The relationship between teachers use of classroom assessment techniques and efl students learning motivation a study in middle schools in ba ria vung tau a case student at chau thanh secondary school mast

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
BARIA-VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS' USE OF
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES AND EFL
STUDENTS' LEARNING MOTIVATION: A STUDY IN
MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU
Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy
Supervisor: Bùi Phú Hưng, PhD.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts (Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching)

Faculty of Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching
School of International and Postgraduate Training
Ba Ria- Vung Tau University
Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2022


Keywords
Classroom assessment
Diagnostic assessment
Interactive assessment
Learning motivation
Performance assessment
Scaffolding assessment
Self-assessment

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
Learning Motivation in EFL Classrooms: A Study in Middle Schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau

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Abstract
Given that proper classroom assessment promotes learning motivation, this study
investigates how EFL teachers employed forms of classroom assessment and how these
assessment forms are related to different types of learning motivation. Data were collected
from classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews at a grammar school and a
regular school in Vietnam. First, we observed eight EFL secondary school classes to
explore how these teachers assessed students in the classroom. Then, we administered a
classroom assessment questionnaire and learning motivation to explore the correlation
between classroom assessment and learning motivation. Finally, we conducted semistructured interviews to get in-depth information about such relationship. The results
showed that the relationship between classroom assessment and learning motivation at the
grammar school was generally strong although the teachers assessed students less often
than those at the regular school. The students revealed that it was not the frequency but way
of assessment that fostered their learning motivation. The results suggest an inclusion of
training assessment techniques in teacher education programs and teachers' use of proper
assessment techniques to enhance learning motivation.
Keywords: classroom assessment, diagnostic assessment, interactive assessment, learning
motivation, scaffolding

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Keywords .............................................................................................................................. i
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... iii
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables...................................................................................................................... vii
List of Abbreviations......................................................................................................... viii
Statement of Original Authorship ....................................................................................... ix
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. x
Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Context ........................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Purposes ......................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Significance, Scope, and Definitions ............................................................................. 3
1.5 Organization of the Thesis ............................................................................................. 5
Chapter 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................. 6
2.1 Second Language Classroom Assessment ..................................................................... 6
2.1.1

The Importance of Second Language Classroom Assessment ............................... 6

2.1.2

Theorizing Second Language Classroom Assessment ........................................... 7

2.1.3

Main Components of Second Language Classroom Assessment Components ..... 7

2.2 Second Language Learning Motivation ......................................................................... 9
2.2.1

The Concept of Learning Motivation ..................................................................... 9

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2.2.2

Learning Motivation and Related Concepts ......................................................... 10

2.2.3

Motivation for Second Language Learning .......................................................... 12

2.3 Second Language Classroom Assessment and Learning Motivation .......................... 13
2.4 Previous Research ........................................................................................................ 17
2.5 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................ 22
2.6 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter 3. Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 24
3.1

Research Approach and Design ............................................................................... 24

3.2

Participants and Settings .......................................................................................... 24

3.3

Pilot Study ................................................................................................................ 25

3.4

Instruments ............................................................................................................... 25

3.5

Data Collection and Procedure ................................................................................ 26

3.6

Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 27

3.7

Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................. 29

3.8

Research Reliability and Validity ............................................................................ 29

3.9

Researcher's Role ..................................................................................................... 30

3.10 Summary .................................................................................................................. 30
Chapter 4. Findings and Discussion ...................................................................................... 31
4.1 Findings ........................................................................................................................ 31
4.1.1 Preliminary Statistical Results .................................................................................. 31

4.1.2 Differences in L2 Classroom Assessment Practices between a Grammar School and
Regular Junior Secondary School in Vietnam ................................................................... 34
4.1.3

Relationship between Second Language Classroom Assessment and Learning

Motivation Reported by EFL Students in The Junior Secondary Schools ........................ 41
4.2 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 46
The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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4.2.1 Research Results in The Light of The Classroom Assessment Model in Relation to
Learning Motivation........................................................................................................... 46
4.2.2

Discussion of The Classroom Assessment Techniques Used at The Two Junior

Secondary Schools ............................................................................................................. 46
4.2.3

