a study on 10 graders motivation in speaking activities at son tay high school, ha noi = nghiên cứu động cơ trong các hoạt động nói tiếng anh của học sinh lớp 10, trường thpt sơn tây, hà nội

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THANH THỦY A STUDY ON 10 GRADERS’ MOTIVATION IN SPEAKING A

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THANH THỦY

A STUDY ON 10 GRADERS’ MOTIVATION IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL, HA NOI

(NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỘNG CƠ TRONG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10, TRƯỜNG THPT SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60.14.10

Hanoi, 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THANH THỦY

A STUDY ON 10 GRADERS’ MOTIVATION IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL, HA NOI

(NGHIÊN CỨU ĐỘNG CƠ TRONG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10, TRƯỜNG THPT SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: Trần Xuân Điệp, Assoc Prof Dr

Hanoi, 2013

i

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled “A Study on 10 Graders‟ Motivation in

Speaking Activities at Son Tay High School, Ha Noi.” is the result of my own work

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Faculty

of Post- Graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University The material in this research has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly and partially

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof

Dr Trần Xuân Điệp, whose insightful comments, criticism, direction and kind support

were of great assistance to me in carrying out this study

My sincere thanks also go to all the lecturers and staff of the Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their valuable knowledge and invaluable guidance and help during my two years of study at the Faculty

I am also indebted to my colleagues as well as my students at Son Tay High School, who have helped me a lot in my data collection to fulfill this paper

Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to my family for their understanding and strong encouragement to me throughout the study

Nguyen Thanh Thuy

iii

ABSTRACT

Success in language learning can be ascribed to many factors among which

is motivation However, it is students‟motivation to speak that does exist as a problem In order to improve the quality of speaking classes, the work entitled “A Study on 10 Graders‟ Motivation in Speaking Activities at Son Tay High School,

Ha Noi.” has been intended

The study was aimed at investigating the motivation in speaking lessons of

10 graders at Son Tay High School (STHS) to find out:

(1) types of motivation possessed by 10 graders at STHS

(2) level of motivation of 10 graders at STHS in speaking lessons

(3) causes leading to the lack of motivation in speaking lessons of 10 graders

at STHS

The research approach undertaken in this study was qualitative and quantitative The research data collection instruments were survey questionnaires and interviews

The results obtained from the analysis of responses to the questionnaires and interviews for teachers and students revealed the types of motivation of 10 graders, the level of motivation and the causes of students‟ deficiency of motivation at STHS Finally, this study provided some recommendations for effective application of motivational strategies in enhancing students‟ speaking skills It is expected that the results from the study could be of benefit to the teaching and learning of English speaking at STHS

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS vi

APPENDICES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aim of the study 1

1.3 Objectives of the study 1

1 4 Research question 2

1 5 Scope of the study 2

1 6 Method of the study 2

1 7 Significance of the study 3

1 8 Design of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

1.1 Motivation 4

1.1.1 Definitions of motivation 4

1.1.2 The importance of motivation in foreign language learning 5

1.1.3 Types of motivation in foreign language learning 5

1.1.4 Factors affecting motivation in second language learning 7

1.2 Overview of speaking 11

1.2.1 Definition of speaking skill 11

1.2.2 Stages in a speaking lesson 12

1.2.3 Communicative activities 13

v

1.2.4 Problems with speaking activities 15

1.2.5 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 16

1.3 Literature review 16

1 4 Summary 17

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 17

2.1 Research setting of the study 17

2.1.1 An overview of the research site 17

2.1.2 The English teachers 18

2.1.3 The students and their background 18

2 1 4 The English teaching and learning in Son Tay High School 18

2.2 Research methods 20

2.2.1 Description of the subjects 20

2.2.2 Data collection instruments 20

2.2 3 Procedures 21

2.2 4 Data analysis 21

2 3 Summary 21

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 22

3.1 Data analysis 22

3.1.1 Analysis of students‟ questionnaires and interviews 22

3.1.2 Analysis of teachers‟ questionnaires 30

3.1.3 Teachers‟ problems and judgement on the success of speaking lessons 34

3 2 Summary 35

3 3 Findings 35

PART 3: CONCLUSION 39

3.1 Recapitulation of the main ideas 39

3 2 Limitations of the study 41

3 3 Suggestions for further research 42

REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX

Table 10 Problems teachers have in speaking lessons 34

CHARTS

Chart 1 Students‟ interest in speaking lessons 24 Chart 2 Activities enjoyed most by students 29 Chart 3 Teacher‟s activities in speaking lessons 31 Chart 4 Teacher‟s responses to unwilling speakers 32 Chart 5 Teachers‟ judgement on the success of speaking lessons 35

