Factors causing reticence for nonenglish majored students in english speaking performance a study at ho chi minh city university of technology

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG FACTORS CAUSING RETICENCE FOR NONENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY MASTER THESIS Major: English Language Course code: 60220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY FACTORS CAUSING RETICENCE FOR NONENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language Course code: 60220201 By NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG Supervised by LE VAN TUYEN, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2021 The thesis entitled FACTORS CAUSING RETICENCE FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY was successfully defended and approved on at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) Academic supervisor : Examination Committee Chair Reader Reader Member Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair i HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE -HCMC, October 2021 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG Sex: Female Date of birth: 26th January 1996 Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh city Major: English Language Student code: 1941900009 I- Thesis title: FACTORS CAUSING RETICENCE FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY II- Objectives and contents: The objectives of this study is to explore the extent of reticence of non-English majored students at HUTECH in English speaking performance in class as well as to discover the factors which cause reticence for non-English majored students at HUTECH in English speaking performance III- Starting date: 10th October 2020 IV- Completing date: 10th April 2021 V- Academic supervisor: LE VAN TUYEN, Ph.D ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN (full name, signature) (full name, signature) ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: FACTORS CAUSING RETICENCE FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Ho Chi Minh City, October 2021 NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, October 2021 NGUYEN HA LINH PHUONG iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to those who provided me the possibility to complete this thesis Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Le Van Tuyen, for his patience, inspiration, enthusiasm, and tremendous expertise, for his guidance which helped me in all the time of writing as well as research of my Ph.D thesis Personally, I could not have imagined how could I have been completed finding a better supervisor and mentor for this study Secondly, my sincere thanks also go to Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, the Dean of English Language Faculty as well as Dr Tran Quoc Thao, who also have helped me not only in the completion of my study, but also in my learning process Besides that, I would like to thank all my colleagues who are the English teachers at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology for their insightful comments and informative throughout my Master course in English Language in 2020 In addition, I also thank all students who are learning at HUTECH Foreign Language Center for their participations in my survey so it could help me enlighten the significant information and complete my study Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the continuous encouragement of my parents because of their supporting me spiritually throughout my researching and writing process of this study v ABSTRACT Learning English as a foreign language requires its learners to acquire both language areas and skills Among the four macro skills, speaking skill is always considered to be challenging to most students at every level of education, including at tertiary level Many factors may prevent them from using the language successfully Understanding this issue may be beneficial to practitioners Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent of reticence of non-English majored students in English speaking performance in class as well as to investigate the factors which cause reticence in their English speaking performance The study was conducted at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) The participants of the study were 147 non-English majored students majoring in Marketing and Business Administration Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the employment of questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and class observations For data analysis, descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed The findings of the current revealed that most of students felt reticent about speaking English in class Furthermore, the study also showed that contextrelated factors such as the textbook as well as class environment caused more speaking reticence for non-English majored students than the other factors Last but not least, several pedagogical implications were provided not only for teachers and students at HUTECH to improve students’ speaking performance but also reduce their reticence in English speaking classes Key words: speaking performance, reticence, non-English majors, English classes, tertiary level vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definitions of the key terms 1.8 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 English Speaking Performance 2.2.1 Definitions of Speaking 2.2.2 The Importance of Speaking Performance 10 2.3 Reticence in English Speaking Performance 11 2.3.1 Definitions of Reticence 11 2.3.2 Types of Reticence 12 2.3.2.1 Trait Reticence 12 2.3.2.2 State Reticence 12 2.3.2.3 Situation Specific Reticence 12 2.3.3 Speaking Reticence 13 vii 2.3.3.1 Definition of Speaking Reticence 13 2.3.3.2 Symptoms of Speaking Reticence 13 2.3.3.2.1 Physiological Symptoms 13 2.3.3.2.2 Behavioral Symptoms 13 2.3.3.2.3 Psychological Symptoms 14 2.3.4 Situations of Speaking Reticence 14 2.3.5 Causes of Speaking Reticence 16 2.3.5.1 Personal Causes 16 2.3.5.2 Interpersonal Causes 18 2.4 Previous Studies 20 2.5 Conceptual Framework 23 2.6 Summary 26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Introduction 27 3.2 Research design 27 3.3 Research site 28 3.4 Sample and sampling procedures 29 3.5 Research Instruments 31 3.6 Data collection procedures 34 3.7 Data analysis procedures 