Discussion of The Relationship Between Classroom Assessment and Learning

Motivation at The Two Junior Secondary Schools ............................................................ 48
4.3

Summary .................................................................................................................. 50

Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................... 52
5.1

Key Findings ............................................................................................................ 52

5.2

Contributions ............................................................................................................ 53

5.3

Limitations ............................................................................................................... 53

5.4

Recommendations .................................................................................................... 54

5.5

Suggestions For Further Studies .............................................................................. 54

References ............................................................................................................................. 55
Appendices ............................................................................................................................ 61
Appendix A: Classroom Assessment Questionnaire ......................................................... 61
Appendix B: Learning Motivation Questionnaire ............................................................. 65
Appendix C: Interview Protocol for Students .................................................................... 69
Interview Protocol for Teachers ......................................................................................... 71

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1. Motivation, Effort, and Achievement (Adapted from Brookhart et al., 2006)
...........................................................................................................................................9
Figure 2.2. Conceptual Framework..................................................................................21
Figure 4.1 Sequential Equation Modelling of the Classroom Assessment Questionnaire
.........................................................................................................................................30
Figure 4.2 Sequential Equation Modelling of the Learning Motivation Questionnaire .38

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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List of Tables
Table 3.1. Description of Participants ............................................................................. 21
Table 3.2 Classroom Assessment Questionnaire ............................................................ 22
Table 3.3 Learning Motivation Questionnaire ................................................................ 22
Table 4.1 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results of Classroom Assessment
Questionnaire

.............. 28

Table 4.2 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results of Learning Motivation Questionnaire
.........................................................................................................................................29
Table 4.3 MANOVA Results of Classroom Assessment at Two Schools...................... 31

Table 4.4 MANOVA Results of Learning Motivation at the Grammar and Regular
School .............................................................................................................................. 39
Table 4.5 Results from Pearson Correlation Analysis .................................................... 40

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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List of Abbreviations
CFA: confirmatory factor analysis
CM: classroom anxiety in motivation)
DI: diagnostic assessment
EFL: English as a foreign language
EM: efforts in motivation
IO: interactional-observational assessment
L2: second language
LM: linguistic efficacy in motivation
M: Mean
PE: performance assessment
SD: standard deviation
SDT: Self-Determination Theory
SM: student attitudes in motivation
SU: scaffolding or supportive assessment

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Statement of Original Authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements
for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge
and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person
except where due reference is made.

Signature:

Date:

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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Acknowledgements
Throughout the writing of this dissertation, I have received a great deal of support and
assistance.
I would first like to thank my supervisor, Bui Phu Hung, PhD., whose expertise was
invaluable in formulating the research questions and methodology. His insightful feedback
pushed me to sharpen my thinking and brought my work to a higher level.
I also owe thanks to the examiners in my oral thesis defense who gave me constructive
feedback to improve the writing of this thesis.
I would like to acknowledge English teachers and students at the surveyed high schools in
Ba Ria Vung Tau for their patient support and for all of the opportunities I was given to my
research.
In addition, I would like to thank my parents for their wise counsel and sympathetic ear.

They are always there for me. Finally, I could not have completed this dissertation without
the support of my friends who provided stimulating discussions as well as happy
distractions to rest my mind outside of my research.

The Relationship between Teachers' Use of Assessment Techniques and Students'
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Chapter 1. Introduction
This chapter attempts to make an introduction to the thesis. It first describes the
background and context of the study. Then, it presents the aims or purposes for which the
study is conducted, in which research questions are raised. Next, it provides a description
of the significance and scope of the study and definitions of the key terms used throughout
the thesis before it finally presents how the thesis is organized.
1.1
Background
Recent research shows the importance of classroom assessment. Classroom assessment
is defined to the instructor's use of activities and artefacts to understand learners and the
learning process (Gan et al., 2019), measure academic achievements, identify learners'
problems, and provide feedback (Brown & Harries, 2013). Regular assessment can make
learners be conscious of their achievement and learning and develop their learning
strategies, which, in a long run, result in students' knowledge and inclination (Brookhart
et al., 2006). Appropriate use of assessment techniques may also promote the learning
outcomes and learners' satisfaction (Stiggins, 2005). While tests generally bring out
immediate results, classroom assessment is considered a vehicle leading to long-term
consequences (Brookhart et al., 2006).
In second language (L2) education, classroom assessment results can provide information
about learners' L2 skills, linguistic competencies, and L2 performance, from which

