NGHIÊN cứu về VIỆC sử DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP tự ĐÁNH GIÁ TRONG lớp học NHẰM TĂNG ĐỘNG lực học TIẾN ANH ở TRƯỜNG đại học CÔNG NGHIỆP hà nội

Vietnam national university, haNoi
College of foreign languages
Post- graduate department




Hong Thị Hơng Giang


A study on using self assessment in the
classroom to increase learning
motivation in Learning English at Hanoi
University of Industry

(Nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng phơng pháp tự
đánh giá trong lớp học nhằm tăng động
lực học tiếng Anh ở trờng Đại Học Công
nghiệp Hà Nội)





Minor programme thesis



Field: Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410

Hanoi 2008
Vietnam national university, haNoi
College of foreign languages
Post- graduate department




Hong Thị Hơng Giang


A study on using self assessment in the
classroom to increase learning
motivation in Learning English at Hanoi
University of Industry

(Nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng phơng pháp tự
đánh giá trong lớp học nhằm tăng động
lực học tiếng Anh ở trờng Đại Học Công
nghiệp Hà Nội)




Minor programme thesis

Field: Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Vuong, M.A



Hanoi- 2008


i
DECLARATION
I, Hoang Thi Huong Giang , hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis, other
than that specifically attributed to another source, is the result of my own research. It is
recognised that, should this declaration be found to be false, disciplinary action could be
taken and penalties imposed in accordance with University policy and rules

Signature


Hoang Thi Huong Giang

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Mrs Nguyen Thi Vuong for her
insightful comments and suggestions on various parts of this thesis.
My thanks also go to all my lecturers from Vietnam National University for their valuable
lectures which help me to orient the topic.
I also would like to express my thanks to Mrs Ngo Thanh Thuy, the staff member of
Postgraduate Studies Department for her help and support during my studies.
I am most thankful to my colleagues and undergraduate students at Hanoi University of
Industry for their support in data collection.
Finally my special thanks go to my father, my husband and my son, for their love and
support throughout this project. Without their encouragement I could not have completed
this thesis.

iii
ABSTRACT
Motivation is considered to be one of the most important elements in language
learning. Understand the role of motivation and the related theoryof self- assessment
method has the potential to inform classroom teaching in important ways. If self-
assessment method can indeed increase learners’motivation, then teaching and using self-
assessment skills to learners may have direct implications for English classroom.
The primary goal of this study is to investigate learners’ motivation in learning
English before and after using continuous self – assessment questionnaire. Then it refers to
ideas of other teachers of English at HAUI about self- assessment method. Lastly, this
study seeks to discover some typical techniques related to self- assessment method in order
to increase learners’motivation in learning English.The results of the study and some
recommendation will bring in practical benefits to teaching and learning English. Teachers
and learners will realize the useful role of self-assessment method and use some self-
assessment techniques effectively.

iv
Table of content

DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENT iv

Chapter I: Introduction 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aim of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Significance of the study 2
5. Scope of the study 3
6. Method of the study 3
7. Design of the study 4

Chapter II: Literature review 5
1. Theoretical backgrounds of motivation 5
1.1. What is motivation? 5
1.2. Types of motivation in second language learning 7
1.2.1. Integrative Motivation 7
1.2.2. Instrumental Motivation 8
1.3. The importance of motivation in L2 learning 9

2. Theoretical backgrounds of self - assessment method. 9
2.1. Definitions of self – assessment 9
2.2. Why use self - assessment in second language learning? 10
2.3. Self-assessment techniques in L2 learning. 11
2.3.1. Self-marking 11
2.3.2. Portfolios 12
2.3.3. Pre- and post-course writing 12
2.3.4. Learner contracts 13
2.3.5. Student progress card 13
2.3.6. Learner diary 14

v
2.3.7. Self assessment questionnaire 14
2.3.8. Videotape 14
2.3.9. Teacher-student interviews 14

Chapter III: The study 15
1. Research questions 15
2. Null and alternative hypotheses 15
3. Research design 15
3.1.Research question 1 15
3.2.Research question 2 16
4. Participants and settings 16
5. Instruments : Motivation questionnaire 18
5.1.Motivation questionnaire 18
5.2. Self- assessment questionnaire 18
6. Results 19
7. Data analysis 23

