a study on motivational strategies in teaching speaking skills to the first-year english major students at ha nam teachers’ training college = nghiên cứu về các chiến thuật đẩy dạy kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên năm nhất

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
---    ---

BÙI THỊ NGỌC HUỆ

A STUDY ON MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES
IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS
TO THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS
AT HANAM TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE
(Nghiên cứu về các chiến thuật thúc đẩy dạy kỹ năng nói
cho sinh viên năm nhất chuyên ngành tiếng Anh
tại trường Cao đẳng Sư phạm Hà Nam)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field:

English Teaching Methodology

Code:

60.14.10

Hanoi, 2013


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

---    ---

BÙI THỊ NGỌC HUỆ
A STUDY ON MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES
IN TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS
TO THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS
AT HANAM TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE
(Nghiên cứu về các chiến thuật thúc đẩy dạy kỹ năng nói
cho sinh viên năm nhất chuyên ngành tiếng Anh
tại trường Cao đẳng Sư phạm Hà Nam)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field:

English Teaching Methodology

Code:

60.14.10

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Văn Độ

Hanoi, 2013


DECLARATION

I certify that this minor thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of the Master of Arts is the result of my own work. The

data and findings in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere.

Signature
Bùi Thị Ngọc Huệ

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their meaningful
help.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor,
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Do for his valuable guidance, enthusiastic support,
critical feedback, and especially, his enormous encouragement for the completion of
the study.
I am also grateful to all the lecturers of Post-graduate Department, Hanoi,
University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for
their enthusiastic guidance and valuable lectures during the course.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues and my
students at Hanam Teachers’ Training College for their helpful participation in my
questionnaires and my interviews, without which my thesis could not have been
accomplished.
Finally, I am indebted to my friends and my family, especially my husband
for his love, his care, his help and his enormous encouragement during the process
of writing this thesis, and my little baby, who gave me great inspiration and spiritual
support for the completion of this study.

ii

ABSTRACT
Motivation is considered one of the most important factors in helping
teaching and learning gain success. The majority of the first-year English major
students at Hanam Teachers’ Training College need motivating to get effective
communication in English speaking skills because of the fact that at high school
they almost only focus on other skills such as reading, writing, grammatical
competence to pass the entrance exam. Therefore, this study aims at investigating
kinds of motivation the first-year English major students are having, strategies and
techniques teachers of speaking are applying to motivate their students, as well as
seeking difficulties the students are facing. Then, some suggestions on motivational
strategies and techniques are provided for teachers and students to help them to
succeed in speaking lessons. The instruments employed in this study were surveyed
questionnaires for teachers and first-year English major students, direct interviews
and classroom observation. The data collected were calculated, analyzed and the
results were also drawn out.

iii


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
No: Number
L2: Second language
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Components of foreign language learning motivation (Dornyei, 1994a:
280)
Table 2: Williams and Burden’s (1997) framework of motivation in language
learning
Table 3: Students’ goal for learning speaking
Table 4: Necessity to motivate students in stages of a speaking lesson

Table 5: Activities teachers do before a speaking task
Table 6: Ways of organizing speaking activities
Table 7: Ways of grouping
Table 8: Activities teachers do while students practice speaking
Table 9: Activities teachers do when students show low motivation in speaking
activities
Table 10: Activities teachers do to encourage students to speak
Table 11: Activities teachers do after students finish practicing
Table 12: The motivational strategies used by the teachers by frequency
Table 13: Level of difficulty of speaking English well
Table 14: Difficulties students encounter when participating in speaking activities
Table 15: Students’ preference of being grouped

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ……………………………………………………………….

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………........

ii

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………….

iii

LIST OF ABREVIATION ……………………………………………………..

iv

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………...

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………

v

PART I: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………...

1

1. Rationale of the study ………………………………………………………...

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 II: DEVELOPMENT …………………………………………………..

4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………..

