[LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ] Implementation of project-based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning english speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

-

VU THUY DUONG

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING METHODS IN ENHANCING SECONDARY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN

LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING AT UK ACADEMY BA RIA

Major: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Course code: 8140111

SUPERVISED BY: Nguyen Xuan Hong, Ph.D

Ba Ria-Vung Tau, September 2023

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I hereby declare that the thesis “Implementation of project-based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language

This thesis does not include any previously published or written by another person content with the exception of the references stated in the text

The study reported in this thesis was granted approval by the Graduate Faculty of Ba Ria Vung Tau university

Author’s Signature

Vu Thuy Duong

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the master’s thesis submitted today entitled:

Implementation of project-based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in master’s programs issued by Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria - Vung Tau University

Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, September 2023

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Vu Thuy Duong, being a candidate for the degree of TESOL 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

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, September 2023

Signature ……… Vu Thuy Duong

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, without his assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this thesis would never have been accomplished Once again, I would like to thank you very much for your understanding and support over the past few years

Secondly, I would also like to show my gratitude to my colleagues at UK Academy School, my family and my dear friends for supporting and encouraging me during the process of doing the research

Thirdly, I am deeply thankful for my students, my coworkers who are the participants of this study, who have cooperatively spent their precious time to take part in filling out questionnaires, answering interviews as well as contributing to the project

Last but not least, I would like to say thanks to all of the lecturers for their dedication and advice during my study at Ba Ria - Vung Tau University

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 4

1.3 Objectives of the study 5

1.4 Research questions 6

1.5 Research scope 6

1.6 Research significance 7

1.7 Definition of key terms 8

1.8 The structure of the study 9

CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.4 Motivation to speak English 17

2.4.1 Motivation to speak English and its importance 17

2.4.2 Challenges of motivating learners to learn English speaking 18

2.4.3 Increasing motivation to speak English 20

2.5 Project -based learning (PBL) 22

2.5.1 Definition of PBL and its significance in English teaching and learning 22

2.7.1 Previous researches in foreign countries context 34

2.7.2 Previous researches in the context of Vietnam 36

3.4 Sample and sampling procedures 40

3.5 Data collection procedures 44

3.6 Data analysis procedures 45

4.2.3 Students’ attitude towards PBL 60

4.2.3.1 Students’ attitude towards the benefits that PBL brings about 61

4.2.3.2 Students’ attitude towards the implementation of PBL in general 66

4.2.4 Whether PBL helps increase students’ motivation to learn English speaking 71

4.3 Discussions 74

4.3.1 The difficulties that the teachers and students have to face during the implementation of PBL to enhance motivation to learn English Speaking 74

4.3.2 Students and teachers’ attitudes towards PBL 75

4.3.3 Whether PBL helps increase students’ motivation to learn English speaking 76

4.4 Summary 77

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

ESL English as a Second Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training NHG Nguyen Hoang Group

PBL Project-based learning

SDT Self - Determination Theory UKA UK Academy Ba Ria

T1 Teacher 1 T2 Teacher 2 T3 Teacher 3 T4 Teacher 4 T5 Teacher 5

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 Participants’ Personal Information 43

Table 4.1 Students’ Attitude And Acknowledgement Towards English Speaking Skills 48

Table 4.2 Difficulties And Challenges Of Learning English Speaking 50

Table 4.3 Motivation To Learn English Speaking Skill 53

Table 4.4 Pbl Approach And Understanding Of Pbl 57

Table 4.5 Difficulties And Challenges Of Learning English Speaking 58

Table 4.6 Pbl And The Enhancement Of Motivation In Learning English Speaking 66

Table 4.7 Motivation To Learn English Speaking Skill 71

LIST OF BAR CHARTS

BAR CHART 4.1 STUDENTS' PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL 49

BAR CHART 4.2 STUDENTS' PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL 49

BAR CHART 4.3 REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH 55

BAR CHART 4.4 REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH 56

BAR CHART 4.5 REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED BAR CHART 4.6 THE PROCESS OF PBL 58

BAR CHART 4.7 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 61

BAR CHART 4.8 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 62

BAR CHART 4.9 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 63

BAR CHART 4.10 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 64

BAR CHART 4.11 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 65

BAR CHART 4.12 THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION 66

BAR CHART 4.13 STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS PBL 72

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 2.1:DIAGRAM OF COMPONENTS AND TYPES OF PERFORMANCE OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILL. 15

FIGURE 2.2: TYPES AND COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION 17

FIGURE 2.3: DIAGRAM OF STEPS TO INCREASE STUDENTS' ENGLISH-SPEAKING MOTIVATION 22

FIGURE 2.4: PROCESS OF PBL AND ITS BENEFITS 32

FIGURE 2.5: ATTITUDE AND ITS COMPONENTS MODEL 33

FIGURE 2.6: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PBL AND LEARNERS' MOTIVATION TO STUDY ENGLISH SPEAKING 37