Chapter IV: Discussion 27

1. Summary of the topic and need for the study 27
2. Implications in the classroom 28
3. Limitations and implications for future research 30

REFERENCES I
APPENDIX A: Motivation questionnaire IV
APPENDIX B: Self – assessment questionnaire VII
1
CHAPTER I: Introduction
1. Rationale
English has proved to play the important role as an international language and has a
huge impact on the lives of people in many countries. Understanding the importance of
mastering this language, in Viet Nam, our government has given a lot of suitable policies in
education in order to encourage universities and schools to achieve the best quality of
teaching and learning.
Hanoi University of Industry (HAUI) has tried to become an open educational
institution, to cater for learners and interested parties, train labor at various levels and meet
the demand of socio-economic development. It is continuously improving the teaching
methodology with the learner focus approach; applying strictly information technology in
managing, teaching and learning; experimenting the credit model in education for a
throughout application of this module; expanding the training cooperation with universities,
schools, technical and economic institutions inside the country and overseas; encouraging
creativity and learning.
Hanoi University of Industry also focuses much on teaching English beside other
majors. Students at HAUI have to learn English as a compulsory subject and have lots of
chances to take part in many activities in English.
Teachers at HAUI usually organize professional meetings, contests of good teaching,
English speaking clubs and many activities in order to improve the quality of teaching and
learning English here. However, they have a great deal of difficulties with the syllabus,
curriculum, materials, and learners ‘motivation, etc…Especially the question: “How to

increase learners’ motivation?” is a big question that comes form many teachers. This is of
great concern to teachers of English here.
Being a teacher of English at HAUI, I often try to find out suitable methods of
teaching to different levels of students. Accidentally, I read some articles related to using
self – assessment method in language teaching, and I find it interesting and useful. In my
teaching, I sometimes use this method in simple ways in some classes and it often gives
positive results(for example: Self-marking; Portfolios; Pre- and post-course writing;
2
Learner contracts; Student progress card; Learner diary; Self assessment questionnaire;
Videotape; teacher-student interviews, etc…)
Because of the scope of the study, I choose Self assessment questionnaire as the main
technique which follows through the study because I find it a useful one. And I often apply
this technique in my teaching most of the time.
For the above reasons, I carry out this study to investigate deeply the effects of self-
assessment method, especially Self assessment questionnaire (weekly self-evaluations) to
English learning and with the hope of sharing this method to all teachers of English.
2. Aim of the study:
The primary goal of this study is to investigate learners’ motivation in learning
English before and after using continuous self – assessment questionnaire. Then it refers to
ideas of other teachers of English at HAUI about self- assessment method. Lastly, this
study seeks to discover some typical techniques related to self- assessment method in order
to increase learners’motivation in learning English.
3. Research questions:
The study was intended to answer the following questions:
+ Is the self – assessment method used in English classroom at Hanoi University of
Industry?
+ Does the self – assessment method increase HAUI students’ motivation in the
classroom?
4. Significance of the study
Motivation is considered to be one of the most important elements in language

learning. Without appropriate motivation, it is unlikely that learners will succeed with the
language. Understanding the role of motivation and the related theory of self- assessment
method has the potential to perform classroom teaching in important ways.
If self- assessment method can indeed increase learners’ motivation, then teaching
and using self- assessment skills to learners may have direct implications for English
classroom. The results of the study and some recommendations will bring about practical
benefits to teaching and learning English. Teachers and learners will realize the useful role
of self-assessment method and use some self- assessment techniques effectively.
3
5. Scope of the study
Firstly, the study is conducted to find out whether or not self- assessment method increases
learners’ motivation in learning English.
Secondly, the study is carried out with the hope of testing how to use some self- assessment
techniques effectively in English class.
Other approaches of how to increase learners’ motivation are beyond this study.
6. Method of the study
The purpose of this study was to find out if the incorporation of self- assessment exercises
in English classroom directly helps increase learners’ motivation. In order to accomplish
this goal, my thesis is the combination of different methods in education research.
Knowledge and experience that I have gained from learning and teaching with a lot of
materials, articles, books, websites, etc…helped me much in writing the thesis, especially
the literature review.
Given the desire to assess a cause- effect relationship between the variables in research
questions, an experimental research design was used. In order to achieve the above
mentioned aims and objectives to make the study more practical, data were collected by
questionnaire and analysis.
The primary data analysis is of quantitative method with scale question in the questionnaire
designed for students’ motivation analysis.
In a more detail, this study is to prove for the following two main hypothesises:
Null hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference between posttest ratings of