35 3.8 Reliability and Validity 37 3.8.1 Reliability 37 3.8.2 Validity 38 3.9 Ethical issues 38 3.10 Summary 38 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 40 4.1 Introduction 40 4.2 Results 40 4.2.1 The extent of students’ reticence in English speaking performance 40 viii S5: Yes S6: No S7: Yes S8: No S9: No S10: Yes S1 said, “I like listening skill and dislike speaking skill because my pronunciation is not good and correct to be understood by my English teacher Therefore, I not want to speak in English.” S2 said, “I like listening skill and dislike speaking skill because I think listening skill is more interesting than speaking skill.” S3 said, “I like writing skill and dislike speaking skill as well as listening skill because I not have enough words to express my ideas clearly.” S4 said, “I like listening skill and speaking skill, and dislike writing skill because I wonder how to use correct order of words in an English sentence Moreover, grammar is so hard for me to learn.” S5 said, “I like speaking skill because I can express myself freely through speaking in English It also makes me feel proud of myself However, I dislike listening skill because when I listen to some real-life conversations of native speakers, I cannot understand what they are talking about.” S6 said, “On one hand, I really like speaking skill because I think my pronunciation and intonation are better than other classmates Therefore, I can perform in English fluently On the other hand, I dislike writing skill because it is too difficult for me to improve my grammar as well as to write an essay in English without grammar mistakes.” S7 said, “I like writing skill and dislike speaking skill because I am afraid of being laughed by other classmates when incorrectly speaking in English In addition, I also am not confident about my pronunciation.” 90 S8 said, “I really like listening skill because I can quickly get the main ideas of each listening track However, I dislike speaking skill because I am a shy person and I not want to communicate with other people.” S9 said, “I like reading skill and writing skill However, I dislike listening skill and speaking skill because I not have opportunities to work as well as communicate with foreigners to practice these skills.” S10 said, “I like speaking, listening, and reading skill because these skills cause the brain to think in terms of English Particularly, people can only learn a language faster when they hear that language many times or read something in that language However, I dislike writing skill because my English knowledge will be limited and I need to use formal words and grammar points Therefore, I cannot describe my ideas accurately and concisely.” S1 said, “I think my speaking ability is not good enough to communicate with my classmates when working in group.” S2 said, “I am not confident about my speaking ability because my vocabulary is not good enough.” S3 said, “I think my speaking skill is at the beginner level.” S4 said, “I think my speaking skill is fine because whenever I tell my stories to native speakers, they can understand me quickly.” S5 said, “I think my speaking skill is pretty good.” S6 said, “I personally think my speaking skill is really bad and I cannot ask my classmates or say anything to them in English because of my terrible intonation.” S7 said, “I believe that my speaking skill is worse than other classmates’ speaking skill.” S8 said, “My speaking skill is at elementary level.” S9 said, “I am not confident about my English speaking competence because I think it is really bad.” 91 S10 said, “I think my speaking ability is not good enough for me to communicate in English with other people.” S1 said, “I really like to practice my English listening skill as well as improve my English ability so I am always interested in the English classes.” S2 said, “I feel awesome when participating in my English classes because I can improve my speaking skill.” S3 said, “I feel interested every time I take part in the speaking activities in my English classes.” S4 said, “I feel nervous when taking part in my English classes because my English ability is not good enough to communicate.” S5 said, “I feel attentive when participating in my English classes because I can express my opinions in English.” S6 said, “I personally feel excited in the English classes.” S7 said, “I feel really anxious when sitting in my English classes because I not understand my English teacher.” S8 said, “I usually feel relaxed but a little bit nervous when joining in the English classes.” S9 said, “I feel comfortable and confident when taking part in my English classes because my English teacher is caring and humorous.” S10 said, “I feel totally fascinated every time I take part in the English class this semester because my English teacher is young, so she knows how to help her students understand the lessons easily.” S1 said, “If I need to work in pairs or groups, I usually talk to my classmates in English However, it is hard for me to clarify clearly my ideas to them because the English abilities of other classmates is not good enough.” 92 S2 said, “I rarely speak in English with my friends Particularly, I just speak with my English teacher in English if I have to answer her questions.” S3 said, “I infrequently speak in English during my English class and I need to try very hard to express my ideas in English with other classmates when completing several speaking tasks of my teacher.” S4 said, “In English class, I never talk to my friends in English However, I still need to answer some questions in English of my teacher.” S5 said, “I frequently tell some funny stories in English to my partner who always sits next to me in my English class I feel free to communicate in English in any situation because I am confident about my speaking skill.” S6 said, “In my English class, I never speak or ask anyone in English because of my poor communication skill.” S7 said, “I can totally feel my heart pounding every time I am going to be asked to take part in speaking tasks as well as answer several questions of my teacher in English.” S8 said, “I often speak in English only with my teacher in any situation because my English teacher is the only one who can understand what I am saying Therefore, it is more comfortable for me to interpret my opinions as well as my feelings.” S9 said, “I just want to speak with my best friend in English in some situations such as working in groups, having a group presentation in English, and playing speaking games.” S10 said, “I regularly speak in English with my teacher as well as my classmates because I am willing to practice my speaking skills as much as possible in my English class.” 