Nghiên cứu về các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến động lực học nói tiếng anh của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT yên định 1

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I wish to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Pham Minh Hien, M.A for
her valuable guidance, helpful suggestions and critical feedback throughout the research.
Also, I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all the lecturers in the Department of
Postgraduate Studies, College of Foreign languages, VNU for their useful lessons from
which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this study.
I am greatly indebted to my students from class 10A1 to class 10A5 and my colleagues at
Yendinh 1 high school for their participation and assistance without which this study could
not have been successful.
Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my loving parents, my
husband, my daughter and my close friends who offered me their love, care, support and
encouragement so that I could accomplish my study.


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ABSTRACT
This study is an attempt to investigate factors affecting motivation in speaking English of
the 10th grade students at Yendinh 1 high school. The main purposes of the study are to
find out: types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school,
factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English, activities and techniques
applied by teachers and students’ preference and then give some suggested solutions for
teachers to stimulate students to speak and overcome the difficulties they face with in
teaching speaking.
The study consists of three parts. Part A, the introduction, states the rationale, aims, scope,
design and methods of the research. Part B is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1
reviews theoretical background relating to motivation and speaking. Chapter 2 presents the
instrumentation, data collection and data analysis. Chapter 3 summarizes some major
findings and discussion, and then gives recommendations to the teachers of English. Part

C, the conclusion, points out some limitations and give some suggestions for further study.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................i
ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................iii
LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS....................................................................................vi
PART A- INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................1
1. Rationale.......................................................................................................................1
2. Aims of the study..........................................................................................................2
3. Research Questions......................................................................................................2
4. Methods of the study....................................................................................................2
5. Scope of the study.........................................................................................................3
6. Significance of the study..............................................................................................3
7. Design of the study.......................................................................................................3
PART B. DEVELOPMENT...................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................5
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning............................................5
1.1.1. Definition of motivation...................................................................................5
1.1.2. Types of motivation..........................................................................................6
1.1.2.1. Integrative and instrumental motivation....................................................6
1.1.2.2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation.............................................................7
1.1.2.3. Resultative motivation...............................................................................8
1.1.3. Factors affecting motivation in L2 learning.....................................................8
1.2. Theoretical background of speaking in L2 learning.............................................12
1.2.1. Definition of speaking....................................................................................12
1.2.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking.........................................................13

1.2.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking..................14
1.2.4. Motivation in speaking in classroom..............................................................15
CHAPTER 2. THE STUDY.................................................................................................18
2.1. Introduction.............................................................................................................18
2.2. Situation analysis.....................................................................................................18
2.2.1. The setting of the study......................................................................................18
2.2.2. Subjects..............................................................................................................19
2.2.3. Speaking materials.............................................................................................20
2.2.4. Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at Yendinh 1
high school.........................................................................................................22
2.3. Participants..............................................................................................................23
2.4. Data collection instruments....................................................................................23
2.4.1. Survey Questionnaires.......................................................................................23
2.4.1.1. Questionnaires for students.........................................................................24
2.4.1.1.1. Pre-treatment questionnaire..................................................................24
2.4.1.1.2. Post-treatment questionnaire................................................................24
2.4.1.2. Questionnaire for teachers...........................................................................24


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2.4.2. Interviews...........................................................................................................24
2.4.3. Class observations..............................................................................................25
2.5. Data collection procedures....................................................................................25
2.6. Data analysis............................................................................................................26
2.6.1. Results from students’ pre- treatment questionnaire..........................................26
2.6.2. Results from students’ post-treatment questionnaire.........................................36
2.6.3. Results from teacher’s survey questionnaire......................................................45
CHAPTER 3. MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.........53
3.1. Major findings and discussions..............................................................................53
3.1.1. Types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school

............................................................................................................................53
3.1.2. Factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English....................53
3.1.3. Speaking motivational activities and techniques employed by teachers and
students’ preferences..........................................................................................55
3.1.4. Teachers and students’ comments on speaking activities in Tieng Anh 10
textbook..............................................................................................................55
3.2. Recommendations for motivating students to speak English in class................56
3.2.1. Promoting students’ internal factors..................................................................56
3.2.2. Varying speaking activities................................................................................57
3.2.3. Managing speaking turns in class......................................................................58
3.2.4. Setting up a co-operative atmosphere in class...................................................58
3.2.5. Combining the textbook and relevant materials.................................................59
3.2.6. Recognizing the potential value of available facilities of the school and the
Internet...............................................................................................................59
3.2.7. Being enthusiastic, tolerant, helpful, creative and active...................................60
PART C. CONCLUSION....................................................................................................61
1. Summary of the study................................................................................................61
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study........................................................61
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................63
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................I
APPENDIX 1.....................................................................................................................I
APPENDIX 2..................................................................................................................VI
APPENDIX 3................................................................................................................XII
APPENDIX 4...............................................................................................................XIII
APPENDIX 5...............................................................................................................XVI
APPENDIX 6............................................................................................................XVIII
APPENDIX 7.............................................................................................................XXII