motivation among students who receive a weekly classroom self- assessment component
for one semester and those who do not, after controlling for the effect of pretest motivation
ratings in both groups.
Alternative hypothesis: Students who receive a weekly classroom self- assessment
component for one semester will report higher posttest ratings of motivation compared with
those who do not, after controlling for the effect of pretest motivation ratings in both
groups.
4
7. Design of the study
The thesis consists of fours chapters as follows:
Chapter I: provides a general introduction, the background for the study, its aim,
significance, scope, research questions, method and the design of the thesis.
Chapter II: provides the literature review of the thesis and consists of two main parts:
theoretical backgrounds of motivation, theoretical backgrounds of self - assessment
method.
Chapter III: is the study which focuses on: research questions; null and alternative
hypotheses; research design; participants and settings; procedures; instruments (Motivation
questionnaire; Self- assessment questionnaire); data analysis; summary of methodology;
results.
Chapter IV: presents the summary of the study and discussion is given to point out
implication for teaching.
5
CHAPTER II: Literature review
1. Theoretical backgrounds of motivation
1.1. What is motivation?
According to Dörnyei, Z. (2001), perhaps the following item about motivation
that many researchers admit is that motivation concerns the direction and magnitude of
human behavior, that is:
+ the choice of a particular action
+ the persistence with it

+ the effort expended on it
In other words, motivation is responsible for
+ why people decide to do something
+ how long they are willing to sustain the activity
+ how hard they are going to pursue it
When learning a foreign language, motivation is defined as the learner's
orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language. Motivation is considered
to be one of the most important elements in language learning. Without motivation, it is
unlikely that learners will succeed in their language learning. According to Cunningsworth
(1992), a student who is not well taught but is motivated will have better results in learning
a foreign language than a student who is well taught but is not motivated. Cunningsworth
(1992, p. 59) also states that “motivation determines the student’s level of attention during
class, and the assiduity which he does his homework and revises what he has been taught
during the day”.
It is commonly thought that if motivation is present, students become active as well
as involved in the learning process; if absent, the learner will be passive, disinterested, and
not involved in the learning process and therefore will not learn. Thus, foreign language
teachers have to be aware of the necessity of looking for techniques and interactive
activities in order to enhance their classes and also to motivate their students to learn a
foreign language.
Ames (1992) gave out three different types of goals in the area of achievement
motivation. The first is the mastery or the learning goals which focus on obtaining
6
competence or mastering a new set of knowledge or skills to achieve success; the second
type of goals are called performance goals, which are related to doing better than others or
doing well without a lot of effort in order to avoid failure, and the last ones are called social
goals which focus on relationships among people.
An important aspect of the achievement motivation theory is that learners can be
motivated to either avoid failure or achieve success (Ames, 1992). In other words, when
learners want to avoid failure they try to select either easy tasks in order to achieve success

