A study on factors demotivating students to learn english speaking and suggested solutions for the 11th grade students at nguyen dang dao high school

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY ====== TRAN NHAT ANH A STUDY ON FACTORS DEMOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN ENGLISH SPEAKING AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS FOR THE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGUYEN DANG DAO HIGH SCHOOL (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH) Hanoi, May 2016 HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY ====== TRAN NHAT ANH A STUDY ON FACTORS DEMOTIVATING STUDENTS TO LEARN ENGLISH SPEAKING AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS FOR THE 11TH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGUYEN DANG DAO HIGH SCHOOL (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH) SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI THU THUY, M.A Hanoi, May 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: A Study on Factors Demotivating Students to Learn English Speaking and Suggested Solutions for the 11th Grade Students at Nguyen Dang Dao High School I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without the proper acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisors Date submitted: May 2016 Student Supervisors Tran Nhat Anh Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thesis is finished thank to the help of many people Firstly, I would like to express my deepest thank to Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, M.A., for her valuable and enthusiastic help in giving me useful ideas, materials and support to finish my thesis Secondly, I would like to express my particular thanks to all the lectures of Foreign Languages Faculty of HPU N0.2 whose lectures have enriched my academic knowledge of English in the past Thirdly, I also would like to express my sincere thanks to ninety-eight students of classes 11A1 and 11A3 at Nguyen Dang Dao high school in the academic year of 2015-2016 for their contribution in my study Last but not least is the sincere support from my beloved family members and friends in the process of finishing the thesis ii ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to identify factors that demotivate high school students to learn English speaking A survey questionnaire with 29 questions was completed by 98 students The study identified four groups of factors negatively affecting students' motivation: Studentrelated factors, Teacher-related factors, Curriculum-related factors, Teaching and learning condition-related factors The analysis of the gathered data revealed that the insufficient time to practice speaking, teachers' method, teachers' attitude, lack of positive feedbacks, lack of active activities & games, topics in textbook, lack of self-confidence and classroom atmosphere are the most influential factors Accordingly, the writer suggested some solutions to help students overcome their demotivation in speaking classes In addition, implications and suggestions for the further research are made with the hope for better methods to help teachers reduce negative factors affecting students’ motivation during the process of learning speaking English iii LIST OR ABBREVIATIONS HNU N0.2 Hanoi Pedagogical University N0.2 L2 Second language T Teacher Ss Students iv LIST OF GRAPHS Graph Percentage of Types of Activities Enjoyed by Students 31 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ Profiles (Total number of students: 98) 18 Table 2: Result From Question 20 Table 3: Result From Question 20 Table 4: Student-related Factors 21 Table 5: Teacher’s Method 23 Table 6: Teacher’s Attitude & Teaching Style 25 Table 7: Curriculum-related Factors 27 Table 8: Teaching and Learning Condition-related Factors 29 Table Factors Motivating Students to Speak 30 Table 10 What Teachers Do to Motivate Students to Take Part in Speaking Activities 32 Table 11: Students’ Attitude after Lessons 32 v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT .iii LIST OR ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF GRAPHS v LIST OF TABLES v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale II Aims of the study III Significance of the study IV Methods of the study V Scope of the study VI Design of the study PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 Motivation I.1.1 Definitions of Motivation I.1.2 Types of Motivation I.1.3 Characteristics of Motivated Students I.2 Demotivation I.2.1 Definitions of Demotivation vi I.2.2 Factors Demotivating Students in Foreign Language Teaching-Learning I.3 An overview of Speaking Skills I.3.1 Definitions of Speaking I.3.2 Types of Classroom Speaking Performance I.3.3 Characteristics of Good Speaking Activities 10 I.3.4 Motivation and