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LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS
1. List of tables
Table 1. Types of motivations..............................................................................................27
Table 2. Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class..................................33
Table 3. Factors preventing students’ speaking process......................................................34
Table 4. Factors encouraging students to speak...................................................................40
Table 5 . Activities applied by the teachers and students’ preferences................................41
Table 6. What teachers do to motivate students to take part in speaking activities.............44
Table 7. Teacher’s opinions on students’ motivation of the speaking stages......................45
Table 8. Problems teachers facing in teaching speaking......................................................46
Table 9. Activities applied by teachers by frequency..........................................................47
Table 10. Speaking activities applied by teachers................................................................48
Table 11. Techniques applied by teachers............................................................................48
Table 12. Teacher’s evaluation on speaking skill of Tieng Anh 10 textbook......................51
2. List of charts
Chart 1. Students’ average marks in the first semester........................................................26
Chart 2. Students’ perceived importance of English............................................................29
Chart 3. Students’ attitude to learn English speaking..........................................................30
Chart 4. Students’ effort in learning speaking......................................................................30
Chart 5. Students’ desire to learn English speaking.............................................................31
Chart 6. Students’ interest in learning speaking...................................................................31
Chart 7. Students’ frequency of speaking English in class time..........................................32
Chart 8. Students’ reluctance of speaking English...............................................................33
Chart 9. Students’ opinions on the topics of Tieng Anh 10 textbook..................................35
Chart 10. Students’ opinions on the speaking tasks of Tieng Anh 10 textbook...................36
Chart 11 . Students’ results after the treatment....................................................................39

Chart 12. Activities enjoyed most by students.....................................................................43


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PART A- INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In recent decades, English has been more and more important in Vietnam. The importance
of English is not only in how many people speak it but also in what it is used for. Beside
the native language is popularly used in all fields of the society, English is now widely
known as the major language of

intercommunication, international commerce and

business, science and technology and so on. Thus, people with good English proficiency
are extremely needed in any fields of society. As a result, there has been a positive trend of
teaching and learning English across the country. People, from children to adults, learn
English with different purposes. Children learn English because of the requirement of their
parents and school. Students learn English to pass the exams, to study abroad or to find a
good job in the future. Adults learn English in order to be able to communicate with
foreigners or do business. In general, despite deriving from different purposes, every one
wants to turn English to become their own instrument in their lives.
In the process of teaching and learning English, there are many factors affecting the
success of language learners such as aptitude, age, personality, motivation and so on,
among which motivation plays an important role. Researchers on motivation have pointed
out that learners who are highly motivated can learn a foreign language better than those
who are not and vice versa. This is true for both children and adult learners.
With 5 years of experience in teaching English at high school, I have realized that
motivation is one of the key factors that determine students’ success or failure in language
learning. For teaching and learning speaking skill, the great impact of motivation is not an

exception. It is undeniable that if the students are motivated, especially from the warm- up
stage, their speaking will be completed more successful and their difficulties in speaking
will no longer exist.
This is the reason why I choose studying on factors affecting motivation in speaking
English of grade 10 students is the topic for my minor thesis. This study will examine
types of motivation that students have in speaking and point out some factors affected their
motivation to speak. It also investigates the activities and techniques applied by teachers,
students’ preferences and demands, and some difficulties teachers faced in teaching
speaking. The researcher hopes that this study will figure out a concrete picture of


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motivation in speaking English of grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school and it will be
of help for teachers who want to increase students’ motivation in speaking English
learning.
2. Aims of the study
The aims of the study are to investigate the factors affecting motivation in learning
speaking English of the 10th grade students at Yendinh 1 high school. Some main purposes
covering the study are summarized as follows:
(1) To identify types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high
school.
(2) To point out some factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English.
(3) To examine some activities and techniques applied by teachers and students’
preferences.
(4) To give some suggestions for teachers to stimulate students in speaking English and
overcome the difficulties they have to face with in teaching speaking English for grade 10
students.
3. Research Questions
1. What are the types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students in learning speaking
English?

2.

What are the factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English?

3.

What are teachers and students’ attitudes towards speaking skill?

4.

What have teachers done to motivate students in learning speaking English?

5.

