The effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation m a thesis linguistics

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  - NGUYỄN THỊ THỊNH THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER’S DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION Ảnh hưởng việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa phong cách học cá nhân động lực học sinh viên M.A.Combined Program Thesis Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111 HANOI - 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  - NGUYỄN THỊ THỊNH THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER’S DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION Ảnh hưởng việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa phong cách học cá nhân động lực học sinh viên M.A.Combined Program Thesis Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111 Supervisor: Dr Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2013 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this research entitled “The effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation” was conducted and then submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (M.A) This paper was original and has not been submitted for any degrees at any other universities or institutions Hanoi, October the 11 2013 Signature Nguyen Thi Thinh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr Le Van Canh for his expert guidance and priceless encouragement during my completion of this MA thesis Reviewing the first manuscript in spite of his hectic schedule, he made some important suggestions which greatly contributed to the final improvements Special thanks should also be sent to my students at University of Languages and International Studies, without whom the data procedures could not have ever been completed Finally, I take this opportunity to record my sincere gratitude to my family, for their patience, support and encouragement I am also profoundly indebted to my fiancé, Dang Tuan Thanh, for his remarkable tolerance and unshakeable faith which motivated me enough to accomplish this paper on schedule ii ABSTRACT Motivation which has a profound impact on students‟ academic achievement at university is determined by a lot of factors Among them, students‟ learning style is one of the most important one The correlation between motivation and learning styles has been documented in a lot of research This paper reports an action research undertaken in a reading course for second-year English majors in a university in Hanoi, Vietnam Involving a group of twenty-six sophomores from the same class, this study aims to 1) identify the given class‟s learning styles and current level of academic motivation; 2) project and implement some instructional differentiations upon the students‟ different learning modalities aiming to improve their academic motivation; and 3) evaluate the impact of the psycho-pedagogical intervention on the students‟ motivation level Using two questionnaires, interviews with students, and researcher‟s self-observation and reflection as the main research instruments, the study shows that these students had low current level of motivation which was probably caused by different learning preferences Basing on the insight into the students‟ learning styles, differentiated instructions were employed in hope to raise their motivation iii LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS List of tables Table Kolb‟s model of learning styles 12 Table Dunn and Dunn‟s learning style theory (VAKT) 15 Table Two out of six learning styles in Reid‟s model 17 Table Three classroom elements for differentiation 21 List of figures Figure Kolb‟s model of learning styles 13 Figure Learning cycle and decision factors used in planning and implementing differentiated instruction 20 Figure The flow of instruction in a differentiated classroom 23 Figure Low prep vs high prep differentiation 26 Figure Components of foreign language learning motivation 32 Figure The rationale behind differentiated classes 35 Figure Range of activities in a differentiated classroom 39 Figure The proportions of the students by their study record in the first year .45 Figure Equivalent scales of 12 mini-AMTB items 51 Figure 10 AMTB questionnaire keys 53 Figure 11 The research first cycle 56 Figure 12 Students‟ perceptual learning style preferences 59 iv Figure 13 The participants‟ level of motivation before the intervention 62 Figure 14 Motivational intensity over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012) 70 Figure 15 English teacher evaluation over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012) 72 Figure 16 Desire to learning English over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012) 75 List of abbreviations AMTB: Attitude motivation battery test PLSPQ: Perceptual learning style preference questionnaire LS: Learning style(s) LSI: Learning style inventory ESL: English as a second language EFL: English as a foreign language v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem Aims, objectives and research questions of the research Significance of the research Scope of the research Organization of the research CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8 Key concepts 1.1 Learning styles 1.2 Differentiated instruction 1.3 Learning motivation in ESL/EFL context Related studies 2.1 Evidence of effectiveness of differentiated instruction 2.2 Differentiated instruction and learning style vi 2.3 Differentiated instruction and ESL/EFL motivation 39 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 41 Participants 41 Class problem from the teacher‟s perspective 44 Action research 46 Research instruments 48 Procedure of data collection 54 Procedure of data analysis 57 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 58 Research question 58 Research question 63 Research question 69 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 77 Summary of the major findings of the research 77 The teacher-researcher‟s reflection on the project, limitations and suggestions for next cycle 78 REFERENCES 82 APPENDICES I vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter containing the rationale, general objectives (guided by research questions) and organization of the study is expected to provide readers background materials and a map of the research paper Statement of the problem As a lecturer in an English-major university, the researcher of this study has been teaching several courses of English skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) so far Therefore, she has had to deal with different teaching situations as well as various kinds of English major students Through her continuous classroom self-observation, informal interviews with students and evaluation of students‟ lesson journals (a learning dairy which students were personally asked to keep writing from the beginning of each course to reflect their perspectives and feelings of the lessons and teachers), the researcher has recently identified some questionable problems in her reading class: 1) the students were not motivated enough to actively join in class activities; 2) some students were somehow more involved in certain activities while sometimes the others even showed no interest in these ones at all Different activities may evoke different reactions and feelings from different students These concerned the researcher so seriously that she decided to investigate the situation to look for the answers in a structured manner, rather than in an informal one like before Reviewing the body of knowledge which is expected to probably result in the current problem, the researcher has found some factors having a considerable influence on students‟ motivation such as their beliefs, affective state, aptitude, personality, age, and learning styles (To and Nguyen, 2009) Although these elements all affect students, and thereby worth studying, the researcher