The relationship between students’ motivation and their out of class learning strategies a survey at a high school in vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***** ĐỖ THỊ THỦY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND THEIR OUT-OF-CLASS LEARNING STRATEGIES: A SURVEY AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN VIETNAM Quan hệ động lực chiến lược học tập học học sinh: Nghiên cứu khảo sát trường trung học phổ thông Việt Nam M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***** ĐỖ THỊ THỦY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND THEIR OUT-OF-CLASS LEARNING STRATEGIES: A SURVEY AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN VIETNAM Quan hệ động lực chiến lược học tập học học sinh: Nghiên cứu khảo sát trường trung học phổ thông Việt Nam M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2017 DECLARATION I hereby assure that this dessertation is my own work and it has not been previously submitted to any institution in application for admission to a diploma or other qualifications Hanoi, 2017 Đỗ Thị Thuỷ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their invaluable instructions and assistance Their step-by-step guidance helps me get closer to scientific researches and equips me with necessary knowledge to be able to carry out research on foreign/ second language (L2) on my own Especially, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh, whose erudite understanding of various fields related to L2 teaching and learning has enlightened me He himself is not only a great and devoted lecturer but also a famous researcher I could not have finished my thesis without his supervision My special thanks also go to my family member, my friends and colleagues who always stand by me to support me and encourage me to complete the course Besides, I would like to thank my beloved students in Yen Dinh high school for their contribution to my paper Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to other people working at ULIS for their help ii ABSTRACT This study focuses on identifying students‟ motivation and their out-ofclass learning strategies and investigating whether there is any relationship between them A total of 90 ten-grade students were asked to complete the survey questionnaires within 30 minutes They had to complete 15 sentences on motivation drawn from Attitude/Motivation Test Battery by R.Gardner with point Likert scale and 10 sentences on out-of-class learning strategies extracted from the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning by R.Oxford with point Likert scale The results show that instrumental motivation ranks first and metacognitive strategies are the most frequently used The majority of the students learned English because they had to take English exams When they were not in class, they often listened to English songs or played games in English to acquire this language Besides, most of motivation types have positive and significant correlations with six categories of learning strategies except for compensation strategies Intrinsic motivation has the highest coefficients Also, the more demotivated the students were, the less strategic they were Base on the findings, it is suggested that students should be encouraged to acquire knowledge both inside and outside classroom context iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study Research aims and objectives Research questions: Scope of the research Significance of the research Organization of the thesis PART B - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 1.1 Motivation 1.1.1 Definition of motivation 1.1.2 Prominent motivation theories 1.1.1.5 Dörnyei’s motivational self system 10 1.2.Learning strategy 10 1.2.1.Conceptualizations of learning strategy 10 1.2.2 Oxford’s language learning strategy inventory 11 iv 1.3 Out-of-class learning strategies 13 1.1.4 The role of out-of-class learning in foreign language teaching 15 1.1.5 Previous studies on the relationship between motivation and outof -class learning strategies 16 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 The research setting 18 2.2 Research design 18 2.2.1 Research methodology 18 2.2.2 Participants 18 2.2.3 Instruments 18 2.3 Data Collection Procedure 20 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 Reasons for learning English 22 3.2 The students’ main types of language learning strategies and activities 22 3.2.1 Language learning strategies 22 Table 2: Summary of descriptic statistic for language learning strategy use 23 3.2.2 Out – of – class learning activities 24 3.3 Students’ motivation types 25 3.4 The relationship between students’motivation and their out-of-class learning strategies 27 PART C- CONCLUSION 31 Major findings of the study 31 Conclusions 32 v Implications 33 Limitations of the study 34 Suggestions for further study 35 REFERENCES 36 APPENDIX .I vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AMTB: Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery EFL: English as Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching ESL: English as Second Language GLL: Good Language Learner L2: Second or Foreign Language SILL: Strategy Inventory for Language learning SPSS: The Statistical Package for Social Science vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Reasons for learning English 19 Table 2: Summary of descriptic statistic for language learning strategy use 20 Table 3: Out-of-class activities 21 Table 4: Motivation types 22 Table 5: Correlations between motivation types and out-of-class learning strategies 25 Table 6: Correlations