or difficult tasks in order to have a good excuse for why failure occurr. However, when
learners want to achieve success they try to select moderately difficult tasks, which will
provide an interesting challenge for them to keep the high expectations for success.
What is motivation in EFL learning? Motivation may be defined as “a state of
cognitive and emotional arousal, which leads to a conscious decision to act, and which
gives rise to a period of sustained intellectual and/or physical effort in order to attain a
previously set goal or goals” (Williams & Burden, 1997 p. 120). In other words, a person
gets interested in some way and this interest may be started by different causes, maybe
internal ones, coming from inside the learner such as an interest in the activity or a wish to
be successful. Other causes may be external, for example the influence of another person or
even an event. However, whatever the cause, the person’s interest is activated, leading this
person to make a conscious decision to act in certain ways in order to achieve a goal or
goals related to the activity undertaken. Once the activity has started the person has to
persist in achieving the goals and all this is influenced by the context and situation, and will
be personal to the individual.
Specifically in EFL learning, motivation is “a complex phenomenon which can be
defined in terms of two factors: learners’ communicative needs, and their attitudes towards
the second language community” (Lightbown & Spada, 1993 p. 40). It means that if
students need to speak the foreign language in a variety of social situations or maybe to get
a better job they will notice the importance of the foreign language and consequently will
be motivated to learn it. Likewise, if students have positive attitudes towards the speakers
of the language, they will probably want to have more contact with them.
Ur (1996), who is concerned with English language teaching, also sees motivation as
a very important phenomenon. As she considers motivation difficult to give a definition,
she prefers to think about motivation in terms of ‘motivated’ learners, that is, learners who
7
are willing to involve themselves in learning activities to progress. Ur (1996) states that
teaching and learning can become much easier and more pleasant when there is learners
motivation.
Who And What Motivates Foreign Language Students? It is important to say that

students’ motivation in foreign language learning is the result not only of their internal
environment but also of many other factors involved in the external milieu in which they
are studying that language, and the teacher is one of the most important of such factors.
The characteristics foreign language teachers should possess could be summed up as
follows: they should be competent, observant, tactful and communicative; in addition,
however, they should stimulate interest, have a capacity for self-evaluation and be willing
to develop their skills. Above all they must feel a genuine interest for their students, be
extremely sensitive to the students in order to motivate them. (Calvin,1991).
1.2. Types of motivation in second language learning
1.2.1. Integrative Motivation:
Motivation has been known as the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of
learning a second language (Crookes and Schmidt 1991).
They believed the learners that are very successful when they learn a language are
those who like the people that speak that language, love their culture, and want to
familiarize with the society in which that language is used.
This kind of motivation is called integrative motivation. This is a key feature if
someone is a citizen in a new community which has the target language in its social
interactions, in helping learner to improve their levels of proficiency in the language they
are learning. It becomes essential to operate socially in the community and become one of
its members.
Integrative motivation was identified by the fact that students are attracted by the
culture of the community speaking that L2 and they want to integrate themselves into such
a culture or become a part of that society. It is associated with components such as “interest
in foreign languages”, “desire to learn the target language”, “attitudes toward learning the
target language”, “attitudes toward the learning situation”, “desire to interact with the target
language”, and “attitudes toward the target language community” (Gardner, 1982, Dörnyei,
1990 p. 46).
8
1.2.2. Instrumental Motivation
Instrumental Motivation is known as the desire to obtain something practical or

concrete from the study of a second language In this circumstance, the aim of language
acquisition is more practical, for example: meeting the demand of school or university
graduation, applying for a job, asking for higher pay, researching technical material, work
related to translation or gaining higher social status. Instrumental motivation is normally
distinctive of second language acquisition, in which little or no social integration of the
learner into a community using the target language takes place.
Instrumental motivation is marked by the fact that the learner studies the L2 with a
utilitarian purpose in mind, such as a better job or a higher salary. Thus, no matter what
type of motivation students have, foreign language teachers have to keep in mind that the
strength of motivation depends on the state of a student’s needs and goals.
Integrative and instrumental motivation are both necessary components for the
success of language learning , but integrative motivation has been found to maintain long-
term success when learning a second language (Ellis 1997; Crookes et al 1991). In some
researches conducted by Gardner and Lambert integrative motivation was seen as being of
more importance in a formal learning environment than instrumental motivation (Ellis
1997). In other studies, integrative motivation has continued to be pointed up, although
now the importance of instrumental motivation is also emphasized.
Nevertheless it is significant to notice that instrumental motivation has only been
admitted as a significant element in some studies but integrative motivation is linked to
successful second language acquisition. It has been proved that commonly students choose
instrumental reasons more frequently than integrative reasons for their study of language.
Those who follow an integrative approach to study language are always more highly
motivated and more successful in language learning.
Brown (2000) points out that integrative and instrumental motivation are both not
incompatible. Learners don’t often select one kind of motivation when learning a second
language. In his opinion, it is the combination of the two types of motivation.
Motivation is an important component in L2 acquisition. That is why it is important
to classify both the type and mixture of motivation that helps in the successful acquisition
of a second language. Moreover, it is essential to look at motivation as one variable in a
9

