Factors affecting non english major students’ motivation in learning english listening skills at college of industrial techniques

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ MINH HƯỜNG FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN HỨNG THÚ HỌC KĨ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ MINH HƯỜNG FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN HỨNG THÚ HỌC KĨ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS : English Teaching Methodology : 60140111 Supervisor : Dr Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa Field Code Hanoi, 2014 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “Factors affecting non-English major students' motivation in learning English listening skills at College of Industrial Techniques" is entirely my own work The substance of this thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for a degree to any other universities or institutions Hanoi, August 2014 Lê Minh Hường ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this study would not have been possible without the assistance of special and wonderful people First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa for her unfailing encouragement, constant support and invaluable suggestions during all stages of the study She not only gave me reliable guidelines but also shared much of her experience in language studying and teaching I would also like to thank my supervisor for her patience in reading and editing my drafts I would also like to send my sincere thanks to all staff, teachers and members at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies of University of Languages and International Studies-Vietnam National University for their work and services Especially, I am grateful to the librarians who supplied me with a lot of materials My gratitude is also to my colleagues and students at the College of Industrial Techniques who were willing to answer my questions and complete my questionnaires They gave me invaluable advice and suggestions on the thesis Without them, my thesis could not be completed and successful Last but not least, I would like to send my thanks to my beloved people, my parents, my husband and my daughter for their encouragement and support which help me overcome difficulties to complete this study ABSTRACT Motivation is one of the most important factors that influences the rate and success of second language learning This study aims to investigate the factors affecting non-English major students' motivation in learning English listening skills at the College of Industrial Techniques In this study, 55 first-year non- English major students from different faculties of College of Industrial Techniques were chosen as the subjects A survey questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used as the data collection instrument The findings of the study showed that the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills derive from sources: students, teachers, learning conditions In details, the first factor is that students‟ lack of basic knowledge, lack of confidence, personality and belief in learning English listening skills The other factor is that students have to face are teachers‟ behaviors and methods in teaching English listening In addition, inadequate school facilities, lack of target language environment, textbook and exam- orientation are also factors affecting that prevent students at College of Industrial Techniques from concentrating and motivating in their learning English listening skills Based on the findings of the study, some discussions and implications of learning English listening skills are made along with recommended suggestions for further research At last, it is hoped that the results of this study could be of much benefit for students in learning English listening skills at College of Industrial Techniques TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF CHARTS vii LIST OF TABLES .vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study The research questions Scope of the study Method of the study Design of the study .3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background of motivation 1.1.1 Definition of motivation .5 1.1.2 Types of motivation in foreign language learning 1.1.3 The role of motivation in second language learning 1.2 Theoretical background of listening skills 1.2.1 Definition of listening skills .8 1.2.2 Teaching listening skills 1.2.3 The factors affecting motivation in learning listening skills 10 1.2.3.1 The student-related factors 10 1.2.3.2 The teacher-related factors 12 1.2.3.3 Teaching and learning conditions 14 1.3 Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam 15 1.4 Summary 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .17 2.1 The setting of the study 17 2.2 Participants 18 2.3 Instrument for collecting data 20 2.4 Data collection procedures 21 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 3.1 Findings 22 3.1.1 Level of students‟ motivation 22 3.1.1.1 Students‟ attitudes towards the learning of listening English 22 3.1.1.2 Students‟ motivation in learning listening English 25 3.1.2 Factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT 27 3.1.2.1 The student-related factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills .27 3.1.2.2 The teacher-related factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills .29 3.1.2.3 Learning conditions affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills 31 3.2 Discussions 32 PART C: CONCLUSION 34 Conclusions 34 Recommendations 34 Limitations of the study 36 Suggestions for further research 37 REFERENCES .38 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW III APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2 : Second Language CIT : College of Industrial Techniques % : Percentage LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Students‟ attitudes towards the learning of listening English Chart 2: Students‟ participation in speaking lessons Chart 3: