A study on the factors demotivating the first year english major students at hung yen university of technology and education in their english speaking lessons

Trang 1 HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE FACTORS DEMOTIVATING THE FIRST-YEAR EN

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE FACTORS DEMOTIVATING THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION IN THEIR ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC YẾU TỐ GÂY MẤT HỨNG THÚ TRONG GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Duyen, M.A Student: Bui Thi Hai Yen Student number: 11317110 Hung Yen – 2021 HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE FACTORS DEMOTIVATING THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION IN THEIR ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC YẾU TỐ GÂY MẤT HỨNG THÚ TRONG GIỜ HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Student: Bui Thi Hai Yen Student number: 11317110 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Duyen, M.A Hung Yen – 2021 i DECLARATION I certify that the study entitled “A study on the factors demotivating the first- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in their English speaking lessons” is the result of my own research and has not been submitted to any other universities or institutions Hung Yen, May 2021 Signature Bui Thi Hai Yen ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor M.A Nguyen Thi Duyen for her excellent supervision and careful guidance in the completion of this thesis She has provided me with valuable experience and comments, which I always highly appreciate Without her help, I cannot complete this work perfectly My deep appreciation also sends to the lecturers of UTEHY for their interesting lectures that provided me the strong inspiration for this study I would like to give my thanks to all the authors of the books, magazines, and other materials listed in the reference part of their ideas that have been reflected and developed in the study My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues for their support, the lecturers and students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education for their cooperation in completing my survey questionnaire as well as attending the interview needed for this thesis paper Last but not least, my gratitude is extended to all members of my family for their love and continuant encouragement during the time I carried out this study iii ABSTRACT English is now an important international language over the world which is used in many fields of our life Of all skills, speaking skill is considered the most important and necessary to communicate between individuals For this reason, the study aims at finding out “the common speaking errors made by the first year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education.” In the thesis, the participants consist of 80 first year English majors of TAK18 and teachers at the Faculty of Foreign languages, at UTEHY In order to achieve that goal, the author combined both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data and two instruments were employed to collect the data including survey questionnaires for students and lecturers and interview questions and observation for students There are six main demotivating factors the first-year English major students at UTEHY face in their speaking classes namely: students’ negative attitude toward language learning and speaking, teacher-related factors, facility-related factors, teaching materials, unfavorable classroom climate, and insufficient opportunities for speaking practice Several pedagogical strategies of these findings have been offered to assist instructors in helping learners be aware of and successfully cope with these demotivating factors Though the limitations have been unavoidable, the study is expected to be beneficial to teachers, students and researchers of the related subjects iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS MA: Master of Arts FFL: Faculty of Foreign Language UTEHY: Hung Yen university of technology and education TAK18: The first-year student class at FFL, UTEHY v LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: The lecturers’ and students' attitudes towards interesting of teaching/ learning speaking skills Chart 2: The lecturers’ and students' attitudes towards the important of speaking skills Chart 3: The lecturers’ and students‟ reasons for learning to speak English Chart 4: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to attitude toward language learning and speaking Chart 5: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to teachers Chart 6: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to facilities Chart 7: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to teaching materials Chart 8: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to unfavorable classroom climate LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Lecturers' and students' opinion about the factors related to opportunities for speaking practice Table 2: The lecturers' and students' recommendations to raise your interest in speaking lessons Table 3: Lecturers' and students' opinion about recommendations on what teachers should to encourage them to participate in English speaking vi TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER I: Introduction 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aim and objectives of the study 1.3 Research question(s) 1.4 Subjects of the study 1.5 The scope of the study 1.6 Method of the study 1.7 Significance of the study 1.8 Structure of the study CHAPETRE II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Notions of speaking and teaching speaking skill 2.1.1 Speaking skill 2.1.2 Theories of teaching speaking skills 2.1.