teachers and students develop plans to achieve the expected learning outcomes. Purpura
(2016) proposed that L2 assessment is a transdisciplinary area that aims to change L2
classroom practices and develop L2 assessment theories. It has been noted in assessment
literature that it is a powerful tool to foster learning motivation (Brookhart, 1997;
Brookhart et al., 2006). However, "Brookhart's theoretical perspective has not been tested
in the L2 assessment context" (Gan et al., 2019) and has been modified recently
(Brookhart, 2004; Brookhart & Durkin, 2003).
In education, a growing body of research has attempted to explain students’ attitudes and
performance by applying Brookhart’s (1997) model about the relationship between
classroom assessment and motivation. These studies make a common conclusion that
Chapter 1. Introduction

1


classroom assessment techniques can be used by teachers to motivate students to learn.
In Brookhart’s perspective, teachers may consider the aims of the assessment to choose
appropriate assessment tasks and techniques (Hao & Johnson, 2013). As a result, students
make better effort in learning and change their perspectives on classroom assessment
(Brookhart et al., 2006; Harlen & Crick, 2003).
1.2
Context
Within the past several decades, there has been a significant shift toward the use of
assessment and its integration into the curriculum, which has piqued the public's
attention. In this context, the introduction of a variety of evaluation methods in foreign
language instruction has become more critical in recent years. According to Farhady
(2006), "assessment has experienced a paradigm change from a discrete-point
component-based viewpoint to a task-based, performance-oriented approach" in recent
years (p.3). Classroom assessment, which incorporates a variety of methodologies, may
improve teaching and learning by allowing students to apply their knowledge in a more

focused manner. Furthermore, Anderman (2020) affirmed that to support the
effectiveness of learning, assessment techniques should be employed as "assessment for
learning". Knight (2009) also pointed out that when students fully grasp their learning
goals and progress toward those learning objectives through assessment, they are more
motivated to continue their studying. In the same line, Ryan and Deci (2020) argue that
teachers can make better judgments on how to differentiate and grade learning
experiences in the classroom when they clearly understand how effectively their students
learn language.
Motivation, a concept in psychology, interprets the causes of achievements and failure
(Guilloteaux & Dörnyei, 2008). In recent decades, language learning motivation
constructs have been developed and investigated. It is a driving force for ongoing learning
process. Brophy (2004) and Pintrich and Schunk (2002) introduced strategies for teachers
to motivate learners and learning. Other researchers (e.g., Alison & Halliwell, 2002;
Dörnyei, 2006) also developed guidelines for motivating students in L2 classrooms.
In Vietnam, classroom assessment is a problematic issue. Assessment may influence
students' emotions. Vietnamese students are sensitive to how feedback is given. They
may feel uncomfortable when they receive negative feedback. It is the self-oriented
Chapter 1. Introduction

2


culture that makes them feel uncomfortable to give and receive feedback. When they feel
that the environment is unsafe, they may refuse to provide or reject feedback (Thanh &
Gillies, 2010).
Like many other places in Vietnam, some middle schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau (BRVT)
offer no alternatives to foreign languages. English is the only option, and students
generally expose low L2 learning motivation, resulting in their low engagement in
learning activities and low academic achievements. English language teachers have
implemented different teaching strategies to promote students’ learning motivation,