vii

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for teachers

Appendix 3: Questions for interview

Appendix 4: Phiếu khảo sát (dành cho học sinh) Appendix 5: Phiếu khảo sát (dành cho giáo viên) Appendix 6: Câu hỏi phỏng vấn (dành cho học sinh) Appendix 7: Interview transcript of students

viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

M.A: Master of Art

STHS: Son Tay High School

L2: Second language

1

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

Motivation is the key factor to success in English learning It is undeniably

an essential component that decides successful acquisition of an L2 According to Dornyei (2001), “teacher skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness”, which means motivation is the focus of L2 teaching and learning activities Consequently, theorists have been trying to find out the most effective ways to motivate learners with a view to achieving a long-desired methodology which could be the most productive in the L2 classroom However, Dornyei (2001) found out that motivation still has a very limited place in the curriculum of L2 teacher education programs worldwide Teachers are still not equipped with enough necessary skills to motivate their students while motivation‟s central role in L2 acquisition has long been undeniably acknowledged Due to the lack of motivation, interaction during speaking lessons at schools is restricted, with few students getting involved in the activities As a result, it is necessary that this issue be brought up over again so as to keep reminding teachers and teacher trainers

of the importance as well as the benefit motivation brings to language learning The purposes of this study are therefore first of all to review current literature concerning motivation in L2 teaching and learning, then to investigate the motivation at STHC, making suggestions to improve it “The Study on 10th Graders‟ Motivation for Speaking Activities at Son Tay High School, Hanoi” has

been conducted

1.2 Aim of the study

The study is aimed to improve the speaking skill of 10 graders at STHC

1.3 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the research are as follows:

- To find out different types of motivation 10 graders at STHC have

- To examine the level of motivation and causes of motivation deficiency of 10 graders at STHC

 Research question 3: What are major causes of 10 graders‟ lack of motivation?

1 5 Scope of the study

Motivation is so broad a topic that cannot be wholly and thoroughly discussed within the framework of the thesis This study investigates five different types of motivation as well as the level of motivation 10 graders of the three classes

at Son Tay High School possess There exist a variety of factors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking lessons However, because of the limited time and length constraint of a minor thesis, only those factors relating to learners, teachers and teaching and learning environment are discussed From the findings of the study, suggestions on motivational strategies to be applied in speaking lessons were provided to increase students‟ motivation

1 6 Method of the study

The study adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods The tasks involved are:

- Collecting data for analysis from 130 grade- ten students and 8 teachers of English of the school

- Interviewing 8 students randomly among the 130 given questionnaires for further information for the study

- Sorting data by different categories Analyze and display data

All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusions are based on the data analysis and interviews.

3

1 7 Significance of the study

The study when finished will serve as one of the initial studies on speaking skill

in general and speaking motivation in particular at STHS It is expected to be of benefit

to both the English teaching and learning at the school

First, the information about types of motivation of grade 10 students in this minor thesis is supposed to provide a thorough understanding of the actual purposes of students‟ speaking learning, helping teachers know their students better

Second, the findings about the level of motivation in speaking English, helping teachers get to know the importance as well as the urgent need to find ways

to solve the problem

Third, the causes leading to low motivation clearly point out teachers‟ drawbacks as well as difficulties in teaching process, which accordingly suggest some solutions to the problem for teachers The findings and recommendations of the study will be applied so as to improve the language learning in general and speaking skill in particular in STHS

1 8 Design of the study

The study is divided into 3 main parts as follows:

to define motivation found out in the literature Motivation seams to be the reason for the action According to Dornyei, “Motivation explains why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity and how hard they are going to pursue it.”(Dornyei, 2001:17) Similarly, Williams and Burden (1997) points out "Motivation is concerned with such issues as why people decide to act in certain ways and what factors influence the choices they make.” Moreover, motivation is defined as “some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something” (Harmer, 2001:51), „an internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behavior‟ (Woolfolk, 2001:366)

