A STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNER IDEAL SELF TO THE SUCCESS IN LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE LEARNERS AT THE BORDER GUARD ACADEMY

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* PHÙNG THỊ PHƯƠNG LAN A STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNER IDEAL SELF TO THE SUCCESS IN LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE LEARNERS AT THE BORDER GUARD ACADEMY (Một nghiên cứu tầm quan trọng lý tưởng người học thành công việc học tiếng Anh Học viện Biên phòng) M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HA NOI – 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* PHÙNG THỊ PHƯƠNG LAN A STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNER IDEAL SELF TO THE SUCCESS IN LEARNING ENGLISH OF THE LEARNERS AT THE BORDER GUARD ACADEMY (Một nghiên cứu tầm quan trọng lý tưởng người học thành công việc học tiếng Anh Học viện Biên phòng) M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: DR. PHẠM THỊ THANH THÙY HA NOI – 2015 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR PHÙNG THỊ PHƯƠNG LAN, hereby certifies that this thesis, which is entitled “A Study on the Importance of the Learner Ideal Self to the Success in Learning English of the Learners at The Border Guard Academy”is created from my original work. I have firmly declared the contribution of others to my thesis such as data analysis, practical strategies,and all other researches that were employed or reviewed in my thesis. This thesis is the result of my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Hanoi, 2015 Phùng Thị Phương Lan i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Phạm Thị Thanh Thùy,whoseinsightful 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 the Border Guard Academy, 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. Phùng Thị Phương Lan ii ABSTRACT Drawing on the model L2 Motivational Self System by Dörnyei (2005), this study explores the importance of the learner ideal self to the success in studying English of the learners at the Border Guard Academy using survey research methodology. The participants are 100 freshmen in the Border Guard Academy, Sontay, Hanoi, where I am working. Two data collection instruments are employed: questionnaires and individual open-ended interviews. The findings show that the learner ideal self is the key to success in English studying of the learners at the Border Guard Academy. Despite the existence of ideal self in the students’ mind, the number of students with ideal self is still humble, which accounts for the border officers’ inefficiency in solving English using cases. The study puts forward practical suggestions to all the academy, the teachers of English and the students with a view to improving English teaching and learning at the academy. The most important proposal is disseminating the role of the learner ideal self to their own success in English studying and the demand for buiding up, maintaining and motivating the ideal selffor the learners at the Border Guard Academy. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Table 1: Students’ reasons for studying English Error: Reference source not found vi Table 2: Factors affecting students’ motivation in English studying Error: Reference source not found .vi Table 3: Students’ studying English Error: Reference source not found vi Table 4: Students’attitude when reaching a goal in English studying Error: Reference source not found .vi Table 5: Students’attitude when failing to reach a goal in English studying Error: Reference source not found .vi Table 6: the students’ English results after the first year at the BGA Error: Reference source not found .vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study .1 2. Aim of the study 3. Objectives of the study 4. Research question 5. Scope of the study .2 6. Methods of the study .2 7. Significance of the study CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .21 2.1. Research setting of the study .21 2.1.1. An overview of the research site .21 2.1. 2. English teachers 21 iv 2.1.3. Students and their background 21 2.1.4. The English teaching and learning in The Border Guard Academy 22 2.2.2. Data collection instruments 23 2.2.3. Procedures 25 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ reasons for studying English .Error: Reference source not found Table 2: Factors affecting students’ motivation in English studying .Error: Reference source not found Table 3: Students’ studying English Error: Reference source not found Table 4: Students’attitude when reaching a goal in English studying .Error: Reference source not found Table 5: Students’attitude when failing to reach a goal in English studying .Error: Reference source not found Table 6: the students’ English results after the first year at the BGA .Error: Reference source not found LIST OF CHART Students’ interest in studying English 31 \ vi vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS M.A: Master of Art BGA: Border Guard Academy L2: Second language viii Le Van Canh. Motivational and EFL students: a narrative inquiry of successful Vietnamese students. Markus, H. & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954969. Markus, H. & Ruvolo, A. (1989). 