canada, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand For many years, it was the official language in countries that were once colonies of Britain including India, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and so on For many reasons in history, English has become an international language With its position, English has been a compulsory subject in the school in many nations worldwide including Vietnam where it has been taught for third – graders to students at university and college Moreover, the trend of global integration and cultural exchanges between countries has increased remarkably the demand for foreign languages in general and English in particular Therefore, it can be stated that teaching and learning English is obviously essential in the education and training system in our country The tremendous impact of English with respect to its importance to the community development has urged our state to devise policies to encourage learning English effectively In that case, both students and teachers must be aware and responsible for enhancing the level of English An urgent task posed is how to improve the quality of teaching and how to promote the students‘ motivation toward English This issue has been concerned much for years by teachers, researchers and also English teaching book writers I have been myself a teacher of English for six years, which is not full for an experienced one As a young dedicated teacher with limited experience, I always try my best to find out the appropriate methods to teach lessons effectively The innovation in English teaching method has been promoting actively in the teaching and learning It is not teacher – centered but learner- centered The purpose of teaching is to develop English communication skills of students including reading, speaking, listening and writing In the development of modern technology today, the more popular the media are, the more abundant the sources of learning materials are As a result, students have a number of opportunities to access and apply them to better English ability by themselves A successful teacher can be asserted to be clever at evoking the passion of learning for their students For this reason, their students can be aware of self-learning and self-practicing to improve their language skills Among language skills, listening is very important Listening is the ability of identify and understand what speakers are saying This involves understanding and grasping the meaning what is being said Therefore, students with good listening comprehension skills can participate more effectively in class They can listen and understand what teachers are saying Then they can talk to teacher about what is concerned In the days of mass communication, it is fundamental importance that students are taught to be able to listen effectively and critically A good language listener is the first element to be a good language speaker However, it‘s also difficult for students who are always under pressure in listening class A variety of reasons have been given Listening content is not only impractical but also unsuitable for the students‘ level Besides, the following tasks are stereotyped in some kinds of familiar forms such as gap-filling, true or false, comprehension questions and so on Furthermore, the word accumulation capability of students is so restricted that they almost run out of vocabulary for effective listening Sometimes, teachers take charge of lessons due to their obligations without any interest or inspiration, which leads to the poor quality of the lesson Therefore, in the perception of teachers and students, listening class does not make any sense out of obligation So far as, they forget how important the listening skill is in communication This reasons challenge me to be a successful teacher I make up my mind to this research to find out ways to solve those problems above The title of the research is: ―An investigation into EFL learning motivation in listening of grade-ten-students at Huong Hoa high school, Quang Tri province.‖ Since 2007, I have been an English teacher of Huong Hoa upper secondary school In the early days, I myself was really shocked at students‘ attitudes toward English as well as their language capability In terms of geography, Huong Hoa upper secondary school is located in Huong Hoa, a mountainous district bordering Laos with a number of ethnic groups in Quang Tri province What I want to clarify is that English was not favorite and practical there at that time Actually, students as well as people there concerned much about Laotian in order to serve their commercial purposes in the special economic zone Students were said not to pay attention to English Time passed and everything changed a lot Students raised more awareness of English when the government‘s policy was issued to promote English quality at school Furthermore, the global integration has attracted more foreigners for both tourism and trade In communication, listening and speaking skills have become essential but seemed to be the most difficult If listening skill is considered as a receptive skill, speaking will be a productive skill Let care about the receptive skill first And learning motivation as fuel of the car is for encouraging students to get their interest and have a good result in studying In this research, I aim at the tenth graders who are absolutely new at the upper secondary school It is supposed that if teachers cannot motivate them, there will be few of motivated students at all (in this school) They are considered as the first steps in the ladder of knowledge to be laid foundation of teaching In addition, teaching method at high school is different from lower secondary school in some ways In fact, the knowledge in a lesson is more abundant at high school Besides, students‘ language acquisition requirement is higher Students are required to work harder at home and be more active at class In other words, if teacher can inspire tenth-graders, English will not be a matter of concerns for three years