Co relationship between teacher related factors and students motivation in the context of lomonoxop school hanoi

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ LAN Co-relationship between teacher-related factors and student’s motivation in the context of Lomonoxop school, Ha Noi QUAN HỆ TƯƠNG HỖ GIỮA YẾU TỐ GIÁO VIÊN VÀ ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC TẬP CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG NGỮ CẢNH TRƯỜNG THPT DÂN LẬP LÔMÔNÔXỐP, HÀ NỘI M.A THESIS (Minor Programme Thesis) Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi, September 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ LAN Co-relationship between teacher-related factors and student’s motivation in the context of Lomonoxop school, Ha Noi QUAN HỆ TƯƠNG HỖ GIỮA YẾU TỐ GIÁO VIÊN VÀ ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC TẬP CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG NGỮ CẢNH TRƯỜNG THPT DÂN LẬP LÔMÔNÔXỐP, HÀ NỘI M.A THESIS (Minor Programme Thesis) Field: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Van Thi Thanh Binh, M.A Hanoi, September 2010 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table1: Distribution of teacher’s level of motivation and commitment on student’s motivation Table 2: Distribution of teacher behavior on student’s motivation Table 3: Distribution of teaching method on student’s motivation Table : Distribution of teacher’s diversity on student’s motivation Table 5: Distribution of teacher’s tests on student’s motivation Table 6: Distribution of teacher’s feedback on student’s motivation Table 7: Distribution of classroom rules on student’s motivation Table 8: Degrees of influence that personal characteristics of teachers have on student’s motivation Table 9: Degrees of influence that classroom management factors have on student’s motivation 10 Chart 1: How students like to learn with teacher’s competence 11 Chart 2: How students like to learn with teacher’s empathy TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii List of tables and figures iv PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rational 1.2 Method of the study 1.3 Scope and objectives of the study 1.4 The research questions 1.5 Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of terminology 1.1.1 Motivation 1.1.2 Demotivation 1.2 The role of motivation in foreign language learning 1.3 Student’s perception of motivating/ demotivating factors 1.3.1 Motivating factors 1.3.1.1 Parental influences 1.3.1.2 Teachers 1.3.1.3 Learner group 1.3.1.4 School 1.3.2 Demotivating factors 10 1.3.2.1 Demotivating factors identified by Dörnyei 10 1.3.2.2 Demotivating factors identified by Oxford 12 1.4 Teachers as motivating/ demotivating factors 13 1.5 Characteristics of young learners 16 1.5.1 Twelve year old young learners 16 1.5.2 Young learners in Lomonoxop schoo 17 1.6 Summary 17 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 18 2.1 The context 18 2.2 The informants 19 2.3 Methods of data collection 19 2.4 The survey questionnaire 19 2.5 Summary 20 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Personal characteristics of teachers 21 3.1.1 Level of motivation and commitment 21 3.1.2 Teacher competence 23 3.1.3 Teacher empathy 24 3.2 Classroom management factors 25 3.2.1 Teacher behavior 25 3.2.2 Teaching method 27 3.2.3 Classroom rules 31 3.3 Major findings and discussions .33 3.3.1 On personal characteristics of teachers .33 3.3.2 On classroom management factors .34 PART 1: CONCLUSIONS 38 Summary 38 Implication for teaching 38 Limitations of the study 40 Suggestions for further study 40 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIXES I PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale “In an ideal world, all learners are eager to learn because they are driven by their inborn curiosity to explore the world, and the learning experience therefore is a constant source of intrinsic pleasure for them Reality, however, rarely lives up to these ideals.” (Dörnyei, 2001b: 123) “One who teaches students must understand what motivates his/her students” (Andrews, Houston, & Bryant, 1981) During the course of my studies for my Masters degree, I have found myself increasingly interested in the psychological basis of language acquisition, and attempts to link the psychological with the linguistic in the second/foreign language learning field As an English teacher working in the Vietnamese secondary and high school, teaching young learners of grade 6, one of my greatest challenges is accommodating the needs of demotivated students and find ways to motivate them in learning In my opinion, there are many things that motivate students to learn such as teachers, parents, friends, learning environment, etc From the experience of being a teacher for five years, I have a feeling that teachers play the most important role in shaping motivation in students Moreover, as a young teacher, I have been making efforts to make students love their learning more and more It is a fact that my efforts to adapt my teaching to my students have been an ongoing process of experimentation and change