Students‟ motivations on learning listening skills Chart 4: Teachers‟ factors LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The student-related factors Table 2: Learning conditions PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Among four macro skills of languages, listening skills make a significant contribution to the process of acquiring language Listening skills play a crucial role in communication It has been estimated that the time people spend on communication activities 45 percent is devoted to listening, only 30 percent to speaking, 16 percent to reading and a mere percent to writing by Rivers, W.M & Temperley, M.S (1978) In addition, it also requires a wide range of knowledge and ability: knowledge of phonology, vocabulary, semantics of the language in use, culture of its people, and their life experiences in the topic, their ability to predict and respond However, how to listening English well is a problem for many learners of English, especially for the students of colleges and universities Despite the fact that the students have been learning English since they were at secondary or high school, most of students are weak at listening skills and have a lot of difficulties in listening acquisitions They even become stressful and ignorant in listening lessons In literature, there have been numerous studies conducted by the international teachers and researchers to investigate a multitude of factors that may affect language learning Among all, motivation has been proved to play a significant role in determining whether students succeed or fail in school In other words, there has been a highly positive relationship between motivation and learners‟ achievement in language learning According to Oxford and Shearin (1996, cited in Ha 2009: 163-164), motivation directly influences how much effort students make, how often students use L2 learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being learned, how well they on curriculum related achievement tests, how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over Ely (1986); Oxford & Shearin (1996) Particularly, toward learning listening skills, motivation is one important element in foreign language teaching in general and learning English listening skills in particular E My classmates are noisy, inattentive F Textbook/ English course is uninteresting G Textbook/ English course is difficult and long to students to learn Table 2: Learning conditions As can be seen from table 2, among factors related to learning conditions, more than (54.5%) of the students agree that the classmates are noisy, inattentive learners At CIT, there are often 45 to 55 students in an English class The class size de-motivated students a lot on their learning as some students said: “Too many students in a class, my class have 52 I think it is not suitable for a language class, we have no chance to talk to the teacher.” (S2 And same ideas from many students) “My class has 50 students It is hard for me to concentrate on lessons in a crowd like that.” (S4) It seems that their partners‟ attitude has strong effects on their motivation to learn (63.6%) of the students agree that the sound quality of cassettes, CD, tape is not clear enough and (72.7%) agree that they lack of modern teaching and learning facilities such as video, projector, TV and internet About the textbook/ English course, New English File Elementary, (21.8%) of the students said that it is not uninteresting to students to learn Table also reveals that, textbook/ English course is difficult and long to students to learn It makes the de-motivated in learning English (32.7%) Some student said: “The class is too big but there is no micro for teachers Both teachers and students find it uncomfortable in the lesson and my teachers are often too tired after each lesson” (S4) “Today, technology is developed but there is not equipment in my class except only an old radio” (S1) In summary, through the analysis above, it can be easily concluded that there is a variety of reasons that make students de-motivate in learning English listening activities such as: lack of modern teaching and learning facilities, boring atmosphere, big class size, textbook/ English course is uninteresting It can be understand that colleges should improve their learning conditions to increase students‟ motivation and help students get over obstacles 30 3.2 Discussions As mentioned before, the aim of this study is to explore the factors affecting nonEnglish major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT The research realized that most of the students understood the importance of learning English listening However, they were not very interested in learning English Their reasons for learning English were various Some of them learned English because English was a compulsory subject and the other reason was their success in the examinations and so on Additionally, there was still a gap between teachers' teaching methods and their students' preference Another important factor is that many students are de-motivated because of their students‟ lack of basic knowledge, lack of vocabulary; pronunciation and lack of selfconfidence in learning English listening skills are the foundation of learning English If students‟ knowledge of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary is insufficient, it is probable that their English listening comprehension will be negatively affected by lack of language knowledge Therefore, the large number of students who lost their background knowledge is unconfident in themselves In the listening classroom, teachers need students‟ active participation but, having so many students who lack confidence and who feel nervous and anxious, makes the task of generating discussion and conversation particularly difficult Students are reluctant to answer questions and will not risk being laughed at by their peers Thus, it is unsurprising that CIT students who are under pressure for a considerable period