93 S1 said, “I feel a little bit anxious when speaking in English with other people It is quite difficult for me to elaborate in some real-life situations that I need to communicate not only with my classmates and my teacher in speaking activities in class but also with native speakers.” S2 said, “I always feel nervous when talking to my teacher or foreigners on the street in English However, it is much easier for me to communicate in English with my friends in my English class.” S3 said, “I never feel confident enough about my speaking ability Especially, I always feel so stressful every time speaking in English in front of my classmates and my English teacher.” S4 said, “In most of real-life speaking conversations, I am frequently afraid of using correct speaking structures when chatting with my foreign friends.” S5 said, “It is so apprehensive for me to confer in English in some situations such as giving directions for foreigners or being asked by my English teacher.” S6 said, “I often feel nervous when being asked to present in English in front of a crowd or other classmates.” S7 said, “It is so anxious for me to associate with foreigner because I never talk to any native speaker Especially, I think the real-life conversations are the most difficult situations for me to talk in English.” S8 said, “I rarely correspond in English except some compelled situations such as working group projects or taking an oral test with my English teacher.” S9 said, “In English class, I quite confident about my English competence when communicating with my teacher and other classmates However, when expressing my idea to foreign stranger on the street, I feel so nervous and afraid of making mistakes.” 94 S10 said, “I regularly speak in English with my teacher as well as my classmates because I am willing to practice my speaking skills as much as possible in my English class.” S1 said, “I personally think that lack of vocabulary as well as poor pronunciation is two common factors that create reticence in my speaking performance.” S2 said, “In my opinion, the habit of using my native language which is Vietnamese Furthermore, I am also lazy to use English in class as well as in real-life situations.” S3 said, “To my mind, I think the lack of opportunities to practice speaking frequently in English is the main factor because I rarely attend my English classes.” S4 said, “My poor vocabulary when speaking in English can create the reticence in my speaking performance.” 10 S5 said, “In my view, the fundamental factor is the English study environment, which is so boring and stressful, can create reticence in my speaking performance.” S6 said, “I think the poor English vocabulary, the lack of using appropriate grammar structures, and real-life communication situations are three principal factors.” S7 said, “The higher level of other classmates makes me not want to speak in English.” S8 said, “Personally, I think my lack of English vocabulary is the main factor.” S9 said, “In my opinion, the lack of frequent practicing as well as the difficulties of applying all the knowledge that I learnt in English class into real-life conversations.” 95 S10 said, “From my standpoint, the frequency of making repeated pronunciation mistakes is the most fundamental factor that cause my reticence in English speaking performance.” S1 said, “From my view, the fear of making grammatical mistakes and the panic of failing an English test can create the reticence in students’ speaking performance.” S2 said, “I never prepare the next lesson in advance before coming to my English class, because I think it is not important enough for me to that However, I also consider that it makes me feel more nervous in the next class.” S3 said, “In my view, the bad intonation and poor pronunciation make students feel anxious in speaking As a result, they not want to speak in English anymore.” S4 said, “Personally, I think the consideration of using incorrect grammar structures is the principal factor that easily makes students feel 11 uncomfortable when speaking in English.” S5 said, “I am under the impression that personality of students as well as their interests in English are also two important factors that cause the silence of students in English class.” S6 said, “I believe that the fear of communicating with native speakers as well as the misunderstanding of the students when talking to other people such as their teacher or classmates are two main reasons that make students reticent.” S7 said, “I assume that students not want to speak in English if they feel their speaking level is too low, and sometimes they cannot understand what they are saying.” S8 said, “From my point of view, two predominant factors including the fear of speaking incorrectly and the scare of being laughed by other classmates when making too many mistakes in class.” 96 S9 said, “I personally consider that the lack of natural pronunciation as well as the anxiety of being laughed when communicating in English wrongly are two factors create students’ speaking reticence.” S10 said, “I think the unfamiliarity of speaking perform in English in front of a lecture hall, and the demotivation in expressing themselves in English, are two main causes that create the speaking reticence of the students.” S1 said, “In my opinion, I assume that some English teachers try to ask their students many difficult questions Additionally, the students are impossible to answer these questions As a result, they always feel anxious in responding their teachers as well as speaking to their classmates in English.” S2 said, “There are many factors related to the teacher, but one of the most principal factors is the lack of enthusiasm in English teaching progress Particularly, he or she never socializes with their students to teach them how to speak as well as help them feel more interested in learning English.” 