Some motivational factors affecting learners of english

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES SOME MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS OF ENGLISH A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN TESOL Submitted by NGUYỄN HOÀNG MỸ THANH Supervisor DƯƠNG NGỌC DŨNG, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, June 2007 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “Some motivational factors affecting learners of English” is own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, June 20th , 2007 NGUYỄN HOÀNG MỸ THANH i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYỄN HOÀNG MỸ THANH, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City June 20th, 2007 NGUYỄN HOÀNG MỸ THANH ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Duong Ngoc Dung, who provided valuable comments, criticism and support in the preparation and completion of this thesis Without his encouragement and constant guidance, I could not have finished this thesis She was always there to meet and talk about my ideas, to proofread my papers and chapters, and to ask me good questions to help me think through my problems I would wish to thank all the English staff members and all the students at the Department of Tourism - Van Hien University who participate in the study for their help with data collection from the questionnaires and the interviews; and apparent who created good opportunities for me to complete my thesis Last, but not least, thanks to my family To my parents who continue to give of themselves so that their children will prosper To my brother and sister for their love, understanding and support iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the influence of motivational factors on learners of English This study investigates the motivational factors affecting the perceptions and the attitudes of the students in learning English and the teachers’ perception of what motivates students Two sets of questionnaires were delivered to both the teachers and the students of English at the Department of Tourism - Van Hien University and an carried out with three random students at the Department of Tourism - Van Hien University as well and a parent to elicit whether they are motivated and what kind of motivation has a major impact on their learning English Evidence was collected through a survey questionnaire and interviews Analyses were then employed to determine what motivators affecting learners of English The results of the study show that students at university nowadays need much more motivating in learning English, particularly intrinsic motivation This study also revealed that intrinsic motivation plays an important role in their attitudes towards learning English From the results, better strategies for motivating students intrinsically are suggested to improve the students’ interest in learning English iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgement iii Abstract iv Table of contents v List of tables viii List of figures viii INTRODUCTION 0.1 BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM .4 0.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 0.3 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS Chapter 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM – VAN HIEN UNIVERSITY 1.2 THE TEACHING STAFF 1.3 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENTS 10 1.4 STUDENTS’ NEED ANALYS 12 1.5 DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIVERSITY SYLLAB 13 1.6 SUMMARY .16 Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 17 2.1 DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION 17 v 2.2 KINDS OF MOTIVATION 18 2.2.1 Intrinsic motivation .19 2.2.2 The factors that promote Intrinsic motivation .20 2.2.2.1 Challenge 21 2.2.2.2 Curiosity 22 2.2.2.3 Control .22 2.2.2.4 Fantasy 22 2.2.2.5 Interpersonal Motivation 23 2.2.3 Extrinsic motivation 24 2.2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation 25 2.3 THE RELATIONASHIP BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND LEARNING 26 2.3.1 Behavioral Views of Motivation 26 2.3.2 Cognitive Views of Motivation .27 2.3.3 The Humanistic View of Motivation .28 2.3.3.1 Maslow’s Theory of Growth Motivation .28 2.3.3.2 Alderfer’s ERG Theory .31 2.3.3.3 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory 34 2.3.3.4 Self-Determination Theory 36 2.4 SUMMARY 37 Chapter STUDY DESIGN AND DATA ANALYSIS .38 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 38 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 39 3.2.1 Survey Questionnaires 39 vi 3.2.2 Interview .45 3.2.2.1 Structured interviews 45 3.2.2.2 Unstructured interviews .45 3.2.2.3 Semi-structured interviews 45 3.3 DATA COLLECTION 46 3.3.1 Responses to survey questionnaires 46 3.3.1.1 The teachers’ perception of learning motivation 46 3.3.1.2 The students’ perception of the influence of motivation .51 3.3.2 Data collected from the interviews .54 3.4 SUMMARY 58 Chapter FINDINGS AND RECCOMENDATIONS 59 4.1 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 59 4.1.1 Teachers’ Responses To The Questionnaires .59 4.1.2 Students’ Responses To The Questionnaires and Interviews .60 4.2 SOME RECCOMENDATIONS TO THE PROBLEM 64 4.3 SUMMARY 73 CONCLUSION 74 APPENDICES 76 Appendix 77 Appendix 80 Appendix 84 Appendix 89 REFERENCES 90 vii LIST OF TABLES Chapter Table 3.1 The teachers’ responses to questionnaires .48 Table 3.2 The students’ responses to questionnaires .52 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Levels of Motivation-Maslow’s Theory of Growth Motivation 26 Figure 2.2 ERG Theory of Motivation of Clayton P Alderfer 29 Figure 2.3 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory .32 Figure 4.1 shows the seven methods for enhancing intrinsic motivation 66 viii INTRODUCTION Learning is fun and exciting, at least when the curriculum is well-matched to students’ interests and abilities and the