of time are often stressed and depressed, which led them to be de-motivated and they lost their interests in the subject In addition, teachers‟ behaviors and teachers‟ method also admitted having suffered from some negative aspects of teaching methods such as use old-fashioned teaching methods and materials, not give clear enough instructions, use inferior equipment, not give sufficient explanations, neglecting to give any feedback, teachers always strict in class, which need to reconsider the teaching methods and behaviors of the teachers that have been used to teach English in order to understand possible mismatches between teaching methods and preferred student learning styles However devoted the teacher is, teaching and learning may not be effective if teaching methods not match student learning styles 31 One more factor in this study is learning environment Many students agreed that learning environment and lack of modern facilities at school have strong impact on their interests in the subject As we live in the age of science and technology, it is unsurprising to find out that students like some technological devices (TV, video, computer and so on) to be utilized in their listening lessons This study revealed that the respondents feel demotivated toward learning listening English because their teachers rarely use technology in presenting the English listening 32 PART C: CONCLUSION Conclusions The aim of this study was to investigate “Factors affecting non-English major students' motivation in learning English listening skills at College of Industrial Techniques" After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher has discovered quite many serious factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills The data is collected using the survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview The data analyses are conducted carefully, which led to the success of the thesis when the thesis answered the research questions given In this research, there are three factors that affect students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills: the studentrelated factors, the teacher-related factors and learning conditions at CIT Students share common ideas of factors that students faced in listening The research finds that students had problems with their language knowledge, vocabulary, self-confidence, students‟ personality and students‟ belief Besides the study shows that lack of modern teaching and learning facilities, boring atmosphere, big class size, textbook/ English course are uninteresting Concerning with teachers, teachers‟ behaviors and the teaching methods are some extent de-motivated students in learning English In order to have a better situation in learning English listening skills, students should apply various learning methods Additionally, teachers should help students to improve their language knowledge more often by correcting their pronunciation immediately whenever they make mistakes Recommendations In the light of these findings, here are some recommendations for all teachers and students to overcome their problems in teaching and learning listening Students should take part in the listening activities more actively, so that they find joyful to learn listening In addition, they should study the order of each Task carefully before listening and try their best to predict what they are going to listen based on the words or pictures given They also should improve their pronunciation and increase their vocabulary at home more often They should prepare the listening lessons more carefully by reviewing the 33 vocabulary and structures learnt in previous lessons, studying the pictures and the questions in listening sections to predict the content of the listening text, reading related passages in English or Vietnamese to improve their background knowledge In addition, they should practice listening to English at home every day For example, they can listen to English songs or watch English news on television, which helps them get used to different accents of speakers, improve their pronunciation, and increase their vocabulary Teachers should know their students' psychologies, backgrounds, aptitudes and personalities Then, they design interesting and useful multi – level listening activities and encourage students to be involved in them Moreover, teachers should give students more chances to communicate in English in the real life Such as: teachers hold an English speaking club for students to join in Specially, as many other people, sometimes students also like a change, therefore teachers should hold an outdoor activity in which students communicate in English or let them listen to music, watch a film or listen to the news Using games or modern technology is adopted by teachers and it is favoured by most of the students because they will feel more interested in their listening lessons In addition, teachers need to select a wide range of materials to increase listening content besides using textbooks Students need to listen to different levels of English in order to be exposed to natural, lively, rich language, such as listening to English songs, seeing films with English text In these ways, it is possible to raise students‟ enthusiasm, cultivate their listening interests, and achieve the goals of learning English If teachers can apply these methods, they will be really successful in stimulating students to learn listening Additionally, teachers need to pay more attention to students' language knowledge The teachers should be more precise in pronouncing for students to follow In addition, connected speech is also a big obstacle for students Therefore teachers, should inform students about features of connected speech of spoken language at any time in learning process for students so as not to feel stressful and surprised when listening Furthermore, students often listen to every detail, so teachers should help them to listen for key words to get information Another