complex model of interrelated individual and situational factors which are unique to each
language learner.
1.3. The importance of motivation in L2 learning:
Motivation in language learning is so important that other concerns about teaching
methodology become faint in comparison. Motivation is important to view as the essence
of language teaching because of the reality of language learning - is somehow related to a
learner’s passion. Passion means a person’s central goals in life, the things the learner cares
about most. Teachers can help learners to bring their passion into the classroom in many
ways. For example, teachers can introduce interesting activities to the classroom - English
songs, movies, hot news, riddles, jokes, games, and so on - in order to enhance learners’
interests. Teachers can then use these form to build a class culture. If we introduce, or if we
allow the learners themselves to bring in, samples of current songs, clippings of famous
people, or photos or video clips, we invite greater engagement in the classroom. Another
way of helping learners find their passion is by organizing class activities around the theme
of self-expression. There are a number of approaches here: personalized tasks, idea
journals, speaking circles, interactive questionnaires.
2. Theoretical backgrounds of self - assessment method.
2.1. Definitions of self – assessment
Self-assessment method appeared in 1980 with the publication of a Council of Europe
text on the topic (Oskarsson 1980). Since then, many programmes all over the world have
tried to use self-assessment method in the learning. The usefulness of self-assessment for
learning purposes seems to be widely proved.
Self-assessment can be defined as information about the learners provided by the
learner themselves, about their abilities, the progress they think they are making and what
they think they can or cannot do yet with what they have learned in a course. One
outcome of accurate self-assessment is that it leads learners to a more comfortable
approach to a specific material and more confidence while performing a task related to it.
In essence, the greater one’s self-assessment ability to perform a task, the more likely it
is that the learner will develop a feeling of mastery over the task.
When defining self-assessment, Harris and McCann (1994) describe the

10
concept as
“useful information about students’ expectations and needs, their problems
and worries,
they feel about their own learning process, their reactions to the materials
and methods being used, what they think about the course in general” (p. 36). Oscarson
(1997) explains that the field of self-assessment of language proficiency is concerned
with knowing how, under what circumstances and with what effects learners and users
of a second language (SL) or a foreign language (FL) judge their own ability in the
language. Ability here refers to both achievement and proficiency. Self-assessment,
according to Oscarson (1997) comes from the realization that effective learning is best
achieved if the student is actively engaged in all phases of the learning process. Self-
assessment promotes learning autonomy and it positively affects motivation and
outcomes of learning mainly when self-assessment becomes part of day-to-day
teaching and when learners who do it for monitoring progress and improvement, not for a
grade or placement.
Self-assessment is useful because it has been considered that rather than
giving a comprehensive diagnostic test to have a glimpse of possible problem areas for
the students, it is much faster to ask students directly what problems they feel they
have (Harris & McCann, 1994). At the same time, it has been found that self-assessment
provides students with a useful tool to make decisions about particular material that
might be useful for them outside the classroom, and also to become more aware of
their learning style. Moreover, Dodd (1995) suggests that self-assessment is the best
way to promote understanding and learning; supporting the belief that students who feel
ownership for the class or task and believe they can make a difference, become more
engaged in their own learning
process.
2.2. Why use self - assessment in second language learning?
From (Using Self-Assessment for
Evaluation - Richard Watson Todd (Thailand), several reasons for using self-assessment