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(2009). Motivation, language identities and the L2 self: A theoretical overview. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 1-8). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters. Taylor, S.E., Pham, L.B., Rivkin, I.D. and Armor, D.A. (1998) Harnessing the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and coping. American Psychologist 53 (4), 429_439. Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92, 548-573. Yashima, T. (2000). Orientations and motivation in foreign language learning: A study of Japanese college students. JACET Bulletin, 31, 121-133. Zentner, M. and Renaud, O. (2007) Origins of adolescents’ ideal self: An intergenerational perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 (3), 557_574. 50 APPENDIXES APPENDIX A questionnaire for the fresh students in the Border Guard Academy Please tick (√) where appropriate or write in brief where necessary. (Đánh dấu √ vào hoăc viết trả lời ngắn gọn vào chỗ cần thiết. ) Items Strongly Agree No idea Disagree Strongly agree (đồng (Không (Không disagree (hoàn toàn ý) đồng ý) biết) đồng ý) (Hoàn toàn không đồng ý) 1. You A. You think it is study necessary for you in English your job after you because. graduate from school. (Bạn nghĩ Tiếng Anh cần thiết cho công việc sau bạn trường) B. You want communicate to with foreigners in English. (Bạn muốn giao tiếp với người nước tiếng Anh) C. You are interested in English culture and people. (Bạn quan tâm đến I người văn hóa Anh) D. You want to go abroad to study further. (Bạn muốn nước để học thêm) E. English is a compulsory subject in the syllabus. (Tiếng Anh môn học bắt buộc chương trình.) F. You want to live up to your parents’ expectations. (Bạn muốn đáp ứng mong muốn bố mẹ) G. You are afraid of being looked down on for being bad at English. (Bạn sợ bị coi thường tiếng Anh.) H. You want to get good marks and/ or positive remarks for your English in or out of the class. (Bạn muốn điểm tốt II nhận lời khen ngợi cho tiếng Anh bạn lớp học) 2. You feel interested in studying English. (Bạn cảm thấy hứng thú học tiếng Anh) 3. In an A. English teacher you học nothing. ( Không làm gì) B. only what the lesson, (Trong lớp tiếng requires. (Chỉ làm cô giáo yêu cầu) C. ask the teacher to explain to what you don’t understand about the lesson. ( Yêu cầu giáo viên giảng bạn không hiểu) D. You study beyond the syllabus and always discuss what you study with the teacher. (Bạn học thêm chương trình thảo luận với giáo viên bạn học.) III Anh, bạn…) E. participate in the studying activities very enthusiastically. (Tham gia hoạt động học tập cách nhiệt tình. ) Your A. the attitude and motivation teaching methods in studying of the teacher (Thái English may độ phương pháp be affected giảng dạy giáo by viên.) B. your idea of (Động lực what you would học tiếng like to become (a Anh bạn good English bị speaker) (Ý tưởng ảnh hưởng bạn muốn trở bởi…) thành người nào, ví dụ người nói tiếng Anh tốt). C. Your idea of what you are afraid of becoming (a bad English speaker) ( ý nghĩ việc bạn sợ trở thành người IV nào, ví dụ người nói tiếng Anh kém) D. Your idea of what you might become ( ý nghĩ việc bạn trở thành người nào) E. self-confidence (sự tự tin) F. the classroom atmosphere ( không 5. attitude when get marks khí lớp) Your A. feeling stimulated and you study better ( cảm good thấy khuyến or khích học tốt remarks, or hơn) B. taking it for achieve a granted and feeling normal ( coi điều hiển nhiên cảm thấy bình thường) C. still feeling unsatisfied and trying more (vẫn cảm thấy chưa hài V lòng cố gắng goal ( Thái nữa) D. feeling độ bạn overconfident and showing off (cảm thấy tự tin 6. khoe khoang) Your A. feeling attitude discouraged and when wanting to give up. getting bad ( cảm thấy chán marks or nản muốn từ bỏ) B. taking it for remarks, or granted and feeling failing to normal ( coi điều achieve a hiển nhiên goal ( Thái cảm thấy bình độ bạn thường) C. feeling sad, but encouraging yourself to try (cảm thấy buồn tự động viên thân cố gắng) D. losing selfconfidence (mất tự tin) 7. What are your Very good Good Average Below average scores in the (9 – 10 (7 -8 marks) (5-6 marks) (Below 5) English tests and marks) (Điểm khá) (Điểm trung (Điểm VI exams at the (Điểm giỏi) bình) Border Guard Academy? (Điểm số bạn kiểm tra thi Tiếng Anh học viện) Thank you for your cooperation! VII trung bình) APPENDIX Interview questions for the freshmen at the Border Guard Academy 1. Can you tell me the reasons why you study English? Bạn cho biết lý bạn học tiếng Anh? 2. If English were optional, would you choose it? Nếu Tiếng Anh môn tự chọn, bạn có chọn không? 