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 2.2 Motivation and demotivation 2.2.1 Definitions of Motivation 2.2.2 Definitions of demotivation 2.3 Factors affecting students’ demotivation in learning speaking skills 2.3.1 Factors related to learning attitudes 2.3.2 Factors related to teacher’s competence and performances 10 2.3.3 Factors related to facilities 11 2.3.4 Factors related to teaching materials 11 2.3.5 Factors related to classroom climate 12 2.3.6 Factors related to speaking practice opportunities 12 2.4 Summary 13 CHAPTER III: THE STUDY 14 3.1 Methodology 14 3.2 Subjects of the study 14 3.3 Speaking course 14 3.4 Survey questionnaires 15 vii 3.5 Interview 15 3.6 Data analysis 16 3.6.1 Data analysis from the survey questionnaires 16 3.6.2 The interview 28 3.7 Findings and discussion 29 3.8 Recommendations 32 3.8.1 For teachers 32 3.8.2 For students 33 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 34 4.1 Summary of the study 34 4.2 Limitations of the study 34 4.3 Suggestions for further study 35 REFERENCES 36 APPENDICES I APPENDIX I SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX V SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS V APPENDIX IX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (FOR STUDENTS) IX CHAPTER I: Introduction 1.1 Rationale for the study In the world today, the importance of English cannot be denied and ignored since English is the most common language spoken everywhere More people around the world than ever before are studying and learning English because it has become the international language of communication It is the reason why English has been a compulsory subject at schools in Vietnam for years When you pursue English, you have to experience skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing Each skill exists in the different key However, a lot of them confide that they are not willing to take part in speaking lessons Obviously, there may exist certain factors that deter students from participating in speaking classes In an attempt to find out the causes of the situation, I discovered that the students, most of the time, just like to listen and kept silent when being required to say something Even when the teachers tried to organize activities to stir up the atmosphere, no big changes ever happened Realizing the necessity of English in the development of the society in general and of each individual in particular, every learner wants to be competent in English and uses it to communicate with foreigners That’s why most schools now focus on developing students’ ability of speaking English Indeed, different skills (Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing) have certain roles in English language learning, but the final aim of learners is to use spoken language to communicate with other people Communication is a basic and necessary demand for everyone and people have to learn how to speak Moreover, speaking is considered having more important place than other skills Mastering speaking skill can reinforce learners to gain better achievement in other skills such as Listening, Reading, and Writing Because of vital position of speaking, learners of English should have motivation and positive attitude to learning English speaking But contrary to popular belief, in the process of teaching and learning to speak English, students have to deal with a number of difficulties including the factors demotivating students to speak Thus, it is a real challenge for them to get students to be involved teaching The idea of working out the factors that demotivate students to learn speaking skills has urged the 33 Although most students of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education are of the agreement that their teacher’s English competence is good, they have a problem with the teacher’s voice That is teacher speaks so fast that a lot of students are usually incapable of understanding and fulfilling the requirements Thus, the third recommendation the author would like to raise is that teacher should not speak so fast in order to make sure that what he/she is addressing can be gotten  Selecting the tasks and topics which are suitable to students’ levels In fact, learners are more motivated to study when the learning process enables them to enjoy success in completing tasks The learning tasks should be suitable challenging or easy enough for students to complete without too much frustration and at the same time, they can experience success 3.8.2 For students  Be confident It is important that students have to overcome shyness, grammar mistakes, the lack of ideas because it is unavoidable in speaking skills or learning language which all students face They force to believe that it is common problem for all language learners So that they have a positive attitude to learn speaking skills and not demotivation in speaking lessons  Improve vocabulary, structures, and background knowledge: Students should improve their vocabulary, structures, and background knowledge by reading books, sample speaking essays, listening to news, doing many exercises, and so on  Use social media to practice or learn to speak English Nowadays, the Internet has brought significant changes to our lives It is an indisputable fact that the Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, so students can connect with the foreigners Of course, it is easier to communicate with people who are far away On other word, internet brings people