at the high school 1.2 Research objectives Hence, the paper set out to achieve the following goals:  to provide some motivation methods to promote learning quality in listening  to draw out recommendations and implications to better listening skill of tenth-graders at Huong Hoa high school  to support additional materials for English teachers and learners in studying listening class of textbook 10 1.3 Research questions The process of my research is to move from practice of teaching in my school to theory and back to practice in a cycle of development of deep understanding of the research questions: What kinds of motivation are essential and practical for bettering listening skill? What should be done to promote tenth-graders‘ motivation in listening skill at Huong Hoa upper secondary school in Quang Tri? 1.4 Significance of the study The study is supposed to be a reference that the teachers and students can apply to promote motivated listening class and improve students‘ listening comprehension skills From that point, in grade 10, it can be an additional material for practicing listening skill Furthermore, it can raise awareness of the importance of listening skill so students can find themselves inspired and motivated to selfpractice for their English learning 1.5 Scope and methodology 1.5.1 Scope of the study The study was carried out at Huong Hoa high school with 10 teachers and 100 tenth graders coming from 10 classes The choice of students is at random in each class It targets students at the grade 10 of Huong Hoa high school during the school year 2012-2013 Their listening ability is expected to be at intermediate levels 1.5.2 Research method Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used in this paper Quantitative methods are done in class observation and survey Qualitative method is conducted in form of interview Chapter will discuss the methodology for this study in more detail 1.6 Structure of the research: The research paper is divided into five following chapters: Chapter One: Introduction of my own research rationale, research context, research objectives, research questions, research scope, research method, significance of the study and organization of the study Chapter Two: Review of the theoretical background of the research and issues relevant to the topic of the research Chapter Three deals with the methodology that I have employed in this research work This chapter will present research methodology including research participants, data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis procedure Chapter Four presents and analyzes the data In this chapter, the data will be explored in results of tables and diagrams It also presents of the results of the study including the exploration of the actual learning listening comprehension of the students, the needs analysis and designing of some supplementary listening material for students, and outlines some pedagogical implications and recommendations Chapter Five contains summary of the key findings, conclusions, the limitations and suggestions of the study Besides, recommendations for practice and suggestions for further research will be concerned in this chapter CHAPTER - LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction It is obvious that English plays an essential role in our modern society and globalization era Its functions are considered as a bridge for all aspects of human life such as communication, science, technology, education, society and culture Although English teaching and learning has been increasingly emphasized, careful real English classroom observations lead to some limitations and shortcoming There are some factors that cause those deficiencies such as age and gender, learning styles, motivation, attitude, personality, language attitude, learning strategies, multiple intelligences and so on One of the vital factors is motivation which is thought as a primarily aspect influencing the success or failure of acquiring second language in general and English in particular As an English teacher who is seen as an important role in students‘ second language acquisition, we are responsible for helping students acquire second language Without doubt, that the shift from the focus on the method to learnercenteredness leads to a turning point in changing the status of the learner and the teacher who has the responsibility to transmit knowledge in the teaching and learning language Teachers are no longer dominant in the class; a teacher has to be a facilitator, a tutor, an instructor and so on In order to take that crucial role in classroom, teachers have to understand how to teach students effectively by following students‘ learning styles Teachers also have to be aware of motivation and how to motivate students in an adequate way 2.2 Theoretical basis of motivation: 2.2.1 Definitions of motivation There is a saying that: ―The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book‖ Teaching can be considered as a process in which both students and teachers must be active performers if they want to make their efforts successful In this case, students are active participants but not only passive listeners Students can raise awareness of studying when they are motivated Motivation can energize students and provide direction In other words, motivation can be identified as the learner‘s orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language Prior to exploring how motivation affects teaching and learning English, we must know the term motivation Motivation can be thought as a motive force or an impulse which generates the action This understanding is restricted This term needs to be defined in a deep sense Motivation is the key to all activities In learning, without motivation, students lack activeness and self-consciousness It is perhaps the biggest obstacle to students and teachers to achieve in learning and teaching Ruth Peters in her book ―Overcoming Underachieving‖ (2000) states that: academic achievement is more a product of appropriate placement of priorities and