What are teachers and students’ opinions on Tieng Anh 10 textbook?

4. Methods of the study
To carry out the study, quantitative method was mainly used. The data collected for the
study come from two sources: the 10th grade students and all teachers of English at
Yendinh 1 high school.
Survey questionnaires, two for students (pre- and post-treatment questionnaire) and one for
teachers, were used to gather information and evidence for the study.
In addition, to make the data collected more reliable and authentic, qualitative method was
applied with two instruments: a follow up interview and an informal observation.


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All the comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion provided in the study were
based on the data analysis of the study.
5. Scope of the study

Studying motivation and its effects on the second language have been paid attention by
many researchers so far. This study only investigates factors affecting motivation in
speaking English of grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school. Because of the limited
time and within an M.A. minor thesis, the researcher intends to make a brief view of the
current situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill of the 10 th grade students
at Yendinh 1 high school; identifies factors affecting their speaking stimulation; examines
techniques and activities used by teachers and students’ preferences and demands; then
suggests some recommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak English and
overcome difficulties in teaching speaking.
6. Significance of the study
First, the information about types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students in this
minor thesis is believed to be useful for the teachers of English in general and teachers of
English at Yendinh 1 high school in particular.
Second, identifying some factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English,
pointing out students’ preferences and demands to activities and techniques applied by
teachers are believed to be helpful for all teachers when teaching speaking.
Third, giving some recommendations for teachers to motivate students to speak English
and overcome obstacles and difficulties in teaching speaking is expected to be beneficial.
7. Design of the study
The study is divided into three parts: the Introduction, the Development and the
Conclusion.
Part A: Introduction- deals with the rationale, aims, scope, methods, significance and
design of the study.
Part B: Development- consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1- Literature Review- is intended to give some theoretical background related to
motivation and speaking.


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Chapter 2- The Study- presents the situation analysis, participants, data collection

instruments, data collection procedures and data analysis. The detailed results of the survey
and a comprehensive analysis on the data collected are focused
Chapter 3- Major findings, discussions and recommendations- shows major findings
and discussions and offers some recommendations for teachers to motivate students to
speak and overcome some difficulties teachers meet in teaching speaking.
Part C: Conclusion- is a review of the study, suggestions for further research and
limitations of the study.


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PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning
1.1.1. Definition of motivation
Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positive correlation with
second language achievement and proficiency, that is to say, motivation of high levels
often leads to high L2 achievement and proficiency. The motivated learners are usually
more active in learning, while unmotivated learners are more likely to cause classroom
disturbances. However, motivation is extremely difficult to define and measure. Atkinson
(cited in Arnold, 2000:13) defined motivation as ‘a cluster of factors that ‘energize’ the
behavior and give it ‘direction’’. Thus, in Atkinson’s point of view, motivation is a term
used to describe what energizes a person and what directs his activity, energy and
direction. While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person’s thought
and defined it as ‘the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a person that initiates,
directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive and the motor
processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalized and
acted out’(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9). In his word, Ellis stated that ‘motivation involves the
attitudes and effective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn
an L2’ (Ellis, 1997: 75). Woolfolk (2001: 366) also defined motivation as ‘an internal state

that arouses, directs and maintains behavior’. Similarly, Brown (2000: 160) indicated that
‘motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to
achieve something’
It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition in different ways.
However, they all share the same point of view that motivation combines effort and desire
plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination of internal and external influences.
This research, therefore, will follow the definition of motivation proposed by Gardner
(1982: 132- 147) that motivation is perceived to be composed of three elements. These
include effort, desire and affect. Effort refers to the time spent studying the language and
the drive of the learner. Desire indicates how much the learner wants to become proficient
in the language, and affect illustrates the learner’s emotional reactions with regard to
language study.


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1.1.2. Types of motivation
1.1.2.1. Integrative and instrumental motivation
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Integrative motivation

Integrative motivation occurs when the learner has ‘the desire to identify with and integrate
into the target language culture’ (Ur, P.1996:276). Sharing the same point of view is Falk
(1978) who states that students with integrative motivation are those who like the people
that speak the target language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar
with or even integrate into the society in which the target language is used. When someone
becomes a resident in a new community that uses the target language in its social
interactions, integrative motivation is a key component in assisting the learner to develop
some levels of proficiency in the language. It becomes a necessity in order to operate
socially in the community and become one of its members. It is also theorized that

‘integrative motivation typically underlines successful acquisition of a wide range of
registers and a nativelike pronunciation’(Finegan, 1999:568) and an integrative orientation
involves an interest in learning an L2 because of ‘a sincere and personal interest in the
people and culture represented by the other language group’(Lambert 1974:98- cited in
Ellis, 1997).
•