ABSTRACT

Being able to speak English fluently has become one of the must-haves in the skill set that a person needs to gain in order to apply for a professional position Since the importance of this skill is well known, teaching and learning English Speaking at school has been greatly invested Moreover, speaking skill is a difficult skill to master as it requires a lot of factors, which demand learners to invest a lot of effort to achieve Understanding the difficulties that the students have to encounter, making an attempt to motivate them so they want to keep putting in efforts is crucial PBL approach has emerged as a teaching and learning approach that encourages learners’ motivation to learn This approach is expected to not only support learners to study the language, but also to feel motivated to speak the language The objectives being addressed by employing students’ questionnaire and teachers’ interview to study their attitudes towards the approach The results collected from the study show that the students’ and the teachers’ attitudes towards PBL were positive, and this teaching and learning approach definitely helps motivate the students to learn English Speaking at school Even though, having PBL applied at school could be challenging for both the learners and the teachers at times

Keywords: Project – based learning, motivation, attitudes, English speaking skill, enhancing

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces about the current research such as background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, research scope, research significance, definition of some key terms mentioned in the research and organization of the study

1.1 Background to the study

In the last few decades, for the sakes of global communication and exchanging information, English language has developed as the primary language This language is spoken by more people around the world than any other language, which gives it the name “global language” English language has been known to gradually become one of the most popular languages with over 2 billion speakers all over the world By the number of speakers, this language is considered the largest Moreover, the number of native English speakers is also the third largest which makes it even more common

English language has a very powerful ability to connect people from different countries and cultures It helps strengthen relationships and build up understanding There is an interesting fact that if a person can communicate in English, he or she will be able to speak or have a conversation with over 20 percent of people in the world because there are 67 countries using this language as their official language

There are some main reasons making English a worthy language to spend time studying First of all, English is the language of science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, trade tourism, etc and that means being competent in English ensures people’s opportunities of applying or getting jobs in multinational companies Secondly, English is spoken by people from all around the world and it means that when people are working, studying, or travelling in anywhere in the world, English ability can help them to have conversation with people from many other countries Thirdly, there are numerous scientific papers written in English The truth is, in the last century, this number has started to outweigh the number of papers written in the native language of the researchers For this reason, having a good knowledge of English is incredibly important to those working and studying in the scientific field Another

reason is that English is also the language of the media industry and the Internet so having the ability to understand English could be beneficial for entertaining

When it comes to discuss the importance of the use of English in the Vietnamese context, learning and teaching English has become utterly crucial, and being well supported and taken care of The first reason for that is, the ability of using English benefits people in many ways, especially in Vietnam now The demand of going abroad to study of Vietnamese students is higher than ever In order to meet the opportunity of being given a chance to get a scholarship or being qualified to enroll in a school, the efficiency in English is undeniably necessary Another reason is that the numbers of investors from all over the world coming to invest in Vietnam are rising so being able to use English is like being given an opportunity to apply for a decent job Moreover, understanding English helps a person with communicating and studying Since tourism is developing rapidly and effectively in Vietnam, the numbers of foreigners coming and living in Vietnam is increasing so being able to speak and understand English helps a lot with socializing It is a common knowledge that many subjects and materials are originally written and taught in English, in order for Vietnamese learners to expand their knowledge, understanding English is absolutely beneficial

A person’s English ability is evaluated through four criteria: ability of speaking, reading, listening and writing It is undeniable that all four skills are equally important, but in all of these four skills, speaking is considered the hardest to master and the most commonly evaluated Being able to speak English, a learner would have to master these four elements such as vocabulary, fluency, grammar and pronunciation That is the proof why we could say speaking is the skill that we need to invest the most time on Speaking skill is very important as the ability of speaking English fluently does not only show the ability of using English of a person but also the communicative competence of him or her Having a good ability to communicate in English can benefit a person throughout his or her lives, especially in studying and working Communicative competence is the aim of 21st century language learning (Eaton, 2010) Many employers are demanding their employees to be equipped with soft skills such as communicative skill and computing one That is why it is crucial for pupils or

students to prepare themselves with good English-speaking skills when learning at school or university Spending time practicing speaking English at school or university is now even more necessary due to the requirements of current situation in society School or university environment provides a learner with peers to have a conversation with so that they can practice language everyday and projects, major assignments etc which include presentations also provides a learner’s opportunities to work on formal and speech - like language

In order to master a skill or a subject, people all need one major factor to achieve it It is motivation Motivation plays an important role in learning English in general and learning speaking skills in particular Motivation is an orientation towards learning Thereby, it impacts how likely a pupil or student is either to give up or push forward, and how thoughtful its reflection on his or her learning will be The deeper the motivation for pursuing an achievement, the more likely that the pupil or student will put significant effort to working harder for it On the other hand, having low motivation leads to low interest and low academic persistence Therefore, it is certain that motivation acts as a major factor in enhancing students’ academic performance, especially English-speaking skills

Due to the fact that, motivating learners to speak English is urgently crucial and looking for suitable and effective approachs to apply in the teaching curriculum is also urgently important There are a lot of approaches, approachs and techniques such as communicative language teaching, group work, controlled practice etc applied for teaching English speaking skills for learners in order to enhance their leaning motivation and get good results However, each approach or technique has its own good effects and drawbacks Therefore, it is necessary to employ a suitable approach that can help enhance learners’ motivation when learning English speaking skills Project-based learning (PBL) approach has been considered a suitable approach to implement for improving English learning Moreover, a relatively large number of research have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of implementation of PBL in enhancing learners’ motivation in learning English, and they show promising results Motivation and PBL are both proved to be significant to academic performance of learners, especially learners of English in general and English speaking in particular