between motivation and out-of-class learning strategies 27 viii To answer the second question: “How they learn English outside class?”, the information in the survey can provide all the necessary information Students prefered indirect learning strategies and they took part in a lot of activities outside the classroom such as listening to English songs and playing games in English Therefore, it can be concluded that out-of-class learning strategies plays an important part in students‟ learning The third question: “What is the relationship between students‟ motivation and their out - of class - learning strategies?” is the most significant in this survey All the results obtained and analyzed show that there seems to be a correlation between their motivation and their use of learning strategies More motivated students seemed to use more metacognitive strategies Besides, instrinsically motivated students spent more time learning English out of the class Implications From the results of the study, it can be seen that students were more extrinsically motivated but their intrinsic motivation was better correlated with their investment in learning strategies Therefore, teachers and parents should motivate students to learn English to inspire their intrinsic motivation Once they are interested in learning English, more learning strategies will be adopted On the other hand, the more demotivated students were, the fewer strategies they deployed in learning the language Furthermore, metacognitive strategy is the first selection of motivated students, thus it is necessary to enable students to plan, monitor and evaluate their out-of-class learning activities Teachers should help students „learn to think‟ and „think to learn‟ Memory strategy is also their favorable choice, so when learning English outside the classroom, students should implement any method that is good for memory enhancement 33 In addition, learning should not be limited in classroom with set textbooks and practice, students need to develop the ability to acquire knowledge both inside and outside their class context Because the majority of students learned English through such out-of-class activities as listening to English songs, playing games in English or reading English books, teachers should select useful materials of these types to introduce to their students or include them in the extra-lessons in their teaching curriculum Information technology should be applied to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning Students should be motivated and interested by variety of activities so that they can get access to authentic sources of English More importantly, teachers should encourage students by both teacher - supported in - class and teacher - supported out - of - class learning so that they can get self - directed out - of - class learning Limitations of the study Although the writer has tried her best to finish this study with the aim of finding the best way to assist her students to learn English, certain limitations can not be excluded Firstly, this paper only focuses on surveying the tenthgrade students so the results might not be applied to students in upper grades Students‟ learning motivation and strategies might change as their national examination gets close and the requirements for the exams are renovated In addition, SILL is not the instrument specialized for out – of – class learning evaluation so it should be supplemented with other research tools such as diaries and interviews Moreover, there are still inconclusive results because of the negative correlation between intrinsic, extrinsic and instrumental motivation with compensation strategies; between instrumental motivation with social and cognitive strategies These results require logic and scientific 34 explanation but with her limited knowledge, no satisfactory conclusion has been drawn Suggestions for further study In order to extend the domain of this research, other techniques of gathering information such as interviews and observations can be used to gain richer and more detailed information Besides, the relationship between motivation and language learning outside classroom context can be examined by using other research instruments like new computer-assisted language learning technologies Moreover, action research can be carried out in which out – of – class learning activities can be included as a part of teaching plan so that teachers can check if these strategies can improve students‟ English ability as well as if the relationship between students‟ motivation and learning strategies changes An important are that needs to be further researched is the effectiveness of the students‟ use of out-of-class learning strategies on their English proficiency Finally, it is hoped that the findings of this study can help teachers and students understand more about motivation and out-of-class learning strategies, two important factors in teaching and learning a foreign language and the relationship between them Their acquired knowledge can enable them to find easier and more efficient ways of teaching and learning English 35 REFERENCES Benson, P (2001) Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning Harlow: Pearson Education Brown, D (1994) Teaching by principles Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Deci, E L, & Ryan, R, M (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior New York: Plenum Dörnyei, Z (1998) Motivation in second and foreign language learning, in Language Teaching, 31: 117-35 Dörnyei, Z (2003) Attitudes, orientations and motivation in