A study on motivations of 10th grade students in learning english writing skills at son tay high school, hanoi m a thesis linguistics 60 14 01 11

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** CAO THỊ MINH A STUDY ON MOTIVATIONS OF 10 TH GRADE STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC ĐỘNG CƠ HỌC VIẾT TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi – 2014 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** CAO THỊ MINH A STUDY ON MOTIVATIONS OF 10 TH GRADE STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC ĐỘNG CƠ HỌC VIẾT TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG SƠN TÂY, HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: PHẠM THỊ THANH THÙY, PH.D Hanoi – 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the minor thesis entitled “A Study on Motivations of 10th Grade Students in Learning English Writing Skills at Son Tay High School, Hanoi” is the result of my own work and effort 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 Hanoi, November 10, 2014 Cao Thi Minh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Phạm Thị Thanh Thùy, for the insightful comments, criticism, wholehearted guidance and kind support she gave me while I was carrying out this research My special thanks go to all the lecturers and staff of the Faculty of PostGraduate Studies, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for their valuable knowledge and guidance and help during my two years of study at the Faculty I am also grateful 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 support and strong encouragement to me throughout the study ii ABSTRACT The study reported in this paper investigates the motivation in writing lessons th of 10 grade students at Son Tay High School to find out: th (1) types of motivation possessed by 10 grade students at Son Tay High School (2) th factors affecting 10 grade students in writing lessons th (3) motivational strategies highly evaluated by 10 grade students in writing lessons th The study was conducted with eighty 10 grade students and eight teachers of English at Son Tay High School, Son Tay town, Hanoi In this study, the researcher used survey questionnaires and classroom observation sheets to collect data The results obtained from the analysis of responses to the questionnaires and classroom observation sheet revealed the types of motivation of 10 graders, factors affecting students’ motivation and motivational strategies preferred by students in writing lessons This study provided some recommendations for effective application of motivational strategies in enhancing students’ writing skills as well It is expected that the results from the study could be of benefit to the teaching and learning of English writing at Son Tay High School iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Aim of the study Objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Writing skills 1.1.1 Definitions and features of writing skills 1.1.2 Approaches to teaching writing 1.2 Motivation 1.2.1 Definition of motivation 1.2.2 Types of motivation in foreign language learning 1.2.3 The roles of motivation in foreign language learning 1.2.4 Factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning 1.3 Previous researches 1.4 Summary CHAPTER METHODOLOGY iv 2.1 The setting of the study 16 2.1.1 An overview of the research site 16 2.1.2 English teachers in Son Tay high school 16 th 2.1.3 10 grade students in Son Tay high school 17 2.1.4 English teaching and learning situation at Son Tay High School 17 2.2 Methods of the study 18 2.2.1 The subjects of the study 18 2.2.2 Data collection instruments 19 2.2.3 Data collection procedures 19 2.2.4 Methods of data analysis 20 2.3 Summary 20 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 21 3.1 Students’ motivation 21 3.1.1 Students’ interest in writing lessons 21 3.1.2 Types of motivation possessed by students 22 3.1.3 Students’ participation in writing activities 23 3.1.4 Factors affecting students’ motivation 25 3.1.5 Problems faced by students in learning writing skills 26 3.2 Attitudes of teachers to motivation in teaching writing skills for students .27 3.2.1 Teachers’ time to motivate students in writing lessons 27 3.2.2 Teachers’ assistance during writing lessons 28 3.2.3 Teachers’ responses to unwilling writers 29 3.2.4 Problems faced by teachers in teaching writing skills 29 3.3 Strategies and activities to motivate students in learning writing skills 30 3.4 Findings …………………………………………………………………… 33 3.5 Summary 34 PART C CONCLUSION .36 Summary of the main ideas 36 Implications and Recommendations 37 v Limitations 39 Recommendations for further study 39 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX ………………………………………………………………………….I vi TABLES Table Re Table Stu Table Re Table Fac ski Pro Table ski Table Tea Table Tea Table Tea Table Pro Table 10 Stu Table 11 Stu act CHARTS Chart vii Stu LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2: Second language M.A: Master of Art IQ: Intelligence quotient viii 10th grade students possessed in writing lessons; major factors affecting the th motivation of 10 grade students and motivational strategies