Factors affecting students motivation in learning english listening skills at an lao high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾN FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT AN LAO HIGH SCHOOL NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT AN LÃO M.A MINOR THESIS SUMMARY Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi – 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾN FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT AN LAO HIGH SCHOOL NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT AN LÃO M.A MINOR THESIS SUMMARY Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: ĐỖ BÁ QUÝ, M.Ed Hanoi – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i LISTS OF TABLES .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Method of the study .2 Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background of motivation 1.1.1 Conceptions of motivation 1.1.2 Motivation in foreign language learning 1.1.3 Types of motivation in foreign language learning 1.1.4 Demotivating factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning 1.2 Theoretical background of listening .12 1.2.1 Definitions of listening 12 1.2.2 The process of listening .13 1.3 Summary 14 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15 2.1 The setting of the study 15 2.2 Participants .15 2.3 Instruments for collecting data .16 i 2.4 Data collection procedures .16 2.5 Summary 16 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANANYSIS 17 3.1 Data from the students' responses 17 3.1.1 Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening 17 3.1.1.1 Learners- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 17 3.1.1.2 Teachers- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 24 3.1.1.3 Classroom- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening……………………………………………………………27 3.1.2 Students' expectations 28 3.1.2.1 Students' expectations towards teachers' listening teaching skill… 28 3.1.2.2 Students' expectations towards learning environment of listening…29 3.2 Data from the teachers' responses 29 3.2.1 Learners- related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening…………………………………………………………… 30 3.2.1.1 Teachers' perception of students strategy use 30 3.2.2 Teachers' -related factors affecting students' motivation in learning listening 34 3.2.2.1 Teachers' behavior………………………………………………… 34 3.2.2.2.Teachers' teaching aid use………………………………………… 35 3.2.2.3.Teachers' activities………………………………………………… 36 3.2.3 Environment………………………………………………… ………37 3.3 Summary………………………………………………………… … 37 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……………………… … 38 4.1 Findings 38 4.2 Discussion 39 ii 4.3 Summary 40 PART C: CONCLUSION 41 Conclusions .41 Recommendation .42 Limitations and suggestions for further study 43 REFERENCES 44 APPPENDICES I iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students' interest in English listening learning 17 Table 2: Students' activities in class 18 Table 3: Students' strategies in listening acquisition .19 Table 4: Students' vocabulary knowledge in listening 20 Table 5: Students' pronunciation knowledge in listening 21 Table 6: Students' connected speech knowledge in listening 22 Table 7: Students' listening skills 23 Table 8: Teachers' teaching methods 24 Table 9: Teacher‟s behavior 26 Table 10: Classroom - related factors affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening 27 Table 11: Students' expectations towards teachers' listening teaching skill 28 Table 12: Students' expectations towards learning environment of listening 29 Table 13: Teachers' perception of students' strategy use .30 Table 14: Students' language knowledge .32 Table 15: Teachers' behavior 34 Table 16: Teachers' teaching aid use 35 Table 17: Teachers' activities 36 Table 18: Teachers' perception of environment .37 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2 Second language ALHS An Lao High School v PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study English has become one of the most popular languages all over the world Many Vietnamese people realize the importance of English because it is an international, extra-cultural medium of communication Consequently, it has become a compulsory subject in most of the schools and universities Being a perceptive skill, listening skill plays an important role in communicating; teaching and learning English process, and it has also been defined an active process during which listeners construct meaning from oral input (Bently & Bacon, 1996) Of the total time spent on communicating, listening takes up 40-50%, speaking 25-30%, reading 11-16% and writing about 9% (Mendelsohn, 1994) Although everyone knows the significant role of listening in communicating as well as teaching and learning English, teaching and learning English at ALHS still focus on grammar and vocabulary Therefore, both teachers and students not pay much attention to listening skill Consequently, students are weak at listening and have a lot of difficulties in listening acquisitions They even become stressful and ignorant in listening lessons The above reasons have inspired me to conduct a study on "Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao High School" with the expectation of improving the teaching and learning English listening at ALHS Aims of the study This study aims to investigate the factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS The following are the aims of the study:  The factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening in Grade 11 at ALHS; and  The teachers' solutions to help students learn English listening better in Grade 11 at ALHS Research questions The study focuses on answering the following questions: What are the factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS? What can the teachers to motivate students in learning English listening skills in Grade 11 at ALHS? Scope of the study To improve English listening skill for the students in Grade 11 at ALHS The researcher's intention is to find out factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening and some suggestions for the teachers to help students to improve their listening skill Method of the study In order to achieve the aims of the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used involving two instruments: survey questionnaires and interviews Design of the study This study consists of three main parts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion Part A is the Introduction It lays out the reasons for choosing the topic of this thesis and points out the aims, the scope, the methods, research questions and the design of the study Part B is the Development which consists of three chapters: Chapter – Literature Review - presents the theoretical background related to the motivation, listening and motivation in learning English listening Chapter – Research methodology - gives the situation analysis, subjects, data collection instruments, data collection procedures Chapter – Data Analysis, some findings, and discussion – shows the detailed results of the survey and a comprehensive analysis on the data collected Part C is the Conclusion which presents the review of the study, suggestions for further research and limitations of the study REFERENCES 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 New Jersy: Prentics Hall Regents Dornyei, Z.(1998) De-motivation on foreign language learning Paper presented at the TESOL‟98 Congress, Seattle,WA, March Dornyei, Z.(2001) Motivational strategies in the Language Classroom Cambridge University Press Dornyei,Z (2001) Teaching and researching motivation Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited Dornyei Z (1994), “Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom”, The Modern Language Journal 78, pp 273-284 Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, R (1997), Second Language Acquisition, Oxford University Press Edward Deci (1975): Intrinsic Motivstion in Students with Learning Disabilities 10 Falk, J (1978) Linguistics and language : A survey of basic concepts and implications (2nd ed.) John Wiley and Sons 11 Field, J (1998), Skills and Strategies towards a new Methodology for Listening, Oxford University Press 12 Gardner, RC (1985) Social Psychology and second language learning: The roles of attitudes and motivation London: Edward Arnold 44 13 Gardner,R.C & Lambert,W.E (1972) Attitudes and motivation: Second language learning Newbury House 14 Goods, T L & J E Brophy (1994) Looking in classroom New York: Harper Collins 15 Harmer, J (1991), The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman Group UK Ltd 16 Harmer, J (1999), The Practice of English Language Teaching 2nd ed, Longman 17 Tran Thi Thanh Hoa (2010), An investigation into listening comprehension problems of the second year English students at Nghe An Junior Teachers Training College 18 Lightbown, P.M &N Spada (1999) How Languages are learnt.Oxford: Oxford University Press 19 Lightbown, M.P & Spada, N (1999), How Language are learned, Oxford University Press 20 Ma Lihua (2002), “Factors of Influencing Listening Comprehension of Second Language”, Journal of Xi’an Foreign Language Faculty, (2), pp 6871 21 McKay, H & Tom, A (1999), Teaching Adult Second Language Learners, Cambridge University Press 22.Mendelsohn, D.J.(1994) Learning to listen: Astrategy-based approach for the second language learner San Deigo: Dominie Press 23.Oxford R L (1998), The unravelling tapestry: Teacher and course characteristics associated with demotivation in the language classroom Demotivation in foreign language learning Paper presented at the T ESOL’98 Congress, WA, Seattle 45 24 Susanne F & Pia P (2010), Teaching Listening and Speaking, Germany 25 Do Thi Thu Thuy (2005), Difficulties in Acquiring skill of first- year English majors in Foreign Language Deparment, Hai Phong University 26 Oxford R L (1998), The unravelling tapestry: Teacher and course characteristics associated with demotivation in the language classroom Demotivation in foreign language learning Paper presented at the T 27 Woolfolk, A (2001), Educational Psychology (8th ed.), A Pearson Education Company, United States 28.Williams, M and Burden, R L (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers 46 APPPENDICES Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS DEAR ALL STUDENTS, This survey questionnaire is designed to gather information for my research into “Factors affecting students' motivation in English listening learning skills at An Lao High School” 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 co-operation! -Please choose the answer(s) you think it is the most appropriate to you: How interested are you in learning listening English? A very interested B interested C not interested at all D not very interested What you often in listening classes? A only pay attention to activities I like B participate actively in all activities C get too bored to concentrate on learning listening D not participate in any classroom activity E often other things instead I Your listening strategies Please put a tick (√) to the column that best represents your answer: Items I listen for key words I focus on main ideas I listen to every detail to get the main idea of the spoken text I guess the answers I take notes while listening I predict what I am going to listen I try to guess the meaning of the words based on the context Your vocabulary in listening Please put a tick (√) to agree or d Items I can understand the meaning of necessary words/ phrases for listening I can guess the meaning of the words in a certain spoken situation I have not got any difficulties of vocabulary in listening text Your pronunciation in listening Please put a tick (√) to agree or disagree: Items I can the words from their sounds I can hear the sounds to understand spoken text I can guess the correct words from their sounds II Your connected speech in listening Please put a tick (√) to the column that best represents your answer: Items I get the correct words from linking sounds I know how sounds disappear I know how words