including the use of classroom assessment techniques. However, there is no study
exploring the use of classroom assessment techniques in EFL classrooms and its impacts
on students’ learning motivation.
1.3
Purposes
Although classroom assessment and motivation have been vastly explored in the
international literature, what forms of L2 classroom assessment are related to what types
of learning motivation in Asian EFL contexts are underexplored. Regarding the
importance of L2 classroom assessment learning motivation, it is crucial to investigate
and compare the relationship between L2 English classroom assessment and learning
motivation in junior secondary school classrooms in Vietnam.
This study explores the classroom assessment practices and their relationship with
learning motivation in two different contexts in Vietnam: grammar school and regular
(traditional public) school. It attempts to address the following questions:
RQ1. Are there any differences in L2 classroom assessment practices between a grammar
school and regular junior secondary school in Vietnam?
RQ2. How does the use of classroom assessment techniques influence different aspects
of learning motivation of EFL students in these Vietnamese junior secondary schools?
1.4
Significance, Scope, and Definitions
In terms of significance, it is expected that the current study generates both theoretical
and practical contributions. Firstly, the current study’ research findings enrich the
literature concerning the use of classroom assessment techniques in the Vietnamese EFL
context. Secondly The findings of the study will be very useful not only to the researcher
but also to the teachers who are teaching English at middle schools, Ba Ria Vung Tau. In
Chapter 1. Introduction

3

more details, the research findings expectedly reveal the effects of using different types
of classroom assessment techniques which have been currently used in English
classrooms to determine whether the use of classroom assessment techniques is
appropriate for English teaching and learning in the EFL context in Vietnam. In
particular, the measurement of impacts of assessment techniques on students’ learning
motivations will provide empirical evidence supporting the changes in using assessment
techniques for the improvement in quality of English learning and teaching.
This study did not investigate classroom assessment practices in relation to learning
motivation at all junior secondary schools in Vietnam. It confined itself to examining and
comparing the practices of L2 classroom assessment and learning motivation in seventhgrade classes at two schools of different types, namely grammar school and regular
school, in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, Vietnam. Furthermore, although there are many
types of classroom assessment techniques the current study only focused on five types,
including diagnostic, scaffolding, interactive-observational, self-assessment, and
performance assessment techniques. Meanwhile, aspects of learning motivations
included in the study include classroom anxiety, linguistic efficacy, student attitude, and
efforts.
In this study, the term L2 classroom assessment refers to how teachers assess students'
learning and competencies in the second language classroom. Learning motivation is
defined as students' motivation to learn a language as a second or foreign language.
Different types of classroom assessment are defined as follows:
1)

Diagnostic assessments are sets of written questions (multiple choice or short

answer) that assess a learner's current knowledge base or current views on a topic/issue
to be studied in the course (Black, & Wiliam, 2009).
2)

Scaffolding assessment is the process that teachers and learners use in the teaching

process to provide feedback to adjust the teaching and learning process to improve the
learner’s achievement towards teaching output goals (Black, & Wiliam, 2009).
3)

Interactive-observational assessment involves obtaining evaluative information

through direct observation (Stronge, 2018).
4)

Self-assessment requires students to reflect on their own work and judge how well

Chapter 1. Introduction

4


they have performed in relation to the assessment criteria (Black, & Wiliam, 2009).
5)

Performance assessment is a test in which the test taker actually demonstrates the

skills the test is intended to measure by doing real-world tasks that require those skills,
rather than by answering questions asking how to do them (Black, & Wiliam, 2009).
1.5
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis has six main chapters followed by references and appendices. After this
Chapter One, which introduces the background of the study, Chapter Two reviews related
literature in L2 classroom assessment and learning motivation. Chapter Three describes
how the current study was conducted. Chapter Four provides the necessary findings to
answer the questions and discusses the findings by using the relevant perspectives in the

literature. Chapter Five makes a conclusion and gives recommendations. The next
chapter presents a literature review.