Instrumental motivation

Instrumental motivation, on the contrary, is something which concerns ‘the practical value
and advantages of learning a new language’ (Lambert 1974: 98- cited in Ellis, 1997) and
which is characterized by ‘the wish to learn the language for purposes of study or career
promotion’ (Ur, 1996: 276) and the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from
the study of a second language (Hudson, 2000). With instrumental motivation, the purpose
of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or
university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability,
reading technical material, translation work or achieving higher social status. Instrumental
motivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no social
integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place, or in
some instances is even desired.
•

Integrative vs. Instrumental Motivation


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While both integrative and instrumental motivation are essential elements of success, it is
integrative motivation which has been found to sustain long- term success when learning a
second language (Ellis 1997). Those who do support an integrative approach to language
study are usually more highly motivated and overall more successful in language learning.

However, it has been found that generally students select instrumental reasons more
frequently than integrative reasons for the study of language. One area where instrumental
motivation can prove to be successful is in the situation where the learner is provided with
no opportunity to use the target language and therefore, no chance to interact with
members of the target group. Lukmani (1972) found that an instrumental orientation was
more important than an integrative orientation in non- westernized female learners of L2
English in Bombay (cited in Ellis, 1997). Therefore, ‘a learner with instrumental
motivation is more interested in how the language can be a useful instrument towards
furthering other goals, such as gaining a necessary qualification or improving employment
prospects’. (Littlewood, W. 1998: 57)
1.1.2.2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation
Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation, generally, refers to the fact of
doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation (Deci and
Ryan, 1985). Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide
variety of behaviors that are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sake
(Deci and Ryan, 1985). Schulz (1991:18) said that the concept of extrinsic motivation
referred to the extent to which the learning environment (i.e. the teacher, materials,
curriculum, learning tasks etc.) contributed to or detracted from intrinsic motivation of the
learner to acquire a language.
Intrinsic motivation is possessed by people having personal interest in doing something
and helping to set their goals. People are intrinsically motivated not because accomplishing
the activity they do to bring a reward, but because doing the activity itself is a reward.
Some linguistics noted that a student with intrinsic motivation participated in his/ her
learning for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provided, the learning it permitted, or the
feelings of accomplishment it evoked. The feelings of competence and self- determination
are significant factors of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand,
derives from an anticipation of rewards such as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear


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for punishment. An extrinsically motivated student does the activity in order to obtain
some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself, and this kind of
motivation refers to learning situations where the reason for doing a task is something
other than an interest in the task itself. In addition, undertaking the task may be something
the person feels pressured to do rather than genuinely wants to do. Deci and Ryan state that
learners will lose motivation and reason to do something when rewards are no longer
available and that giving external rewards to them previously with intrinsic motivation can
harm the good effect of it. However, some researchers show that extrinsic motivation is
effective for those with no motivation, and when it is a positive feedback.
In short, it becomes clear that intrinsic motivation produces more potential benefits than
the extrinsic. Intrinsically motivated students tend to try harder and think more deeply than
extrinsically motivated ones.
1.1.2.3. Resultative motivation
In some cases, motivation is the result of learning. Hermann (1980) stated that ‘it is
success that contributes to motivation rather than vice- versa’ (cited in Ellis, 1997).
Ellis (1997) also concluded that ‘the relationship between motivation and achievement is
an interactive one. A high level of motivation does stimulate learning, but perceived
success in achieving L2 goals can help to maintain existing motivation and even create
new types. Conversely, a vicious circle of low motivation = low achievement= low
motivation can develop’.
1.1.3. Factors affecting motivation in L2 learning
1.1.3.1. Dornyei’s extended motivational framework.
Dornyei (2001:112- 113) analyzed L2 learning motivation within a framework of three
levels, which offers a vast list of motivational components;
(1) Language level involves factors related to the L2 such as the culture, the
community as well as practical values and benefits connected with learning L2.
(2) The learner level involves individual characteristics that the learner brings to the
learning process. These characteristics include learners’ self- confidence, selfefficacy, need for achievements, causal attributions, the perceived L2 competences,
and goal orientations and so forth.