Many studies have been conducted to show the significance of PBL and motivation in learning and teaching a language to foreigners, especially learning and teaching English PBL allows learners to develop all four skills in language learning during the process of creating products (Parrish 2004) PBL provides a model in which learners will get involve in designing, solving problems and taking part in cooperative work which helps better their second language performance (Jones & Muffitt, 1996) In hope to enhance students’ language skills, Srikrai (2008) and Simpson (2011) carried out a study about PBL, and the results showed that students’ language skills were improved through PBL activities The reasons for that were the students who took part in PBL activities required to use reading, listening, writing and speaking skills during the process

Motivation plays a fundamental role in pursuing all purposes in life including educational achievement even if it is learning about how numbers work in Maths, or in learning a second language Woolfolk (1998: 372) claims “Motivation as an internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behavior” Salvin (2001) also states that “Motivation as an internal process that activates, guides and maintains behavior over time”

With all background information mentioned above, having this study conducted is urgently necessary for the reality of learning and teaching English at the moment and the basis to conduct the research is valid

1.2 Statement of the problem

Throughout some years of observing and teaching as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at UK Academy (UKA) Ba Ria, the researcher found that the secondary students here are very neglected when practicing speaking English They hardly speak English to each other, use none or very little English when the teachers ask them to have a discussion about the related topics during lessons This situation occurs not only in lower-level classes but also in most of the other classes here It is likely that they don’t understand about the real need to practice or to speak English and it also shows that the lack of motivation is still huge This prevents the development of students’ English-speaking ability because the development of communicative skills

can only take place if learners have the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate with the people around them (Littlewood, 1981)

As a consequence, it is meaningful to realize the significance of applying an appropriate teaching approach in order to educate teenagers and at the same time to motivate them during their learning Besides that, the importance of student - centered learning in the 21st century has forced the teachers to change their ways of designing teaching strategies It is believed that in English learning, PBL approach can be used as an effective tool to further students’ motivation in English speaking PBL refers to a approach that gives students opportunities “to design, plan, and carry out an extended project that produces a publicly exhibited output such as a product, publication, or presentation” (Patton, 2012) The activities in PBL are so fascinating and they ask students to be engaged in them so much that they make language learning more meaningful and communication more purposeful (Thi, 2011)

Based on the real situations of students’ English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, the teachers here have employed PBL approach in hope to improve students’ English-speaking performance Some lessons require students to work in groups and carry the lessons’ contents themselves They would have to search for information from different sources and present what they have found in front of the class Most of the students seemed to be very motivated following the process However, to some extent, the way PBL being applied and assessed by the teachers and the students was not taken advantage of properly

Therefore, conducting the research on “Implementation of project – based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria” is urgent and necessary so that the

panorama of the situation can be viewed in a more thorough way

1.3 Objectives of the study

The study aims at investigating the enhancement of secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City when teachers apply PBL in their English teaching process The objectives of the study are as follows:

❖ To explore the difficulties teachers and students have to face when PBL is applied to enhance motivation in English speaking learning of secondary students at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City;

❖ To examine teachers and students’ attitudes toward the implementation of PBL in enhancing motivation in English speaking learning of secondary students at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City;

❖ To find out whether PBL helps to enhance students’ motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City;

❖ To offer effective solutions to enhance students’ motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City

2 What are teachers and students’ attitudes towards the implementation of PBL to enhance motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City? Are there any significant differences in the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward using of PBL to enhance motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City?

3 How effective is implementing PBL at UKA Ba Ria to enhance students’ motivation to learn English speaking?

1.5 Research scope

The research was conducted in order to mainly find out the implementation of project – based learning approachs in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria

The particular duties of the research are to explore the difficulties teachers and students have to face when PBL is applied to enhance motivation in English speaking learning of secondary students at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City; to examine teachers and

students’ attitudes toward the implementation of PBL in enhancing motivation in English speaking learning of secondary students at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City; to find out whether PBL helps to enhance students’ motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City; and to offer effective solutions to enhance students’ motivation in English speaking learning at UKA Ba Ria, Ba Ria City

1.6 Research significance

The research is theoretically supportive to previous and future research It systemizes theoretical issues related to the subject matter It supports the evidence that the implementation of PBL enhances students’ English ability

It is clearly shown that lessons which are planned following PBL approach benefit students in various ways Students will be more interested and engaged in the lessons by being included in every stage of the project The teachers who work as the instructors will instruct the students on how to carry out the projects The students, with the guide of the teachers will have a chance to grasp the knowledge in a more intentional way by being asked to read and research for information However, the source of the materials should be trustworthy and authentic Besides, students are put in groups while doing project works which grant them the opportunity to get to know their classmates better which helps strengthen their relationship with their peers Group work helps them develop important skills that will be beneficial for them in the future like collaboration skill, problem solving skill and communication skill Furthermore, having to work on the projects asks students to practice critical thinking and self-learning Students are also asked to make presentations which ask them to practice self-confidence because confidence can be achieved by practicing The two most important ingredients to master speaking skills such as self-learning and self-confidence are also built up When the students learn the vocabulary and try to figure out a grammar structure all by themselves, they will probably memorize it better and when they have the time to practice their confidence, they will surely speak a language more confidently