4

1.1 Theoretical background of motivation ……………………………………

4

1.1.1 Definitions of motivation ………………………………………………..

4

1.1.2 Motivation in L2 learning ………………………………………………..

4

1.1.3 Type of motivation in L2 learning ………………………………………

8

1.1.4 The importance of motivation in L2 learning …………………………...

9

1.1.5 Main de-motivating factors affecting motivation in L2 learning ………..

10

1.1.5.1 Definitions of de-motivation ………………………………………...

10

1.1.5.2 Main de-motivating factors affecting motivation in L2 learning ……

11

1.1.5.2.1 Learners’ factors …………………………………………………

11

1.1.5.2.2 Teachers’ factors ………………………………………………...

13

1.1.5.2.3 Teaching and learning conditions ………………………………..

14

v


1.1.6 Motivational strategies in teaching and learning L2 ……………………

14

1.2 Theoretical background of teaching speaking skills …………………….

16

1.2.1 Definitions of speaking …………………………………………………

16

1.2.2 The importance of speaking skills ………………………………………

16

1.2.3 Communicative language teaching approach …………………………...

16

1.2.4 Approaches to teaching speaking skills …………………………………

17

1.2.4.1 Teaching interactional skills ………………………………………...

17

1.2.4.2 Integrating pronunciation teaching ………………………………….

18

1.2.4.3 Accuracy and fluency .………………………………………………

18

1.2.5 Principles of teaching speaking ………………………………………….

18

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………….

20

2.1 Context of the study ………………………………………………………...

20

2.2 Participants of the study …………………………………………………….

21

2.3 Instruments of the study …………………………………………………….

21

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires …………………………………………………..

22

2.3.2 Interviews ……………………………………………………………….

22

2.3.3 Classroom observation ………………………………………………….

22

2.4 Data collection procedures ………………………………………………….

23

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ………………………...

24

3.1 Kinds of motivation in learning speaking skills …………………………….

24

3.2 Strategies and techniques applied by the teachers to motivate their students.

26

3.3 Main factors de-motivating students in English speaking …………………..

36

3.4 Motivational strategies and techniques can be applied to motivate students..

39

PART III: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………….

42

1. Summary of the findings …………………………………………………….

42

2. Limitations of the study ……………………………………………………..

43

3. Suggestions for further researches …………………………………………..

43

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………

44

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………….

I

vi


APPENDIX 1 ……………………………………………………………………

I

APPENDIX 2 ……………………………………………………………………

IV

APPENDIX 3 ……………………………………………………………………

IX

APPENDIX 4 ……………………………………………………………………

X

APPENDIX 5 ……………………………………………………………………

XI

vii

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
Today, English has become an international language. It is spoken as a
second language and an official language in many countries, and as a foreign
language by a great number of people in the global world as well. Besides, it is also
a medium of communication in many fields such as aviation, technology, politics,
science, commerce, internet, and so on. Therefore, competence of using English
accurately and fluently is of great importance to a lot of people.
Because English has become so important, many non-native English
speaking countries including Vietnam pay more and more attention to teaching and
learning English. In fact, in Vietnam English is a compulsory subject in schools,
colleges and universities. The number of people using English to communicate is on
the rise. Most of the English textbooks are republished in the forms of
communicative ones to meet learners’ need. Also, instead of traditional methods in
which grammatical competence is much more paid attention to, communicative
language teaching approach has been widely applied.
However, there is a fact that a large number of students, even English major
students cannot communicate in oral English although they are the first-year
students at a college or a university. One of the reasons for this issue is that most of
the students only focus on grammatical competence to sit for the entrance exams,
and distract communicative competence. Indeed, much more attention is paid to
reading skill, writing skill and language focus. Whereas, speaking skill is
considered as one of the most important skills to help learners to gain
communicative competence. As researchers and educators, what we should do to
help learners achieve communicative goals to meet their needs in using oral
language effectively. Therefore, with the study “A study on motivational strategies
in teaching speaking skills to the first-year English major students at Hanam
Teachers’ Training College”, the researcher of this study does hope that the study