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(3) Learning situation level is associated with situation- specific motives of L2 learning
within a classroom and it is divided into three aspects. The first is course- specific
motivational components which are related to the syllabus, the teaching
materials, the teaching method and the learning tasks The second is teacherspecific motivational components which concern the motivational impact of the
teacher’s personality, behavior and teaching style. And the third is groupspecific motivational components which are related to the group dynamics of
the learner group.
1.1.3.2. Williams and Burden’s framework of the L2 motivation
Williams and Burden (1997) analyzed L2 learning motivation in a framework of two
factors: internal and external. Internal factors encompass various components such as
intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency, mastery, selfconcept, attitudes, developmental age, stage and gender and other affective states
(confidence, anxiety, fear). External factors include significant others (parents, teachers
and peers); the nature of interaction with significant others (mediated learning experiences,
the nature and amount of feedback rewards, the nature and amount of appropriate praise,
punishments and sanctions); the learning environment (sense of comfort, resources, time of
day, week, year, size of class and school, class and school ethos) and the broader context
(which includes wider and family networks, local education system, conflicting interests,
cultural norms and societal expectations and attitudes). (Cited in Dornyei, 2001: 114)
1.1.3.3. Factors affecting student motivation in L2 learning
There have been some studies on the factors affecting students’ motivation in learning a
foreign language so far. Above are two L2 motivation frameworks that refer to some
factors such as language level, learner level, learning situation level (Dornyei, 2001) and
internal and external factors (Williams and Burnden, 1997). Although researchers have had
some different views in this issue, they all have come to an agreement with a list of
common factors affecting students’ motivation. These factors can be divided into three
groups: teacher’s factors, students’ factors and learning condition factors.
•

Students’ factors

The first factors are students’ intelligence and aptitude. Intelligence, according to
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 52), refers to ‘performance on certain kinds of test’ and


10
aptitude is something which ‘involves both underlying language learning capacity and a
capacity to handle decontextualized language’ (Ellis, 1997: 522). Lightbown and Spada
also point out that language aptitude is usually described as a combination of four factors:
(1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds, (2) the ability to understand the
function of particular words in sentences, (3) the ability to figure out grammatical rules
from language samples and (4) the ability to memorize new words (1999: 53).
The second is students’ personality. In the eyes of many language teachers, the personality
of the students constitutes a major factor contributing to success or failure in language
learning. Ellis (1997) has proved that extroverted learners are advantaged in the
development of the kind of language associated with basis interpersonal communication
skills and that extroverted learners may also be more likely to participate actively in oral
communication (1997: 523). Shared the same view with Ellis, Lightbown and Spada list a
number of personality characteristics that have a great influence on the success of second
language learners:

extroversion,

inhibition,

self-

esteem,

empathy, dominance,

talkativeness and responsiveness (1999: 54- 55).
The third factor is learners’ age. Children are believed to be better than adults in acquiring
an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native- like fluency in particular.
Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn the syntax and the
vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like pronunciation is
impossible for them. Also, they concluded that younger learners have a greater chance of
attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learners may show faster progress at the
beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young ones in the end.
The fourth factor is learning style. The term ‘learning style’ refers to the characteristic
ways in which individuals orientates to problem- solving. Keefe (1979) defined
learning style as ‘the characteristic cognitive, affective and physiological behaviors that
serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond
to the learning environment… Learning style is a consistent way of functioning that
reflects underlying causes of behavior’ (cited in Ellis, 1997: 499).
The last factor is learners’ belief. Most learners have strong beliefs about how
languages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered. Little, Singleton and
Silvius found out ‘past experience, both of education in general and of language


11
learning in particular, played a major role in shaping attitudes to language learning’
(cited in Ellis, 1997: 478- 479).
•

Teacher’s factors

Teacher plays an important role in students’ learning motivation. As a matter of fact, some
teacher’s factors and appropriate teacher behaviors will increase students to motivate in
learning.

Dornyei (2001) pointed out some teacher’s factors affecting students’ motivation:
appropriate teacher behavior, teacher’s enthusiasm and a good relationship with the
students.
Firstly, appropriate teacher behavior in classroom is very important. It is considered a
powerful ‘motivational tool’. Alison (1993) stated that teacher’s behavior could ‘persuade’
or ‘attract’ students to engage in on- task behaviors (cited in Dornyei 2001: 120). ‘The
teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports students’ learning efforts.
Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks because they know that they will
not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake’ (Good and Brophy, 1994 - cited in
Dornyei, 2001: 121).
Secondly, teacher’s good relationship with the student is also a key element of motivation
in student learning. The teacher should establish the relationship of mutual trust and
respect with students. This relationship also involves finding opportunities to talk with
them on a personal level and letting them know that teachers have thought about them and
that their individual effort is recognized. (Dornyei, 2001: 120).
The third factor is teacher’s enthusiasm. Csikzentmihalyi (1997) said that teachers needed
to be ‘enthused and involved in the teaching process and in the material they are teaching’
(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 178). Csikzentmihalyi also points out that enthusiastic teachers are
the ones who love what they are doing, who show by their dedication and their passion that
make students willing to pursue knowledge (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 177- 178)
The last factor is teacher’s commitment to the students’ academic progress. Teachers
should care for what their students have learnt and succeeded (Dornyei, 2001). They
should also offer concrete assistant, responding immediately when help is requested,
correcting tests, arranging extra- assignments and so on.