have been suggested including:
 Self-assessment is a prerequisite for a self-directed learner. If a goal of learning is for
learners to be self-sufficient and independent in language use, then training and experience
in self-assessment are needed.
11
 Self-assessment can raise learners’ awareness of language, effective ways of learning,
and their own performance and needs.
 Self-assessment increases motivation and goal orientation in learning.
 Some aspects of language learning, such as effort and learner beliefs, can only be
assessed through self-assessment.
 Self-assessment can reduce the teacher’s workload
The first four reasons clearly suggest that self-assessment can be integrated into
courses for learning purposes. Less clear, however, is whether these reasons imply that
self-assessment should be used as part of the input in generating a learner’s score for a
course. This depends on the objectives of the course. For final evaluations of learners’
performance on a course to be valid, the evaluations should match the course objectives. If
the objectives include: increased motivation, positive attitudes towards English, and
greater independence and awareness, for example, then self-assessment should be seriously
considered as a potential part of the overall evaluation for a course. Most teachers,
however, strongly resist such a move, arguing that self-assessment is subjective, unreliable,
open to cheating, and more reflective of the learner’s self-image than actual performance
and ability. Such an attitude is at least partially due to the nature and characteristics of
existing self-assessment instruments.
2.3. Self-assessment techniques in L2 learning.
2.3.1. Self-marking
Self-marking involves learners in giving themselves a score for a piece of work.
Where the task is objective, such as a multiple-choice exercise, an answer key can be
provided, and learners can mark their own work easily. This reduces the teacher’s marking
load. This self-assessment task serves a useful learning purpose by highlighting areas in
which learners need to do further work, but the marks from the self-assessment are hardly

reliable enough to persuade most teachers to include them as part of the final score for a
course.
To increase reliability, self-assessment on open-ended tasks needs to be clearly
guided by detailed scoring criteria. The easiest way to generate such criteria is to break
down the task into smaller components. For example, for a letter-writing task, the finished
12
product could be self-marked for how well it follows the standard letter-writing
conventions, such as introducing the purpose of the letter in the first paragraph, assigning
each topic to a separate paragraph, and so on. The close guidance of scoring criteria such as
these is likely to increase the reliability of the learner’s self-assessment, making it more
palatable for inclusion in the final score for a course.
2.3.2. Portfolios
The most obvious and widely-used learning instrument that could be used as input for
self-assessment is the portfolio. A portfolio is “a purposeful collection of students’ work
that demonstrates to students and others their efforts, progress, and achievements in given
areas” (Genesee and Upshur 1996:99). Since the portfolio is evidence to learners of their
own efforts, progress, and achievements, it is suitable for self-assessment. To use a
portfolio as self-assessment for evaluation purposes, questions to guide the self-assessment
must be provided. Sample questions could include the following:
 To what extent did you achieve your goals in learning during this course?
 To what extent did you improve your reading? List some of the problems you faced
while reading and how you solved those problems.
 To what extent has your knowledge of vocabulary improved? List the new words you
have learnt from your portfolio.
 To what extent has your confidence in using English improved?
By referring to their portfolios in answering these questions, learners have concrete
evidence of their performance and are not forced to rely on their intuition and possible bias
about their performance or ability.
2.3.3. Pre- and post-course writing
Learners can be asked to write two essays about their attitudes towards learning

English, one at the start and another at the end of the course. Comparing the two, learners
are able to see the extent of their development through the course. With guiding questions,
learners’ perceptions of their own development based on the pre- and post-course writing
can provide self-assessment that can be used for evaluation purposes. The two pieces of
13
writing can also be self-marked for certain language points. Whereas self-marking
instruments applied to a given task provide a snapshot of the learner’s performance at a
given moment in a course, a comparison of self-marking on pre- and post course writing
can give a clear indication of the learner’s development and improvement throughout the
course.
2.3.4. Learner contracts
At the start of a course, learners identify two or three goals they want to achieve in
the course, tasks and materials that can be used to reach these goals, and ways of measuring
the extent to which the goals have been reached. For example, a learner may decide to
increase his or her speed in reading. The learner can then identify some texts with
comprehension questions to be used as practice and set a target level of achievement, such
as an increase in reading speed of 50 words per minute while retaining a minimum of 70%
for comprehension questions answered correctly. A learner contract, then, provides an
organized series of tasks throughout a course and makes attaining specific goals an integral
part of the learning process. The choice of goals in learner contracts can be left to the
learner or can be controlled by the teacher to match the objectives of the course. In the
latter case, self-assessment in learner contracts can be used as a valid part of the overall
evaluation of learners in the course.
2.3.5. Student progress card
Oscarsson (1984) describes student progress cards as simple self-assessment tools
which have been used in a variety of educational settings around the world. Quite simply,
student progress cards define series of short-term functional goals and group these together
in graded blocks at various levels of difficulty. Both students and teachers can participate
in this activity. The student can tick off (in the learner column) each language skill or
activity that he/she is sure of performing successfully. The teacher can later tick off (in the