1


will help teachers of speaking skill in some ways to find appropriately motivational
strategies in speaking lessons to respond to their students’ need for effective
communication.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims at investigating the motivational strategies in teaching
speaking skills to the first-year English major students at Hanam Teachers’ Training
College. To be more specific, the aims of the study are:
 To investigate kinds of motivation the first-year English major students at
Hanam Teachers’ Training College possess.
 To investigate strategies and techniques teachers of speaking skill apply to
motivate their students in speaking lessons.
 To investigate main factors de-motivating students in learning speaking skill.
 To suggest strategies and techniques teachers of speaking can apply to
motivate the students in English speaking lessons.
3. Research questions
The following research questions are raised to answer to the aims of the study:
1. What kinds of motivation are possessed by the first-year English major
students in learning speaking skill?
2. What strategies and techniques are applied by the teachers of speaking to
motivate the students in speaking lessons?
3. What are main factors de-motivating the students in learning speaking skill?
4. What motivational strategies and techniques can be applied in teaching
speaking skill to help the students achieve effective communication?
4. Methods of the study
Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to carry out the
study. The data are collected by means of survey questionnaires, interviews and
classroom observation.

2


5. Scope of the study
To succeed in teaching and learning a foreign language, many factors are
paid attention to. Among these factors, motivational strategies are the focal point of
the study as a main factor in teaching speaking skills. Due to the time constraints,
this study only involves teachers of English speaking skills and the first-year
English major students at Hanam Teachers’ Training College.
6. Significance of the study
The study hopes to contribute a part to help teachers find out more
motivational strategies to give a great assistance to their students to improve their
speaking skills and achieve communicative competence.
7. Design of the study
This study consists of three main parts:
Part I, Introduction presents the rationale of the study, the aims of the study,
research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, methods of the
study, and design of the study.
Part II, Development includes three following chapters.
Chapter 1, Literature Review displays the theoretical background of
motivation and the theoretical background of teaching speaking skills.
Chapter 2, Methodology presents the context of the study, participants,
research instruments and data collection procedures and methods.
Chapter 3, Data Analysis and Findings focuses on analysis about kinds of
motivation possessed by the first-year English major students, strategies and
techniques used by teachers of speaking, factors de-motivating students in learning
speaking skills, and motivational strategies and techniques can be applied.
Part III, Conclusion summarizes the findings, limitations of the study and
suggestions for further study are provided in this part.

References and Appendices are presented in the last pages of the study

3


PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Theoretical background of motivation
1.1.1 Definitions of motivation

There have been a great number of different theories of motivation
throughout many researches in years. Motivation is considered to be hard to define.
As Gardner (2006, p.242) states “motivation is a very complex phenomenon with
many facets … Thus, it is not possible to give a simple definition”. This is because
the term motivation has been viewed differently by different schools of thought.
From the behavioristic perspective, motivation is “quite simply the anticipation of
reward” (Brown, 2000, p.160). However, according to cognitivists, the term
motivation as being more related to the learners’ decisions as Keller (1983, p.389),
quoted by Brown (ibid, p.160), stated, “the choices people make as to what
experiences or goals they will approach or avoid, and the degree of effort they exert
in that respect”. In the constructivists’ definition of motivation, they place “further
emphasis on social contexts as well as the individuals’ decisions” (ibid). Despite the
differences, in all the definitions of motivation given by the three schools of thought
the concept of “needs” is emphasized, that is, “the fulfillment of needs is rewarding,
requires choices, and in many cases must be interpreted in a social context” (ibid,
p.161).
Dornyei (2001, p.613) defined motivation as “a general way of referring to
the antecedents (i.e. the causes and the origins”. He also stated that “motivation
explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it
and how long they are willing to sustain the activities” (2001, p.7). The author

mentioned two dimensions of human behavior: direction and magnitude (intensity)
which motivation concerns.