Speaking Ability 11 I.4 Previous Studies on Demotivation 11 I.5 Summary 13 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY II.1 Research Questions 14 II.2 Data Collecting Techniques 14 II.2.1 Survey Questionnaire (Appendix A and Appendix B) 14 II.2.1.1 Rationale Behind the Use of Survey Questionnaire 14 II.2.1.2 Construction of the Survey 15 II.2.1.2.1 Construction of the Pre-survey 15 II.2.1.2.2 Construction of the Post-survey 15 II.2.1.3 Aim of this Technique 15 II.2.1.4 Administration of the Try-out 16 II.2.1.4.1 Preparation of the Try-out 16 II.2.1.4.2 Try-out 16 II.2.1.4.2.1 Pre-survey Questionnaire 16 II.2.1.6.2 Post-survey questionnaire 16 II.2.2 Interview 16 II.2.2.1 Rationale behind the Use of Interview 16 II.2.2.2 Construction of the Interview 17 II.2.2.3 Aim of this Technique 17 II.2.2.4 Try-out 17 II.3 Situation Analysis 17 II.3.1 The Setting of the Study 17 vii II.3.2 Subjects of the Study 18 II.4 Data Analysis 18 CHAPTER THREE THE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION III.1 Reality of the 11th Grade Students’ Motivation 20 III.2 Factors Demotivating Students to Learn English Speaking 20 III.2.1 Student-related Factors 20 III.2.2 Teacher-related Factors 22 III.2.3 Curriculum-related Factors 27 III.2.4 Teaching and Learning Condition-related Factors 28 III.2.5 Students’ Preferences 30 III.3 The Students’ Attitude Toward Activities and Techniques Applied in Lessons 32 III.4 Solutions 33 PART THREE CONCLUSION Conclusion 35 Limitations and Suggestions For Further Study 35 REFERENCES 37 APPENDIX A: Pre- Survey Questionnaire 40 APPENDIX B: Questions for Interviewing Students 44 APPENDIX C: Post-survey questionnaire 46 APPENDIX D: Speaking lesson plan – Unit 12: The Asian Games 47 APPENDIX E: Speaking lesson plan – Unit 13: Hobbies 50 viii Ushioda, E (1998) Effective motivational thinking: A cognitive theoretical approach to the study of language learning motivation.In E A Soler and V C Espurz（eds）Current Issues in English Language Methodology Universit at Jaume I Costello De la Plana Ur, Penny (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambidge University Press Retrieved from: https://sacunslc.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/penny-ur-a-course-inlanguage-teaching-practice-of-theory-cambridge-teacher-training-and-development-1996.pdf 39 APPENDIX A: Pre- Survey Questionnaire This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into “A Study on Factors Demotivating The 11th Grade Students to Learn English Speaking at Nguyen Dang Dao High School” It is appreciated if you can spend some time to complete, honest questions You not need to write your name or personal information All your answers are only used for the purpose of the thesis and you can be confident that it had no influence on their study results Please write in the space provided, tick a box and / or column of your choice Thank you very much for your cooperation! Today's date: …………………………… Age:…………………………………… Gender: Female Male How long have you learnt English? - ……… years How you self evaluate your English level: Very good Good Average Not good Have you ever felt demotivated in speaking classes? No, I haven’t Yes, I have How often you feel demotivated? Always Frequently Often Sometimes Never Please indicate your opinion about each statement by putting a tick (√) in the appropriate column (Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly disagree) I feel demotivated to learn speaking English because … No Statements Strongly Agree agree Activities in speaking me practice response to teachers’ questions My English pronunciation is not good Disagree Strongly disagree class not really help Undecided Teaching activities are 40 uncreative and boring My classmates are passive and too shy They often make the classroom atmosphere quiet and boring 10 Speed of teaching is too fast for me to follow 11 Teachers not usually provide positive feedbacks 12 The textbook is difficult and not equal with our level of proficiency 13 I am nervous to speak English because I am afraid that my classmates will laugh at me if I make mistakes 14 Topics in textbook are not really interesting 15 I usually don’t understand the lessons I think I have lost the background knowledge 16 Teachers’ pronunciation is quite strange and sometimes wrong 17 I didn’t have to take any speaking test, so I did not focus on learning this skill 18 My classmates noisy, inattentive and behave 41 disrespectfully teachers towards during the lessons 19 Teaching and learning facilities are insufficient 20 Teachers’ are explanations not easy to understand 21 I am nervous in speaking classes and often feel left behind my classmates 22 Teachers lack care and enthusiasm 23 The activities in speaking class not really help me develop creative ideas 24 Teachers