Williams and Burden (1997) believe motivation “also involves decisions as

to the amount of effort people are prepared to expand in attempting to achieve their goals." (1997:119) It explains “how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activities.” (Dornyei) Also, Atkinson (cited in Arnold, 2000:13) considers motivation as “a cluster of factors” that “energize” the behavior and give it “direction” In Atkinson‟s point of view, motivation is a term used to describe what energizes a person and what directs his activity, energy and direction

Gardner believes that motivation is “a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate” (Gardner, 1985:10) It plays a role in students‟ willingness to get involved in the learning activities to bring about the

5

achievement accordingly Motivation does involve a goal, an effort, a desire to attain the goal

1.1.2 The importance of motivation in foreign language learning

Motivation has been of great concern in second language learning as well as

in foreign language learning Norris-Holt (2001) points out "Motivation is an important factor in L2 achievement." (2001) According to Gardner (1985),

“positive attitudes and motivation are related to success in second language teaching” Highly motivated learners tend to participate more actively in learning activities and there is more chance for them to excel

According to Caroll (1962) , motivation decides the amount of time a learner will spend on the task of language learning She claims: “ The more motivation a learner has, the more time he or she will spend learning an aspect of a second language” (Carol, 1962) As a result, it is considered as an “important factor” which decides on the “level of proficiency” of a learner (Labonde, 1982)

1.1.3 Types of motivation in foreign language learning

There are different ways to classify motivation In some studies, motivation

is categorized into two types: intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external)

*Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is learners‟ interest in the culture, the target language group or in learning tasks It "Involves the arousal and maintenance of curiosity and can ebb and flow as a result of such factors as learners' particular interests and the extent to which they fell personality involved in learning activities." (Ellis, 1994:76) In fact, intrinsic motivation means the stimulation originates from the learners themselves It is their own inner anxiety to learn that brings about achievement

*Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation can be understood as the opposite of intrinsic motivation “When individuals are extrinsically motivated, they hold some desired outcome as a goal (e.g., getting a good grade or avoiding punishment), they

6

recognize that a certain way of behaving is an expedient means to that goal, and they make plans to modify their behavior in such a manner that they are likely to experience the desired outcome”.(Spaulding, 1992:5-6) This type of motivation derives from the influence of some kinds of external incentives, including the influence of the teacher, the learner's wish to please some other people or to succeed

in an external exam, other than their wish to learn for their own sake or interest in learning tasks

Motivation is also categorized into different types as follows:

*Integrative motivation

Integrative motivation, on the other hand, belongs to those who internally want to discover the culture of the L2 and wish to be in harmony with the culture of the target language “It is thought 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 the language is used” (Falk 1978) Gardner and Lambert (1972: 132) stresses “a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented

by the other group” According to Finegan (1999:568), "integrative motivation typically underlies successful acquisition of a wide range of registers and a nativelike pronunciation”

*Instrumental motivation

Instrumental motivation features the desire to achieve practical aims from the study of L2 (Hudson, 2000) A student‟s opinion of a given language is significantly shaped by its perceived usefulness and relevance to future career goals (Chambers, 1999) Ellis (1994) also states "Some functional reasons such as to pass

an examination, to get a better job or to get a university place motivate learners to learn an L2 because it opens up educational and economic opportunities for them." (1994:75) Instrumental motivation, therefore, occurs when learners need the target language as an instrumental to get a particular goal; it is the reflection of an external need

7

*Resultative motivation

There has been a controversial argument over whether motivation should be seen as the cause or the result of success in second language learning According to Hermann (1980), "learners who do well are more likely to develop motivational intensity and to be active in the classroom" (Ellis, 1994:515) He also stated that „it

is success that contributes to motivation rather than vice- versa‟ (cited in Ellis, 1997) In his view, the result of success indirectly influences motivation or motivation may result from success In sum, "the relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one A high level of motivation does stimulate learning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goals can help to maintain existing motivation and even create new types Conversely a vicious circle of low motivation = low achievement = lower motivation can develop" (Ellis, 1994:515)