4


1.1.2 Motivation in second language learning
Recently, motivation in second language learning has become educators’
great interest.
Lightbown and Spada (1999, p.56) note that motivation in second language
learning is quite complicate to study which can be explained in terms of two factors:
learners’ communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second language
community.
Besides, Parson, Hinson and Brown (2001, p.28) define motivation as an
important component or factor in the learning process. Learning and motivation
have the same importance in order to achieve something. Learning makes us gain
new knowledge and skills and motivation pushes us or encourages us to go through
the learning process.
Also, according to Ellis (1994) and Mcdonough (1983), learners’ motivation
has been widely accepted as a key factor which influences the rate and success of
second/ foreign language learning.
Holt (2001, p.1), referring to Cookes and Schmidt (1991), defines motivation
as “…the learners’ orientation with regard to the goal of learning as a second
language”.
Dornyei (1994a) developed a general framework of second language (L2)
motivation that attempted to synthesize various lines of research by offering an
extensive list of motivational components categorized into three main dimensions:
the Language Level, the Learner Level, and the Learning Situation Level, presented
in table 1 below:

5


Table 1: Components of foreign language learning motivation (Dornyei, 1994a: 280)
Language Level

Integrative Motivational Subsystem
Instrumental Motivational Subsystem

Learner Level

Need for Achievement
Self-Confidence


Language Use Anxiety



Perceived L2 Competence



Casual Attributions



Self-Efficacy

Learning Situation Level

Course-Specific

Interest

Motivational Components

Relevance
Expectancy
Satisfaction

Teacher-Specific

Affiliative Motive

Motivational Components

Authority Type
Direct Socialization of Motivation


Modeling



Task Presentation



Feedback

Group-Specific

Goal-orientedness

Motivational Components

Norm & Reward System
Group Cohesion
Classroom Goal Structure

Besides, the motivational components that are relevant to L2 instruction have
been recently summarized by Williams and Burden (1997) as part of a larger
overview of psychology for language teachers, pointed out in table 2 below:

6


Table 2: Williams and Burden’s (1997) framework of motivation in language learning
Internal factors

External factors

Intrinsic interest of activity

Significance others



arousal of curiosity



parents



optimal degree of challenge



teachers



peers

Perceived value of activity


personal relevance

The nature of interaction with significant



anticipated value of outcomes

others



intrinsic value attributed to the activity




Sense of agency


locus of control RE process and outcomes



ability to set appropriate goals

the nature and amount of amount

locus of causality



mediated learning experiences

of appropriate praise


punishments, sanctions

The learning environment


Mastery

comfort



feelings of competence



resources



awareness of developing skills and mastery in a



time of day, week, year

chosen area



size of class and school

self-efficacy



class and school ethos



Self-concept

The broader context



realistic awareness of personal



wider family networks



strengths and weaknesses in skills required



the local education system



personal definitions and judgments of success and



conflicting interests

failure



cultural norms

self-worth concern learned helplessness



societal



Attitudes language learning in general

expectations

and

attitudes



to the target language



to the target language community and culture

Other affective states


confidence



anxiety, fear

Developmental age and stage
Gender

From the views above, motivation, one of the main factors combining with
other factors has great influences to learners’ success or failure.

7


1.1.3 Types of motivation in second language learning
Motivation can be classified into two main categories: intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation.
The word “intrinsic” means “innate” or “within”, therefore intrinsic
motivation originates in the individual itself. Learners willingly and voluntarily try
to learn what they suppose it is worth and important to them. There are no external
factors affecting their study. On the other hand, their study completely comes from
within them, from the inner desire to learn and depends on their own will, without
any rewards as well as without the need for external outcomes. Therefore, teachers