Much of this has been guided by the remarks from my colleagues in the English group at my school and by my student’s different ideas about their teachers Many of their comments and most of my student’s ideas have revolved around how teachers motivate their students to learn According to my colleagues, I need to pay more attention to manage the class, organize the board, speak suitable amount of English in class and choose suitable methodology in teaching Besides, my students also gives me a lot of ideas on how they like their teachers to be One way in which I feel I have had some success with this issue is by increasing my awareness of, and openness to, student’s opinions about learning English in general and my lessons in particular It is thus professional concern, as well as personal curiosity that has motivated my choice of dissertation topic 10 1.2 Method of the study In this research, I employed quantitative methods to analyze the data collected and draw on conclusions and remarks In order to achieve the purpose of the study, one questionnaire to survey the relationship between teacher factors and student’s motivation was developed and administered Besides, the teacher also conducted informal chats with the students so as to see their views and opinions about the teacher factors that affect their English learning 1.3 Scope and objectives of the study The study focus on working out the relationship between teacher factors and student’s motivation so as to help teachers in Lomonoxop school in general and myself in particular improve our teaching and better fit the need of the student Pedagogical implications for teaching and limitations of the study were given at the end of the paper 1.4 The research questions The study was intended to answer the following questions: What are teacher –related factors that motivate the young learners in Lomonoxop private school, Ha Noi to learn English? Sub-questions: What are teacher’s personal factors that motivate the young learners in Lomonoxop private school, Ha Noi? What are teacher’s classroom management factors that motivate the young learners in Lomonoxop private school, Ha Noi? In order to achieve the aims and objectives of the study, I employed a questionnaire survey to collect relevant data, which was analyzed statistically and interpretatively 1.5 Design of the study The study is divided into main parts Part one is an introduction to the research, where matters such as rationale, methods of study, scope and objectives of the study and the research questions are discussed Part development in cludes three chapters Chapter is an attempt to review the theoretical 11 background in the light of which the research matters will be discussed Chapter discusses the context of study, data collection methods Chapter analyses the data collected to answer specifically the research questions set forth for the study In Part three Conclusion, findings and discussions as well as a summary of the study are given and some implications for teaching are suggested Suggestions for further study are also provided in this part 12 PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of terminology 1.1.1 What is motivation? Motivation is central to human activity Anything that drives human beings to act is related to motivation In such fields as economy and law, motivation is defined as internal drives for human behavior These drives in turn originate from needs, but not all needs are drives Only those which are recognized to be realizable in certain circumstances become the motivation to act Because motivation is related to needs, it is internal to human beings In a larger sense, motivation is related to satisfaction of needs and desire, whether it be internal or external to the person According to Webster’s dictionary (1913), to motivate means to provide with a motive, need or desire that causes a person to act Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary equates “to motivate” with “to be the reason for somebody’s action, to cause someone to want to something” Theoretically, any conscious action can be explained in view of motivation Broadly speaking, motivation is divided into two types: Intrisic and extrinsic A student learning English because he/ she knows he/ she will be more successful in future career is clarified as an intrinsically motivated student On the other hand, there are extrinsically motivated students who tolerate for the final test Gardner’s (1985) view of motivation arises from his socio- educational model He states that motivation is concerned with the question “Why does an organism behave as it does” and involves aspects: A goal An effort A desire to attain the goal Favorable attitude toward the activity in question Motivation then refers to the combination of desire and effort made to achieve a goal It is considered in the relationship between the individual’s rationale for any activity with range of behaviors and degree of effort made to achieve the goals 13 It is also worth noting that motivation has close relationship with other affective factors such as self confidence, anxiety