1.1.4 Factors affecting motivation in second language learning

There exist some studies on the factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning a foreign language Researchers have had some different views in this issue, however, a list of common factors affecting students‟ motivation has been decided on, which are divided into three groups: teacher‟s factors, students‟ factors and learning condition factors

1.1.4.1 Learner- related factors

a Intelligence:

According to Lightbown & Spada (1999:52), it refers to “performance on certain kinds of tests”, through which teachers can assess students‟ performance in the class It is reported that there is a link between intelligence measured by IQ tests and second language learning; however, some students, in fact, are successful in L2 learning even though their academic results are not good

b Aptitude:

According to Gardner (1980) and Skehan (1989), aptitude is the main factor determining the level of success of second language learning (Douglous et al, 1995) Lightbown and Spada (1999:53) proposes that aptitude consists of:

8

(1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds

(2) the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences (3) the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples

(4) the ability to memorize new words

c Personality

Various personality characteristics are listed, that is extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness In general, researchers have drawn a conclusion that personality has a great influence on the success of second language learners (Lightbown & Spada, 1999)

Compared with introverted learners, extroverted ones seem to perform better

in acquiring basic interpersonal communication skills.”, which bring them “more opportunities to practice, more input, and more success in communicating in the L2.” Meanwhile, introverted learners will do better at developing cognitive academic language ability.”, which means they typically enjoy more academic success, perhaps because they spend more time reading and writing” (Ellis, 1994 & Littlewood, 1984)

d Age of acquisition

Late starters may be good at the syntax and vocabulary of a second language, however, it seems very difficult for them to produce native-like words It is generally thought that children are better language learners than adults In fact, when adults and children come to a target language country or are exposed to L2 in

a target language community, children seem to acquire the target language more perfectly Younger learners have a greater chance of attaining native-like proficiency in the L2 and older learners may show faster progress at the beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young ones in the end (Long and Larsen-Freeman, 1991), citing Hatch (1977)

e Leaners’ belief

Ellis (1994:479) argues that "past experience, both of education in general and of language learning in particular" plays an important part in language learning

9

“Furthermore, Ariogul (2009), Oz (2007), Abraham and Vann (in Ellis 1994:478) think that beliefs might affect learning outcomes The results revealed that learner beliefs might change according to their levels, language studied and as well as the institutions that learners are studying at.” (Kahraman, Ayhan Academic journal

article from Civilacademy Journal of Social Sciences, Vol 7, No.)

- Classroom atmosphere:

10

Classroom atmosphere means pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom Lightbown & Spada (1999) claimed that the supportive and non-threatening atmosphere makes a contribution to learners‟ motivation

Besides, learners' preferences is also taken into account It is "an individual's natural, habitual, and preferred way of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skill" (Reid, 1995 cited in Lightbown and Spada, 1999) Learners‟ preferences in acquiring new knowledge consist of visual learners, aural learners and kinaesthetic learners or field independent and field dependent learners

1.1.4.2 Teacher- related factor

Teacher plays a key role in students‟ learning motivation Appropriate activity do help motivate students in learning Dornyei (2001) mentions some teacher‟s factors affecting students‟ motivation: appropriate teacher behavior, teacher‟s enthusiasm and a good relationship with the students, enthusiasm, commitment to and expectations for the students' academic progress, acceptance, ability to listen and pay attention to students

1.1.4.3 Teaching and learning condition- related factor

Teaching and learning condition involves classroom atmosphere and

physical condition

a Physical conditions

Physical conditions refer to things in classroom such as classroom‟s facilities (board, chairs, desks, tables, electric equipments, etc.) or classroom‟s size Jeremy Harmer (1992) confirmed that such physical conditions has great impact on students' learning as well as their attitude towards the subject matter and affect students' motivation either positively or negatively accordingly Moreover, teachers should create the ownership of the class among students

Physical condition affects both teacher and students‟ motivation The large class, the poor facilities will lead to a decrease in motivation

11

b A pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom

A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere creates motivation, or, in other words, encouragement, for students to express their ideas MacIntyre (1999) and Young (1999) pointed out that students‟ anxiety created by a tense classroom climate was one of the most potent factors that undermined learning effectiveness and L2 motivation (cited in Dornyei, 2001:121) Besides, “In order for the students

to be motivated, the learning environment needs to be free from anxiety; the student should not feel threatened or intimidated.”