teacher column) the activity once the learner has mastered it.
14
2.3.6. Learner diary
Learner diaries and dialog journals have been proposed as one way of systematizing
self-assessment for students (Oscarsson 1984; Dickinson 1987). Learners should be
encouraged to write about what they learned, their perceived level of mastery over the
course content, and what they plan to do with their acquired skills.
2.3.7. Self assessment questionnaire
A popular technique in the area of self-assessment has been the use of rating scales,
check lists and questionnaires. These three techniques have been used as a means where
learners could rate their perceived general language proficiency or ability level. A lot of
developmental work has been done in this area through the use of “ability statements” such
as “I can read and understand newspaper articles intended for native speakers of the
language.” (Coombe 1992; Oscarsson 1984).
2.3.8. Videotape
Video can be exploited in a number of ways to encourage self-assessment in the
classroom. For example, students can be videotaped or they can videotape each other and
then assess their language skills. An obvious advantage to the use of video in self-
assessment is that students can assess not only their communicative or language skills but
their paralinguistic (i.e. body language) skills as well.
2.3.9. Teacher-student interviews:
Interview students to determine what they believe they do well or areas in which they
need to improve. Teacher-student interviews are productive means of assessing individual
achievement and needs. During these discussions, teachers can discover students'
perceptions of their own processes and products of learning. When teachers ask questions
that promote student reflection upon what they understand and how they work and learn,
the rich data collected can support instructional decisions. Interview questions can be
developed to meet the needs of specific students and to fit the curriculum
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Chapter III: The study

The purpose of this study was to find out if the incorporation of self assessment
exercises in English classroom directly helps enhance students’ motivation. In order to
accomplish this goal, an experimental study was conducted. This chapter provides an
overview of the research questions, a description of the variables, research design as well
as participants and settings of the study
1. Research questions:
+ Is the self – assessment instrument used in English classroom at Ha Noi
University of Industry?
+ Does the self – assessment instrument increase HAUI students’ motivation in the
classroom?
2. Null and directional hypotheses
*Null hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference between motivation
ratings among students who receive a weekly classroom self- assessment questionnaire for
one semester and those who do not.
* Alternative hypothesis: Students who receive a weekly classroom self- assessment
questionnaire for one semester will report higher ratings of motivation compared to those
who do not.
3. Research design:
3.1. Research question 1:
In order to answer research question 1: “Is the self -assessment instrument used in
English classroom at Hanoi University of Industry?” the interview technique was used
with 35 teachers of English at Hanoi University of Industry. According to them, this
method seems to be rarely used at HAUI. Some teachers said that they never used this
method or this is the first time they know about it. Some have used this method before
and their most frequently techniques are portfolios and self marking. Some have been
inspired to investigate whether students are able to make a meaningful contribution to their
own evaluation self assessment. They think that self assessment can be used for a variety of
purposes, including appropriate placement, feedback to the learner, program evaluation,
assessment of attitudes and, determination of course grade, and so forth.
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And this approach not only promotes autonomy in student learning but also helps the
teachers measure the students’ progress in the course. But because self assessment is
performed through complex processes, there still remains much disagreement in the
discussion regarding the effective use of self assessment. That is why teachers at Hanoi
University of Industry are very careful when using this method although they consider it as
an interesting method.
3.2. Research question 2:
Ratings of motivation among students studying English at HAUI are measured by a
motivation questionnaire. The self assessment questionnaire, which was incorporated into
the treatment group on a weekly basis, included questions related to what the student have
studied the previous week, how well they think they have performed in those areas, how
important those areas were to learning English as well as what they think are their main
strong and weak points in the course. The participants of this study were divided into those
who are in the control group (i.e .not receiving a self assessment component) or those in the
experimental group (i.e., receiving a self assessment component)
In this study, data were collected using a measurable instrument (motivation scale),
the analysis of data was quantitative .An experimental, pretest/posttest control group
design was used in this study. First, the classrooms asked to participate in the study
included 180 second year students studying at HAUI. They were mainly college
students at HAUI.
4. Participants and settings
The participants are: 30 students (Faculty of Electronics); 30 students (Faculty of
Information technology); 30 students (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering); 30 students
(Faculty of Automobile Technology); 30 students (Faculty of Electrical Engineering);
30 students (Faculty of Chemical Technology).
These are second year college students, non- majors of English and at pre-
intermediate level.
The teacher randomly selected classrooms to receive a self-assessment component
(i.e., the treatment group) and the remaining participating classrooms did not receive
the self- assessment component (i.e., the control group). Next, a pretest (motivation