The research contributes to the overall quality of teaching and learning English in Vietnam practically as applying PBL approach provides the teachers great opportunity to teach and be more active in their way of delivering the lessons Giving

the students more authority and opportunity to speak and express their opinions and thoughts would be the ideal way for the teachers to listen to new and innovative ideas Teachers will also learn how to organize the activities in class and get chances to be creative which will reduce the stress of being a teacher This study allows educators to be more confidents and active in applying PBL in their teaching process, especially when teaching English speaking This study is also catered to improve students’ overall motivation to speak English through better understanding of PBL Furthermore, EFL and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers may consider using PBL in English teaching in general and teaching English speaking in particular

The data of the research is also hoped to be useful for further research on the same topic They are certainly a valuable and reliable reference source for further related research

The research results are also expected to better the overall teaching and learning English practice in Vietnam Above all, PBL could be really applied not only at UKA Ba Ria but also at other educational settings in Ba Ria – Vung Tau and in Viet Nam because the stakeholders will be more willing to invest to better the procedure of PBL

1.7 Definition of key terms

There are some major terms that are mentioned and analyzed in the study This section provides their definitions in order to give readers a better understanding of the study’s perspective

Project-based learning is a learning approach based on projects which

encourage learners to be the center of studying because they have a chance to have more autonomy in their learning process and they also get to practice other soft skills as the activities are real -life related (Solomon, 2003)

Motivation is a main and an essential ingredient to help anyone pursuit

anything in life (Kober, 2012)

Attitude is someone’s feeling or opinion towards something (Gawronski,

1.8 The structure of the study

The thesis is constructed in five chapters as followings:

✓ Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the problem, gives an overview about the study It also discusses the scope of the study, the significance of the study, its aims and objectives, and research questions

✓ Chapter 2 Literature review

This chapter covers the literature review which aims to discuss published information on the previous related works in the research area Moreover, it presents relevant information about definitions of key terms and conceptual framework for more understanding of the study

✓ Chapter 3 Approachology

This chapter explains the details of the selected approachology that the researcher is going to use in the study, including details on the setting, participants, research designs, instruments, data collection and data analysis procedures

✓ Chapter 4 Results and discussion

This chapter presents the results for each of the research questions beginning with the quantitative data followed by the qualitative evidence and includes a discussion of the findings

✓ Chapter 5 Conclusion

This chapter discusses the conclusion, limitations, recommendations and suggestions for future research

English speaking ability has become one of the must-have requirements for the job market and also considered as an important skill of the 21st century That makes a big change on how English is taught and learnt One of the most outstanding, practical approaches that is being used to teach language and other subjects in many schools for a certain period of time is PBL PBL has been applied in many language teaching curriculums and there have been various researches done to show its effectiveness in enhancing learners’ motivation in studying English in general and studying English speaking in particular Those researches have been conducted in many countries in the world as well as in Vietnam

However, those studies were conducted under different educational settings and the participants are in different age groups and from different backgrounds To find out how effective PBL helps to promote students’ motivation in English speaking learning is a potential research direction in this related research field The main objective of the study is to find out if the application of PBL approach at UKA Ba Ria actually enhances the students’ willingness to use English to speak in the classroom Thereby, the theoretical framework mentioned in this chapter serves as a solid basis to fulfil all the objectives and research questions of the thesis

The thesis also supports the idea that PBL is a teaching approach in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects

2.2 Learning English speaking skill

2.2.1 Definition of learning

Ambrose et al defines learning as “a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and increases the potential for improved performance and future learning” (2010: 3) The results of learning process may cause change in the learners’ level of knowledge, attitude or the way they behave

De Houwer et al (2013) states that learning has been defined functionally as changes in behavior that result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism that result from experience

Dewey (1938) claims that learning is constructed socially, and when it comes to learning, the process should place children at its center, rather than curriculum and institutions In order to learn effectively, students are required to make use of previous experiences to create something new from it

2.2.2 Definition of speaking skill

Speaking skill is one of the most important skills and that is why it is necessary for language learners to make an effort to master this skill Nunan confirms that “speaking is the ability to express opinion, ideas, or thought orally; it consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning in order to be understood by the people we are speaking with” (2003: 40) Widdowson states that “speaking is the oldest and most universal way for human beings to express their thoughts and feelings” (1998: 5) And Chomsky claims that “spoken language refers to linguistic competence or capacity and linguistic performance” (2001: 2)

Speaking skills enable people to communicate, express their thoughts, their feelings and exchange information with others There are two types of speaking skill as informal and formal which are used in daily life Informal speaking skills are useful for normal conversations with friends and family On the other hand, formal speeches are

necessary for professional contexts like workplaces, meetings etc Formal language is necessary to make a good impression and to show professionalism of a person

Syakur (2007: 4) says that “the components of speaking skills include at least five elements such as vocabulary, grammar, fluency, pronunciation and comprehension.”