In fact, there are a number of elements which make up what we call the ideal classroom climate, that is the relationship between the teacher and the students, the relationship among the students themselves and the norm of tolerance which helps students feel free of the feelings of embarrassment when making mistakes

1.2 Overview of speaking

1.2.1 Definition of speaking skill

Florez (1999) defined speaking was “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information” (cited

in Balley, 2005:2) It is “often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving”, but it is not completely unpredictable In other words, “speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning” (Balley, 2005:2)

Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill It is often thought of as a “popular” form of expression that uses the unprestigious “colloquial” register Speaking is in many ways an undervalued skill Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted In his own view, Mackey (1965) shows that

“oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the right order

to convey the right meaning”(cited in Bygate, 1997:5) According to Mackey, for the student who wants to be good at speaking, he/ she has to choose the right forms,

12

put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings

1.2.2 Stages in a speaking lesson

So far, there have been various discussions on the stages in a speaking lesson In Terry (2008)‟s presentation about “How to teach speaking in an EFL class”, it was proposed that a speaking lessons consists of three main stages: pre-communicative stage, practice stage, communicative interaction Byrne (1976:22)

in “Teaching Oral English” says that there are stages: Presentation stage, the practice stage and production stage

- Presentation stage (pre-communicative stage): Teachers introduce the communicative function, highlight the fixed expression, point out the target structure and provide students with the necessary vocabulary and the language of interaction In this stage, students passive- learners, concentrating not only the meaning but also pronunciation, stress, intonation and spelling of the new language item

- Practice stage: Teachers give students opportunities “use the newly presented language in a controlled framework so as too allow them to memorize its form and assimilate its meaning more fully.” (Matthews et.al., 1991:8) There are actually two steps here, controlled practice and guided practice In the former, teacher conducts what students should do and what kind of language to be used; meanwhile,

in the latter, teacher only prompts and corrects students if necessary

- Production stage (Communicative interaction): Teachers encourage language negotiation among students, take notes of any aspects that may hinder communication such as pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, etc After this stage, teachers give students feedback on pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary and ask students to repeat the task if necessary

13

1.2.3 Communicative activities

1.2.3.1 What are communicative activities?

Communicative activities are those which involve learning activities through using language for a communicative purpose Whatever activity the students are involved in, if it is to be genuinely communicative and if it is really promoting language use, the students should have a desire to communicate If they do not want

to be involved in communication then that communication will probably not be effective The students should pay attention to the ideas being presented and not the language form being used (Harmer, 1991) During the course of teaching, the teacher works as a participant, observing and providing help when necessary and gives feedback to students‟ speaking

1.2.3.2 Purposes of communicative activities

According to Littlewood (1990), communicative activities help learners use the language items introduced to speak in the target language Communicative activities are advantageous because they provide “whole-task practice”, improve the motivation, allow natural learning and can create a context which supports learning

1.2.3.3 Types of oral communicative activities

There are a great number of communicative activities designed to create chances for spoken communication in language learning environment

* Communication games

According to Harmer (1991) , communication games are activities where learners use all the target language to complete a game-like task This brings students opportunities for interaction Communication games activities include finding the differences (or similarities); describe and arrange; story reconstruction and/or poem reconstruction (Bygate, 1987), each of which is actually the working

on information gap activity The activity focuses on “meanings to be communicated” rather than “linguistic form to be learnt” (Harmer, 1991)

* Songs

14

There is no denying the fact that music and songs create a relaxing atmosphere, which act, as a result, as a very beneficial means to create motivation Eken (1996: 46) states that songs can be used:

• to present a topic, a language point, lexis, etc;

• to practice a language point, lexis, etc;

• to encourage extensive and intensive listening;

• to stimulate discussion of attitudes and feelings;

• to encourage creativity and use of imagination;

• to provide a relaxed classroom atmosphere and

• to bring variety and fun to learning

* Problem solving

According to Littlewood (1990), this type of activity dispenses completely with the need to share information Students now have access to all the relevant facts The stimulus for communication comes from the need to discuss and evaluate these facts, in pairs or groups, in order to solve a problem or reach a decision