responsible behavior than it is of intelligence If students are engaged, they are much more likely to learn effectively than if they are not It can be paraphrased that an intelligent student is often outperformed by less bright student with high motivation Therefore, a students is motivated enough to accomplish learning of any scale Dörnyei & Otto (1998) pointed out that motivation can be identified as the cumulative arousal in a person which ignites the cognitive and motor processes initiate, coordinate, amplify, terminate, and evaluate Dörnyei also described this explicitly when he wrote the following: ―The motivated individual expends effort, is persistent and attentive to the task at hand, has goals, desires and aspirations, enjoys the activity, experiences reinforcement from success and disappointment from failure, makes attributions concerning success and or failure, is aroused, and makes use of strategies to aid in achieving goals‖ (2003, p 173) This statement represents motivation as primarily being internally driven In this case, motivation can be viewed as ―an internal attribute that is the result of an external force‖ Dörnyei (2003) The external force consists of many elements; the most important of which is teacher‘s role In ―Psychology for Language Teachers‖, M Williams and R Burden mentioned motivation as ― ―a state of cognitive and emotional arousal, a state which leads to a conscious decision to act and gives rise to a period of sustained intellectual and/or physical effort‖ Gardner (1985) who seems to explain the term with the precision of mathematical demonstration: motivation is a combination of effort plus desire to achieve a goal plus favorable attitudes towards the goal to be accomplished In sum, motivation is commonly considered as an inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action in general and makes students receive adequate incentive so as to learn English better The success of any action usually depends on the extent to which individuals strive to attain their purpose, along with their desire to so It is essential for teachers to pay attention to the importance of motivation in EFL 2.2.2 Motivation factors in language learning: When trying to explain any success or failure in second language (L2) learning, the term 'motivation' is often used by teachers and students alike Indeed, motivation is one of the key learner factors that determines the rate and success of L2 attainment: it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long learning process There are many motivation factors in language learning According to Dorney (1998), motivation is comprised of three levels: the language level, the learner level and the learning situation level The language level can be described through integrative and instrumental motivation The learner level motivation involves the influence of various individual traits of language learners, such as, the need for achievement and selfconfidence The learning situation level is also influenced by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic motives According to Hussin, Maarof, and D‘Cruz, ―positive self-concept, high selfesteem, positive attitude, clear understanding of the goals for language learning, continuous active participation in the language learning process, the relevance of conductive environment that could contribute to the success of language learning‖ (2001) Six factors influencing motivation in language learning are attitudes, beliefs about self, goals, involvement, environmental support, and personal attributes Raymond (1978) gave out the figure of factors of learning motivation including with the learning process: Figure 2.1: Raymond’s factors of learning motivation In this figure, he also pointed out six factors consisted of two motivational elements in each learning process: The beginning with attitudes and needs, the during learning process with stimulation and affect (the affective or emotional experience of the student), the ending with competence and reinforcement After a long period of time, from 1978 (Raymond) to 2001 (Hussin, Maarof, and D‘Cruz), though words are different, both scientists have the same views on the factors of motivation 2.2.2.1 Attitudes According to Hussin, Maarof, and D‘Cruz, ―teachers need to find creative ways to teach the language and increase the student‘s motivation to learn the language and to eventually appreciate the language‖ (2001) Besides, Kabilan indicated that ―Teachers should develop a mutual relationship with their learners‖ (2000) To get this, teachers need to understand students in terms of backgrounds, interests, future goals, aims for English learning, and most importantly, different personalities Once they can understand each other better, their relationship develops, the classroom will become comfortable and enjoyable enough for students to learn positively from the teacher without any hesitation According to Richard-Amato, ―In classrooms in which mutual respect is lacking, differing values can lead to conflicts between student and teacher, and between student and peer‖ (2003) Thus, teachers need to aid students who need support and encouragement In addition, teachers are required to teach all the students the importance of having respect for one another in a classroom so that each of the students can actively participate in lesson The relationship between teacher-students, student-student and student with subject and learning situation is called ―attitudes‖ Attitudes are very powerful in learning process First of all, attitude of learners toward teacher is rather important It is considered as a contributing factor in second language acquisition Raymond (1978) explained and brought out motivation strategies to solve this problem including: Establish a relationship with the students by sharing something of value with students Listen to the students with empathetic regard Treat the students with warmth and acceptance Use class or individual meeting to build relationship and better attitudes 10 REFERENCES Alderman, M