from all over the world closer together, and you can discuss and brainstorm these ideas on the various speaking topics with the foreigners Moreover, you can find suitable learning methods which help you improve your language in the Internet 34 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 4.1 Summary of the study Currently, showing that you have learned a foreign language like English and that you are a well-rounded English communicator will also prove that you are a dedicated and hardworking person whom employers look for Consequently, communicative English language learning and teaching have got much attention from not only educators but also people who recognize the significant changes in the way people internationally cooperate and how popular terms like integration and globalization are Aiming at making better the process of teaching and learning English speaking skills particularly at UTEHY, this study tries to find out what factors demotivate the first year English major students at UTEHY in speaking activities during English classes Research results have clearly demonstrated some main demotivating factors in English major’s learning speaking such as uninteresting teaching methods, students’ lack of vocabulary, insufficient teaching equipment, unfamiliar learning topics, insufficient practice opportunities, etc Studying these demotivating factors, we can also realize some noticeable educational teaching implications, namely, educators should take into consideration the difference between teaching and learning styles, the class size, the arrangement of desks and chairs in class, technological support in classes, etc Last but not least, along with results of demotivating factors in speaking lessons of English major student at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education some suggested solutions are also presented In the last parts, the researcher also mentions limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 4.2 Limitations of the study First of all, due to the limitation of time and human resource, this research could not cover a larger number of student participants Moreover, because for some private reasons and the inconvenience of the Covid-19 situation, consequently, opinions shared may not be various as expected The second limitation of the study is the collection of quantitative results from the questionnaire survey with the students were conducted online As a result, the answers 35 provided may not reflex correctly their actual thoughts and what they really consider the real situation The third limitation is the fact that not all the solutions suggested have been tested 4.3 Suggestions for further study This study employed the questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews collect opinions from teachers and learners, it is also a good idea to implement other research methods like case studies, and observations As what have been previously stated, the researcher has difficulty involving a large number of research populations Therefore, in order to increase the reliability and generalizability, future researchers should invite a larger population It is also advisable that further study can investigate how lower educational level can equip students with a more adequate vocabulary or how to overcome the difficulty of owning an inadequate vocabulary in speaking lessons 36 REFERENCES Al-Saidat, Emad M (2009) English in Jordan: Attitudes and prestige Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 35 (2), 155-167 Al-Seghayer, K (2014) The Four Most Common Constraints Affecting English Teaching in Saudi Arabia International Journal of English Linguistics, 4(5) Afrough, T., Rahimi, A., & Zarafshan, M (2013) Foreign Language Learning Demotivation: A Construct Validation Study Social and Behavioral Sciences, 136 (2014) 49 - 53 Aydin, S (2012) Factors Causing Demotivation in EFL Teaching Process: A Case Study The Qualitative Report, 17(51) Brown, H D (1994) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy New Jersy: Prentics Hall Regents Brown, H D Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2004 Brown, H D (2007) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching New York: Pearson Longman Christophel, D M., & Gorham, J (1995) A test-retest analysis of student motivation, teacher immediacy, and perceived sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes Communication Education, 44, 292-306 Doan, D H., (2011) Motivation in the development of English speaking skills by second year tourism major students at Sao Do University VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 27, 205-215 10 Dornyei, Z & Schmidt, R (Eds.) (2001) Motivation and Second Language Acquisition Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press 11 Dornyei, Z., & Ushioda, E (2011) Teaching and Researching Motivation New York: Longman 12 Gardner, R C (1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation London: Edward Arnold 37 13 Gorham, J., & Christophel, D M (1992) Students’ perceptions of teacher behaviors as motivating and demotivating factors in college classes Communication Quarterly, 40(3), 239-252 14 Gorham, J., & Millette, D.M (1997) A comparative analysis of teacher and student perceptions of sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes Communication Education, 46(4), 245-261 15 Harmer, Jeremy (1998) How to Teach Language: An Introduction to the Practice of English Language Teaching Addison Wesley Longman Limited 16 Howard, J K., & Erich, C F (2005) Goal propensity: Understanding and Predicting Individual Differences in Motivation Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 