that should be applied in writing lessons All the data were obtained from the study instruments through the two survey questionnaires and two observation sheets 35 PART C CONCLUSION Summary of the main ideas The study was carried out to learn about the current situation of motivation possessed by 10 graders of Son Tay High School in writing lessons On the whole, its aim was to better the English teaching and learning in general and English writing in particular at Son Tay High School The study has discussed several view-points on motivation such as conceptions of motivation, five major types of motivation (including intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, instrumental, and resultative) The essential roles of motivation in foreign language learning, followed by factors relating to learners, teachers and learning condition that affect it were attained in the theoretical background Writing and approaches to teaching this skill were explored in detail It goes without saying that motivation has been a topic of concern for a great number of researchers, linguists as well as researchers The study was based on related-theories by Gardner, Brown or Dorneyi and also on experiences from other works like an article of Tran (2007) and these M.A theses of Dinh Thuy Linh (2011), Hoang Thi Ha (2011) and Nguyen Thanh Thuy ( 2013) Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to carry out this study th Data were collected for analysis from responses of 80 10 grade students, teachers of English and from information received from the observation sheets The questionnaires were first delivered to the subjects and then gathered again in the third week of semester one of the school year 2014-2015 The results obtained were then quickly presented in tables and charts for analyses Summary of the findings First of all, the research results showed that most 10 th grade students at Son Tay High School possessed extrinsic motivation and not many of them occupied intrinsic motivation This fact urges teachers at this school to find strategies to enhance students’ internal interest in learning writing skills and maintain the other 36 types of motivation (extrinsic, instrumental, intrinsic and integrative and resultative) at the same time Secondly, factors affecting 10 graders’ motivation derived from teachers (teaching methods and enthusiasm), students (low level of English proficiency and limited background knowledge), and teaching and learning conditions (the class atmosphere) Therefore, there should be solutions to minimize these factors in order to make writing lessons become more effective Finally, motivational strategies and activities that should be applied to teaching writing 10 th grade students at Son Tay High School were pre-teaching activities (vocabulary and structure teaching and eliciting ideas), using teaching aids (like models, authentic materials and extra activities), applying communicative activities ( pair or group writing and peer correcting) and giving regular feedback and encouragement Implications and Recommendations From the above mentioned results of the research, some recommendations can be made to teachers th In the first place, the results of the research that most 10 grade students at Son Tay High School did not own intrinsic motivation urge teachers at this school to play the role of a facilitator applying some strategies to increase this important kind of motivation For example, they can create and develop students’ autonomy so that they not depend on outside rewards or praise In addition, it is advisable that teachers should use rewards and praise but in a selectively and judiciously way so that students can recognize their own self-satisfaction in having done something well Besides, setting some personal goals for students and utilizing their learning strategies can help them take charge of their own learning Moreover, the teaching materials should be made relevant for the learners Students are often more motivated when they know that what they are learning is has relevance to their lives Another way to intrinsically motivate students in learning writing skills is using content-based activities and courses The aim of the activities is to focus students on 37 interesting, relevant subject-matter content that gets students more linguistically involved Finally, increasing students’ expectancy of success is another way to promote their intrinsic motivation Secondly, the research results said that students’ motivation was greatly affected by teachers’ teaching methods and behaviors That is the reason why presenting all the tasks in a motivating way (explaining the purpose and the utility of thee task and providing students with appropriate strategies to the tasks) can help increase students’ motivation in learning the skills Teachers can get students’ involvement in the lessons by using authentic materials and extra activities Teachers’ enthusiasm and commitment will also contribute much to students’ motivation Teachers can offer to meet students individually to explain things after class It is also advisable that teacher should encourage students to call