3. How you study English? ( You only attend class but nothing; you try to follow the teacher in the class but nothing at home; you enthusiastically participate in all learning and teaching activities and spend a lot of time practising English skills by yourself) Bạn học tiếng Anh nào? ( Bạn có mặt lớp không làm gì; bạn cố gắng nghe theo giáo viên lớp không làm nhà; bạn tham gia hăng hái hoạt động dạy học lớp dành nhiều thời gian tự luyện kỹ tiếng Anh) 4. How you feel when you study English? ( You feel bored with English lessons; you feel interested in English lessons because of the teacher’s attitudes and teaching methods; You feel motivated by your gaining good goals in English studying; You feel stimulated by your good self image when you succeed; you feel it your duty to study it so you get ready;…) Bạn cảm thấy học tiếng Anh? (Bạn cảm thấy tiếng Anh chán; bạn cảm thấy hứng thú với tiếng Anh thái độ phương pháp giảng dạy giáo viên; bạn cảm thấy thúc đẩy đạt mục tiêu tốt học tiếng Anh; bạn cảm thấy thúc đẩy hình ảnh tốt đẹp thân thành công; bạn cảm thấy học tiếng Anh trách nhiệm bạn sẵn sàng học;….) 5. As for you, what is success in studying English? Who is considered to be successful in learning English?(a student gaining high scores in the exams; a student learning English well in the class but getting no high scores in the exams; a VIII student communicating well in English but not doing the exams well; a student both studying and doing the exams well, …) Đối với bạn, thành công việc học tiếng Anh gì? Ai bạn coi người thành công việc học tiếng Anh? ( sinh lớp đạt điểm cao kỳ thi cuối kỳ môn Tiếng Anh; sinh viên học giỏi lớp điểm ko cao; sinh viên giao tiếp tốt tiếng Anh làm thi không tốt; sinh viên vừa học tốt vừa làm thi tốt,…) 6. What goals you want to achieve when you study English? (Bạn muốn đạt mục tiêu học tiếng Anh?) 7. What are your scores for the tests and examinations of English at the Border Guard Academy? (Điểm số cho thi môn tiếng Anh bạn Học viện Biên phòng điểm?) 8. Have you participated any international tests for English like Ielts or Toefl? Which score have you gained? (Bạn tham gia kỳ Tiếng Anh quốc tế Ielts Toefl chưa? Bạn đạt điểm?) 9. How you feel when you achieve your goals when studying English? ( Bạn cảm thấy bạn đạt mục tiêu đưa học tiếng Anh?) 10. How you feel when you fail to achieve your goals when studying English? (Bạn cảm thấy không đạt mục tiêu đề ra?) Thank you for your cooperation! IX APPENDIX The interview transcripts I. Interviews through emails 1. Intervewee First of all, English has become an international language. Since childhood, I have always dreamed of attending the international conferences, at which all the experts speak English. To understand them, I have no alternative but to study English. The second reason is that I want to upgrade my knowledge through learning English because most of the knowledge of the human beings is in English. The last reason is that English helps me to get on well with people in the world easier. As a border guard, I sometimes have chances to communicate with foreigners at the border gates. Imagine how would I carry out my work without English. I not only enthusiastically participate in all learning and teaching activities but also spend a lot of time practising English skills by myself. I realize the enormous significance of the internet to my English study. I learn a lot from the interesting programs designed and supplied by the experts in English. Only with a computer connected to the internet, I experience the satisfaction of widening my eyes with numerous knowledge of English. Each English lesson is a new land that I desire to explore. Can you imagine my happiness every time I finish one lesson and discover something new to me? I think that a student successful in English must both get the high score in the English exams and use English accurately and fluently. I have got 6.0 for ielts and then my target is getting 6.5, at which point I stand the good chance of going abroad for my further study. With the goal set up, I have a firm faith in my success and I feel proud of having gained good score for my English examinations at BGA. 2. Interviewee X I will mainly work with ethnic people, so I see no point of learning English. At the border, we can use sign language with foreigners. I find it difficult to communicate in English, so I never use it, even in English class. I only study English in the class under the instruction and supervision of the teacher. I never study it by myself. I think a successful learner of English is one that can communicate in daily English.That’s enough. All that I want to with English is I can pass the final exam because I don’t want to learn it again. In fact, I got points,4 points and points for my English writing,reading and listening midterm tests. For speaking, I can speak nothing except my name and hometown. I am looking forward to my classmates’ assistance for my next final exams. I have no care for high scores. 3. Interviewee As for me, English is not only an efficient tool for their job but also a bridge connecting me to an enormous source of knowledge in the world. It is my realization of the importance of English that leads me to decide to invest in it. In addition to English lessons in the class with the teacher, I spend a lot of time selfstudying. I have exploited the advanced technology such as the internet and softwares of English to study English in the most effective and interesting way. My short-term goals are to get high scores in the forthcoming final exams, and my longterm ones are to acquire a good knowledge of English and the ability to communicate well with foreigners in English. I propose that a successful English learners necessarily have a good knowledge of English and use it correctly. However, I find no reason for a successful English learners getting low scores in the exams. I consider successfully reaching a goal as an impetus to their endeavors for higher goals. 