K., (1999) Motivation for Achievement: Possibilities for Teaching and Learning Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers Borkowski, J.G., M Carr, E Rellinger, & M Pressley (1990) Self-regulated Cognition: Interdependence of Metacogntion, Attributions, and Self-esteem In Jones, B.F & Idol, L (eds), Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction, 53-92 Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Brown, H D (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Englewood Cliffs NJ: 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in the ESL Classroom‖ Internet TESL Journal, Vol VIII, No http://iteslj.org January 2002 MacIntyre, P D., MacMaster, K., & Baker, S C (2001) The Convergence of Multiple Models of Motivation for Second Language Learning: Gardner, Pintrich, Kuhl, and McCroskey In Z Dornyei & R Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (Technical Report #23, pp 461492) Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center Masgoret, A M., & Gardner, R C (2003) Attitudes, Motivation, and Second Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis of Studies conducted by Gardner and Associates Language learning 53 (1) pp 123-163 48 Noels, A K., Pelletier, G L., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R J (2000) Why are you learning a second language? Motivational Orientations and self- Determination Theory Language learning 50 (1) pp 57-85 Oxford, R (1993) Research Update on L2 Listening System 21:205-11 Peter, R (2000) ―Overcoming Underachieving‖ Broadway Books Raymond, J W., (1978) Motivation and Teaching: A Practical Guide National Education Association of the United States Rost, M (2006) Generating Student Motivation Series Editor of World View Ross, S & Rost, M (1991) Learner Use of Strategies in Interaction Typology and Teachability Language Learning41:235-73 Taylor, D.M., Meynard, R., & Rheault, E (1977) Threat to ethnic identity and second-language learning In H Giles, Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp 99-118) Academic Press Vandergrift, L (1997) The Cinderella of Communication Strategies: Receptive Strategies in Interactive Listening Modern Language Journal 81:494-505 Vandergrift, L (1999) Facilitating Second Language Listening Comprehension: Acquiring Successful Strategies ELT Journal 53:168-76 Williams, M & Burden, R., (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press Wipf, J (1984) Strategies for Teaching Second Comprehension Foreign Language Annals17:345-48 49 Language Listening APPENDICE APPENDIX QUESTIONAIRE The questionnaire below is to identify factors relating to EFL (English as foreign language) learning motivation in listening English of grade-ten students at Huong Hoa high school in Quang Tri province Each item is followed by a scale of number Please put or circle one item that best describes you Thanks The difficulty of listening skill is: Very difficult Difficult Less difficult Not difficult The most difficult factor in listening is: Speed of delivery Limited vocabulary Lack of contextual knowledge Lack of motivation Speaker accents Noise Poor tape quality The usefulness of teaching listening aids is: (Put number for the most useful to number for the least useful) Tape/CD Video Teacher’s speaking Handouts My frequency of practicing listening English at home is: Very frequently frequently Sometimes Never My interest in the topics of listening in Textboook Tieng Anh 10 is: 50 Unit 1: A day in the life of Unit 2: School talks Unit 3: People‘s background Unit 4: Special education Unit 5: Technology and you Unit 6: An excursion Unit 7: The mass media Unit 8: The story of my village Unit 9: Undersea world Unit 10: Conservation Unit 11: National parks Unit 12: Music Unit 13: Films and cinema Unit 14: The world cup Unit 15: Cities Unit 16: Historical places My interest in the types of listening tasks is: Gap-filling True/False Statements Reordering pictures Multiple Choice Matching Summarizing  Integrative motivation: I study English to be able to communicate with English speakers: 51 Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree I study English to approach Internet which is mostly in English: Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree I study English to understand British and American art and literature Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree I study English to participate more freely in the activities of other cultural groups Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree I want to learn English so well that it will become natural to me Strongly agree  Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Instrumental motivation: I study English as I need it for my future career Strongly agree Agree I study English to be more educated Strongly agree Agree I study English to be more respected Strongly agree Agree I study English because it is compulsory in school programme Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree I study English to gain the approval of my peers/teacher/family Strongly agree Agree Disagree 52 Strongly disagree APPENDIX OBSERVATION FORM (Observation of teaching to evaluate teachers) Teacher: Date: Class: Number of students: Type of session: Length of observation: DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE LESSON STAGE What listening material is used in the lesson? (dialogue or text from the textbook/ teacher talking/ other source) Which of the typical stages are included in the lesson? (creating interest/ pre-teaching vocab./ presetting tasks/ listening and completing the task/ feedback/ further work) What type of task are students given for the listening? (answer questions/ MC/ fill in the chart/ note-taking/ noting specific information/ 53 COMMENT jigsaw listening/ T/F / other) Where does listening come from? (audio tape/ video tape/ speaking/ teacher student speaking/ others) Is the quality good? 54 Your Reflective Commentary What did you feel went well in this session, particularly in terms of students‘ learning? Why did you think it was successful? (Include the grounds on which