and perceived competence All these together work to undermine achievement In section 2.2 of this chapter, we will take a closer look at the role of motivation in foreign language learning 1.1.2 What is demotivation Traditionally, motivation has been understood and studied as a multifaceted construct consisting of various influences with a positive effect Motivational factors or motives have been considered as kind of inducements with the effect of energizing ongoing action (Dörnyei 2001) However, there is another aspect to motivation that has been left with little attention Just as there are influences that have a positive effect on motivation, there are also those that have a detrimental effect on motivation These influences are called demotivating influences The notion of demotivation is relatively new and has not been fully adopted yet in the field of the second/foreign language learning research However, Dörnyei (2001) has attempted to provide a definition for it Accordingly, demotivation ”concerns specific external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing action” (Dörnyei 2001:143) Thus, demotivation could be regarded as the negative counterpart of motivation Similarly, demotives could be regarded as the negative counterparts of motives Furthermore, a demotivated learner is someone who has lost his or hers interest for some reason The loss of interest can derive from various sources of demotivation For instance, a teacher who cannot control the class or a boring textbook can act as a demotive for a learner However, the notion of demotivation cannot be related to every reluctant learner Dörnyei (2001) has distinguished at least three negative factors that cannot be referred to as demotives Firstly, there are powerful distractions, e.g watching television instead of doing one’s homework These cannot be regarded as demotives because they not carry negative value Hence, instead of reducing motivation they distract a learner by presenting a more attractive alternative Secondly, gradual loss of interest cannot be regarded as a demotive because demotives are specific factors or incidents that reduce motivation on a single event Thirdly, there are circumstances when a learner recognizes the inconvenience or high costs of pursuing the goal This means, for example, that a learner realizes that classes take place too late in the 52 QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to investigate into the relationship between teacher related factors and students’ motivation to learn Your answer to this questionnaire are used solely for the purpose of research Your personal information will be kept secret QESTION ITEMS Please put a tick into the column that shows your appropriate answer Strongly disagree You like to learn with teachers who always prepare lessons carefully with pictures, handouts, games… You like to learn with teachers who always teach enthusiastically You like to learn with teachers who never show tiredness with lessons and with students You like to learn with teachers who explain thoroughly language matters to you You like to learn with teachers who are willing to answer your questions during learning process You like to learn with teachers who always mark and return quickly students’ work after colleting You like to learn with teachers who Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 53 speak English clearly You like to learn with teachers who are not only good at English but also knowledgeable in other fields You like to learn with teachers who are able to make complicated matters more simple 10 You like to learn with teachers who know the English level of students to set up suitable materials learning methods for them 11 You like to learn with teachers who always take care of, sympathize and encourage you whenever you meet difficulties 12 You like to learn with teachers who are patient with students and not angry with your mistakes in learning 13 You like to learn with teachers who keep encouraging you to learn to gain better results 14 You like to learn with teachers who organize the board clearly and understandably 15 You like to learn with teachers who are always careful in marking and correcting your exercises 16 You like to learn with teachers who create good rapport with students 54 but arestrict to them in lessons 17 You like to learn with teachers who dress appropriately and beautifully to class 18 You like to learn with teachers who treats every student fairly 19 You like to learn with teachers who always respect your ideas 20 You like to learn with teachers who act as instructors and you actively carry out the activities 21 You like to learn with teachers who give you chances to discuss the language items taught 22 You like to learn with teachers who organize activities individually, in or in groups… 23 You like to learn with teachers who encourage you to find your own mistakes 24 You like to learn with teachers who teach grammar thoroughly to you 25 You like to learn with teachers who always give clear instructions for each activities 26 You like to learn with teachers