* Role-play

“Role-play is one of communicative techniques which develops fluency in language students, which promotes interaction in the classroom, and which increases motivation.” (Ladousse, 1987:7)

15

According to Littlewood (1992: 49): “ simulation and role-play are established as techniques for organizing controlled, pre-communicative language practice, which prepares students later to take part in fully spontaneous interaction” This type of activity is applicable in lessons for students of different levels of proficiency Bygate (1997) believes that it can be carried out in several ways:

well Rolewell play controlled through cued dialogues

- Role-play controlled through cued situations and goal

- Role-play controlled through cues and information

- Role-play in the form of debate or discussion

* Story- telling

This kind of exercise helps students to develop creative thinking because they can either summarize a story using their own words or create a complete one Students have chances to practise expressing ideas in a concrete form: opening, body and ending

1.2.4 Problems with speaking activities

The learners have their own difficulties in language learning, especially in speaking Munjayanah (2004: 17) mentions the following as problems students may face up to in learning speaking skill

* Inhibition: Learners are often inhibited about trying to say things in a foreign

language in the class room They are worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism or losing face

* Nothing to say: Even if they are not inhibited, we often hear learners complain

that they cannot think of anything to say

* Low or uneven participation: Only one participant talks at a time or he or she

dominates the group while others speak very little or not at all In a large group each member gets very little talking time

* Mother-tongue use: In classes where all or a number of the learners share the

same mother tongue, they are likely to use it It is easier and it feels unnatural to

speak to one another in a foreign language

16

1.2.5 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Classroom activities designed by teachers are aimed at creating chances for students to express their ideas through speech Therefore, they are really necessary

in a language course A classroom whose successful speaking activities is where

“Learners talk a lot”, “Participation is even”, “Motivation is high” and “Language is

of an acceptable level” (Ur, 1996:120)

1.3 Literature review

Motivation does play a key role in foreign language learning and speaking

skill There have been a lot of studies focusing on motivation among which are mentioned as follows:

Firstly, some very popular researchers and linguists in the language fields are Gardner (1985), Brown (1994) or Dorneyi (2001) Concepts of motivation were created, its benefits or different strategies were discussed in their various books, which set up firm background knowledge, paving the way for later works in related topic

There have also been some studies as minor theses about language learning

in Vietnam, one of which was written by Mai Phuong Thuy (2005) It is a study on the techniques for improving speaking skill to non-major students of English at Haiphong foreign Language Centre, Hai Phong University” (Unpublished MA Dissertion CFL-VNU) Different ways to better speaking skill are mentioned in the thesis

Another study is the one specialized in motivation conducted by Dinh Thuy Linh (2011), aiming at “Improving 11th Grade students‟ Motivation in Speaking Lessons at Viet Nam- Poland High School by Using Communicative Activities” The data collected were questionnaires and class observations for analyses Three experimental speaking lessons were conducted and then assessed through the same instruments, questionnaires and class observations Besides, Hoang Duc Doan (2009) also had a thesis on motivation The author explored the motivation in speaking skill

of students of Sao Do College of Industry Data instruments were questionnaires and

17

interviews There were 130 students and 8 teachers involved in the research, whose major findings were about types of motivation, students‟ level of motivation, factors affecting motivation and activities and techniques used by the teachers in speaking lessons besides motivational strategies to motivate students in speaking lessons

To sum up, motivation has been a matter of great concern in language learning and there have been a number of studies on these However, it has never been touched upon in Son Tay High School with the subjects of grade- ten students

As a result, the study is carried out in the hope of creating further evidence to the selection of relevant topic as well as a pioneer research of benefit to the English teaching and learning of the school

1 4 Summary

In summary, the chapter pictures various view points on motivation and its related sections including definitions, types of motivation and major factors affecting it Overview of speaking (definition, stages of a speaking leson, communicative activities, problems as well as characteristics of a successful activity) are also mentioned Literature review of some works of the same topic is discussed last in the chapter

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research setting of the study

2.1.1 An overview of the research site

The study was conducted at STHS, one of the oldest as well as biggest schools in Son Tay town There are 45 classes with over 2000 students of grade 10th, 11th and 12th, among which are 27 classes of gifted students of 9 subjects: maths, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, information technology and English Like other high schools in Vietnam, English is taught here as a compulsory subject There are 122 teachers of 12 compulsory subjects, most of whom are young and dynamic besides those experienced in teaching In recent years, STHS is one of the schools which have had a high percentage of general education