you make this judgment.) What would you like to change about this session if you had to teach it again? What ideas for further development or improvement you have? How will you go about doing this? Please complete this section in the light of your own reflections and the postobservation discussions between you and the observer You may also want to draw upon and include student feedback Your evaluation must refer to the literature and scholarship that underpins teaching in 55 APPENDIX OBSERVATION FORM (Observation of learning to evaluate students) Observer‘s Comments (continued) ISSUE COMMENT Student participation Do students have any problems in understanding the text? If yes, why? How you know they have problems? If no, why? Is it thanks to the way teacher prepared them for the text and tasks? Are students active or not in class? Why/ Why not? What students want to motivate themselves in listening class? 56 APPENDIX List of questions used to interview teachers: What is effective listening in your viewpoint? What good listeners do? What are problems with the current approach of teaching listening? What tasks in the textbook are suitable or not? Explain more What are your suggestions for teaching listening? How can you motivate students using integrative motivation or instrumental motivation? 57 APPENDIX 5: SAMPLES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY LISTENING MATERIALS LISTENING LESSON: MUSIC Tape script: The winter holiday can be beautiful and bright Christmas lights, boxes wrapped in pretty paper and excited children are everywhere But it can be a difficult and demanding time, too There is a lot of preparation for Christmas: shopping, cleaning, cooking and decorating So today on our show we invite our listeners to slow down while we play holiday music released this year (MUSIC) That is ―Pie Jesu‖ sung by ten-year-old Jackie Evancho of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Jackie was discovered earlier this year on the television show ―America‘s Got Talent.‖ She did not win the competition But she did get a record deal Her Christmas album, ―O Holy Night,‖ came out November sixteenth The Recording Industry Association of America just rated the album platinum That means it has sold one million copies or more Billboard magazine says Jackie Evancho is the country‘s top-selling new artist ―Carols and Christmas Songs‖ is the name of Bryn Terfel‘s new album The Welsh opera singer sings a beautiful Austrian song called ―Still, Still, Still.‖ The German words to the first verse mean: Still, still, still For the baby wants to sleep The angels jubilate with beauty Making music by the manger Still, still, still For the baby wants to sleep C LISTENING BEFORE YOU LISTEN Work in group: Listen songs and match them with names of the songs below: Pie Jesu O Holy Night Still, Still, Still Discussion: What you know about those songs? WHILE YOU LISTEN 58 Task 1: Reordering pictures in the order of appearance A B D C E Task 2: Listen and decide whether statements are True or False There is a little of prepararation for Chrismas this year Jackie is ten years old She comes from Canada Jackie won the competition ―America‘s Got Talent.‖ ―Carols and Christmas Songs‖ is Jackie‘s new album Task 3: Listen again and fill in the gap: Jackie was discovered earlier this year on the television show _ Her Christmas album, ―O Holy Night,‖ came out sixteenth The album has been sold copies or more 59 Jackie Evancho is the ‘s top-selling new artist Bryn Terfel sings a beautiful Austrian song called AFTER YOU LISTEN Listen to the song ―Still, Still, Still‖ sung by Bryn Terfel and fill a word in the gap: The song ―Still, Still, Still‖ Still, still, still, One can hear the falling For all is hushed, The world is , Holy its vigil keeping Still, still, still, One can hear the falling snow Sleep, sleep, sleep, 'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth The night is all around you, Close your eyes, Let sleep surround you Sleep, sleep, sleep, 'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth Dream, dream, dream, Of the joyous day to come While guardian without number, Watch you as you slumber Dream, dream, dream, Of the joyous to come 60 LISTENING LESSON: FILM AND CINEMA Tape script: Our subjects this week are movies First, we discuss a movie made by Tibetan film maker Ngawang Choephel called ―Tibet in Song.‖ It tells about his efforts to help protect traditional Tibetan music and better understand his own culture and homeland We also learn about an online short-film festival celebrating women and the Muslim world STEVE EMBER: ―Tibet in Song‖ is a celebration of traditional Tibetan folk music It also explores resistance against cultural repression The movie gives a clear picture of how China has worked to repress cultural freedom inside Tibet over the past fifty years Director Ngawang Choephel was two years old when he and his mother fled Chinese-ruled Tibet in nineteen sixty-eight He grew up in a refugee camp in India In the camp he heard traditional Tibetan songs from older refugees SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Like other folk music traditions, these Tibetan songs are about everyday life They deal with subjects including family, social events, love and nature NGAWANG CHOEPHEL: ―Tibetan folk music originated directly from ordinary Tibetan people‘s mind It‘s a very pure form of, you know, oral tradition, of our Tibetan people‘s history, knowledge and beliefs.‖ In nineteen ninety-three, Mr Choephel graduated from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, India Then he received a Fulbright scholarship to study musicology and filmmaking at Middlebury College in the American state of Vermont He noticed that the school‘s music library had traditional music from all over the world But it only had one recording of Tibetan music He decided to collect Tibetan folk songs himself In nineteen ninety-five he traveled to Tibet He visited rural areas and filmed people singing folk songs After two months, he was arrested by Chinese officials 61