12
In short, teacher’s attitude, behavior as well as the general level of their commitment
towards the students, their learning and their subject matter, constitute some of the most
prevailing influences on student motivation. Dornyei says that ‘teachers are the designated

leaders of the class group’ and therefore, they cannot lack their responsibility for
maintaining their own commitment to the teaching process because the lack of this
responsibility will cause ‘psychological absence’ from teaching process, which is the
fastest way to undermine the motivational base of the learners.
•

Teaching and learning condition

Teaching and learning condition involves classroom atmosphere and physical condition.
A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere will create motivation; it encourages
students to express their opinions and thinking. MacIntyre (1999) and Young (1999)
pointed out that students’ anxiety created by a tense classroom climate was one of the most
potent factors that undermined learning effectiveness and L2 motivation. (cited in Dornyei,
2001: 121).
Physical conditions are important, too. Physical conditions refer to something in classroom
such as classroom’s size, classroom’s facilities (chairs, desks, tables, electric facilities…).
Hammer (1992) stated that physical conditions had great impact on students’ learning as
well as their attitude towards the subject matter. Physical condition affects both teacher and
students’ motivation. The large class, the poor facilities will decrease the relationship
between teacher and students, and as a result, will decrease motivation.
1.2. Theoretical background of speaking in L2 learning
1.2.1. Definition of speaking
Florez (1999) defined speaking was ‘an interactive process of constructing meaning that
involves producing and receiving and processing information’. (cited in Balley, 2005: 2). It
is ‘often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving’, but it is not completely unpredictable. In
other words, ‘speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey
meaning’. (Balley, 2005:2).
Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much
as literacy skill. It is often thought of as a ‘popular’ form of expression that uses the
unprestigious ‘colloquial’ register. Speaking is in many ways an undervalued skill. Perhaps

this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted. In his


13
own view, Mackey (1965) shows that ‘oral expression involves not only the use of the
right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and
inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning’(cited in Bygate, 1997: 5).
According to Mackey, for the student who wants to be good at speaking, he/ she has to
choose the right forms, put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even
produce the right meanings.
1.2.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking
•

The Grammar- translation Method

In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to
translate from one language to another. The Grammar translation method, therefore, does
not really prepare students to speak English, and it is not entirely appropriate for students
who want to improve their speaking skills. This method is not consistent with the goals of
increasing English learners’ fluency, oral production, or communicative competence. In
grammar- translation lessons, speaking consists largely of reading translations aloud or
doing grammar exercises orally. There are few opportunities for expressing original
thoughts or personal needs and feeling in English. (Bailey, 2005: 16)
•

The Direct Method and Audiolingualism

The Direct method focused on ‘everyday vocabulary and sentences’ (Richards and
Rodgers, 1986) and lessons were conducted entirely in the target language. The Direct
Method emphasized speaking in that ‘new teaching points were introduced orally’ rather in

writing. Also, lessons emphasized speaking and listening, which were practiced ‘in a
carefully graded progression organized around question and answer exchanges between
teachers and students’ (cited in Bailey, 2005: 17)
The Direct Method strongly influenced the development of the Audiolingual Method.
Nunan (2003) points out that in Audiolingualism, speaking is taught by having students
repeat sentences and recite memorized dialogues from the textbook. Repetition drills- a
hallmark of the Audiolingual Method- are designed to familiarize students with the sounds
and structural patterns of the language. Lessons followed the sequence of presentation,
practice, and production. (cited in Bailey, 2005: 17).
•