The five elements of speaking skills are mentioned below:

✓ Vocabulary:

The most important element to develop speaking skill or to say something or to speak is to know what words to use and how to use them correctly Vocabulary development starts when we start to learn how to speak We need to understand the meaning of a word and how to say it, when to say it in order to speak the language Imagine the number of words we need to know to keep up a conversation and communicate effectively in our own language and that makes it even more difficult when we speak in other languages than our mother tongue The fact is that you are only considered fluent in a language when you have a vocabulary of around 10,000 words

✓ Grammar:

Many people think that grammar and structures are only needed when writing a language, but grammar actually plays a very important role on the meaning aspect of a speech such as the use of tenses and how to form a sentence Understanding grammar helps us speak the language in an efficient way and understand the language thoroughly

✓ Pronunciation:

Having the ability to pronounce words correctly and clearly is another crucial element of speaking skill as it helps other people understand what we mean to say Furthermore, there are words being pronounced slightly or completely differently which makes non- native speakers confused when listening to them Sometimes, even native speakers find themselves clueless listening to words in their own language because of the difference in how some words are pronounced This is the big reason why knowing how a word is pronounced is necessary as it also helps us actually understand the language

✓ Fluency:

Speaking fluency is an element that is only developed by everyday practice and actual practice Reading a text aloud or practicing pronouncing words are great ways to improve fluency of spoken language Fluency is the ability of understanding words and responding to them as they hear them immediately Fluency plays the role as the final result of knowing the words, how to pronounce them and understand the structure to finally form a sentence and to keep the conversation going Fluency comes mostly from one’s confidence and it comes naturally

✓ Comprehension:

In order to hold or to start a conversation, it is crucial to be able to respond and to initiate to a subject This means a person need to have the ability to understand the language which demands listening skill, a good source of vocabulary, understanding of structures, and most importantly the knowledge of the contexts… These factors explain the reason why the level of comprehension needs time to see improvement

2.2.3 Types of classroom speaking performance

Brown (2001: 266-268) classifies six types of oral production that students are expected to do during speaking lessons in class They are: imitative, intensive, responsive, transactional, interpersonal and extensive

✓ Imitative

This kind of speaking performance’s purpose is to practice intonation or to pinpoint some vowel sound Imitative speaking is not catered for interaction purposes but for practicing some bits of the language’s elements This kind of performance is normally carried out in the form of drilling

✓ Intensive

This kind of speaking performance is the next step of imitative speaking Learners will get to practice some aspects of grammar points of the language Pair work or individual practices are the two speaking classroom activities can be used for this type of performance

✓ Responsive

Responsive speaking is the stage where learners are able to give responses or comments to a question in a meaningful way

✓ Transactional

Transactional speaking performance is practiced under the form of dialogues Specific topics are given so the students can practice focus on exchanging specific information that they have learnt or prepared for This kind of speaking performance is an extended form of responsive speaking performance

✓ Interpersonal

This type of speaking performance is similar to transactional speaking Learners are expected to practice dialogues In this stage, learners can be able to talk in conversation to maintain relationships However, the contents of the conversation can be difficult for the students to understand or even misunderstand because it may involve some factors like slang, sarcasm etc

✓ Extensive

Extensive speaking performance asks learners to be in advanced level of the language because this type of performance is mostly carried out in the form of monologue, which means the students are asked to give extended monologue like oral reports, speeches, presentations etc

According to Brown (2001: 266-268) and Syakur (2007: 4), English speaking skills inside a classroom or even outside of a classroom can be evaluated and performed based on the speaking components and types of speaking performance as illustrated in the diagram below:

Types of performance Vocabulary

Grammar

Pronunciation

Fluency

Comprehension

Figure 2.1 Diagram of components and types of performance of English-speaking skill

2.3 Motivation

2.3.1 Definition of Motivation

Motivation is basically the factor that causes a person to act whether it is standing up to go for a walk or taking a yoga lesson It can also be described as a desire to work on something willingly and in an enthusiastic way Motivation is the chain of process that founds, leads, and which keeps what is called goal-oriented behaviors going Motivation is also what activates behavior which includes biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces Motivation is the general desire or willingness of an individual to act on something or do something

Motivation is also defined as "some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something" (Harmer, 2001: 51) Steers and Porter (1991: 6) pointed out the three factors while having motivation discussed as follows:

✓ How human behavior energized; ✓ What factors direct behavior; ✓ What maintains behavior

Motivation is believed to be in charge of "why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity and how hard they are going to pursue it" (Dörnyei, 2002a: 8)

Ryan and Deci (2000a: 54) claimed that "to be motivated means to be moved to do something" In the contrary people who are defined as unmotivated people are the ones that have lost momentum to act on something

Williams and Burden (1997: 111) states that "interest, curiosity, or a desire to achieve" are the main elements that made up a motivated individual” However, being interested and curious is the things that make someone start working on something, but also there are factors that drive people to maintain the act to pursuit the goal

According to Steers and Porter (1991: 6), motivation can be formed as the following factors:

✓ needs or expectations;

✓ behavior; ✓ goals, and

✓ some forms of feedback

Motivation is crucial to get something done successfully and properly because it helps a person change his or her old, bad habits It also helps a person figure out ways to solve a problem and cope with challenges and opportunities willingly It is obvious that motivation is an essential factor for an individual to be successful in any fields

2.3.2 Types of motivation

There are two major means of motivation which can be intrinsic or extrinsic In Self - Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985), types of motivation are distinguished based on the sources of the actions which are the reasons or the goals of why something is done

Extrinsic motivations are those coming from the factors of the outside of an individual Those factors are often rewarded like money, reputation, trophies and praises This type of motivation can be found literally anywhere within society When a person is doing something that basically affected from the outside matters, it means that person is extrinsically motivated Extrinsic motivation can be met through many social – environmental aspects which can be expected rewards, positive feedback or evaluation, competition, etc (Amabile, 1996; Deci and Ryan, 1985)