Chapter 1. Introduction

5


Chapter 2. Literature Review
The present chapter provides the main theoretical perspectives on second language
classroom assessment and learning motivation. It first presents the basic concepts in
second language classroom assessment by theorizing the field. Then, learning
motivation, which is mainly an important concept in education, is presented with edgecutting research results and proposals in applied linguistics. The chapter ends with a
presentation of the research gap after it presents the potential relationship between
classroom assessment and learning motivation from examining the research results
about the Vietnamese context and other places in the world.
2.1
Second Language Classroom Assessment
2.1.1 The Importance of Second Language Classroom Assessment
Classroom assessment refers to a process engaging teachers and students to diagnose
students' problems and improvements, measure students' achievements, and give
feedback (Brown & Harries, 2013). Dorans (2012) argued that the classroom assessment
process employs a variety of kinds of evidence, including evidence from classroom tests
and quizzes, short-term and long-term student performance assessment, informal
observations, dialogue with students (classroom talk), student self- and peer assessment,
and results from computer-based learning programs. Classroom assessment methods are
more closely linked with students' instruction experience than many other educational
assessment methods because the student is the learner and the examinee. Thus, the
current perspectives have arisen that classroom assessment can best be understood in the
context of how students learn (Bransford et al., 2000; Pellegrino et al., 2001).

In this regard, Stiggins (2005) and Stefanou and Parkes (2003) suggested a relationship
between classroom assessment and learning environment in which the teacher, learning
environment, and students' characteristics influence the learning progress. Effective
classroom assessment is used by teachers and students to articulate learning targets,
collect feedback about where students are in relation to those targets, and prompt

adjustments to instruction by teachers, as well as changes to learning processes and
revision of work products by students.
Chapter 2. Literature Review

6


2.1.2 Theorizing Second Language Classroom Assessment
The recent interest in applying constructivist/ sociocultural theory in L2 education has
brought about radical innovations in classroom assessment practices (Turner & Purpura,
2016). While classroom-based assessment remains an argumentative issue, Brookhart
(2004) and McMillan (2013) proposed the use of classroom assessment to improve the
learning process, which has been being recently applied in L2 education in the hope that
it directly affects students’ learning and academic results (Brookhart, 2004; McMillan,
2013). Agreeing with the aforementioned perspective, researchers (e.g., Black &
Wiliam, 1998; Stiggins, 2005) posit that classroom-based assessment can help engage
students in learning in a way that students are engaged in the assessment tasks required
or delivered by the teacher. Students, in turn, can exhibit some change in their learning
strategies and behaviors, efficacy, competences so that they can become independent
and responsible learners, which is the ultimate education objective (Stefanou & Parkes,
2003).
As suggested by Hattie and Timperley (2007) and McMillan (2013), classroom
assessment is a dynamic and cyclical process in which the teacher can collects evidence
to understand learners and learning, from which the teacher can improve their teaching.

Also, students can base on the assessment results to know if they are reaching their
established goals and how much more effort they need to make to achieve their expected
goals. Carless (2019) and Swaffiled (2011) conceptualized that classroom-based
assessment includes teacher feedback, formal and informal, in an interactive or dialogic
process in which the assessor can be the teacher or a peer(s). That is, the classroom is a
social setting in which peer assessment and teacher assessment provide opportunities to
enhance the learning process in which students are the center of the classroom activities.
Consequently, the commonly perceived benefits of classroom assessment practices
include not only offering opportunities for meaningful task engagement that leads to the
use of effective learning strategies and development of higher-order skills but also
fostering a potentially more positive motivation and self-regulation for students than
other forms of assessment.
2.1.3 Main Components of Second Language Classroom Assessment
Components
Shepard (2000), Pearson (2004), and Hao and Johnson (2013) hold a strong belief about
Chapter 2. Literature Review

7


the advantages of performance assessment. It "measures abilities and skills of wider
range and is more aligned with those skills required in the real world" and requires highorder thinking (Hao & Johnson, 2013, p. 54). To assess student performance of four
language skills, the teacher can use performance assessment and portfolios (Pearson,
2004), gap-fill exercises, end-of-unit tests, authentic materials (Goetze et al., 2010;
Nicholson & Tunmer, 2010), and multiple-choice tests (Shepard, 2000). There are
criticisms against using the multiple-choice format because it focuses on isolated
discrete items and rules (Hambleton & Murphy, 1992; Wolf et al., 1991) and does not
require students to think of the appropriateness of tests and tasks (Pearson, 2004).
Turner and Purpura's (2016) proposal of classroom assessment based on the sociocultural theory hypothesizes that the teacher should facilitate and mediate the learning
process by using scaffolding techniques. Accordingly, classroom assessment can be