Communicative Language Teaching


14
Because the Grammar translation method, the Direct method and Audiolingualism ‘did not
lead to fluent and effective communication in real- life situations’, the Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT) evoked. The goal of language teaching in the light of CLT is to
develop communicative competence. In CLT classroom, learners are encouraged to
contribute as much as they gain, and learn in an independent way. CLT favors interaction
among small numbers of learners with a purpose to maximize the time each learner learns
and uses languages, shares information and negotiates meaning. Though interaction
learners’ experience can be modified, many kinds of learning strategies made aware and
applied, and especially classrooms move away from teacher- centeredness to learnercenteredness, which is an essential element to raise learners’ motivation in language
learning. CLT features more interaction- based activities, such as role- plays and
information gap tasks. Pair work and group work are typical organizational features of
interaction- based lessons in CLT.
In summary, among some approaches of the language teaching methods mentioned above,
CLT is the most appropriate way to teach students to communicate. My minor thesis is
about factors affecting students’ motivation to speak English in class, so what I have to

find out are what affecting students in speaking English and how to motivate them to speak
English better. In terms of speaking skill, I think that CLT is one of the most effective
approaches to teach learners to speak in second language. Therefore, I have decided to
choose CLT not any other method to teach speaking and doing my treatment of the study.
1.2.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking
Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, the
practice stage and the production one. In each stage, the role of the teacher is different.
At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role. The teacher
introduces something new to be learned and present it in such a way that the meaning of
the new language is as clear and memorable as possible. The students listen and try to
understand. At this point of the lesson, the teacher is at the centre of the stage. Therefore,
teacher’s time spending should be sensible so that the students get enough time to practise
themselves
At the practice stage, it is the students’ turn to do most of the talking while teacher’s main
task is to devise and provide the maximum amount of practice, which must the same time


15
be both meaningful and memorable. The teacher’s role, then, is completely different from
that at the presentation one. The teacher is like the skilful conductor of an orchestra, giving
each of the performers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that
it is satisfactory.
At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of manager and guide.
Students are given opportunities to use language freely. Sometimes students can make
mistakes at this stage, but mistakes are unimportant. The more important is that students
have chance to use language as they wish, to try to express their own ideas. Moreover, they
become aware that they have learnt something useful to them personally, and are
encouraged to go on learning. However, students will probably seem to the teacher to lurch
backwards and forwards rather than make steady progress. It will not be so easy for the
teacher to measure students’ performance as it was at the practice stage, nor is there any

easy recipe for success. So, what is needed is flexibility, tolerance, patience on teacher’s
part- and, above all, an understanding of the learners’ difficulties.
To sum up, the teacher through speaking lesson should work as a motivator. His/ her roles
closely relate to the three stages of learning. Whatever teacher is doing in the classroom,
his/ her ability to motivate the students, to arouse their interest and involve them in what
they are doing, will be crucial. Therefore, some key factors of teacher’s role are teacher’s
own performance- the mastery of teaching skills, which depend on teacher’s careful
preparation; teacher’s selection, and presentation of topics and activities, and, of course,
teacher’s own personality, which, in language teaching, must be flexible enough to allow
the teacher to be both authoritative and friendly at the same time.
1.2.4. Motivation in speaking in classroom
1.2.4.1. Motivation in the classroom setting
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 57- 58) stated that if the teacher could make classrooms
places where students enjoy coming because the content is interesting and relevant to their
age and level of ability, where the learning goals was challenging yet manageable and
clear, and where the atmosphere was supportive and non- threatening, teachers could make
a positive contribution to students’ motivation to learn. Two researchers replicated findings
from studies by Graham Crookes and Richard Schmit (1991) and pointed out some
pedagogical practices for teachers to motivate students in classroom setting:


16
-

Motivating students into the lesson: At the opening stages of lessons, remark
teachers make about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels of interest on
the part of the students.

-

Varying the activities, tasks and materials: Lessons which always consist of the
same routines, patterns and format often lead to a decrease in attention and an
increase in boredom. Varying the activities, tasks, and materials can help to avoid
this and increase students’ interest levels.

-

Using co- operative rather than competitive goals: Co- operative learning activities
are those in which students must work together in order to complete a task or solve
problem. These techniques will increase the self- confidence of students, including
weaker ones.

1.2.4.2 . Factors affecting students unwilling to speak in classroom
Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors affecting the reluctance of the student to speak
up in class:
-

students’ perceived low proficiency in English

-

students’ fear of mistakes and derision

-

teachers’ intolerance of silence

-

uneven allocation of turns

-

incomprehensible input

(cited in Nunan, 1999: 234)
In his investigation, Oxford (1998) also stated some factors that decrease students’
motivation in classroom:
-

The teacher’s personal relationship with the students, including a lack of caring,
general belligerence, hypercriticism and patronage

-

The teacher’s attitude towards the course or the material, including lack of
enthusiasm, sloppy management and close- mindedness

-

Style conflicts between teachers and students, including multiple style conflicts,
conflicts about the amount of structure and conflicts about the amount the degree of
closure or ‘seriousness’ of the class

-

The nature of the classroom activities, including irrelevance, overload and
repetitiveness
(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 146)