measure) was
administered to both groups .Then, one group of student received a self-
17
assessment classroom
component and one group did not. Finally, a posttest (motivation
measure) was administered to both groups. Except for the introduction of the treatment
(i.e., self-assessment component) in one group, participants in both groups were treated as
similarly as possible. For example, teachers for both groups used similar course content
(International express- pre intermediate), teaching approach and classroom requirements.
In this study, the self-assessment component did not carry a grade, so the students
did not take it as part of the ongoing graded evaluation of the course and therefore part
of the final grade. Also, the experimental treatment was not affected by the application of
a pretest because the motivation scale measured a different construct than self-
assessment, the two instruments had different layouts, and each one asked for
different information from the learners.
Self-assessment was assessed by the use of the same instrument in all the
experimental classrooms. The language level of the students was expected to be similar,
given that they were all students in an English course, and the teaching approach and
subject matter were the same in all classrooms.
In order to improve the research design for this study the following steps were
taken: first, the treatment was withheld from the control group. In this case, the
self-assessment component was administered to participants in the treatment group.
That is, the self- assessment component was introduced at the beginning of the
semester in the experimental group and completion of the self-assessment questionnaire
did not impact the students’ grades in any way, so the students did not feel compelled
to raise or lower their scores to please the instructor or to improve their final grade.
Each classroom was considered a small group, given that it was difficult to divide
each classroom to randomly assign each student to an experimental or control group.
Next, teacher explains the research objectives to the students. Students who take part
in the study were given questionnaires to complete during class time. The students

were then read an informed consent script describing the purpose and procedures of
the research study.
Two questionnaires were handed out and responded to by the treatment group
students (i.e., the self-assessment questionnaire, the motivation questionnaire).For both
groups the motivation questionnaire was first completed and handed in during the first
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week of semester. In only the treatment group, the self-assessment questionnaire was
completed and handed in on a weekly basis throughout the semester (i.e., 8 times ).
For both groups the motivation questionnaire was then completed and handed in during
the final week of semester.
All questionnaires were completed anonymously and the students did not have
their names mentioned at any time during the collection or coding of research data. .
5. Instruments:
The instruments adopted for this study included: a motivation questionnaire (A 7-
point Likert-scale questionnaire); a self- assessment questionnaire adapted from Blanche
& Merino (1989).
5.1. Motivation questionnaire:
In order to fit language curricula in English classroom at HAUI, motivation
questionnaire was created for students’level of a pre- intermediate English course. A
7-point Likert-scale questionnaire was constructed based on studies in the field of L2
learning. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. Section I was made up of 30 items
(from 1-30) related to positive motivation toward learning English in class and Section II
was made up of 10 questions (from 30-40) related to negative motivation and attitudes (see
Appendix B)
Motivation questionnaire was created with the scale from 0 ( not at all true) to 7( very
true) .The adaptation included variations in wording to fit a classroom as a second
language classroom. Given that the purpose, constructs, quantity, or types of questions
were altered.
5.2. Self -Assessment Questionnaire
The self-assessment questionnaire was adapted from Blanche and Merino (1989) In

this questionnaire students are asked to identify classroom topics they consider important,
the main difficulties they had while learning the topics, as well as strategies they
believe may overcome these difficulties. This instrument allows students to focus on
their assets as well as their shortcomings and hopefully makes students reflect upon all
the various aspects of the course (Blanche & Merino, 1989). This result may prove
significant for students in terms of classroom learning and for instructors in terms of course
methodology.