often shout or get angry when students make mistakes 25 The activities in speaking class not really improve the classroom atmosphere so learning becomes less exciting 26 I don’t know how to construct learning goals 27 Which of the following factors may motivate you to speak English in class? (You can have more than one choice) A Interesting topics in the textbook B Teachers’ good characteristics (enthusiasm, helpfulness, friendliness…) C Pleasant class atmosphere 42 D Various and creative speaking activities E High oral marks you may get 28 Which of the following activities you like most in a speaking lesson? A Working individually B Working in pairs C Working in groups (of to students) 29 Which of the followings you think your teachers should to motivate you to take part in speaking activities? (You can have more than one choice) A Not interrupting you when you make mistakes B Encouraging you with marks and rewards C Being enthusiastic, friendly and helpful D Creating some interesting games and activities E Creating pleasant class atmosphere F Having clear instructions and frequent positive feedback 43 APPENDIX B: Questions for interviewing students I Lead-in - In which class are you in? How old are you? - In your opinion, is good at speaking English important? Why or why not? - What you think about learning speaking English? Is it difficult or easy? II Testing and exploring ideas Main questions Possibly additional questions Clarifying questions Have you ever been - If yes, when? demotivated in learning speaking English? In your opinions, what - How you think about your makes you feel demotivated aptitude of memorizing vocabulary? in learning Speaking - What you think about the text English? book? Or boring) (difficult, easy, long or - Can you expand a little Can you tell me about - Have you ever been not able to on this? factors understand demotivating your teacher’s - you tell me anything else? affecting you in speaking instructions? - Do you think that you have enough - Can you give me some classes? knowledge and vocabulary to examples? understand difficult topics in the textbook? - Do you have any comments about your teacher’s teaching method? In your opinion, what are solutions Can to help you overcome demotivation in learning speaking English? Or According to you, what needs doing to motivate you in speaking classes? III Conclusion - Are there any other demotivating factors that we have not discussed? 44 - In your opinion, what are activities to help you overcome demotivation in learning speaking English in the future? - Thank you very much for your all ideas So, I can summarize your all opinions as follows…… Is it true? 45 APPENDIX C: Post-survey questionnaire STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS ACTIVITIES AND TECHNIQUES APPLIED BY TEACHER This survey questionnaire is designed for the study of students’ attitude towards activities and techniques that have been used in recent speaking classes Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is of great use and solely for the study purpose Thank you! No Statements Percentages You found the activities more interesting The classroom atmosphere was good The times you participated in speaking activities have increased You were motivated to speak English You take speaking activities easier You felt less nervous in speaking lesson 46 Yes No APPENDIX D: Speaking lesson plan – Unit 12: The Asian Games Period 77: Speaking Time: 45 minutes Class: 11A3 Number of students: 45 School: Nguyen Dang Dao High school Level of students: Pre-intermediate Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - Ask and answer about the Asian Games - Talk about the sports results Teaching materials: textbook, projector, computer, board… Procedure: Stages Greeting T’ activities Time 3’ -Greeting Ss’ activities -Greeting -Ask Ss how they are today and -Answer the T’s questions ask them about the initial lesson Warm-up 4’ Hot seat game -Listen carefully the rule of the Instructions: game I will divide class into two teams: Team A and Team B Then take an empty chair - one for each team - and put it at the front of the class, facing the team members These chairs are the 'hot seats' Then get one member from each -Playing game team to come up and sit in that chair, so they are facing their teammates and have their back to the board Write a word clearly on the board 47 Students in the teams try to describe this word by body language and activities without saying anything The student in the hot seat looks at activities from their team mates and tries to guess the word The first hot seat student to say the correct word wins a point for their team *words: name of sports* Pre- 5’ Aim: To lead in the new lesson -Ask Ss to discuss with their -Discuss speaking friends and answer questions: in