A study on vocational students motivation for learning english for specific purposes (esp)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ NGUYEN THI THAO LY A STUDY ON VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ NGUYEN THI THAO LY A STUDY ON VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 14 01 11 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: PHAM HUU DUC, Assoc PhD Dr HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Độc lập – Tự – Hạnh phúc KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là: Nguyễn Thị Thảo Ly Ngày sinh: 03/01/1992 Nơi sinh: Rạch Giá – Kiên Giang Chuyên ngành: LL&PPDH môn Tiếng Anh Mã học viên: 1881401110024 Tơi đồng ý cung cấp tồn văn thơng tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh kết nối tồn văn thơng tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học Sở Khoa học Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Ký tên (Ghi rõ họ tên) Nguyễn Thị Thảo Ly CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập - Tự - Hạnh phúc Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC sĩ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DÃN Giảng viên hướng dần: J.5 tủank rfttiu Học viên thực hiện: ÍÍCtUyưn j£( JỈQT'ÍLỚp: Mj.Eồ0.t Q:£ýA Ngày sinh: OỈ/ŨỈ/.ẨQ&& Nơi sinh: ỂocÂ* Ql.a - lien CjíailCỊ Tên đề tài: A âmpx ỡn yocA.TiQfM.L âĩu.D.£n±s / Aio.iỉ.mưoTí RX LÃ^ữiẫEữãUStUAX SE£C.I.EÌC £UR.PQ.SỮS ££5.(Q Ý kiến giáo viên hướng dẫn việc cho phép học viên bảo vệ luận văn trước Hội đồng: Thành phổ Hồ Chí Minh, ngày 2.2: thảng C'X, năm 20.23 Người nhận xét DECLARATION The thesis entitled “A STUDY ON VOCATIONAL STUDENTS' MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP)” is conducted under the supervision of Assoc Prof Dr Pham Huu Duc, a teacher at the School of Languages, International University, VNU – HCMC Except for references made in the thesis, no part of the thesis has been published or used to award another degree No materials published by someone else were used in the thesis without proper attribution The thesis has not been submitted to any other university or institution for the award of a degree or diploma Ho Chi Minh City, 2023 Nguyen Thi Thao Ly i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The present study has been completed with the support and encouragement of many people I am deeply indebted to all of those who have contributed to the success of my study Without their help, this research study would have been impossible I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all of them First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Pham Huu Duc who teaches at the School of Languages, International University, VNU – HCMC During the time I was conducting the present research, he provided me with useful materials, shared with me valuable experiences, and offered me precious advice He also loaded me with enlightenment and continuous encouragement whenever I was stressed or confused I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers of the TESOL program at Ho Chi Minh City Open University for their helpful instruction and dedication from 2018 to 2022 I am grateful to my colleagues, teachers, and administrators at Kien Giang Vocational College who offered their responses on baseline interviews, sympathies, and willingness to accept substitutions or changes in work for my absences from school Besides, I profoundly acknowledge all my school students who had seriously completed the questionnaire and expressively participate in interviews with their enthusiasm Last but not least, my recognition and gratitude are addressed to my family for their help, sympathy, and encouragement Without their support, I could not have had the motivation to complete this thesis ii ABSTRACT Learners need proper motivation for successful learning in contexts of English as a second or foreign language, specifically English for Specific Purposes (ESP) The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate the levels and types of motivation for learning ESP among second-year vocational students, and (2) discover whether they are more instrumentally or integratively motivated to learn ESP Another goal was to (3) determine whether there were differences in these levels among these students due to different majors Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied First, all sophomores in second-year vocational courses at Kien Giang Vocational College were given 30-item questionnaires with a 5-point Linkert scale adapted from Gardner's (1985) modal; 235 responses were then collected A week later, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 randomly selected participants from the sample to gain more insight into these fields The quantitative data revealed that (1) the learners' overall motivation was relatively high but statistically different from the level of 4.0, and they had both instrumental and integrative motivation However, (2) they were motivated by instrumental rather than integrative factors And (3) there were differences in these levels based on major Furthermore, qualitative data shed more light on learners' motivations for learning ESP The findings contributed some field information about learners of this type to the literature in general, and significant insight into learners' aspects of motivation can be gained; thus, chances to improve these levels for better ESP learning become more attainable and less challenging if more attempts are made by this school's teachers, administrators, and students in particular Key words: motivation, instrumental, integrative, English for Specific Purposes iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 English for specific purposes (ESP) 2.1.1 Definition of ESP 2.1.2 Types of ESP 10 2.1.3 The role of ESP 11 2.2 Motivation 12 2.2.1 Definition of motivation 12 2.2.2 Motivation in Second/Foreign language learning 13 2.2.3 Types of motivation 14 2.2.4 The role of motivation 17 2.2.6 Ways to enhance learning motivation 19 2.2.5 The elements of motivation 20 2.3 Attitudes toward learning ESP 21 2.3.1 Definition of attitudes 21 2.3.2 The role of attitudes in language learning 22 iv 2.3.3 The elements of attitudes 23 2.4 Conceptual framework 24 2.5 Previous studies on learners’ motivation for learning English and ESP 25 2.5.1 Previous studies on learners’ motivation for learning English and ESP in other countries context 25 2.5.2 Previous studies on learners’ motivation for learning English and ESP in Viet Nam 29 2.6 Research gap 30 CHAPTER 3: RESEACH METHODOLOGY 32 3.1 Research design 32 3.2 Research setting 33 3.3 Participants 33 3.3.1 Participants for questionnaire 33 3.3.2 Participants for interview 34 3.4 Instruments 35 3.4.1 Questionnaire design 36 3.4.2 Group interview design 38 3.5 Data collection procedure 39 3.5.1 Questionnaire 39 3.5.2 Group interview 39 3.6 Data analysis procedure 40 3.6.1 Questionnaire 41 3.6.2 Group interview 42 3.7 Validity and reliability 42 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 45 4.1 Findings 45 4.1.1 Findings from the questionnaire surveys 45 4.1.1.1 Level of vocational students’ motivation for learning ESP 45 4.1.1.2 Types of vocational students’ motivation for learning ESP 52 v 4.1.1.3 Differences in motivation for learning ESP among the students of different majors 56 4.1.2 Findings from the group interviews 60 4.1.2.1 Level of vocational students’ motivation for learning ESP 60 4.1.2.2 Types of vocational students’ motivation for learning ESP 63 4.2 Discussions 66 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 72 5.1 Summary of the findings 72 5.2 Pedagogical Implications 73 5.2.1 Implications for students 73 5.2.2 Implications for teachers 74 5.2.3 Implications for school administrators 75 5.3 Limitations 76 5.4 Recommendations for further research 77 5.5 Conclusion 78 REFERENCES 80 APPENDICES 90 Appendix 1: Questionnaire survey (English version) 90 Appendix 2: Questionnaire survey (bilingual version) 95 Appendix 3: Interview questions (English version) 105 Appendix 4: Câu hỏi vấn (Vietnamese version) 106 Appendix 5: Reliability test for questionnaire 107 Appendix 6: Tests for data analysis 109 vi