who convey knowledge in a fun way 27 You like to learn with teachers who combine teaching with 55 organizing fun games 28 You like to learn with teachers who combine consolidation exercises with more difficult ones 29 You like to learn with teachers who teaches not only in the text book but also in supplementary materials 30 You like to learn with teachers who speak the majority of English in class 31 You like to learn with teachers who tests you frequently 32 You like to learn with teachers who test the knowledge taught in the material but not unknown knowledge 33 You like to learn with teachers who explain your mistakes thoroughly 34 You like to learn with teachers who gives you an award for your active participation in the activities such as giving candies, applause or mark bonus… 35 You like to learn with teachers who give you chances to replace bad marks with better ones 36 You like to learn with teachers who not assign much homework at home 56 37 You like to learn with teachers who require students to pay attention to lessons and not to talk about private things during lessons 38.You like to learn with teachers who never allow students to be late for class 39 You like to learn with teachers who punish students when students not obey class rules 40 You like to learn with teachers who ask students to homework before class 41 You like to learn with teachers who not allow students to cheat in exams Thank you very much! Good luck to you in the coming exam 57 BẢNG HỎI Bảng hỏi tiến hành nhằm tìm hiểu mối quan hệ nhân tố liên quan đến giáo viên động lực học tập học sinh Kết bảng điều tra phục vụ mục đích nghiên cứu danh tính em giữ kín CÂU HỎI: Mời em đánh dấu vào ô em lựa chọn Rất Không Không không đồng ý ý kiến đồng ý Em thích học với cô giáo chuẩn bị kĩ chẳng hạn kết hợp tranh ảnh minh hoạ, handout, trò chơi, phần thưởng giảng phòng máy… Em thích học ln tỏ say sưa giảng Em thích học khơng tỏ mệt mỏi với giảng với học sinh Em thích học với giáo Tiếng Anh giảng thấu đáo vấn đề chưa thật rõ ràng Em thích học với giáo Tiếng Anh ln sẵn lịng giải đáp thắc mắc em q trình học tập Em thích giáo Tiếng Anh chấm trả nhanh sau cô kiểm tra thu em Em thích học với giáo nói tiếng Anh rõ ràng, dễ hiểu Đồng ý Rất đồng ý ý 58 Cô giáo Tiếng Anh em khơng có kiến thức chắn Tiếng Anh mà nhiều lĩnh vực khác, điều làm cho em thích học Em thích học với giáo có khả làm cho vấn đề ngôn ngữ phức tạp trở nên đơn giản dễ hiểu 10 Em muốn học với giáo hiểu trình độ học sinh để đưa kiến thức phù hợp giảng dạy phương pháp học tập phù hợp cho em 11 Em thích học với ln giáo ln quan tâm, gần gũi, thông cảm, chia sẻ động viên em gặp khó khăn sống 12 Em thích học kiên trì, khơng cáu sai sót em q trình học tập 13 Em thích học với giáo ln động viên em cố gắng học tập để đạt kết tốt 14 Em thích học với thầy ln trình bày bảng rõ ràng, dễ hiểu 15 Em thích học với thầy ln cẩn thận cách chấm chữa 16 Em thích học với thầy ln có 59 gần gũi với học trò nghiêm khắc học 17 Những thầy cô ăn mặc lịch trang trọng lên lớp làm em thích học 18 Em muốn học với thầy cô công với học sinh 19 Em muốn học với thầy cô tôn trọng ý kiến em 20 Em cảm thấy thích học người hướng dẫn chúng em chủ động thực 21 Em muốn học với thầy cô tạo cho chúng em hội tranh luận kiến thức thầy cô giảng dạy lớp 22 Em thấy học vui hiệu cô tổ chức giảng hoạt động khác nhau, lúc cá nhân, lúc theo cặp, lúc theo nhóm… 23 Em muốn học với thầy ln khuyến khích học trị tự tìm lỗi 24 Khi giảng ngữ pháp kỹ em thích học 25 Em muốn học với thầy cô đưa hướng dẫn cho hoạt động cách rõ ràng 26 Em thích học với thầy truyền đạt kiến thức cách hài 60 hước 27 Khi cô giáo lồng hoạt động giảng dạy với tổ chức trò chơi em thích học 28 Em thích học kết hợp tập củng cố nâng cao 29 Giờ học hiệu cô cho thêm tài liệu liệu dạy SGK 30 Em thích sử dụng chủ yếu tiếng Anh lớp 31 Em thích học liên tục kiểm tra 32 Em thích học kiểm tra nội dung giảng dạy mà không kiểm tra kiến thức cô chưa dạy em lớp 33 Em muốn học với thầy cô tạo điều kiện cho học sinh gỡ điểm bị điểm 34 Em thấy học thích lỗi học trị giảng giải thấu đáo 35 Em thích học ln có hình thức khen thưởng động viên em em thực tốt hoạt động lớp ( thưởng điểm, kẹo, vỗ tay…) 36 Em thích giáo giao nhiều tập nhà khiến cho kiến thức học sinh củng cố mở rộng 61 37 Em thích học với giáo u cầu học sinh ý nghe giảng khơng nói chuyện riêng học 38 Em thích học với giáo khơng cho phép học sinh đến muộn 39 Em thích học với giáo phạt học sinh mắc lỗi điều khiến em cẩn thận để tránh mắc lỗi 40 Em thích học với giáo u cầu em làm tập nhà đầy đủ trước đến lớp 41 Em thích hoc với giáo khơng cho phép học sinh gian lận thi cử Cảm ơn em Chúc em đạt kết cao kì thi tới! 62 QUESTIONNAIRE DATA This questionnaire is designed to investigate into the relationship between teacher related factors and students’ motivation to learn Your answer to this questionnaire are used solely for the purpose of research Your personal information will be kept secret QESTION ITEMS Please put a tick in to the column that shows your appropriate answer Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree disagree 0% Strongly agree 0% 14% 