teacher emphasizes hands-on activities When you teach the right things the right way, motivation takes care of itself If students are not enjoying learning, something is wrong with your curriculum and instruction-you have somehow turned an inherently enjoyable activity into drudgery School is inherently boring and frustrating We require students to come, then try to teach them stuff that they don’t see a need for and don’t find meaningful There is little support for academic achievement in the peer culture, and frequently in the home as well A few students may be enthusiastic about learning, but most of them require the grading system and the carrots and sticks that we connect it to the pressure them to at least enough to get by Above all, we just want to express the core ideas behind much of the advice traditionally offered to teachers about motivating students The two views are contradictory, even though both are frequently expressed Neither is valid, but each contains elements of truth The first view incorporates overly romantic views of human nature and realistic expectations about students’ learning of school subjects in classroom settings We can and should expect students to experience academic activities as meaningful and worthwhile However, we cannot expect them to view these activities as “fun” in the same sense that they experience recreational games APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE IN ENGLISH (Please put a tick in the box you choose) Being a lecturer of English at the Department of Tourism- Van Hien University in Ho Chi Minh City, you think your students need to be motivated to learn English? A Very necessary B Necessary C Rather necessary D Not necessary In your opinion, why are many students bad at English? A They haven’t learned English before B They are too lazy to learn English C They think English is not important D They not know how to learn English well In your opinion, why are some of the students absent from the class although they are informed that if they are absent from the class more than 30% of the period, they will be not allowed to take the final exam? A They are lazy B They can’t catch up with their classmates C They are not motivated properly 81 D They have part-time jobs In your opinion, who has the most influence on the students’ attitudes towards learning English? A Parents B Peers C Teachers D Other people In your opinion, which factors have the most influence on student’s attitude towards learning English? A Study environment B Textbooks C Teaching method D Physical conditions In your opinion, what the students think about the textbooks used at the Department of Tourism–Van Hien University? A They not like them B They like them C They like them very much D They have no idea about them In your opinion, what the students think about the exercises in the textbooks? A Difficult B Okay C Easy 82 D Very easy What have you done to motivate the students to learn English? A Grades B Compliments C Nothing D More practice What should you to improve the present situation and help students learn English more effectively? A New textbooks B Well-equipped classrooms C New teaching method D Giving students a lot of chances to communicate with native speakers 10 In your opinion, which motivational factors are suitable for Vietnamese ducation nowadays? A Grades B Compliments C More practice in class D More homework 11 Have you ever studied “Student motivation” theory before? A Reading books B Taking part in workshops C Studying “Student motivation” theory at University D Never 83 12 Do you often create some English games or songs to make the class more exciting, which helps the students absorb the lessons easily? A Never B Sometimes C Usually D Always 13 Do you ask the students to work in pairs or in groups? A Usually B Sometimes C Always D Never 14 Which language you use to give a lecture in class? A Vietnamese completely B English completely C English more than Vietnamese D Vietnamese more than English 15 What you think about the students’ attitudes towards learning English in class? A They are interested B Normal C A lot of students feel tired D A lot of students fall asleep 84 THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! APPENDIX (Xin vui lòng đánh dấu vào ô chọn) Theo em, học tiếng Anh cần thiết cho em vì: A Nó cần thiết cho công việc tương lai B Phải đậu Tiếng Anh tham gia kỳ thi Tốt Nghiệp Đại Học C Giúp ích việc xin học bổng du học D Giao tiếp với người nước Theo em, người ảnh hưởng nhiều đến thái độ học Tiếng Anh em? A Cha mẹ B Thầy/cô C Bạn bè D Bà Yếu tố quan trọng việc học Tiếng Anh em? A Môi trường học tập B Phương pháp giảng dạy C Giáo trình D Tiện nghi học tập Ý kiến cuả em giáo trình Tiếng Anh trường nay? A Rất chán B Hơi chán C Khá hay 85 D Raát hay Em nghó tập sách? A Rất khó B Bình thường C Dễ D Rất dễ Điểm số em nào? A Rất quan trọng B Khá quan trọng C Quan trọng D Không quan trọng Theo em, học Tiếng Anh có khó không? A Rất khó B Hơi khó C Dễ D Rất dễ Nếu thầy/cô khen trước lớp, em cảm thấy nào? A Rất vui B Khá vui C Vui D Bình thường 86 Theo em, giáo viên cho chơi trò chơi cho nghe hát Tiếng Anh, em cảm thấy nào? A Lớp học sinh động B Lớp học sinh động C Lớp học bình thường D Lớp học chán 10 Theo em, thầy/cô nên làm để khích lệ quan tâm em việc học Tiếng Anh? A Đổi phương pháp giảng B Đổi giáo trình C Chú ý nhiều tới học sinh D Tổ chức câu lạc Tiếng Anh CẢM ƠN SỰ CỘNG TÁC CỦA CÁC EM! 87 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE IN ENGLISH (Please put a tick in the box you choose) Why is learning English important for you? A It is necessary for your future job B It is a compulsory condition for your graduation exam C It is useful for you to get a scholarship D It is a tool for you to communicate with foreigners Who has the most influence on your attitude towards learning English? A Parents B Teachers C Peers D Relatives Which factor is an