24, 215-263 17 Hughes, R (2011) Teaching and researching speaking 2nd edition Harlow: Longman 18 Li, J (2012) Principles of Effective English Language Leaner Pedagogy United State: College Board 19 Meshkata, M., & Hassanib, M (2012) Demotivating factors in learning English: the case of Iran Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 31 (2012) 745 - 749 20 Nunan, D (1999) Research methods in language learning Cambridge: CUP 21 Oxford, R., & Shearin, J (1994) Language Learning Motivation: Expanding the Theoretical Framework The Modern Language Journal, (78), 12-28 22 Sakai, H., & Kikuchi, K (2009) An Analysis of Demotivators in the EFL Classroom System, 37(1), 57-69 23 Soureshjani, K.H., & Riahipour, P (2012) Demotivating Factors on English Speaking Skill: A Study of EFL Language Learners and Teachers’ Attitudes World Applied Sciences Journal 17 (3): 327-339, 2012 24 Thornbury, S How to Teaching Speaking New York: Pearson Education Limited, 2004 25 Thornbury, S How to teach speaking New York: Pearson Education Inc, 2005 38 26 Torky, F E A S The Effectiveness of a Task-Based Instruction Program in Developing the English Language Speaking Skills of Secondary Stage Students Thesis Egypt: Women‟s College Curricula and Methods of Teaching Department Ain Shams University, 2006 27 Zeinab Moradi Khazaei, Ahmad Moin Zadeh, & Saeed Ketabi (2012) Willingness to Communicate in Iranian EFL Learners: The Effect of Class Size English Language Teaching, (11), 181-18 I APPENDICES APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Hello! My name is Bui Thi Hai Yen, I am from class TAK15.1, Faculty of Foreign Language at Hung Yen University Technology and Education This survey questionnaire is designed for my study entitled “A study on the factors demotivating the first- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in their English speaking lessons.” Your support in completing this survey will be appreciated Please select the answer by circling the first letter of each sentence and tick the checklist items or express your ideas in the blanks All the information provided by you is for learning purposes only and you can be confident that your identity will not be disclosed in any discussion of data Your answer will help me a lot in the research process Thanks for your help! I General information Fill in the information where appropriate What is your gender? A Male B Female What is your class? …………… What is your age? ………………… How long have you been studying English? …… Years II Your opinion on speaking lessons Question How you fell about learning to speak English? A It is very interesting B It is interesting C It is normal D It is boring II Question How important you think about English speaking lessons? A Very important B Important C Little important D Not important at all Question Why is speaking skill important to you? (You can choose more than one answer) A To get good grades B To communicate with foreigners C To fulfill the requirements of the University D To get good job in the future E To be admired and respected by friends and teachers III Factors demotivating students in English speaking lessons Question 4: What are demotivating factors in your speaking lesson? (You can choose more than one answer) Factor 1: Factors related to attitude toward language learning and speaking a Learning English because it is a compulsory subject at school not because of your interest b Not being confident in learning speaking due to the lack of vocabulary c English will not be useful for you in the future Factor 2: Factors related to teachers a Teachers’ poor pronunciation ability b Teachers’ uninteresting teaching methods c Not encouraging students to speak English in classroom d Teacher's not speaking English in classroom or doing so little e Teachers’ not using speaking practices of textbooks Factor 3: Factors related to facilities III a No or little use of visual aids such as videos and DVDS b No or little use of computers c No or little use of the internet d The arrangement of tables and chairs is not supportive to speaking activities Factor 4: Factors related to teaching materials a Old topics and texts used in the lessons b Difficult and unfamiliar topics used in lessons c Useless speaking exercises in the textbook Factor 5: Factors related to unfavorable classroom climate a Classmates’ not speaking English in classroom b Not doing speaking activities because of short class time c Feeling anxious while speaking because of classmates' laughter and teacher's inappropriate reactions Factor 6: Factors related to opportunities for speaking practice a Little chance of communicating in English inside the class due to large- sized class b Little chance to communicate in English outside the class c Others (please specify) III How to reduce demotivation students in speaking lessons Question 5: What can your teachers to raise your interest in speaking lessons? (You can choose more than one answer) a Do not be angry with you and not interrupt you b Vary the teaching techniques c Give marks or add marks if you participate in the speaking activities regularly IV d Praise you to the class e Increase the use of visual aids f Increase the use of language games g Increase the use of information technology h Organize extra activities regularly such as: English speaking clubs, quizzes, etc i Give homework (conversations, role-play, group presentation, etc.), check and give marks j Others (please specify) Question 6: What you expect your teacher to to reduce your demotivation? (You can choose more than one answer) a Give clear explanation and instructions