16% 84% 11% 6% 19% 63% 7% 7% 16% 70% 0% 5% 15% 80% 0% 13% 19% 68% 0% 7% 29% 64% 0% 7% 64% 29% You like to learn with teachers who always prepare lessons carefully with pictures, handouts, games… You like to learn with teachers who 1% always teach enthusiastically You like to learn with teachers who 0% never show tiredness with lessons and with students You like to learn with teachers who 0% explain thoroughly language matters to you You like to learn with teachers who 0% are willing to answer your questions during learning process You like to learn with teachers who 0% always mark and return quickly students’ work after colleting You like to learn with teachers who 0% 63 speak English clearly You like to learn with teachers who 0% 0% 1% 64% 35% 0% 11% 63% 26% 0% 14% 16% 80% 0% 14% 56% 30% 11% 0% 70% 89% 0% 6% 79% 15% 12% 21% 23% 32% 11% 21% 40% 11% 3% 28% 14% 50% are not only good at English but also knowledgeable in other fields You like to learn with teachers who 0% are able to make complicated matters more simple 10 You like to learn with teachers 0% who know the English level of students to set up suitable materials learning methods 11 You like to learn with teachers 0% who always take care of, sympathize and encourage you whenever you meet difficulties 12 You like to learn with teachers 0% who are patient with students and not angry with your mistakes 13 You like to learn with teachers 0% who keep encouraging you to improve your results 14 You like to learn with teachers 12% who organize the board clearly and understandably 15 You like to learn with teachers 17% who are always careful in marking and correcting your exercises 16 You like to learn with teachers 5% who create rapport with students but 64 are strict to them in lessons 17 You like to learn with teachers who 4% 4% 20% 12% 70% 11% 0% 23% 58% 0% 0% 2% 98% 5% 6% 69% 12% 13% 19% 32% 23% 5% 20% 14% 60% 11% 22% 21% 40% 3% 7% 24% 48% 16% 9% 28% 47% 7% 5% 15% 70% dress appropriately and beautifully to class 18 You like to learn with teachers 8% who treats every student fairly 19 You like to learn with teachers 0% who always respect your ideas 20 You like to learn with teachers 8% who act as instructors and you actively carry out the activities 21 You like to learn with teachers 13% who give you chances to discuss the language items taught 22 You like to learn with teachers 1% who organize activities individually, in or in groups… 23 You like to learn with teachers who 6% encourage you to find your own mistakes 24 You like to learn with teachers 8% who teach grammar thoroughly to you 25 You like to learn with teachers 0% who always give clear instructions for each activities 26 You like to learn with teachers 3% who convey knowledge in a funny way such as telling jokes, stories… 65 27 You like to learn with teachers 0% who combine teaching 4% 4% 74% 18% 6% 14% 53% 23% 3% 20% 57% 20% 29% 0% 53% 10% 14% 4% 42% 9% 0% 4% 80% 13% 12% 5% 18% 42% 1% 12% 71% 13% 0% 8% 17% 74% 7% 5% 69% 18% with organizing funny games 28 You like to learn with teachers 7% who combine consolidation exercises with more difficult ones 29 You like to learn with teachers 0% who teaches not only in the text book but also in supplementary materials 30 You like to learn with teachers 8% who speak the majority of English in class 31 You like to learn with teachers who 31% tests you frequently 32 You like to learn with teachers who 3% test the knowledge taught in the material but not unknown knowledge 33 You like to learn with teachers 23% who explain your mistakes thoroughly 34 You like to learn with teachers 3% who gives you an award for your active participation in the activities such as giving candies, applause or mark bonus… 35 You like to learn with teachers 1% who give you chances to replace bad marks with better ones 36 You like to learn with teachers who 1% 66 not assign much homework at home 37 You like to learn with teachers who 24% 25% 0% 39% 12% 17% 18% 52% 11% 37% 2% 28% 30% 8% 10% 43% 10% 18% 21% 8% 50% require students to pay attention to lessons and not to talk about private things during lessons 38 You like to learn with teachers 2% who never allow students to be late for class 39 You like to learn with teachers 3% who punish students when students not obey class rules 40 You like to learn with teachers 29% who Ask students to homework before class 41 You like to learn with teachers 3% who not allow students to cheat in exams Thank you very much! Good luck to you in the coming exams ... significantly in many areas In the study, the relationship between teacher related factors and student’s motivation to learn in the context of Lomonoxop private school, Ha Noi was explored The data were collected... lessons of a certain teacher than of other teachers Therefore, there exists a problem of the role of a teacher and what factors about a teacher motivate 27 students more than those of other teachers... describing the situation where the study was conducted and the informants involved in the study Method of data collection is also discussed in details 2.1 The context Social conditions can determine