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1.2.4.3. Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking
Nunan (1999) pointed out some preconditions for effective motivation
1. Supportive Environment: including orderly classroom, teacher is skilled in
classroom management; students are nonanxious and feel comfortable taking risks,
feedback is positive
2. Appropriate level of difficulty: tasks are neither too easy nor too difficult; students
know what they have to do criteria for success are clear
3. Meaningful learning: students know what and why they learn; activities are
meaningful; the relationship between activities and objective is clear; tasks are
sequenced so that new tasks build on and extend ones that come before; students
are given a reason to be in class.
4. Strategies: motivational strategy is matched to instructional need; particular
strategies are not overused; teacher uses a range of strategies; there is a learninghow- to- learn dimension to instruction.
5. Content: students can relate content to own experience; topics are interesting
(Nunan, D. 1999: 235)
In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge related to
the topic of the study. It has discussed some concepts and ideas concerning to the issue of
motivation in general and motivation in L2 study in particular. Besides, some different
aspects related to speaking were also discussed, especially some aspects related to factors
affecting students’ speaking motivation. The following chapter will display the detailed
description of the methodology, the procedures and the results of the study under the light
of the above discussed theories.


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CHAPTER 2. THE STUDY
2.1. Introduction

There are two parts in this chapter. The first part will analyze the situation of the study
with the description of the setting of the study, the subjects, speaking materials, the
techniques and activities teachers applied in teaching speaking and instruments applied to
collect data. The second part will offer a comprehensive analysis on the data collected
from the survey questionnaires, interviews and class observations.
2.2. Situation analysis
2.2.1. The setting of the study
The study was conducted at Yendinh I high school, a rural school of Thanhhoa province.
The school has 30 classes with over 80 teachers of different subjects. Like other high
schools in Vietnam, English was taught here as a compulsory subject. Currently, there are
ten teachers of English and over 1500 students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12. Most of
students come from villages and town in the district.
English has been taught as a compulsory subject at Yendinh 1 high school since 1995.
However, the teaching of English, especially teaching English speaking for Grade 10 has
met some difficulties. The first difficulty is that English is not paid much attention by most
of students in school. About one- fifth of the tenth grade students wish to take university
entrance exam in English, so only they have real interest in learning. The second is
teachers have to teach in the large size classes. There are at least 50 students for each class.
Therefore, teaching English speaking is very difficult for teachers. Teachers will face with
some problems in monitoring work, giving feedback, setting up communicative tasks as
well as paying attention to all students during class time. The third is most of the students
are not familiar with teaching in English. They say that they do not understand if all
English lessons are taught in English. They also feel quite uncomfortable and pressured
when using English to express themselves. The last is the lack of materials. Materials for
reference and self- study are not available. There is a library at school but there are not
many books for reference. English newspapers and magazines, which are good sources of
current target language, are not available. Moreover, some facilities needed for learning


19

such as computers, projectors … are not enough. There are no language labs and library
Internet for students, too.
In school year 2007- 2008, the students at Yendinh 1 high school had to take part in two
syllabus: the old one was for Grade 12, and the new one was for Grade 10 and Grade 11.
The old was acquainted and easy for students because it had been applied in teaching and
learning for over 10 years and its requirement for students was lower than the new. The
new was designed following communicative approach. It required students not only expert
in doing grammar exercises but also in practicing multi- skills.
Normally, there are only three periods (135 minutes) of studying English every week. Yet,
it is not enough for the students to practise and develop their skills as well as to enrich their
background knowledge, vocabulary and structure capacity. What’s more, English is hardly
used to talk outside class. As a result, these factors may affect students’ motivation in
learning English especially in learning English speaking. So, it is advisable for the teachers
to employ various techniques to arouse students’ interest in learning English speaking.
They, then, may improve their speaking skill and other language skills.
2.2.2. Subjects
The study was carried out to investigate factors affecting motivation in speaking English of
Grade 10 students. Thus, the subjects of the study are 510 grade 10 students and ten
teachers of English at Yendinh 1 high school.
•

Grade 10 students

Grade 10 students, both male and female, had similar backgrounds, that is, all of them
come from villages or town in the district, finished secondary school with 4 years of
learning English.
The students under investigation have just finished the first term of grade 10 school year.
Although they have had for over four years of learning English, their English proficiency
has been very low. They all seem to have some knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, the
others such as speaking, listening, writing or reading are very bad. It can not deny that

most students want to learn English well, but their condition, learning environment and
their capacity do not allow them to do so. About two third of them are from farmer families
so that their lives are rather poor. Their learning condition, thus, is not equipped enough.
Moreover, outside class time, they often help their families with farming and housework.
Some of them often have little time for extra-learning and doing homework. Added to that,