do not have many influences on students’ intrinsic motivation.
In contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation depends much on
external factors. It is based on external outcomes such as rewards or punishment to
persuade learners to take part in learning activities. This extrinsic motivation brings
a negative impact to the students because they do not learn with their strong
intention or will but because of the rewards or the punishment. Thus, if the goal of
an intrinsic motivated student can last a long time because of their inner desire and
their own will to fulfill a positive learning outcome, the goal of an extrinsic
motivated student perhaps exists in a short period of time when the rewards or the
punishment no longer interest them.
Motivation in second language learning is divided into two types by Harmer
(1991, p.3) as follows:
Short-term goal refers to students’ wish or desire to do something in near
future such as passing their examination, or getting good marks or high scores.
Long-term goal refers to students’ or learners’ wish or desire to get a better
job in the future, or to be able to communicate with other people or native speakers
in the target language they learn.
In addition, motivation in second language learning is more broadly
categorized into two categories: integrative and instrumental motivation.

8


Saville-Troike (2006, p.86) defines integrative motivation as the desire to be
a part of recognized important members of the community or that society that speak
the second language. It is based on interest in learning the second language because
of their need to learn about, associate or socialize with the people who use it or
because of purpose or intention to participate or integrate in the second language
using the same language in that community; but sometimes it involves emotion or
affective factors a great deal.

Also, according to Saville-Troike (2006, p.86), instrumental motivation
involves the concepts of purely practical value in learning the second language in
order to increase learners’ careers or business opportunities, giving them more
prestige and power, accessing scientific and technical information, or just passing a
course of their study in school.
1.1.4 The importance of motivation in second language learning
The importance of motivation in enhancing second or foreign language
learning is undeniable. Lifrieri (2005, p.4) points out “when asked about the factors
which influence individual levels of success in any activity – such as language
learning, most people would certainly mention motivation among them”.
Brown (2000, p.160) states that “it is easy in second language learning to
claim that a learner will be successful with the proper motivation”.
Gardner (2006, p.241) posits that “students with higher levels of motivation
will do better than students with lower levels”. He further adds that “if one is
motivated, he/she has reasons (motives) for engaging in the relevant activities,
expends effort, persists in the activities, attends to the tasks, shows desire to achieve
the goal, enjoys the activities, etc” (Gardner, 2006, p.243).
Spolsky (1990, p.157) stated that motivated students are likely to learn more
and learn more quickly than less-motivated students. In a particular learning
situation, students who are less motivated are likely to lose their attention,
misbehave and cause discipline problems. On the other hand, students who are more

9


highly motivated will participate actively and pay more attention to a certain
learning task or activity.
Motivation is one of some important factors that may influence students’
English achievement (Yu-mei, 2009).
Li & Pan (2009) state that among the factors influencing students’ learning,

motivation is considered as an important reason for different achievement. It
determines the success or failure in second language learning because it can directly
influence the frequency of using learning strategies, willpower of learning, goal
setting, and the achievement in learning.
1.1.5 Main de-motivating factors affecting motivation in L2 learning
1.1.5.1 Definitions of de-motivation
According to Dornyei (2001, p.143), demotivation is defined as “specific
external forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral
intention or an ongoing action”.
Trang and Baldauf (2007, p.100) stated: “demotivation has a negative impact
on students, preventing them from gaining expected learning outcomes”.
1.1.5.2 Main de-motivating factors affecting motivation in L2 learning
Some studies have investigated the factors influencing demotivation at
different levels of education.
Kikuchi and Sakai (2009) listed five demotivating factors among Japanese
learners including learning contents and materials, teachers’ teaching styles,
inadequate school facilities, lack of intrinsic motivation, test scores.
Besides, in order to investigate the sources of demotivation, Dornyei (2001a)
listed the following nine demotivating factors:
 Teachers’ personalities, commitments, competence, teaching methods
 Inadequate school facilities (large class sizes, unsuitable level of classes or
frequent change of teachers)
 Reduced self-confidence due to their experience of failure or lack of success
 Negative attitude toward the foreign language studied

10


 Compulsory nature of the foreign language study
 Interference of another foreign language that pupils are studying