Intrinsic motivations in contrast are what called internal factors that make somebody do something These internal factors are what meeting exactly an individual’s demands It is usually the things we do for our own enjoyment, not to complete a given task or an assignment For example, when a person is intrinsically motivated, he or she would attend a course, take on a habit or enjoy his or her interests, just for his or her personal satisfaction Intrinsic motivation seems to come from within the individual who does a task Working on a certain task simply gives the task doer satisfaction (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997)

2.3.3 Impact of Motivation

According to Cherry (2010), motivation involves three main components which are intensity, activation and persistence Activation is like the first step of the process

to get something done It can be a decision that a person first makes to start doing something seriously For example, enrolling in a course or a program Persistence can be described as non-stop actions, endurability and efforts to reach a target even if it is hard works or involves obstacle Intensity is the amount of constancy and concentration that a person puts in his or her work People who focus on work and even take extra work to reach their goal are being motivated with great intensity All these three components of motivation is the concrete proof of why motivation impacts greatly on how likely a person could success on doing something

Types and components of motivation are shown in the figure below:

2.4 Motivation to speak English

2.4.1 Motivation to speak English and its importance

When it comes to motivation to learn something, it suggests the learner’s desire and willingness to use effort and determination to be successful in the learning task (Schunk et al, 2008) Motivation plays a very important role on learners’ English competence and as well as English speaking’s ability Motivation is the main factor that initiates and ensures learners to keep practicing learning to speak a different language besides their mother tongue In other way, motivation is the key factor to push a learner to start working on learning English in general and on learning English speaking in particular and endure the process of making English speaking a success Learning English speaking is challenging because it asks a learner to be at least at

Figure 2.2 Types and components of motivation

intermediate level of lexical source and grammar besides other components that a learner need to focus on are fluency and pronunciation Each component which stands alone is really very complicated to master

Motivation is intangible because it is the thing that we can’t see or touch but at the same time it is what we can easily acknowledge when we work on something Crookes and Schimts (2016: 469) states that “motivation has been identified as the learners’ orientation with the regards to the goal of learning a second language.”

Motivation to speak English is also the drive that keeps learners wanting to get engaged in the language learning process Falk in Norris (2001: 2) states that “it is taught that students who are most successful when learning a target language are those who like the people that speak the language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the society in which language is used It means that students who are most successful when learning a target language at least will imitate not only the culture itself but also a desire and integrate into the society in which language is used”

The results of a research by Nurjannah et al (2013) show that the effect of motivation of students on learning English speaking is significant The students with higher motivation show better speaking ability than those with lower motivation Data and results collected from the research of Menngo (2016) through interview and questionnaire show that motivation is affecting students’ speaking ability significantly Hoang (2011: 27) claims that “motivation is one of the main factors affecting the success or failure of students in foreign language learning”

2.4.2 Challenges of motivating learners to learn English speaking

Students’ motivation of learning English speaking can be proceeded from both external and internal factors Thus, the obstacles that the teachers and learners may find themselves encountered can be from both of these sides

❖ External factors

Since getting engaged in the topic is very important to make speaking skill less challenging to master, being interested in the topics would make the learners feel much

more engaged in the lesson However, students might find the materials or topics that they are given are not enticing or interesting enough for them to be engaged in and this is demotivating According to Chambers in Thanasoulas (2002: 37) “if the teacher is to motivate pupils to learn, then relevance has to be the red thread permeating activities.”

The schools’ curriculums in Viet Nam have not been attaching students’ speaking ability to the outcome of the process of teaching and learning English at schools which can possibly decrease students’ motivation to learn English speaking Abu-Alhija (2007) suggests that extensive tests may increase students’ motivation to study and practice The evidence for that is for years, speaking skills have not been included in tests at school It means that the students have not been evaluated for this skill The students not being under pressure of being tested can affect their willingness to take English speaking practice seriously into consideration There are also studies (Dawadi, 2018; Shohamy et al., 1996) showing that high-stakes tests, like English proficiency tests can play a role as an effective instrumental motivation for students to learn English

Another challenge is that recreating spontaneously and natural environment for the students to speak is undoubtedly difficult for both educators and managers to work on while having opportunity for students to actually immerse and expose in English-speaking atmosphere is crucial The reasons to that are the source of teachers being properly trained or the qualified native teachers, the amount of time for speaking lessons are limited

❖ Internal factors

Students’ English competence is the main and biggest challenge for both learners and teachers to accomplish speaking efficiency According to Syakur (2007) and Harris (1974), there are at least five aspects of speaking skills which are grammar, pronunciation, fluency, coherency and vocabulary that a learner needs to be competent to master speaking skills Learning a quite large amount of vocabulary in English and doing grammar exercises to understand and know how to use structures are already hard works for the students Practicing pronunciation and fluency is even more challenging for them to work on Tutyandary (2005) states that the students who had

the tendency to keep quiet during speaking lessons due to the lack of self-confidence, motivation to speak out And the reason for that is because they were asked to present individually in front of the class and being afraid of making mistakes

Lacking confidence in students can affect significantly on their willingness to speak not only in their own language but especially in a language that they are not used to, like English They can be either worried of being embarrassed because of their pronunciation or their word choice, grammatical mistakes etc