formal or informal, aiming to promote the learning process. Swaffield (2011) also
introduced principles for assessment for learning. The teacher should understand
students' current competencies and progress by engaging them in social interaction and
metacognition process. James et al. (2007) also argued that assessment should focus on
learning, aim to develop learners' self-regulation, and elicit learning. Teachers and
learners may feel "constrained by a policy context that encourages rushed curriculum
coverage, teaching to the test and a tick box culture" (James et al., 2007, p. 216).
Some researchers (e.g., Double et al., 2020; Edwards, 2013) argued for the power of
peer assessment. The experimental research results by Double et al., (2020) showed that
peer assessment could positively influence students' academic achievement. In language
education, peer assessment can provide opportunities for interactive, cooperative, and
self-directed learning (Edwards, 2013, p. 730). Students may be benefited more from
serving as assessors and being assessed by giving and receiving oral and written
feedback and grading than they only receive comments and have their works graded by
others passively (Reinholz, 2016).
Student self-assessment has been encouraged by educational researchers. Students can
evaluate their own academic abilities (Brown & Harries, 2013, p. 368) and learning
processes by using a wide variety of mechanisms and techniques (Panadero et al., 2016,
p. 804). Previous research showed benefits of self-assessment, including self-monitoring
Chapter 2. Literature Review

8


(Epstein et al., 2008, p. 5), self-regulating, self-correcting, and promoting learning to
achieve goals and objectives (Andrade, 2010).
Thanh and Gillies (2010) explored the practice of peer assessment in Vietnam and
effective ways to engage Vietnamese students in peer assessment. Data collected from
observations, a questionnaire, and interviews indicated that Vietnamese students were
willing to get involved in group work only when they found support from other group

members. As students reported negative attitudes towards criticisms, the researchers
recommended: "to make peer assessment more adaptive to Vietnamese context" (p. 81).
In other words, peer assessment practice is context sensitive.
2.2
Second Language Learning Motivation
2.2.1 The Concept of Learning Motivation
Motivation is a psychological attribute that directs human desire and behavior towards
success (Lodhi et al., 2019; MacIntyre, 2002). Motivation has two main types: intrinsic
and extrinsic (Ryan & Deci, 2000). While the inherent type is defined as an internal
genuine desire for learning and achievement, extrinsic motivation drives learning in
response to an external stimulus, such as rewards or publishment. According to Dörnyei
(2006), L2 motivation is influenced by learners' attitudes, interethnic contact, and
linguistic self-confidence.
Recent educational research has explored learning or student motivation. Accordingly,
student motivation or learning motivation refers to all the internal factors that motivate
students to study and practice to achieve goals. Every student entering the course of
acquiring knowledge and skills has ambitions, dreams, and has specific goals for
themselves to achieve during their years of study at the school. Those are the factors that
motivate students to learn (Harandi, 2015). The factors that motivate students to learn
today can be identified from students' activities, behaviors, and attitudes as desire to get
good academic results and win a scholarship, desire to study so that they can get a job
with high income and high status in society later, learning to assert yourself to satisfy
long- cherished dreams and ambitions, and learning to contribute, to do useful things for
the society.
Regarding the difficulty in identifying learning motivation, some researchers (e.g.,
Brookhart et al., 2006; Harlen & Crick, 2003) outline the four main inherent
Chapter 2. Literature Review