intend to keep focus only on learning style factor in relation to motivation due to her interest and the obvious disadvantages of researching many conditions at the same time Major learning Style Preference 38-50 Minor Learning Style Preference 25-37 Negligible 0-24 VII Appendix - MOTIVATION TOWARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING SURVEY (Adapted from the Attitude Motivation Test Battery) Instruction Following are a number of statements with which some people agree and others disagree Please circle one alternative below each statement according to the amount of your agreement or disagreement with that item The following sample item will serve to illustrate the basic procedure a Spanish football players are much better than Brazilian football players Strongly agree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree In answering this question, you should have circled one alternative Some people would have circled “Strongly Disagree”, others would have circled “Strongly Agree”, while others would have circled any of the alternatives in between 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 Please give your immediate reactions to each of the following items Don‟t waste time thinking about each statement Give your immediate feeling after reading each statement On the other hand, please not be careless, as it is important that we obtain your true feelings I make a point of trying to understand all the English I see and hear Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree I look forward to going to class because my English reading teacher is so good Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree I have a strong desire to know all aspects of English VIII Moderately agree Strongly agree Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree My Engl ish readi ng teac her is bette r than any of my othe r teac hers Strong ly disagr ee M a S r ati Strong on M ly to a me disagr ee r I keep up to date with English by working on it almost every day Wh en I have a probl em under MS MS Strong ly d d a a disagr ee My English reading teacher has a dynamic and interesting teaching style standi MS MS Strong ly d d a a disagr ee If it were up to me, I would spend all of my time learning English d M S M Strong a ly d d disagr ee teach ng somet hing in my Engli sh class, I alway s my er for help Strongl y disagr ee My Englis h readin g teache r is a great source of inspir S a r 10 I w an t to le ar n En gli sh so w ell th at it wi ll be co m e na tur al to m e Strong ly disagr ee 11 I really like my Engli sh readin g teach er Stro ngl y Mo dera tely Slig htly Slig htly Mo dera tely Stro ngl y IX S disagree disagree disagree agree agree agree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree 12 I would like to learn as much English as possible Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree 13 I really work hard to learn English Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree 14 When I am studying English, I ignore distractions and pay attention to my task Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree 15 I wish I were fluent in English Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree 16 I don‟t think my English reading teacher is very good Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree 17 The less I see of my English reading teacher, the better Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree 18 Knowing English isn‟t really an important goal in my life Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree 19 My English reading teacher is one of the least pleasant people I know Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree 20 I don‟t pay much attention to the feedback I receive in my English class X Strongly agree Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree 21 I som etim es dayd ream abou t drop ping Engl ish Strong ly disagr ee M a S r r 22 I don‟t bother checking my assignme nts when I get them back from my English reading teacher Strong MS MS ly d a a disagrd ee 23 I would prefer to have a different English reading teacher MS MS Strong ly d d a a disagr ee 24 I‟m losing any desire I ever had to know English disag reeM S M Strong ly d a d g Strong tea M ly ch a disagrer‟ ee s 25 I put off my Englis h home work as much as possib le Strongl y disagr ee 26 I tend to give up and not pay attenti on when ex pla nat io n S a of so me thi ng r 27 To be ho ne st, I re all y ve no de sir e to le ar n En gli sh Strong ly disagr ee 28 M S y E ng lis h re ad in g te ac he r es n‟ t pr es en t m at er ial s in an in te re sti ng w ay I don‟t under stand my Engli sh readin XI Strongly disagree Moderately disagree Slightly disagree Slightly agree Moderately agree Strongly agree 29 I hav en‟ t any gre at wis h to lea rn mo re tha n the bas ics of En glis h Strong ly disagr ee M a S r a r 30 I can‟t be bothered trying to understan d the more complex aspects of English MS Strong ly d d disagr ee r o - THE END - MS a XII Appendix - MOTIVATION ATTITUDE TEST BATTERY SCORING SHEET Instruction 30 items of the adapted AMTB survey belong to three categories There are 10 questions for each group as follows: Scale Motivational Intensity English Teacher Evaluation Desire to learn English Each question in the questionnaire has a numerical value There is a reverse difference between positively keyed and negatively keyed items Positively keyed items Strongly disagree Negatively keyed items Strongly disagree XIII Fill in the blanks below with the numerical value of each answer XIV Negativelykeyed Positively keyed Negatively keyed Positively keyed Motivational Intensity Total English Teacher evaluation Total Negatively keyed Positively keyed Desire learn English Total XV Appendix - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WITH THE STUDENTS Please answer these following questions sincerely, which would guarantee the success of the research All of the information you provide will be treated with the strictest confidence and used only for the purpose of the study The interview will last about 20 minutes A Students’ awareness of their learning styles Q1: Do you know what your learning style is? If yes, how you know it? Q2: (If Ss answer yes to Q1) How you use your understanding of your learning styles for your study at university? B Students’ motivational intensity Q3: Apart from in-class time, how much time you spend learning English every day? Has the length of your self-study time changed recently? Q4: What you when encountering difficulties in learning English (e.g new words, lack of time, complex aspects)? Q5: Do English homework and assignments take you a lot of time and effort? C Students’ perspective of teacher’s teaching methodology Q6: What you think of your teacher and her teaching methods? Q7: What class activities you like and/or dislike? Q8: How you usually feel after each lesson? D Students’ desire to learn English Q9: How great is your passion for English? Q10: What are your purposes of learning English? Thank you for your time! - THE END - XVI Appendix - CLASSROOM SELFOBSERVATION CHECKLIST Date of observation Lesson’s objectives Duration Material(s) Activit(ies) Instructions Teacher’s roles What learners respond (behavior and attitude) Catered style(s) learning SELF REFLECTION OF THE TEACHER (AFTER THE LESSON) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… XVII ... motivation For example, from my own observation and comments of my colleagues, the students from less developed area are mostly good at grammar because of the grammar-translation approach employed... context a Definition of motivation Motivation has always been a familiar term to every teacher in charge When teaching a particular group, there are a lot of factors which may make students fail... reasons, the researcher decided to start an action research project named ? ?The effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation: An action