4. Interviewee XI I study English because it is a requirement in the curricula. I not want to major in it. What I want is being able to communicate in daily English. English is not really necessary for my job because we work with neighboring countries and ethnic people, all of whom not speak English. I follow the teacher in the class but I rarely spend time on English at home. I only want to be an ordinary soldier. I have no goals for my English. All that I want is points for my final examination. I have no feeling of sadness or happiness whether I pass or fail. As for me, a successful English learner did not necessarily gain high score in the exams. Instead, he or she just needs to communicate well in daily English. 5. Interviewee I have a phobia about studying English. Given a choice between learning English and walking from the north to the south, I prefer the latter. I never think that I have aptitute for English. Therefore, I am always pessimistic about my chance of success in learning English. Besides that, I have some doubts about the significance of English to my job. I not understand why I have to study English. I only want to become a soldier working in the frontier areas. I think all that I need is the strength of body, martial arts, tactics, the ability to use guns and the basic knowledge of ethnic people and the army. Studying English in the class is enough. Outside the class, I have many other things to do. During English lessons, I only take note of what the teacher write on the board. In fact, I only can follow the teacher during the first lessons when the knowledge is easy. However, gradually, I have been left behind because I understand nothing. I only wish that God would help me in the final examination. 6. Interviewee “all fields require certified proficiency in English.” English is the language that people all over the world use. I always wish to have a chance to go to other XII XII countries to have a better comprehension of people in the world. Moreover, I cannot my work efficiently if my English is poor because at the border gate, I usually communicate with foreigners. On behalf of the Vietnamese people, I not want to be looked down on just because my English is not good enough to make myself and my instruction understood to foreigners. Another important thing is that the more I study English, the more interested I feel, particularly when I am able to make more discoveries about the world through the internet with my English. Besides that, I am also given an impetus to learn English by the Director of BGA’s story when he was working in the border that in a negotiation with the neighboring countries, except the interpreter, noone else knew English, which led to difficulties in the work. Everyday, I spend at least hours studying English. I only study when I feel relaxed and motivated. Fortunately, I always feel stimulated by what English has brought to me. I never consider English studying as a duty, but as an interest. It’s fantastic when putting myself in the situation using English to solve problems. Besides that, my teacher is always an inspiration to my progress. Her comments make me have self-confidence in expressing in English. I not consider marks in the examinations as the criteria to evaluate a successful learner of English. However, according to me, it is incredible that a good English learner who excells at all four skills can not get high scores for the exams. I got points for Ielts by British Council. What goal I set for myself to achieve in the future is the fluency and accuracy in English. I want to say that my vision for my future is the greatest motivation for me to master English. 7. Interviewee At first, when hearing of the requirements for going abroad to study, I intended to give up because 6.5 for ielts is unimaginable to me. Nevertheless, with XIII the encouragement from my teacher of English at the BGA, I had the willpower to realize my ambition. With basic knowledge of English gained from class and XIII instruction from my teachers, I collected a lot of English programs on the internet and English books. I spend at least hours everyday studying English. While doing other tasks, I used my ipod to listen to BBC news. For speaking, I imagined the situations and spoke to myself. Sometimes, my teachers suddenly asked me unavailable questions to check my ability to respond to difficult scenarios. For writing, I not remember exactly how much paper I have used. I set the alarm clock for exactly 60 minutes for writing every day, I got down to writing and tried to finish it on time. My teachers helped me find the mistakes and suggest some more ideas. After months, when I had enough faith in my ability, I made up my mind to take the exam. Unluckily, I only got 5.75 (6.0) for this exam. I was a bit disappointed, but my teachers continued expressing their belief in my competence in English. So during the next months, I tried another three times, for each of which I made a little more progress. I got respectively 6.0; 6.125 (6.0) and 6.5. One more time, I have confidence in myself. A successful learner of English not only gains high scores in the English exams but also be fluent and accurate in all skills. That is the reason why I still spend a lot of time studying English even after reaching my goal. On the way to my success, I went through a number of failures. It was these failures that made me have more honour of myself when I achieved success. II. Interviews face to face (recorded) XIV [...]