group students) What Asian countries have taken part in the Asian Games? What sports have been introduced in the Asian Games? -T checks the answers -Ask Ss to open the books, look at -Look at the book the information table and find: -Answer the questions How many countries have been the host countries? Which countries have been the host countries for many times? Whilespeaking 25’ Aim: To help Ss practice speaking skill -Remind Ss about the ordinal -Listen to the T numbers -Ask Ss about the tense when they -Answer the T’s questions talk about the event in the past -Ask Ss about the kind of sentence when talk about year and place that -Answer the T’s questions the Asian Games were held 48 (four (Passive voice or Active voice) -Work in pairs Activity 1: Work in pairs -Ask Ss to practice speaking Task with their partners (Model dialogue in p.139) -Call out some pairs -Some pairs stand up and present your answers Activity 2: Work in groups (4 students) -Ask Ss to ask and answer about -Work in groups the sports results of the Vietnamese athletes at 14th Asian Games (Based on the table in p.140) Ex: - How many medals did we -Making a dialogue win in bodybuilding? -We won gold medal and Post- 5’ bronze medal -Some groups stand up and -T checks present your answers Aim: To help Ss further practice speaking speaking -Ask Ss to work in group, prepare -Working in group a report on the sports results using the information in Task -Call some Ss to present their -Stand up and present your reports Homework 2’ report -T asks Ss about what they have -Ss answer the T’s question learnt -HW: Rewrite the report on the -Take note sports results of the Vietnamese athletes at 14th Asian Games 49 APPENDIX E: Speaking lesson plan – Unit 13: Hobbies Period 77: Speaking Time: 45 minutes Class: 11A1 Number of students: 53 School: Nguyen Dang Dao High school Level of students: Pre-intermediate Objectives: By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: - know more about some kinds of hobby - talk about their hobby confidently Teaching materials: textbook, projector, computer, board, posters… Procedure: Stages Greeting T’ activities Time 3’ -Greeting Ss’ activities -Greeting -Ask Ss how they are today and ask -Answer the T’s questions them about the initial lesson Warm-up 5’ Chain game -Listen carefully the rule of the Instructions: game T divides class into teams: Team A and Team B Team A begins with a word related to hobby, for example “Reading book.” The next person in team B must use the last word of Team A to begin their own list Ex “Reading book, Going Fishing.” The next -Playing game person of team A could say, “Reading book, Going Fishing, Watching TV” etc etc Try to remember as many hobbies as you can (in order) 50 Prespeaking 7’ Vocabulary: -T elicits and presents new words: -Listen to the T 1) second-hand (adj): cũ, dùng lại “What is the antonym of “brand-new”? (antonym) -Take note 2) classify (v): phân loại “I have so many books I have to put them in different places So, what I do?” (explanation) 3) category (n): loại “What is another word for “type”?” (synonym) 4) organize (v): xếp “What is another word for “arrange”?” (synonym) 5) landscape (n): “How you say “phong cảnh” in English? (translation) - T checks Ss’ understanding of new words: Matching - T shows the poster: WORDS MEANING second- a phân loại hand classify b phong cảnh category c loại organize d cũ, dùng lại landscape e xếp -T asks some Ss to go to the -Some Ss go to the board and 51 blackboard and match the word complete the task with its meaning -T checks Ss’ work and gives feedback While- 23’ Activity 1: Making a dialogue -T elicits some kinds of hobby: -Listen to the T speaking collecting books, collecting stamps, collecting coins, collecting CDs, etc -Ask Ss to practice the dialogue -Answer the T’s questions -Call – pairs to read aloud the -Work in pairs dialogue -Some pairs stand up and -Give feedback present your answers -Activity 2: Discussion -Ask Ss to work in pairs and -Work in pairs discussion about their hobbies -Review some structures: -Take note + “What is your first hobby?” + “My first hobby is …” + “Why you like it?” + “Because it is interesting/ useful/ good for my health/ …makes me feel glad/ comfortable/ … -Give time for Ss to the task -Making a dialogue -Ask – pairs to perform their Postspeaking 6’ work -Stand up and perform your -Give feedback work Ask Ss brainstorming to find benefits of book in life -T asks Ss work in groups with 52 their friends around them and list -Working in group many benefits of book as they can -T gives time for Ss to the task -T goes around and gives help -T gives feedback Homework 2’ -T asks Ss about what they have -Ss answer the T’s question learnt -HW: Write a short paragraph of 50 -Take note words to talk about your hobbies 53