important reason for your learning English? A Study environment B Teaching method C Textbooks D Physical conditions 88 What you think about the textbook used at the Department of Tourism – Van Hien University? A Very boring B Rather boring C Rather interesting D Very interesting What you think about the exercises in the textbooks? A Very difficult B So so C Easy D Very easy What you think about grades? A Very important B Rather important C Important D Not important Is English difficult to study? A Very difficult B Rather difficult C Easy D Very easy 89 How you feel if you are encouraged by motivational words in front of the class? A Very happy B Rather happy C Happy D Okay In your opinion, what would your class be like if your teachers used some English games and songs for you? A The class is very interesting B The class is rather interesting C The class is okay D The class is boring 10 In your opinion, what should the teachers to motivate the students to learn English? A Change teaching methods B Change the textbooks C Pay more attention to bad students D Organize an English club THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! 90 REFERENCES http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Z13NCscMpGQJ:www.usc.edu/programs/cet/pri vate/pdfs/teaching_nuggets/motivating.PDF+motivating+student&hl=vi&ct=clnk&cd= 17&gl=vn http://library.thinkquest.org/C005704/content_teaching_motivating.php3 http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation http://www.motivation-tools.com/elements/seven_rules.html http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/acad/strat/motivate.html http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/motivation/motivate.html http://www.virtualsalt.com/motivate.html http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/faqs/motivatingstudents/motivating.html 91 http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/ motivate.htm http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/motivate.html http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ resources/teaching_resources/interactions/motivating.html http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/textonly.html#context http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy5/Edpsy5_intrinsic.html http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.html http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/oxford01.html http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lessard-Clouston-Strategy.html http://www.google.com.vn/search?hl=vi&q=motivation&meta http://www.motivation-tools.com/elements/seven_rules.html http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/motivation/motivate.html http://www.businessballs.com/herzberg.html http://www.businessballs.com/herzbergmotivationdiagram.pdf 92 http://opax.swin.edu.au/~388226/howto/it2/hertz.htm http://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html http://motivationcentre.blogspot.com/2006/03/alderfers-erg-theory.html http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Herzberg_Motivational_Theory.html http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:vIdGL08kFLQJ:www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/ j/sjm256/portfolio/kbase/IDD/Corporate/Motivation.pdf+Keller+motivational+design &hl=vi&ct=clnk&cd=30&gl=vn http://www.google.com.vn/search?q=McClelland%27s+achievement+motivation+theo ry&hl=vi&start=10&sa=N http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_06_mcclelland.html http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-3207580_ITM http://www.envisionsoftware.com/Articles/ERG_Theory.html http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Intrinsic_vs._Extrinsic_Motivation http://www.google.com.vn/search?q=promote+intrinsic+motivation&hl=20&sa=N 93 http://www.callcentrehelper.com/building-better-performance-through-intrinsicmotivation-5073.html http://chiron.valdosta.edu/are/litreviews/vol4no2/AshleyPhillips_LitRev.pdf Bolton, L What is Motivation? _ 1999 http://www.swin.edu.au/tafe/aged/howto/it2/motiv 1.html Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by Principles – Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom Prentice Hall Regents Lepper & Green & Nisbelt Effects of Extrinsic Rewards on Motivation and Learning (1973) http://www.peaklearn.com Lewis , M & Hill , J (1985) Practical Techniques for Language Teaching – Interesting Communicative Tasks Increase Motivation Language Teaching Publication Malone & Lepper The Effects of Fantasy on Motivation and Learning (1987) Sparkle Principles of Learning and Motivation (1999) http://www.altavista.com Condry , J (1992) Motivation and Emotion June 6, 1998 http://Sparkleinc.com/m/center/fag.html 94 Harmer , J (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching – Motivational differences Longman Gardner , R.C (1966) Motivational Variables in Second Language Learning International Journal of American Linguistics Lambert, W.E & Olton, R (1960) A Study of the Roles of Attitudes and Motivation in Second-Language Mimeo., McGill University Johnson, W Educational Theory of Motivation 1999 Sethi , S , &Dialdin , D & Drake , M (1996) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation CUP Rogers , S & Lindington , J & Graham , S Beliefs , Principles , & Standard for Enhancing Students – Motivation May 11, 1999 95 ...STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled ? ?Some motivational factors affecting learners of English? ?? is own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree... factors on learners of English This study investigates the motivational factors affecting the perceptions and the attitudes of the students in learning English and the teachers’ perception of what... to examine the impact of motivation on learners of English By identifying the impact of the motivational factors, this thesis will help teachers have a deep perception of motivation and they