link together I know how sounds link together I hear linking sounds to understand spoken text Your listening skills Please put a tick (√) to the column that best represents your option: Items guess the words based on the spoken context activate prior knowledge to understand the spoken messages using the knowledge of intonation and stress to know feelings and opinions intended of the speakers predict what is being spoken predict what is going to be spoken based on some words given use the knowledge of discourse to guess meaning get the key words understand the spoken message through key words understand by visual clues III What your teachers in a listening lesson? Please put a tick (√) to what they do: Items Your teachers create comfortable environment for you to exchange information and prepare you about the topic of listening before you listen You are suggested necessary listening strategies for each activity You are given some key words You are offered enough chance to listen again Teachers re-design listening tasks to suit your levels and interests How you agree with your teachers' behavior? Please put a tick (√) to show your ideas: Items Teachers encourage to listen Teachers whenever it is needed students Teachers make fun in class Teachers are tolerant Teachers are always strict in class IV 10 Your learning condition in learning listening Please put a tick (√) to show your ideas: Items The sound quality of cassettes, CD, tape is not clear enough Lack of modern teaching and learning facilities such as video, projector, TV and internet Your class size is too big, it's difficult to concentrate on listening The number of students in your class is too crowded 11 Your expectations towards teachers' listening skill Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas: Items be flexible in organizing listening tasks re-design listening tasks more suitable to students' listening levels and interests equip students with essential strategies explain essential new words for each listening task let students listen more to difficult sounds explain more about the nature of spoken English other ideas V 12 Your expectations towards learning environment of listening Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas: Items provide students with more effective listening equipment less noisy more relaxing or comfortable remain as before VI Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS DEAR COLLEAGES, This survey questionnaire is designed to gather information for my research into “Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening sskills at An Lao High School” Your assistance in completing the questionnaire is highly appreciated Data collected will remain confidential and be used only for the study purpose Thank you very much for your co-operation! -Personal information: Full name: Age: Years of teaching English: Survey questionnaire: How often your students use listening strategies? Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas Items Scan to get the specific information Skin to get the main ideas Be able to understand the spoken text by visual clues (pictures, diagrams, chart, video…) VII Predict general content before listening using context and prior knowledge Take notes necessary information Your students' language knowledge Do you think how your students' language knowledge is? Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas Students' language knowledge Understanding the meaning of necessary words/expressions needed for listening Guessing the meaning of unknown words based on the spoken text Getting the words from their sounds Guessing the correct words from their sounds Hearing the sounds to understand spoken text Getting the correct words from linking sounds Recognizing how sounds disappear Recognizing how words link together Recognizing how words weaken Recognizing how stress signals new 10 11 information Guessing the feelings of speakers through intonation VIII Teachers' behavior Questions What will you react when your students give a wrong answer? A Smile and play the tape again B Stop them and correct C Get angry Encourage them to catch keywords then guess them to D E answer again Stop them and never order them next time Teachers' teaching aid uses How often you use the following teaching aids in listening lessons? Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas Items Authentic listening items (daily, conversations, native speaker‟s voice) Teacher‟s voice CD Projector or VCD Tasks in the text-book Handouts Pictures, board IX Teachers' activities How often you use the following listening activities? Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas Activities Games Listen for entertainment (music, films, news, etc.) Match conversations Information gaps Order pictures or sentences Get main ideas Do extra – listening tasks T/F Tell stories Teachers' perception of environment Please put a tick (√) to the column to show your ideas Items The class size to big Lack of modern teaching and learning facilities Lack of opportunities to contact to foreigners and use English inside or outside class X Appendix Questions for the interview What are you not very interested in learning English listening? Why you inactively participate in listening activities in class? In your opinion, is it necessary to improve your listening skills? Why? Your teachers not often use technologies Has it motivated you in learning English listening XI ... motivation in learning English listening 1) Students' motivation in learning listening *Students' interest in English listening learning To know how interested students are in learning English listening, ... inspired me to conduct a study on "Factors affecting students' motivation in learning English listening skills at An Lao High School" with the expectation of improving the teaching and learning. .. about factors affecting their motivation in listening learning - Teachers' opinions about factors affecting their students' motivation in listening learning - What teachers to motivate students