... Border Guard Academy - To examine the extent of effect of learner ideal self on the success in English learning of the learners at the Border Guard Academy - To figure out factors building up the ideal self of the learners at the Border Guard Academy, and what should be done to maintain and motivate the ideal self of learners at the Border Guard Academy 4 Research question In order to achieve the aims... learning English of the learners at the Border Guard Academy Depending on the research result, the teachers and learners at the Border Guard Academy can improve their teaching and learning English to achieve the success 1 3 Objectives of the study The objectives of the study are as follows: - To examine the kinds of motivation that affect the learners success in English learning of the learners at the. .. the significance of motivation in general and her son’s ideal self in particular to his success I immediately came up with the idea of doing a study of the importance of the Learner Ideal Self to the Success in Learning English of the Learners at The Border Guard Academy It is unarguable that motivation plays an important role in the learners success in studying a second or foreign language Many linguists... a learner has, the more time he or she will spend learning an aspect of a second language” (p 148) However, the query of how the learner ideal self has effect on English learning of the learners at the Border Guard Academy still need a careful research to work out the answer 2 Aim of the study The research is done for the purpose of finding out the role of the learner ideal self in the success in learning. .. suggestions on how to construct learner ideal self in English learning and teaching at the Border Guard Academy are provided to make improvement in English 6 Methods of the study 2 The study adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods The former is used to get data from a great number of participants while the latter is used to gain more profound insight into the study subject The tasks involved are according... students use the target language for making connections to vocabulary and processes important in the world Success in English learning at the Border Guard Academy Border Guard Academy is an armed-force unit training officers and cadets working at the frontier areas where relations with neighboring countries take place Because it is an academy, first and foremost, it meets all the training and education requirements... about the relationship between language and identity in second language learning and socialization It is possible that only personal narratives provide a glimpse into areas of private, personal, and intimate…and at the same time at the heart and soul of the second language socialization process (p 167) 2.2.3 Procedures Questionnaires were distributed to the students of the BGA, who agreed to take part in. .. it has been turned into an adventurous journey that learners are exploring Working on Teams Together with the ability to learn and contribute productively as individuals, the L2 learners also have to prove to be efficient at working in a group Group learning activities at the core of foreign language learning are one component of actual communication in the target language With these, the L2 learners. .. important contribution to English learning and teaching at the Border Guard Academy So far, neither the teachers nor the students here have paid attention to this temporary trend of second/foreign language motivation Therefore, it is supposed to benefit both teachers and learners in some ways First of all, the teachers are provided with the information of motivation in general and learner ideal self in. .. perception of how clearly they are able to imagine the level of their L2 attainment long after they graduate from university The micro ideal L2 self : This concept measures learners perception of how clearly they can imagine their level of L2 attainment while at university According to Dörnyei (2009), learner ideal L2 self offers new avenues for motivating language learners through generating a language learning . the learners at the Border Guard Academy, and what should be done to maintain and motivate the ideal self of learners at the Border Guard Academy 4. Research question In order to achieve the aims. Objectives of the study The objectives of the study are as follows: - To examine the kinds of motivation that affect the learners success in English learning of the learners at the Border Guard Academy. . immediately came up with the idea of doing a study of the importance of the Learner Ideal Self to the Success in Learning English of the Learners at The Border Guard Academy. It is unarguable