recommendation is that teachers should create joyful atmosphere in the class to motivate students to learn listening Teachers should be 34 more friendly, enthusiastic, and humorous to students, so that they feel comfortable and excited about the lesson For the learning conditions in the college, they should equip CDs, CD players, loudspeakers and projectors with high quality as well as alternative teaching materials on listening to create advantages for the teaching and learning English listening skills In addition, the number of students in your class is too crowded or their class size are too big, they should organize regular practice-based seminars or group meetings for the students to exchange their learning experience and discuss the effective ways of presenting listening lessons Limitations of the study In any research papers, limitations are unavoidable The study presents in this minor thesis is of no exception The limitations of this study lie in the time limitation and the author‟s knowledge Firstly, the study only uses survey questionnaire and a semi-structured interview for the investigation into factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT, so to some extent, the finding may not be generalized to all the students of the college Secondly, the study is only about listening skill but not the other skills such as reading, speaking, or writing Thirdly, there are many factors affecting students‟ motivation in English listening learning; however the study only focused on some of them Finally, the study is mainly based on information obtained from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, therefore it should be supplemental by actual observations of students‟ behaviors and teachers‟ practices which is beyond the scope of the study Then, as the time for this study is limited, mistakes and shortcomings are inevitable The researcher would like to receive constructive comments and remarks so that the research work could be further improved Suggestions for further research For further study, it is necessary to conduct on a larger number of students for more reliable findings And it should be carried out on students of other years like the first, third and fourth Moreover, as mentioned in the part Limitations, the data collection methods and semi-structured interview should really be improved with the more careful consideration of the author over the way of evaluating the students‟ writing journals Also, 35 further research can be conducted in other contexts of studying listening skill rather than the situation of colleges In addition, in further research studies, other changes should be used to find out the best way of motivating students in learning English listening skills Finally, the form of this research can be applied in other skills such as reading, writing, and speaking The authors of such further research can apply a number of changes to the course and collect valuable data and semi-structured interview to improve teaching and learning at College of Industrial Techniques 36 REFERENCES Anderson A, Lynch T (1988), Listening, Oxford University Press, Oxford Bentley, S.,& Bacon, S.E.(1996) The all new, state of the art ILA definition of listening Brown, H D (1994) Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy NJ: Prentice Hall Regents Crookes, G., & Schmidt, R (1991) Motivation: Reporting the Research Agenda Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior New York: Plenum Press Dornyei Z (1994), “Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom”, The Modern Language Journal 78 Dornyei Z (2001), Teaching and Researching Motivation, Pearson Education Limited, England Dornyei Z (2001), “New themes and approaches in second language motivation research” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 21 Ellis, R (1997) Second language acquisition Oxford: OUP 10 Ely, C M (1986) Language Learning Motivation: A Descriptive and Causal Analysis 11 Finegan, Edward 1994 (1989) Language Its Structure and Use Orlando: Harcourt Brace 12 Gardner, R C., & Lambert, W (1972) Attitudes and motivation in second language learning Rowley, MA: Newbury House 13 Gardner, R C (1985) Social psychology and second language learning: the role of attitudes and motivation London: Edward Arnord 14 God, C (2002) Teaching Listening in Language Classes Singapore: SEAMEORELC 15 Goods, T L & J E Brophy (1994) Looking in classroom New York: Harper Collins 16 17 Grant, N (1987) Making of the Most of Your Textbook Longman Gardner, RC (1985) Social Psychology and second language learning: The roles of attitudes and motivation London: Edward Arnold 37 18 Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press 19 Huong, N.T.T (2010) A study on non-majors’ motivational factors in learning English listening at Hai Phong private university Unpublished M A Thesis, ULIS, VNU 20 Kikuchi K., Sakai H (2009), Tales from the dark side: Japanese learners and demotivation to study English Unpublished manuscript 21 Littlewood, T.W (1984) Foreign and Second Language Learning, CUP 22 Lightbown, M.P & Spada, N (1999), How Language are learned, Oxford University Press 23 Mendelsohn, D.(1998) Teaching Listening Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 18:81-101 24 Moser, C., and G Kalton (1971) Survey Methods in Social Investigation London: Heinemann Educational Books Limited 25 Nunan, D (2002) Listening in language learning, In J.C Richards & W.A Renandya (Eds.) Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 26 Oxford R L., Shearin J (1996), “Language learning motivation in a new key”, 27 Reece, I & Walker, S (1997) Teaching, Training and Learning A Practical Guide (Third Ed.) Great Britain: Business Education Publishers Limited 28 Rivers, W.M & Temperley,M.S (1978) A practical Guide to the Teaching of English as a Second or Foreign Language New York: Oxford University Press 29 30 Rost M (1994), Introducing Listening, Penguin Group, London Scarcella, R C., & Oxford, R L (1992) The tapestry of language learning: the individual in the communicative classroom Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle 31 Tuyen, N.T (2012) Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao high school Unpublished M A Thesis, ULIS, VNU 32 Underwood, M (1989), Teaching Listening, Longman, London 33 Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching: practice and theory Cambridge: CUP 34 Vandergrift, L (1999) Facilitating Second Language Listening Comprehension: Acquiring Successful Strategies ELT Journal 53:168-76 38 35 Woldkowski, R J (1998) Enhancing adult motivation to learn San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 36 Williams, M & Burden, R L (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers: a Social Constructivist Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 37 Wilt, Miriam E (1950) "A study of teacher awareness of listening as a factor in Elementary education” Journal of Educational Research, 43 (8), April 1950 38 Yagang F (1993), “Listening Problems and Solutions”, English Teaching Forum 39 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Dear my student, This survey questionnaire is designed to gather information for my research into “Factors affecting non-English major students’ motivation in learning English listening at College of Industrial Techniques” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated Data collected will remain confidential and be used only for the study purpose Thank you very much for your cooperation! FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS Please choose the answer(s) you think it is the most appropriate to you: Question 1: How is listening skill important to you? A very important B rather important C little important D not important at all Question 2: Listening skill is … A the most difficult skill B as difficult as other skills C easier than other skills D easy Question 3: How interested are you in learning English listening skills? A very much B not much C little D not at all Question 4: How often you participate in listening activities in class? A always B often C sometimes I D rarely E never except when asked by the teacher Question 5: Why you learn listening skill? (You can tick more than one answer) A It is one of the compulsory skills in the textbook/ English course B It will be helpful for my future job C It helps me enjoy English news, songs and films D It helps me communicate with foreigners E Other(s) (please specify): …………………………………………… Question 6: I feel de-motivated in learning listening English because (of)… (You can tick (√) more than one options) A I find it difficult to understand the native speakers‟ accent on the tape B My vocabulary is poor C I lack some necessary grammar structures D I lack background knowledge about the topics in listening lessons E I can hear nothing in listening activities F I am not confident in listening lessons when I paticipate in listening activities G I feel embarrassed in listening activities H Other(s) (please specify): ……………………………………… Question 7: Which statement(s) is/are true about your previous teacher of English? (You can choose more than one option) A Using old-fashioned teaching methods and materials B Not giving clear enough instructions C Using inferior equipment D Neglecting to give any feedback E Teachers‟ instructions were not clear enough F Teachers always strict in class G Other(s) (please specify): …………………………………………… Thanks for your cooperation! II APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW (A semi-structure interview is a conducted with five students choose randomly by the research) Do you think learning English is important? Why? In your opinion, is it easy or difficult to learn English listening skills? Why? Why you learn listening skill? How you feel interest in learning English listening skills? What factors make you feel de-motivated? What factors make you feel motivated? What your teachers‟ teaching method attract you? How you feel about your class atmosphere? Why? How many students in your class? Do the number of students affect to your learning English listening skills? What you think about your textbook/ English course (New English File Elementary)? Thanks for your cooperation! III APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS Table 1: The student-related factors I feel de-motivated in learning listening English because (of) (You can tick (√) more than one options) A I find it difficult to understand the native speakers‟ accent on the tape B My vocabulary is poor C I lack some necessary grammar structures D I lack background knowledge about the topics in listening lessons E I can hear nothing in listening activities F I am not confident in listening lessons when I paticipate in listening activities G I feel embarrassed in listening activities H Other(s) (please specify): ………………………… Table 2: Learning conditions Please put a tick (√) to show your ideas about your learning condition in learning listening skills A The sound quality of cassettes, CD, tape is not clear enough B Lack of modern teaching and learning facilities such as video, projector, TV and internet C Your class size is too big; it's difficult to concentrate on listening D The number of students in your class is too crowded F My classmates are noisy, inattentive G Textbook/ English course is uninteresting H Textbook/ English course is difficult and long to students to learn IV ... here is what factors affecting students ? ?motivation in learning English listening skills 3.1.2 Factors affecting non- English major students’ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT... motivated are the non- English major students in learning English listening skills at CIT? What are the factors affecting non- English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills. .. motivation in learning English listening skills Questionnaire 2: In order to find out study the factors affecting non- English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at