 Negative attitude toward the community of the foreign language spoken
 Attitudes of group members
 Course books used in class
Basing on Dornyei’s study, the researcher of this study will focus on main
factors such as: teachers, learners, teaching and learning conditions.
1.1.5.2.1 Learners’ factors
 Intelligence: Many studies using IQ tests and different methods of assessing
language learners have found that IQ scores are a good means of predicting
how successful a learner is. Measures of intelligence may be more strongly
related to certain kinds of L2 abilities than others.
 Personality: It is said that introverted or anxious leaners usually make slower
progress, particularly in the development of oral skills. They are less likely to
take advantage of opportunities to speak; or to seek out such opportunities.
More outgoing students will not worry about the inevitability of making
mistakes. They will take risks, and thus will give themselves much more
practice.
 Age: Second language acquisition is influenced by the age of the learner.
Children, already having solid literacy skills in their own language appear to
be in the best position to acquire a new language efficiently. Motivated, older
learners can be very successful too, but usually struggle to achieve nativespeaker-equivalent pronunciation and intonation.
 Learners’ beliefs: All learners have strong beliefs and opinions about how
instruction should be delivered. Learners’ preferences for learning influence
the kinds of strategies they choose to learn new materials.
 Cognition: In general, it seems that students with greater cognitive abilities
will make the faster progress. Some linguists believe that there is a specific,

11


innate language learning ability that is stronger in some students than in

others.
 Experiences: Learners who have acquired general knowledge and experience
are in a stronger position to develop a new language than those who haven’t.
The student, for example, who has already lived in three different countries
and been exposed to various languages and cultures has a stronger base for
learning a further language than the student who hasn’t had such
experiences.
 Motivation: Intrinsic motivation has been found to correlate strongly with
educational achievement. Clearly, students who enjoy language learning and
take pride in their progress will do better than those who don’t. Extrinsic
motivation is also a significant factor. For example, students who need to
learn English in order to take a place at an American university or to
communicate with people who speak English are likely to make greater
efforts and thus greater progress.
1.1.5.2.2 Teachers’ factors
Many researchers concluded that teachers are one of the most determinant
factors of L2 learners’ motivation (Dornyei, 1994; Tanaka, 2005). Many empirical
studies of teachers’ motivation were conducted to identify how teachers influence
learners’ motivation.
Dornyei and Csizer (1998) point out ten commandments for teachers to
motivate language learners: teachers should set a personal behavior example, make
sure that the class atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant, present task properly to the
learners, have good teacher-student relationships, work on increasing learners’ selfconfidence, ensure that the language class is 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.

12

However, this study only focuses on factors such as teachers’ behavior,
relationship between teachers and students and teachers’ enthusiasm basing on
Dornyei’s theory.
 Teachers’ behavior is considered as a powerful tool of motivation in
classroom. Teachers’ behavior can influence the students’ engagement in
class (Dornyei & Csizer, 1998).
 Relationship between teachers and students: It is crucial to establish a class
atmosphere of mutual trust and respect with the learners (Alison & Halliwell,
2002). Teachers can promote such respect and trust through interacting with
students on a personal level and show that they care about their students’
personal issues or challenges that they face in the classroom or even outside.
 Enthusiasm is contagious in classroom; therefore, if students recognize their
teachers’ enthusiasm to the task, they, too, will be enthusiastic (Dornyei &
Ushioda, 2011).
1.1.5.2.3 Teaching and learning conditions
In addition to physical conditions in the classroom such as the classroom
size, chairs, desks, tables, boards, and bulletin boards, classroom atmosphere is one
of the most important motivational conditions affecting teaching and learning L2.
Students’ anxiety is one of the most recognized factors that undermine learning
effectiveness and second language motivation (Dornyei, 2007; MacIntyre, 2002;
Young, 1999). In safe classroom environments, students are encouraged to express
their opinions and perspectives on different issues because they feel safe and
protected from embarrassment and sarcasm. Humor is a very potential factor to
improve the classroom atmosphere. The use of humor helps students feel at ease
without tension in the air.
1.1.6 Motivational strategies in teaching and learning second language
With motivation being one of the key factors that determine success in
second language learning, strategies in motivating language learners should be seen
as an important aspect of the theoretical analysis of L2 motivation. Interestingly, the