them whenever they encounter any problems Moreover, some factors affecting students’ motivation derived from the students themselves; therefore teachers also should have strategies to help these students solve their problems For instance, teachers should pay more attention to enhance students’ vocabulary and grammar structures not only in writing lessons but also in such other lessons as reading or language focus ones Teachers can also provide students with relevant or particular interesting articles to help them widen their background knowledge In addition, it is necessary for teachers to promote cooperation among students by organizing pair or group activities during writing lessons Students’ expectancy of success is likely to be higher when they cooperating with each other because they know that they can account on their peers This technique of using communicative activities can help teachers solve the problem of a big-sized class as well Another recommendation is that a pleasant and supportive atmosphere in classroom should be created Teachers should encourage students’ actions of risktaking and have mistakes accepted as a natural part of learning Only by that way can students feel comfortable taking risks and writing without worrying about being 38 criticized or embarrassed, which may increase their involvement in learning writing process Teachers’ good rapport with students and students’ harmonious relationship with each other help create a friendly atmosphere in classroom as well Humour is also advised to be used to create a relaxing climate inside Limitations Limitations are unavoidable in any research papers This minor thesis is not an exception The research is an investigation into the context of English writing teaching and learning of grade 10 at Son Tay High School The findings and implications obtained are expected to help bring about a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning context at this school However, because of the limited time and length constraint of a minor thesis, the study has the following limitations: First of all, the limitation of participants (with 80 students of 10 th graders only) makes the study less reliable As a result, the findings of which are clearly not generalized to all the 10 graders at the school Secondly, there are many different factors affecting students’ motivation learning writing skills such as learners' personal attributes (aptitude, previous language learning experience), learners' attitudes (sentiment towards the target language) and learners' belief about themselves (anxiety, expectations about one's ability to succeed), but the researcher did not had chance to explore Thirdly, the research was carried out at the beginning of the school year when th 10 grade students were actually new comers and new friends, new teachers as well as new teaching and learning methods or techniques might be strange to them Moreover, only a few writing lessons had been taught at the time the survey questionnaires were given and the observation was carried out As a result, the findings achieved are true of the students at that particular time only Recommendations for further study The study was aimed at bettering 10 graders’ English writing skills For this long-termed purpose, it is vital that an insight into the situation be taken into account Therefore, further studies could be conducted on the spot 39 Firstly, the same study on motivation but in other language skills (listening skills, reading skills) could be applied with a bigger number of participants In th th addition, the subject of the future study may be 11 and 12 grade students at Son Tay High School Secondly, other studies on other factors affecting students’ motivation in English learning can be carried out Finally, studies should be undertaken at the middle or the end of the school year so that the research results can be seen from another angle 40 REFERENCES Boughey, C (1997) Learning to write by writing to learn: a group- work approach, ELT Journal, 51(2), 126-134 Byrne, D (1998) Teaching Writing Skills Longman Carroll, J B (1962) The prediction of success in intensive foreign language training: Training research and education Pittsburgh: The University of Pittsburgh Press Crookes, G & Schmidt, R (1991) Motivation: Reopening the research agenda Language Learning, 41(4), 469-512 Dornyei, Z 2001 Motivational strategies in the language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Douglas Brown, H (2001) Strategies for Success: A Practical Guide to Learning English (Student Book) Longman Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Falk, J (1978) Linguistics and Language: A Survey of Basic Concepts and Implications (2nd ed.) John Wiley and Sons The Gardner, RC (1985) Social Psychology and second language learning: roles of attitudes and motivation London: Edward Arnold 10 Gardner, R and Lambert, W (1972) Attitudes and motivation in second language learning Rowley: Newbury House 11 Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman 12 Harris, J (1993) Introducing Writing London: Penguin English 13 Lightbown, M.P., Spada, N (1999) How Languages are Learned OUP 14 Littlewood, W.1998 Foreign and Second Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 15 Nunan, D 1991 Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge University Press 16 Raimes,A.