language learning: Advances in theory, research, and applications Dörnyei, Z (2005) The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Eelbaum Dörnyei, Z (2008) The Psychology of Second Language Acquisition New York: Oxford University Press Ellis, R (1994) The study of second language acquisition Oxford: Oxford University press Fukuda, S T., & Yoshida, H (2013) Time is essence: Factors encouraging out-of-class study time ELT Journal, 67 (1), 31-40 Garcia, T (1995) The role of motivational strategies in self-regulated learning In P R Pintrich (Ed.), New Directions for College Teaching and Learning: Self-Regulated learning in the College Classroom (pp 29-42) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995 Gardner, R C (1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation London: Arnold 36 Gardner, R C (2005) Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery: International AMTB Research Project The University of Western Ontario Retrieved June 30th, 2010, from http://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/, Keller, J.M (1983) Motivational design of instruction In C.M Reigeluth (Ed.) Instructional design theories and models: An overview of their current status (pp 383-434) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Locke, E.A., & Latham, G P (1990) A theory of goal setting and task performance Upper saddler River, NJ: Prentice Hall Nunan, D (1991) Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teacher London: Prentice Hall O'Malley, J.M.&Chamot, A.U.(1990) Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition.Cambridge, U.K.:Cambridge University Press O‟Maley, J., Chamot, A., Stewner-Manzanares, G., Russo, R and Kuper, L (1985) Learning strategy applications with students of English as second language TESOL Quarterly, 19: 557-584 Oxford, R L (1990) Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Oxford, R & Burry-Stock, J (1995) Assessment the use of language learning strategies worldwide with the ESL/EFL version of the strategy inventory for language learning(SILL) System, 23(1), 1-23 Oxford, R and Crookall, D (1989) Language learning strategies: methods, findings, and instructional implications Modern Language Journal, 73: 404-419 Oxford, R & Nyikos, M (1989) Variables affecting choice of language learning strategies by university students MLJ, 73(3), 291-300 37 Pearson, N (2004) The idiosyncrasies of out-of-class learning: A study of mainland Chinese students studying English at tertiary level in New Zealand, Proceedings of the Independent Learning Conference 2003 Pickard, N., (1995) Out-of-class language learning strategies Three case studies English Language Teaching Journal, 12: 35-37 Pickard, N., (1996) Out-of-class language learning strategies English Language Teaching Journal, 2: 150-159 Pintrich, P R (1999) The role of motivation in promoting and sustaining self-regulated learning International Journal of Educational Research, 31, 459-470 Pintrich, P R., & Garcia, T (1991) Student goal orientation and selfregulation In Maeher, P R Pintrich Advances in motivation and achievement: Goals and self-regulatory processes (PP 371-402) Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Rubin, J.,(1975).What the "good language learner" can teach us TESOL Quarterly Rubin, J (1987) Learner strategies: theoretical assumptions, research history and typology In Wenden, A and Rubin, J Learner Strategies and language Teaching Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall 15-29 Ryan, R.M & Deci, E.L (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing American Psychologist, 55, 68-78 Sato, T., Nakagawa, T., & Yamana, T (2008) The Basic Research of College-Level English Learners: What Motivates Them and How Do They Learn? Bulletin of Tsukuba International University, 14, 43-59 38 Schunk, D.H (1990) Introduction to the special section on motivation and efficacy Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(1), 3–6 Stern, H (1992) Issues and Options in Language Teaching Oxford, Oxford University Press Tremblay, P F & Gardner, R C (1995) Expanding the motivation construct in language learning The Modern Language Journal,79, 505-518 Weiner, B (1972) Attribution theory, achievement motivation, and the educational process Review of educational research, 42, 203-215 Wenden, A and Rubin, J (1987) Learner Strategies in Language Learning Englewood Cliff, NJ, Prentice Hall 39 APPENDIX Survey questionnaires – Bảng câu hỏi khảo sát This survey aims at finding out some information about motivation and learning strategies of grade-ten students at Yendinh high school in learning English Please help me to complete it by doing the following tasks Mục đích khảo sát tìm hiểu số thông tin động lực chiến lược học tập tiếng Anh học sinh khối 10 trường THPT Yên Định Các em vui lòng giúp hồn thành khảo sát cách làm theo yêu cầu I General information (Please fill in the blanks or circle the options) Phần thông tin cá nhân (Các em điền vào chỗ trống khoanh vào phương án ) - I am (male/ female) ……… Em (nam/ nữ) -What is your main goal for learning English (you can choose more than one) Mục đích em học tiếng Anh ( em chọn nhiều phương án) A.For exams – Để thi B I like it – Em yêu thích tiếng Anh C My parents want me to so – Bố mẹ em muốn em học tiếng Anh D Others ………………………………………… Các lý khác (nêu cụ thể)……………………… I - Tick the activities you often to learn English outside classroom Đánh dấu tick (√) vào hoạt động em thường làm để học tiếng Anh học I listen to English songs Tôi nghe hát tiếng Anh I listen to radio programs in English Tơi nghe chương trình tiếng Anh đài