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past decade has witnessed an increasing number of L2 scholars designing and
summarizing motivational techniques for classroom application (e.g. Alison &
Halliwell, 2002; Brown, 2001; Chambers, 1999; Williams & Burden, 1997), with
one book being particularly relevant to this topic: Motivational Strategies in the
Language Classroom by Dornyei (2001b), in which a list of more than 100 concrete
motivational techniques, divided into the pre-actional, actional and post-actional
phases was presented within a comprehensive theoretical framework. Teachers can
employ to generate, sustain, and promote learners’ motivation.
However, in this study, the researcher only mentions strategies pointed out
by Candlin and Mercer (p.34) and teachers can employ them to motivate their
learners. These could be described as general strategies that could be said to work in
most educational settings:
 Motivating students into the lesson by keeping them informed about
forthcoming activities.
 Varying the activities, tasks and materials to avoid boredom and stimulate
attention.
 Using cooperative rather than competitive goals. This helps to increase selfconfidence and make weaker participants feel needed.
As mentioned above, successful learning can increase motivation, just as
high motivation can bring about successful learning. The teacher can bring this
process under control by creating successful learning. As Cook puts it (Cook,
p.100), short-term motivation towards the day-to-day activities in the classroom can
also have an effect. In this way, the teacher can improve motivation by providing
effectiveness of instruction, including classroom management, structuring, tasks and
grouping.
 Classroom management: good organization and management of learners
increases motivation and raises expectations of success.
 Structuring or making one’s teaching intentions clear and giving clear

instructions improves students’ attention rate.

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 Tasks: appropriateness for learners, order, pacing, grading (so that different
learners are expected to produce different results) and materials are all
factors to be considered in designing and implementing tasks to increase the
motivation of learners.
 Grouping: using different kinds of grouping during class activities can
promote or impede learning.
By employing these motivational strategies seriously, teachers can help their
learners improve their study.
1.2 Theoretical background of teaching speaking skills
1.2.1 Definitions of speaking
Speaking is crucially important for the whole learning process. The term
“speaking” has interested many linguists.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2009, p.414),
speaking is “the action of conveying information or expressing ones’ thoughts and
feelings in spoken languages.”
Speaking is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves
producing and receiving and processing information” (Brown, 1994; Burns &
Joyce, 1997).
Chaney (1998, p.13) stated that speaking is the process of building and
sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of
contexts.
In general, there are different concepts of speaking; however, in this study the term
“speaking” will be used to refer to second language teaching and learning.
1.2.2 The importance of speaking skills
Speaking skill plays a significance role in teaching and learning a foreign

language. It not only helps learners know how to read, to write, to listen but also
know how to communicate with English speaking people. It is undeniable that the
speaking ability is a good source of motivation for most students. Nunan (1991)

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affirms that success is measured in term of the ability to carry out a conversation in
the target language.
1.2.3 Communicative language teaching (CLT) approach
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a prominent theoretical model
in English language teaching and accepted by many applied linguists and teachers
as one of the effective approaches.
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), CLT starts with a theory of
language as communication, and its goal is to develop learners’ communicative
competence.
CLT views language as system for the expression of meaning where the
main function of language is to permit interaction and communication (Richard,
2001).
CLT wants to involve students in real or realistic communication through
different activities. In this case, the accuracy of target language is less important
than successful achievement of the communicative task (Harmer, 2001).
In “approaches and methods in language teaching”, Richards and Rodgers
(2001) summarized the communicative view of language as:
 Language is a system for the expression of meaning
 The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication
 The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses
 The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural
features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning.
In general, the main function of CLT is to permit interaction and

communication. Therefore, the primary elements of language are not only
grammatical and structural features but also the functional and communicative
meaning.

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