to tasks b Go around and offer help c Control the speed of their speech d Give students both praise and criticisms e Use modern technology such as computer, projector f Organize more pair-work and group-work g Choose topics and tasks more relevant to student’s ability and of student interest h Be stricter to lazy students i Organize games and activities to get students to learn speaking through playing j Encourage students to listen to English songs and watch films to get more input speak k Ask students to read more to improve their background knowledge V APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Hello! My name is Bui Thi Hai Yen, I am from class TAK15.1, Faculty of Foreign Language at Hung Yen University Technology and Education This survey questionnaire is designed for my study entitled “A study on the factors demotivating the first- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in their English speaking lessons.” Your support in completing this survey will be appreciated Please select the answer by circling the first letter of each sentence and tick the checklist items or express your ideas in the blanks All the information provided by you is for learning purposes only and you can be confident that your identity will not be disclosed in any discussion of data Your answer will help me a lot in the research process Thanks for your help! I General information Fill in the information where appropriate What is your gender? A Male B Female What is your age? ………………… How long have you been teaching English? …… Years II Your opinion on speaking lessons Question How you fell about teaching to speak English? A It is very interesting B It is interesting C It is normal D It is boring Question How important you think about English speaking lessons? A Very important VI B Important C Little important D Not important at all Question 3: Why is speaking skill important to your students? (You can choose more than one answer) A To get good grades B To communicate with foreigners C To fulfill the requirements of the University D To get good job in the future E To be admired and respected by friends and teachers III Factors demotivating students in English speaking lessons Question 4: What are demotivating factors in your students speaking lesson? (You can choose more than one answer) Factor 1: Factors related to attitude toward language learning and speaking a Learning English because it is a compulsory subject at school not because of your interest b Not being confident in learning speaking due to the lack of vocabulary c English will not be useful for you in the future Factor 2: Factors related to teachers a Teachers’ poor pronunciation ability b Teachers’ uninteresting teaching methods c Not encouraging students to speak English in classroom d Teacher's not speaking English in classroom or doing so little e Teachers’ not using speaking practices of textbooks Factor 3: Factors related to facilities a No or little use of visual aids such as videos and DVDS b No or little use of computers c No or little use of the internet VII d The arrangement of tables and chairs is not supportive to speaking activities Factor 4: Factors related to teaching materials a Old topics and texts used in the lessons b Difficult and unfamiliar topics used in lessons c Useless speaking exercises in the textbook Factor 5: Factors related to unfavorable classroom climate a Classmates’ not speaking English in classroom b Not doing speaking activities because of short class time c Feeling anxious while speaking because of classmates' laughter and teacher's inappropriate reactions Factor 6: Factors related to opportunities for speaking practice a Little chance of communicating in English inside the class due to large-sized class b Little chance to communicate in English outside the class c Others (please specify) III How to reduce demotivation students in speaking lessons Question 5: What can you to raise your student’s interest in speaking lessons? (You can choose more than one answer) a Do not be angry with students and not interrupt students b Vary the teaching techniques c Give marks or add marks if you participate in the speaking activities regularly d Praise students to the class e Increase the use of visual aids f Increase the use of language games g Increase the use of information technology h Organize extra activities regularly such as: English speaking clubs, quizzes, etc VIII i Give homework (conversations, role-play, group presentation, etc), check and give marks j Others (please specify) Question 6: What are some suggestions realated can you give to reduce your student demotivation to improve in English speaking lessons? (You can choose more than one answer) a Give clear explanation and instructions to tasks b Go around and offer help c Control the speed of their speech d Give students both praise and criticisms e Use modern technology such as computer, projector f Organize more pair-work and group-work g Choose topics and tasks more relevant to student’s ability and of student interest h Be stricter to lazy students i Organize games and activities to get students to learn speaking through playing j Encourage students to listen to English songs and watch films to get more input speak k Ask students to read more to improve their background knowledge IX APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (FOR STUDENTS) What you consider demotivating factors in English speaking lessons? What suggestions can you give or what changes you want to have eliminate these demotivating factors? What activities can your teachers to motivate you in English speaking lessons?