Another factor that can demotivate learners’ ability to speak English is that they don’t understand the needs of practicing English speaking which might encourage them to take less responsibility and feel like they have less autonomy to practicing speaking English seriously Akbari (2016) states that one of the reasons that make language learning difficult was caused by a lack of understanding the important role of the language, specifically English language Knowing that they are not being scored on speaking skill might take a toll on students’ motivation to put effort in practicing speaking English and preparing for speaking lessons To conclude, educating the students in a way that they understand the importance of speaking skill is necessarily essential

2.4.3 Increasing motivation to speak English

Motivating students to speak especially in English is challenging because it asks for hard work not only from the students themselves but also the teachers who responsible for helping them to feel motivated them to speak out Many researches have been carried out, different approaches and techniques were introduced to help resolve the issue Increasing motivation to speak English for students is an enduring process that asks for effort from both the learners and the teachers According to Dorney and Otto (in Thanasoulas 2002: 2), there are three main elements in increasing English speaking’s motivation of students such as setting motivational environment, creating motivation in students and maintaining students’ motivation

❖ Setting motivational environment

Creating a supportive and friendly environment can help encourage students to speak even with the students who have little or very little English ability This is even more necessary for students who are not confident enough to speak in front of other people

❖ Creating students’ motivation

Helping students to become more goal-oriented is the very first step to make them feel motivated to speak English When the learners focus on reaching one specific objective or accomplish a given task, project at a time, the chance that they can see the process they have made is more possible and they can see it after a relatively short period of time The teachers’ roles are to be the instructors, to help put them in groups and set appropriate group goal, and create realistic beliefs so that the students know what to expect Furthermore, making change to the curriculum if needed, choosing relevant and interesting topics for the learners, letting the students know that their goals of mastering speaking skill can be achieved in variety of ways and different strategies are also very important to creating students’ motivation

❖ Maintaining students’ motivation

When the motivation to speak English in students is found, it is as well important to protect and maintain it Building up learners’ self-confidence by encouraging them to give their own ideas or opinions on different matters is a way to make them feel like they are being heard and might get them feel more involved in the lessons Creating learners’ autonomy by asking them to decide on how to carry out their work, performance or maybe allowing them to choose the speaking topics every now and then and asking them to be the presenters These approaches do not only help increase the students’ satisfaction but also their autonomy on learning English speaking Considering making some changes to the way of evaluating can also be efficient to encourage them to keep practicing speaking English such as adding self- efforts and personal improvements to the evaluation criteria Being given motivational and encouraging feedback can help protect the students’ confidence efficiently

Steps to increase students' English-speaking motivation are shown in the diagram below:

Figure 2.3 Diagram of steps to increase students' English-speaking motivation

2.5 Project -based learning (PBL)

2.5.1 Definition of PBL and its significance in English teaching and learning

PBL has always been a crucial part of the practice of education since the early 1980s and it was mostly shaped by the communicative approach Due to the effectiveness of PBL, many schools have adapted it as a useful tool for teaching and learning English

Legutke and Thomas (1991) define project work as a student-centred teaching and task-centred approach It promotes students’ autonomy, and it helps motivate learners to use language in real life situations in other way Learners are asked to use

authentic language during discussions Project work is the result of discussions and negotiations among all participants

According to Hedge (1993), a project is an extended task that usually integrates language skills through a number of different activities The activities are planning, discussing, researching and gathering information through reading, listening, observing and sometimes interviewing It also helps build problem- solving skills, oral, written reporting

PBL approach is also defined as “an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop” (Moss & Duzer, 1998: 1) In addition, PBL is an extremely effective approach that makes the students feel free to give their own opinions, to ask different questions, even develop theories about the topics covering fields of interest which helps build their problem-solving skills creatively in and outside the classroom (Katz & Chard, 2000)

Thomas (2000: 1028) defines PBL by five criteria: (1) “Projects are central, not peripheral to the curriculum”; (2) “Projects are focused on questions or problems that ‘drive’ students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principals of the discipline”; (3) “Projects involve students in a constructive investigation”; (4) “Projects are student - driven to some significant degree”; and (5) “Projects are realistic, not school - like” In addition, collaboration, indeed should be included as a sixth criterion to PBL approach’s criteria (Thomas & Mergendoller, 2000)

According to Stoller (2006), PBL is being defined based on these ten criteria: (1) there is a process and a kind of product; (2) allowing students to have (partial) ownership of the project; (3)could be extended for a period of time ; (4) including soft skills such as integrating skills; (5) learners’ understanding about a topic is built through the process of learning language and content; (6) both collaborative works and self-work are demanded; (7) learners are responsible for their own learning process; (8) both learners and teachers are adaptive to the new roles; (9) the final product of a project should be tangible; (10) the process of the project and the final product need thorough reflecting

PBL is an approach that its processes are revolved around projects in which the learners learn by doing projects According to Oxford learners’ dictionaries, projects are planned pieces of work that are designed to find information about something, to produce something new, or to improve something PBL approach being applied at schools asks students to work autonomously on designing, decision making and problem-solving which will result in realistic products or presentations (Jones et al., 1997; Thomas et al., 1999)

The way PBL being defined clearly has been changed every now and then due to the difference of the educational settings and the development of technology However, the changes are proof that the effectiveness of PBL on how the students get to take their own autonomy to learn a language is undeniable