12 S3 said, “I personally consider that teaching too fast is an important factor that causes students’ reticence in their speaking performance because the students not have enough time to answer the questions.” S4 said, “From my view, I consider that a teacher whose behaviors are negative can make their students feel stressful when being asked Particularly, they are not willing to say anything in English because of the interruptions of the teacher for correcting their mistakes.” S5 said, “The English teacher always asks students to use English in class Particularly, the students are not motivated to answer questions of their teacher in English because they feel very stressful As a result, they cannot be able to communicate in English.” 97 S6 said, “In my opinion, the attitude of English teacher toward the speaking mistake of his or her students can affect directly on their speaking willingness in class Particularly, they also feel disappointed when saying something wrong.” S7 said, “The discouragement and unfriendliness of the teacher are two principal factors that influence easily on the speaking performance of a student.” S8 said, “My English teacher rarely create enough chances for me to practice my speaking skill so I cannot feel confident when speaking in English Therefore, I not like communicating in English in class.” S9 said, “I presume that the interesting pedagogical method of an English teacher is so essential for improving the speaking competence of his or her students Besides, the teacher also needs to consider about the interests of their students during the English learning process.” S10 said, “I suspect that incorrect pronunciation as well as the imposition of teaching methods which are only imitate servilely the contents in the textbook are able to create a stressful and boring feeling when speaking in English Consequently, the students feel tired anytime they need to speak in English because they have no idea to say or answer the questions of their teacher.” S1 said, “Personally, I think the people in my country still cannot realize clearly about the importance of learning English Therefore, students are so lazy as well as afraid of communicate with other people in English.” 13 S2 said, “About the atmosphere in English class, I consider that the students are not willing to speak in English if they learn in an unexciting and exhausting class.” S3 said, “From my view, I personally think that the motivation of the contents in the English textbook is so crucial to their English learning 98 process because students are willing to communicate more in English when they feel interested in learning.” S4 said, “The noisy atmosphere of the English class can not only create a lot of distractions for students but also affect on their English learning attitude.” S5 said, “I think many contents or topics in the textbook are too difficult for students to understand As a result, it is hard for them to explain their ideas about these topics.” S6 said, “Personally, I consider that a class with too many students make the student feel more nervous while speaking in English.” S7 said, “The habit of using Vietnamese in the English classes of many students is the factor that influences mainly on other students’ willingness of speaking in English.” S8 said, “In my opinion, a class with too many students, whose English levels are high, is so stressful for the Beginners level students because they feel anxious while communicating in English.” S9 said, “From my own point of view, the interesting learning atmosphere is necessary for the students’ English learning proficiency.” S10 said, “In my opinion, the interesting class atmosphere is so important for the English learning development of the students.” S1 said, “I consider that the scornful attitudes of other classmates are the main factors that cause students’ speaking reticence because students easily feel shy in performing in English in front of the class.” S2 said, “I think there is no factors that relating to the other classmates 14 that can affect to the reticence in English speaking of a student.” S3 said, “In my opinion, I personally determine that some students, who have good English competence, can make other students whose English abilities are lower feel stressful Therefore, these students not want to communicate in English in class.” 99 S4 said, “If a student, who really wants to learn as well as speak in English, can be lazy to talk in English in class because they always need to translate their speeches into Vietnamese to clarify their idea to the other classmates whose English level is lower.” S5 said, “From my standpoint, I consider that the opinion as well as the recommendations of other classmates are the remarkable causes of students’ speaking unwillingness.” S6 said, “Moreover, a student can be readily impacted by their other classmates’ passive attitudes such as being laughed or being seen foolish.” S7 said, “The appropriate number of students in each English class is one of the most significant factors In my opinion, the more students in class, the more reticent they are.” S8 said, “In my opinion, a class with too many students make students shy and nervous when volunteering to answer some questions in English.” S9 said, “From my own point of view, the attitude of other classmate cause students’ reticence in speaking.” S10 said, “Students cannot be able to speak in English if they need to communicate with other classmates whose English level is higher because they feel embarrassed when making speaking mistakes.” 100 APPENDIX F ADAPTED QUESTIONNAIRE Dao Thi Thanh Hao (2017) 101 ADAPTED QUESTIONNAIRE Le Van Tuyen and Tran Thi Trang Loan (2020) 102 103 APPENDIX G PLAGIARISM REPORT Viper Plagiarism Report PHUONG'S THESIS _ Ver VIPER.docx scanned Mar 27, 2021 Overall Score 0% 0.1% A thesis study on English Language Anxiety | … https://www.scribd.com/document/438356220/A-thesis-study-on-English 0.1% An Analysis of Factors Influencing Learners’ E… http://ijreeonline.com/article-1-38-en.pdf 0.1% The 4,5, and 7 Point Likert Scale + [Question… https://www.formpl.us/blog/point-likert-scale 0.1% Reticence of Speaking in a Maldivian ESL Cla… https://studylib.net/doc/25482926/reticence-of-speaking-in-a-maldivian- 0.1% English Speaking Performance Difficulties Fa… http://dspace.univ-tlemcen.dz/bitstream/112/10057/1/mebarki%20zahra 104