(1993) Techniques in Teaching Writing OUP 41 17 Spaulding, Cheryl L Motivation in the Classroom New York: McGraw- Hill (1992) 18 Tran L (2007) Learners’ motivation and identity in the Vietnamese EFL writing classroom English Teaching: Practice and Critique,6 (1), 151-163 19 Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 42 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey is conducted as a part of my research “A Study on Motivations of 10th Grade Students in Learning English Writing Skills at Son Tay High School, Hanoi” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is of great use and for study purpose only Thank you very much for your cooperation! I Your personal information Your hometown ……………………………… Your age: ……………………… Years of learning English: ……………… II Please circle the appropriate answers or write in brief where necessary You are interested in learning English writing skills A Strongly agree B Agree C No idea D Disagree E Strongly disagree You study English writing skills because: (you can circle more than answer) A English is a compulsory subject in your curriculum B You want to please your parents C You are interested in English writing skills D You have a great interest in English culture and people E You want to get good marks in English tests/ to pass the examination F You want to communicate in English fluently G You think English is necessary for you in your future job H Others: …………………………………………………… In writing lessons, you (you can circle more than answer) A are often eager to write carefully on all topics B just write on topics that interest you C often write on the topics which are given some suggested ideas or models D rarely write E not write anything F Others: ………………………………………………………… Which are your difficulties in writing lessons? (you can circle more than answer) A The lack of vocabulary and grammar structures B The lack of ideas C The impracticality of the topics given (purpose or receiver is not clear enough) D The fears of making mistakes and getting bad marks I E Others: ………………………………………………… Which factors can affect your motivation in writing lessons? (You can circle more than one answer) A the teacher’s teaching methods B The teacher’s enthusiasm C The learning condition and atmosphere in the classroom.( class size, class studying atmosphere ) D Your fear of making mistakes and/ or getting bad marks E Your lack of vocabulary and grammar structures F: Others: ………………………………………………………… When practicing writing, you like to write A individually B in pairs C in groups In writing lessons what of the following activities you like your teacher use to motivate you to write? (You can circle more than one answer) A Asking you to write immediately B Pre-teaching new words and structures to be used in the writing task C help you find ideas or make outlines before assigning you to write D Giving you model writing E.Assigning the task for you to write in a limited time F Adjusting or adapting the writing tasks so that they can become more suitable to you G Designing different activities to increase your motivation H Assigning you to write in pairs or in groups I Swapping your products so that you can check each other’s writing K Giving feedback regularly by marking and giving comments on your writings L Praising students with good writings in front of the class or giving you rewards M Others: ……………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! II APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey is conducted as a part of my research “A Study on Motivations of 10th Grade Students in Learning English Writing Skills at Son Tay High School, Hanoi” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is of great use and for study purpose only Thank you very much for your cooperation! I Your personal information Your age……………………………… Years of teaching English: ………………… II Please circle or tick (√) the appropriate answers or write in brief where necessary In which stage of a writing lesson you often motivate your students? (you can circle more than one answer) A The pre-writing stage B The while-writing stage C The post-writing stage D All the above mentioned stages E None of them In writing lessons, how often you let students write A Always Often Individually B in pair C in group When your students are unwilling to write in class, you (You can circle more than one answer) A let them free and never check their writings B Ask their problems and try to help them solve the problems C encourage them to write by rewarding (marks, presents… ) D others: ………………………………………………………… In writing lessons, you often A go around the classroom to help students if needed B remain at your seat and wait for students’ writing C stand near the students who are good at writing III D Others: …………………… …………………… How often you use the following activities in writing lessons? Activities Asking students to write immediately Pre-teaching new words and structures to be used in the writing task