2.5.2 The significance of PBL

The application of PBL in English teaching and learning classrooms has shown tremendous improvements on learners’ performance and also their attitude towards English language Numerous studies on PBL implementation have proved that it helps build students’ language skills, soft skills and also enhances learners’ motivation to learn English

❖ Soft skills development

The advantages PBL brings to language learners are precious as Booth (2002) revealed that after a period of time having the project works completed, learners are given the opportunities to build their confidence and independence Especially when learners working on the planning process, they get to make decisions and discussions to compromise and to achieve the best results for their group which help enhance the skills that are crucial in the future - soft skills, for instance collaborative skill (Papagiannopoulos, 2000) Furthermore, the application of PBL also helps cut down the amount of anxiety that many students suffered from, like communication anxiety Dividing the class into smaller groups help students feel less overwhelmed by having to give their ideas or opinions in front of class, they get to practice their confidence to the point where they can actually give a speech once they find themselves comfortable

enough (Booth, 2002) Project works encourage critical thinking, problem solving, negotiating and other interpersonal skills which are very important for their future career (Stein, 1995)

❖ Language skills

The application of PBL makes positive changes on students’ personal growth and also their language skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing as well due to the requirement of different activities while having the project carried out The students get to review the knowledge that they have already learnt in a rather natural and authentic context Haines (1989: 1) claimed that due to the process of having PBL carried out in classroom, learners will go through the stage where they have to discuss and negotiate to make decisions for their work and the stage where they practice to give presentations and the last stage where they give presentations which ask them to practice speaking skills and eventually their speaking skill get some opportunities to be improved During the process of project works, students will have a chance to go through different work stages which help build their language skills (Brunetti et al., 2003; Solomon, 2003)

❖ Motivation

There have been numerous studies to show the significance of having PBL applied for teaching and learning English purposes at schools and how PBL benefits students in their journey of learning English in general and English speaking in particular According to Fragoulis (2009) and Bell (2010), the benefits of applying the use of PBL in English classrooms are huge First, PBL approach provides students with meaningful and contextual conditions to study Second, PBL creates authentic and natural environment for students to practice English speaking skill Third, students have the chance to be engaged in their own learning because they are motivated and feel interested and actually enjoyed the learning process

The data from a self-report of the studies carried out by Bartscher et al (1995) on the effectiveness of PBL on students who were known as low motivated students of

grade third, tenth and fifth showed that 82% of these students claimed that projects motivate them and 93% of them showed interests in the involved topics

A study conducted by Tretten and Zachariou (1995) in four elementary schools using teachers’ questionnaires, interviews, and parents survey on the implementation of PBL The results of the assessment showed that there were not only positive attitudes towards PBL seen, but the students’ ability to solve problems and think critically also improved

2.5.3 The process of Project -Based Learning

Studies on PBL approachs show that there are a variety of processes of PBL However, most project works carried out following these four main steps as follows: topic selecting, planning, researching and products making There are many versions of how PBL being presented in English classrooms

According to Fauziati (2004), there are three stages of PBL approach being implemented They are starting the project, reporting to the class and accessing the project Kriwas (1999) also mentions four stages in applying PBL that are similar to the ones that Fauziati (2004) has claimed The stages include speculation, designing the project, conducting the project, and evaluation Each stage is described below

❖ Stage 1 (Speculating): In the first stage, students are being provided with the

topics that are based on curriculum They will be introduced and given initials about the topic and then measure the possibilities to make sure the project will be carried out smoothly (Bell, 2010)

❖ Stage 2 (Designing): In the second stage, activities that would structure the

entire project will be carried out such as group formation, role assigning, approachology and source of information, etc

❖ Stage 3 (Conducting): The third stage is the one where students put the work in

the project They will be working on searching and researching for information, discussing it with their peers and maybe some counseling with the teachers if needed Later on, the final product that every member of the group has been working on will be

presented whether it is in the form of presentations, kinds of performance, etc These products could be displayed in front of the class, the teachers or the entire school

❖ Stage 4 (Evaluating): In this last stage, this is when “the assessment of

activities of the participants and discussion about whether the initial aims and goals have been achieved, implementation of the process, and final products” happens (Brinia, 2006, as cited in Fragoulis, 2009)

Papandreou (1994) presents his idea of the PBL which would be conducted in six steps as follow:

❖ Step 1 (Preparation): in this period, the teacher introduces the topic to the

students, and asks them to discuss and ask questions

❖ Step 2 (Planning): in this period, the teacher and the students determine

the mode for collecting and analyzing information, and different works are assigned

❖ Step 3 (Research): in this part, the students work individually or in groups

to gather information from different sources

❖ Step 4 (Conclusion): the students draw conclusions based upon their

analysis of the collected data

❖ Step 5 (Presentation): the students are supposed to present their final

product to the whole class

❖ Step 6 (Evaluation): in this part, the teacher makes comments on the

students’ endeavor and efforts

Korkmaz & Kaptan (2000) present their way of PBL implement in six steps as follow:

❖ Step 1: Deciding on the subject, groups devision, and students look for

resources to make a structure for their project

❖ Step 2: Making a plan for the project, deciding who will be in charge of

what

❖ Step 3: Data and information analysis

❖ Step 4: Planning and working on the presentation ❖ Step 5: Making the presentation