phát I read newspapers in English Tôi đọc báo tiếng Anh I read books in English Tôi đọc sách tiếng Anh I chat with foreigners on line in English Tơi trị chuyện mạng với bạn nước tiếng Anh I play games in English Tôi chơi games tiếng Anh Other activites (If there is any, please specify) Các hoạt động khác ( Nếu có vui lịng nêu cụ thể) II Questionnaire on motivation Bảng câu hỏi động lực học tập Following are a number of statements with which some people agree and others disagree Please circle one alternative (in corresponding number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) below each statement according to the amount of your agreement or II disagreement with that item Which one you choose would indicate your own feeling based on everything you know and have heard Note: there is no right or wrong answer Dưới số câu số người đồng ý số khác không đồng ý Em khoanh vào phương án trả lời ( tương ứng với số 1,2,3,4,5,6) bên câu tùy theo mức độ em đồng ý hay khơng đồng ý với câu đến đâu Em chon phương án tùy thuộc vào hiểu biết suy nghĩ riêng em.Xin lưu ý: khơng có câu trả lời sai hay Strongly Moderately Slightly Slightly Moderately Strongly Disagree Disagree Disagree Agree Agree Agree Hồn tồn Khơng Có chút Hơi khơng đồng ý đồng ý không đồng ý đồng ý Khá đồng ý Hoàn toàn đồng ý Learning English is really great Học tiếng Anh thực tuyệt My English class is really a waste of time Giờ học tiếng Anh thực lãng phí thời gian Studying English is important because I will need it for my career III Học tiếng Anh quan trọng tơi cần dùng nghề nghiệp sau Knowing English isn‟t really an important goal in my life Biết tiếng Anh thực mục tiêu quan trọng đời My parents and relatives feel that it is very important for me to learn English Bố mẹ người thân cảm thấy học tiếng Anh quan trọng với 6 I feel confident when asked to speak in my English class Tơi cảm thấy tự tin u cầu nói tiếng Anh Studying English is important because it will allow me to meet and talk with more and varied people Học tiếng Anh quan trọng giúp tơi gặp gỡ nói chuyện với nhiều người khác I think my English class is boring Tôi nghĩ tiếng Anh chán ngắt IV Studying English is important because it will make me more educated Học tiếng anh quan trọng giúp tơi giáo dục nhiều 10 I wish I could have many native English speaking friends Tơi ước tơi có nhiều người bạn người nói tiếng Anh xứ 11 I put off my English homework as much as possible Tơi trì hỗn việc làm tập tiếng Anh nhà lâu tốt 12 I plan to learn as much English as possible Tôi dự định học tiếng Anh nhiều tốt 13 I would feel uncomfortable speaking English anywhere outside the classroom Tôi cảm thấy khơng thoải mái nói tiếng anh nơi ngồi lớp học 14 I wish I were fluent in English Tôi ước thông thạo tiếng Anh V 15 When I leave school, I will give up the study of English because I am not interested in it Khi học xong phổ thông từ bỏ tiếng Anh tơi khơng thích III Questionnaire on language learning strategies Bảng câu hỏi chiến lược học tập This form of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) is for students of English as a second or foreign language Hình thức khảo sát chiến lược học ngơn ngữ ngữ ( viết tắt SILL) dành cho người học tiếng Anh ngôn ngữ ngoại ngữ You will find statements about learning English Please read each statement On doing it, circle the response (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that tells how true of you the statement is Các em thấy câu nói việc học tiếng Anh Vui lòng đọc câu Trong đọc khoanh vào câu trả lời (( tương ứng với 1,2,3,4,5) để xác định câu với thân em đến đâu 1.Never or almost never true of me Hoàn toàn gần hoàn toàn không với 2.Usually not true of me Thường không với 3.Somewhat true of me Hơi với 4.Usually true of me Thường với 5.Always or almost always true of me Luôn gần luôn với I connect the sound of a new English word and an image or picture of the word to help me remember the word VI Tôi liên hệ âm từ tiếng anh với hình ảnh tranh từ để giúp tơi nhớ từ 5 I practice English with other students Tôi thực hành tiếng Anh với học sinh khác I review English lessons often Tôi ôn tập thường xuyên I watch English language TV shows spoken in English or go to movies spoken in English Tơi xem chương trình truyền hình tiếng Anh xem phim tiếng Anh 5 I write notes, messages, letters, or reports in English Tôi ghi chép, viết tin nhắn, thư tường thuật tiếng Anh When I can‟t think of a word during a conversation in English, I use gestures Khi không nghĩ từ giao tiếp, dùng cử I look for opportunities to read as much as possible in English Tôi tìm kiếm hội đọc tiếng Anh nhiều tốt I try to find as many ways as I can to use my English Tơi cố gắng tìm nhiều cách để sử dụng tiếng Anh VII I try to find out how to be a better learner of English Tơi cố gắng tìm cách học tiếng Anh tốt 10 I encourage myself to speak English even when I am afraid of making mistakes Tơi ln khuyến khích thân nói tiếng Anh e sợ mắc lỗi Thank you very much for your help Cám ơn giúp đỡ em nhiều VIII ... area of language learning strategies and lays out the most exhaustive hierarchy of learning strategies to date 1.3 Out- of- class learning strategies Much interest has been expressed in out - of. .. and their application of the learning strategies could have a correlated relationship Many researchers report that there is a relationship between motivation level and strategy use, and they affect... “What is the relationship between motivation and their out – of – class learning strategies? ‟, the results of the Pearson bivariate correlations demonstrate that the students used fewer strategies