18

graduation It often ranks high in number of students who pass university entrance examinations

2.1.2 The English teachers

There are fourteen teachers of English in the Foreign languages team, twelve

of whom teach English and the rest two teach French One has already got her M.A degree and two others are going to Of the twelve English teachers, with more than seven years‟ working experience, only half graduated from official courses at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The rest six teachers finished in-service training programs of the University Most English teachers are young and active (only 2 are over 50) They have easier access to CLT (through classes, Internet and books or different courses), so they are more familiar to it so as to apply it in their teaching The older ones, serious and enthusiastic in their work, however, are not keen on this new teaching method, which prevent them from getting best results in their speaking lessons On average, every teacher has fifteen periods per week besides a great deal

of work (designing tests, marking, controlling form classes, etc., as well as family work loads at home) Especially, half of the members are following courses of English of the 2020 foreign language project

2.1.3 The students and their background

Almost every student at Son Tay High School is aged from 15 to 18, most of whom come from urban areas and have been learning English since they were at primary schools As a result, their English proficiency is some how better than those from rural areas as there are more chances for them to attend different extra courses

of English Except those in English- gifted classes, there are more and more students interested in learning English, wishing to be proficient in this subject However, there are still a lot of others who are very passive in their learning

2 1 4 The English teaching and learning in Son Tay High School

The syllabus of teaching and learning

19

English has been taught as a compulsory subject at STHS for years Except those in English- gifted classes who use the textbooks of advanced level (Branch C), all the rest grade 10, 11 and 12 students take the textbooks “Tieng Anh 10”,

“Tieng Anh 11” and “Tieng Anh 12” respectively (published by the Ministry of Education and Training) There are 105 periods covering the whole school year (divided into two semesters), which means 3 periods per week with 45 minutes long each to be carried out

“Tieng Anh 10” was written with the application of communicative approach It consists of 16 units in which there are 5 different parts of 5 different sections, each of which centers on four different skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus, where there are a variety of exercises and tasks compiled for pronunciation as well as grammar practice Besides, there exists a consolidation lesson for the three- previously- learnt units

The content of the new textbook is theme- based, with each unit touching a particular topic (of daily life, social issues or academic field) The various topics are advantageous in creating interesting situations for students to be creative in learning The textbook works as a means for the teacher to help develop students‟language skills comprehensively in the target language In fact, if used well, it brings about good results both in students‟ English knowledge but also their understanding of culture

The teaching and learning of English speaking skills

Speaking skill helps students develop their speaking competence Communicative ability then has been considered as students‟ proper aim for language teaching, which makes speaking skill an important part in any English course In recent years, the English subject has been paid more and more attention to at Son Tay High School However, the teaching of the subject, especially of speaking skill has a great deal of difficulties Apart from those in the English- gifted classes, few students have real interest or motivation in English speaking lessons Like other high schools in Vietnam, STHS‟s teaching and learning of speaking skill is challenged by some

20

constraints such as large class size, students‟ unfamiliarity with CLT, students‟ low English proficiency or low participation in a lesson Besides, lack of training in teaching methods, especially CLT also contributes to the limited results

2.2 Research methods

2.2.1 Description of the subjects

Participants in the questionnaire survey for teachers are 8 English teachers, ranging from 28 to 50 years of age with 5 to 25 years‟ teaching experience One teacher has got an M.A and two are taking an M.A course at National University, University of Languages and International Studies The participants in the survey for students were 130 students in class 10A1, 10A2 and 10A3 in Son Tay High School, who carried typical features of the general 10 graders of the school All of them were at the age of fifteen and have been learning English for 8 years and are almost of the same level of English (according to the placement test results at the beginning of the first term) These students

2.2.2 Data collection instruments

Interviews

Interviews are beneficial in that they help the researcher to get better insights into the research questions and to discuss for further information about the items raised in the questionnaires In the interviews, which lasted about 10 minutes each, the participants were asked to answer questions This was carried out at the school during the break time and in the form of informal talks between the researcher and