9

characteristics of learning motivation. First, students' learning motivation is associated
with a specific learning and training environment, so to study students' learning
motivation, we must study the issues that belong to the subject itself, learning
environment, specific learning conditions. Second, learning motivation is a stimulating
factor that appears inside students. Motivation is not the absence of motivated people
and unmotivated people. Therefore, it should not be assumed that motivation is an
internal factor that cannot be affected but that by certain measures is completely capable
of affecting students' motivation. Third, students' learning motivation is voluntary. It
comes from the students themselves, expressed in their passion and interest in learning.
Therefore, motivating students is just creating favorable conditions to stimulate students
to find their own learning motivation. Fourth, learning motivation is the source of
improving student learning outcomes (while other conditions remain constant).
However, it should not be assumed that learning motivation will inevitably lead to high
learning outcomes because learning results also depend on many factors such as
capacity, cognitive ability, learning methods, conditions, or learning materials.
It can be concluded that voluntary learning motivation comes from students' interest in
learning. Therefore, the essence of motivating students to learn is to create favorable
conditions for students to study so that students can find their own interest in learning
and have conditions to maximize their capacity and creativity.
2.2.2 Learning Motivation and Related Concepts
Some researchers (e.g., Harlen & Crick, 2003) do not separate motivation and effort
because one's effort is an indicator of motivation. However, in motivational psychology,
motivation is defined as a desire for a particular task and effort or volition as action or
"arena of implementation" (Corno, 1993, p. 18). In other words, motivation arises before
effort.
Brookhart et al. (2006) introduced a model illustrating the effects of classroom
assessment on learning motivation, volition, and accomplishment in basic education
contexts (see Figure 2.1). Accordingly, classroom assessment, environment, and
preexisting student characteristics directly influence student motivation to learn, which

in turn drives student effort, and finally promotes academic achievement. The classroom
assessment event occurs when the teacher practices assessment to which students are
Chapter 2. Literature Review

10


motivated to respond.

Figure 2.1. Motivation, Effort, and Achievement (Adapted from Brookhart et al., 2006)
Other factors that influence motivation include the classroom environment and student
characteristics and experiences. The classroom environment is described as the context
of assessment.

Learner

variables,

including

experiences, affect their

beliefs about assessment, which then influences their effort and subsequently academic
results.
The study by Guilloteaux and Dörnyei (2008) explored the effectiveness of motivational
strategies in an L2 English context of South Korean. Data were collected from classroom
observations and a questionnaire of three main constructs (learner attitudes, linguistic
self-confidence, and L2 classroom anxiety). The results showed that the motivational
techniques used by the L2 teachers improved students' learning motivation in terms of
self-reported behavior and motivational state. Teachers are suggested to "apply

motivational strategies systematically and in a context-appropriate manner" (p. 73).
Chapter 2. Literature Review

11


2.2.3 Motivation for Second Language Learning
A large spectrum of theories covers the many variables that affect student motivation in
the second language (L2) classroom. Research on L2 motivation (until the early 1990s)
was inspired by Gardner (1983; 1985), Clement (1980), and their colleagues. L2
motivation was then seen as influenced by learners' attitudes towards social perceptions
of the L2 and its speakers, their interethnic contact, and the resulting degree of linguistic
self-confidence (Dornyei, 2006). For example, Gardner (1985, p. 186) reports that
students' attitudes towards a specific language group are “bound to influence how
successful they will be in incorporating aspects of that language”. This is especially true
considering that learning a foreign language is different from learning other subjects as
language is viewed as part of one's identity. Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2008) argue that
learning a foreign language involves far more than simply learning skills or a system of
grammar rules. According to him, it involves an alteration in self-image, the adoption of
new social and cultural behaviors and ways of being, and, therefore, has a significant
impact on the social nature of the learner.
In addition, endeavors in L2 motivation by Dornyei (2006) and Guilloteaux and Dornyei
(2008) revealed a need for a more pragmatic education-centered approach, examining
classroom reality and identifying and analyzing classroom-specific motives. For
example, an empirical survey of motivational strategies in language classrooms in
Hungary (Dornyei & Csizer, 1998) resulted in ten commandments for motivating
language learners that teachers should set a personal behavior example, make sure that
the class atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant, present tasks properly to the learners, have
good teacher-student relationships, work on increasing learners' self-confidence, ensure
that language classes are interesting to the students, promote as much as possible