help students find ideas or make outlines before assigning them to write Giving a model writing Assigning the task for the students to write in a limited time Adjusting or adapting the writing tasks so that they can become more authentic or suitable to your students designing different activities to increase students’ motivation Assigning students to write in pairs or in groups Swapping students’ products so that they can check each other’s writing 10 Giving feedback regularly by marking and giving comments on students’ writing 11 praising students with good writings in front of the class 12 Others: …………………… ………………………………… What are your problems in teaching writing skills? (you can circle more than one answer) A A large class B students’ low proficiency of English C students’ lack of background knowledge D Others: …………………… …………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! IV APPENDIX OBSERVATION SHEET - OVERALL CLASS MOTIVATION 1.Date of teaching: 3.Unit: 5.Time allowance: 7.Number of students present: Observation focus: Levels of students' involvement is average mark for any one item Criteria involved in prewriting activities towards writing topic: involved in whilewriting activities towards teacher’s teaching techniques & writing activities involved in postwriting activities attitude time Students get atmosphere Classroom learning Students’ attitudes Students get Students’ attitudes Students get Students' work students' writing students' discussion Comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… ………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………… ……………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………… …………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… V APPENDIX PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT (DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH) Các bạn thân mến, Phiếu khảo sát thiết kế để phục vụ cho nghiên cứu với đề tài “Nghiên cứu động học viết Tiếng Anh học sinh lớp 10 trường Trung học phổ thông Sơn Tây, Hà Nội” Thông tin bạn cung cấp để hoàn thiện phiếu điều tra có ý nghĩa quan trọng đề tài nghiên cứu Dữ liệu điều tra nhằm mục đích phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu người cung cấp thông tin không bị nhận dạng nội dung thảo luận Cảm ơn bạn nhiều! I Thông tin cá nhân Quê quán: …………………………… Tuổi:……………………… Bạn học Tiếng Anh bao lâu? II Khoanh tròn vào lựa chọn ghi câu trả lời ngắn cho câu hỏi sau: Bạn thích học kĩ viết Tiếng Anh A Rất đồng ý B Đồng ý C Không có ý kiến D Khơng đồng ý E Rất khơng đồng ý Bạn học kĩ viết Tiếng Anh vì: (Bạn khoanh trịn nhiều đáp án ) A Tiếng Anh môn học bắt buộc chương trình học cuả bạn B Bạn muốn làm bố mẹ hài lịng C Bạn thích học kĩ viết Tiếng Anh D Bạn muốn tìm hiểu văn hóa người nước Anh E Bạn muốn đạt điểm cao kì thi kiểm tra Tiếng Anh F Bạn muốn giao tiếp tốt Tiếng Anh G Bạn nghĩ Tiếng Anh cần thiết cho công việc bạn tương lai H Lí khác: …………………………………………………… Trong học viết Tiếng Anh, bạn (Bạn khoanh trịn nhiều đáp án) A thường hào hứng viết tất chủ đề viết B thường viết chủ đề viết mà bạn thích C thường viết giáo viên gợi ý số ý tưởng cung cấp viết mẫu cho chủ đề viết D Ít đặt bút viết E không viết viết F.Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………………… Trong tiết học viết bạn thường gặp khó khăn sau đây? VI (Bạn khoanh trịn nhiều đáp án) A Thiếu từ vựng cấu trúc ngữ pháp để viết B Thiếu ý tưởng để viết C Các chủ đề viết thiếu tính thực tế( mục đích người đọc/ nhận không rõ ràng) D Sợ mắc lỗi bị điểm E Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………… Những yếu tố sau ảnh hưởng đến động lực học bạn học viết Tiếng Anh? (Bạn khoanh tròn nhiều đáp án) A phương pháp dạy giáo viên B nhiệt tình giáo viên C tâm lí sợ mắc lỗi bị điểm D Điều kiện khơng khí lớp học.(thái độ viết bạn khác lớp đơng ít) E thiếu từ vựng cấu trúc ngữ pháp để viết F Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………………… Khi viết bài, bạn thích viết A cá nhân B theo cặp C theo nhóm Trong tiết học viết bạn thích giáo viên áp dụng họat động sau ? (Bạn khoanh tròn nhiều đáp án) A Yêu cầu bạn viết mà khơng dạy B Dạy trước cụm từ cấu trúc liên quan đến viết C giúp bạn tìm ý làm dàn ý trước viết D Cung cấp viết mẫu cho bạn trước viết F.Điều chỉnh hoạt động viết cho chúng phù hợp với bạn G Thiết kế nhiều họat động khác để thức đẩy động học viết bạn H Yêu cầu bạn viết theo cặp nhóm I Yêu cầu bạn chữa viết theo cặp K khen ngợi thưởng học sinh có viết tốt trước lớp L Khen ngợi thưởng cho bạn bạn có viết tốt M.Ý kiến khác:: ……………………………………………………… Cảm Ơn hợp tác bạn ! VII ... writing teaching and learning of grade 10 at Son Tay High School The findings and implications obtained are expected to help bring about a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning context... lessons 21 3.1.2 th Types of motivations possessed by 10 grade students at Son Tay High School Extrinsic motivation Resultative motivation Intrinsic motivation Integrative and intrinsic motivation... affecting students? ?? motivation in learning writing skills? What motivational strategies are highly evaluated by students in writing lessons ? Scope of the study This study examines types of motivation