21

the 8 grade-ten students (chosen at random among the 130 mentioned) The data collected from the interviews, all of which were carried out in Vietnamese, recorded, transcribed, and then translated into English for the purposes of the study The questions for interviews were recorded in a sheet of paper

2.2 3 Procedures

The questionnaires were distributed and gathered from those teachers and students of STHS who agreed to take part in the research during the fourth week of the first semester of the school year 2013-2014 After one week, figures from the questionnaires were collected and presented in tables for analysis

The interviews with 8 grade-ten students of STHS were caried out in the following week, at the end of September, 2013 The aim of the researcher for the interviews is to get better insights into the research questions and to get more information about the matters mentioned in the questionnaires The participants were asked to answer the researcher‟s questions during school breaks In the form

of informal talks lasting about 5- 10 minutes each, the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese, with the content noted down in paper for later summary and judgement

3.1.1 Analysis of students’ questionnaires and interviews

3.1.1.1 Types of motivation of the students in speaking lessons

There are several types of motivation in L2 learning discussed in chapter 2 The concentration of this study, however, mainly focuses on the following: integrative, instrumental, resultative, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Students’ reasons for practising English speaking

Strongly disagree

Disagree Strongly

Agree

Agree No

idea

A You think it is necessary

for you in your future

exams/in your future job

B You want to communicate

with foreigners

C You are interested in

English culture and people

D You are especially

interested in speaking skill

E English is a compulsory

subject in the syllabus

F You often get good marks

and/ or positive remarks for

your speaking presentation of

English in the class

Table 1: Students‟ reasons for practising English speaking

23

As seen from the table above, the five types of motivation were not evenly occupied among the 130 students The highest percentage of them adopted extrinsic motivation (90.6 %) They practised speaking English because it was a compulsory subject in the syllabus Most students owned instrumental motivation: 80.1 % of them wanted to practise English to communicate with foreigners; 72.5% practised it because they thought it was necessary for them in their future exams or future job Meanwhile, only a few students occupied intrinsic motivation: 33.5 % of the

respondents were especially interested in speaking skill About the same number of

the students (38.3%) possessed resultative motivation The reason for their English learning was that they often got good marks and/ or positive remarks for their speaking presentation of English in the class 48% of the learners owned integrative and inintrinsic motivation, being interested in culture and people of English speaking countries

Of the 8 students interviewed, four showed their instrumental motivation when they said that they practised English speaking for future exams or future career Three possessed extrinsic motivation because it was the compulsory subject Only 1 of them showed his intrinsic and resultative motivation, “Because I like

speaking skill I often get good marks at this subject.” There was also one

respondent who was interested in English culture, that is integrative and intrinsic

motivation

In brief, the data obtained from the questionnaires and the interviews of the students coincided to some extent Instrumental motivation and extrinsic motivation seemed to outweigh the rest three, integrative, intrinsic and resultative motivation as

a drive to practise speaking Most learnt English because of the exterior factors and not because of their own interior desires

3.1.1.2 Students’ interest and participation in speaking lessons

Students’ interest in speaking lessons

24

Chart 1: Students‟ interest in speaking lessons

As seen from the table, a surprisingly high percentage of students (28.3 %) showed no idea about their interest in practising speaking, which means that they showed no concern for the activity Only a few students (37.8 %) agreed and strongly agreed that they were interested in their speaking lessons Approximately one third of those respondents (33.9 %) disliked practising speaking

From the analysis of data from the table, it is clearly seen that students‟ interest in speaking lessons was very low

25

Students’ participation in speaking lessons

Strongly disagree

Disagree Strongly

Agree

Agree No

idea

A Never say anything 73.4 17.6 3.6 3.4 0.2

B Know the answers but are

too shy to speak

43.6 14.4 19.7 22.3 0

C Only speak when

assigned tasks you are

%) were actually willing to practise speaking in the lessons Those who never spoke in the oral lessons accounted for the lowest percentage (7 %)

To sum up, the tables above shows that STHS students did not highly appreciate the speaking skill Most learners found it uninteresting and did not enthusiastically participate in the activities assigned As a result, the question raised here is what factors result in students‟ lack of motivation

3.1.1.3 Factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking lessons

There are learner-related factors, teacher-related factors and teaching and learning conditions that make learners unwilling to speak

Factors affecting students’ motivation in class