learners' autonomy, personalize the learning process, increase learners' goals, and make
sure that learners are familiar with the target language culture.
The study was replicated on Taiwanese students (Cheng & Dornyei, 2007), but the
results differed due to the participants' different backgrounds, traditions, identities, and
cultures. Cortazzi and Jin (1999) also found that culture and identity are two essential
variables motivating L2 learners.
Other researchers also argued that L2 involves the development of an L2 identity and
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incorporates elements from the L2 culture, and contains environmental factors, cognitive
factors, featured personality, and social dimensions (Dornyei, 1998). Simard and Wong
(2004) support this development of second language awareness as it not only improves
second language learning, but it also promotes greater cross-cultural understanding
among the second language learners. Taking this identity theory further and not
excluding previous motivation theories, Dornyei (2010) has recently described this new
approach in second language learning as the 'L2 motivational self-esteem' that links the
foreign language learning to one's personal 'core' or identity. This has implications for
learning a foreign language in that the learner develops 'self-maturity' and thus 'selfmotivation' in acquiring the target language.
2.3
Second Language Classroom Assessment and Learning Motivation
One of the overarching theoretical frameworks that are often used to illustrate the role
of assessment in enhancing students' motivation to learn is Self-Determination Theory
(SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2000). SDT classifies motivation into intrinsic inspiration,
extrinsic motivation, and motivation. Within the SDT framework, intrinsic motivation
refers to doing an activity for its inherent satisfactions rather than for some separable
consequence, whereas extrinsic motivation refers to doing an activity simply for its
instrumental value. Ryan and Deci describe motivation as the state of lacking an

intention to act.
According to Ryan and Deci (2000), motivation results from not valuing an activity, not
feeling competent to do it, or not believing it will yield the desired outcome. Drawing
on SDT and other motivational theories, Harlen and Crick (2003, p. 86) grouped
motivational variables as related to assessment into three categories. The first category
relates to “motivational variables such as self-esteem, self-concept, and test anxiety. The
second category relates to motivational variables such as effort, interest in and attitude
toward subject. The third category relates to motivational variables such as goalorientation, self- efficacy, and locus of control”. Applying Harlen and Crick's (2003)
categorization of motivational variables in analyzing the effect of assessment tasks to
students" motivational effort, Brookhart et al. (2006, p. 163) reported that within a
particular classroom assessment environment, “Teacher assessment practices impact
students' learning processes by shaping study behaviors and academic self-efficacy,
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enabling self-adjustment and organizing and securing the storage of knowledge and
skills.”
In keeping with the motivational theories discussed above, some researchers in general
education, educational assessment, L2 assessment, and acquisition have suggested a
variety of strategies to use classroom assessment to motivate students" learning. Keller
(2008) proposed four classroom conditions that are believed to effectively motivate
students. These four conditions can equally be applied to assessment as being a subset
of the classroom learning environment: 1) Motivation to learn is promoted when a
learner's curiosity is aroused due to a perceived gap in current knowledge; 2) Motivation
to learn is promoted when the knowledge to be learned is perceived to be meaningfully
related to a learner's goals; 3) Motivation to learn is promoted when learners believe
they can succeed in mastering the learning task; 4) Motivation to learn is promoted when
learners anticipate and experience satisfying outcomes to a learning task. These four

major characteristics of classroom conditions facilitating students" motivation are also
mirrored in Dörnyei's (2006) six strategies for establishing motivational teaching
practices in the EFL classroom: 1) making learning stimulating and enjoyable; 2)
presenting tasks in a motivating way; 3) setting specific learner goals; 4) protecting the
learners" self-esteem and increasing their self-confidence; 5) creating learner autonomy;
6) promoting self- motivating learner strategies.
Meanwhile, assessment researchers such as Stiggins (2005) particularly highlight the
importance of engaging students in the assessment process as it can motivate students to
learn. Students also need to know about scoring or rating criteria to keep up with their
development and performance, which is a source of internal motivation. Proposed by
Cheng and Fox (2017), self-assessment can also help generate learning motivation as
students observe their progress and commitment to their learning. Thus, self-assessment
is related to long-term motivation. Learner autonomy, which is proved to generate
students’ responsibility for their learning in the current literature, can be enhanced by
formative assessment. In other words, when students receive helpful feedback from the
teacher or peers, they have a sense of progress.
Dörnyei (2006) emphasizes the impact of feedback on students' motivational state: 1)
motivational feedback can have a gratifying function that can increase learner
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