The influence of students' beliefs on their speaking performance = tác động của niềm tin đối với khả năng nói của sinh viên.PDF

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of abbreviations vi
List of tables vii
Part one: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale 1
2. The aim of the study 1
3. Scope and Significance of the study 2
4. Methods of the study 2
5. Organization of the study 2
Part two: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: Literature Review
1.1. Concepts of Beliefs 4
1.1.1. The origin of Beliefs 4
1.1.2. Beliefs in Language Learning Study 5
1.1.3. Beliefs about Language Learning 6
1.2. Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) by Horwitz 7
1.3. Speaking Skill Assessment Criteria 11
1.4. Review of Previous Studies 12
Chapter 2: The Study
2.1. Research Questions 14
2.2. Subjects 14

v
2.3. Data Collection Instruments 14

2.3.1. Questionnaire 14
2.3.2. Observation and Note Taking 16
2.4. Data Collection Procedure 16
2.4.1. Questionnaire 16
2.4.2. Observation 16
2.4.3. Records of Learning Results 17
2.5. Data Analysis and Discussions 17
2.5.1. The Students’ Beliefs in Speaking Skill 17
2.5.2. The Effect of the Students’ Beliefs on their Speaking Performance 23
Part three: CONCLUSION
1. Conclusion 29
2. Limitations and Implications 30
3. Recommendation for further studies 31
References
Appendix A 33
Appendix B 38
Appendix C 40
Appendix D 42
Appendix E 44


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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LL: Language Learning
L & C: Learning and Communication
HUI: Ho Chi Minh University of Industry

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Inventory Questionnaire.
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics of Theme A.
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of Theme B
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of Theme C
Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Theme D
Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Theme E
Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Beliefs by Students’ Grades
Table 8: The Learning Records of Excellent and Average Students
Table 9: Comparison of Learning Records and Presentation Assessments
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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Vietnamese students have studied English at the early classes since English is
chosen as a compulsory subject at schools by the Minister of Education after a
consequence of the „open door‟ policy. Moreover, English is seen as a means of access to
scientific, technological development and to the world knowledge, as the language for
international communication, and as an instrument for receiving grants and aid. For young
people, English is an effective tool for further study as well as a way to better job
opportunities. Unfortunately, teaching and learning English is still a matter of much
concern due to inappropriate teaching method to develop all skills of students. The fact is
that graduate students even English-major students and non-English major students can not
communicate verbally in English because of shyness, inadequate vocabulary, or simply
lacking the necessary knowledge. There are many reasons for this; for example, during
lectures, Vietnamese rather than English is mostly spoken by both teachers and students.
Besides, students at colleges and universities are mainly just taught by traditional approach
grammar translation method which only concentrates on the ability of using grammar rules
precisely. Listening and speaking skills are ignored. As the results, lots of students rush to
English Language Centers to improve their speaking skill. Also, many students of mine
have come up to me and ask for help in their speaking skill. This main motivation has
urged me to conduct the research.
Another motivation which the study is carried on results from interest of teaching
speaking. By doing this study, I can understand my students‟ beliefs in speaking skill so
that I can have proper methods to orientate them in learning English speaking skill
effectively. All of above factors and reasons have inspired me to do the research on “the
influence of students‟ beliefs on their speaking performance.”
2. The aim of the study
The purpose of this study is to see how students‟ beliefs affect their speaking skill
by using the BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) survey instruments. Identification of these beliefs is
to examine whether students‟ speaking beliefs could be linked to their speaking
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performance. Moreover, the study recommends some implications for teaching English
speaking skill.
3. Scope and Significance of the study
This paper concentrates on finding beliefs of students in language learning,
especially in learning English speaking. Hence, it examines how students‟ beliefs affected
their speaking performance.
Furthermore, the research may be potential in equipping for modifying speaking
activities in the course book in a more flexible and creative way. By doing survey of
students‟ beliefs, the study might give teachers a profound insight into how to help
students studying English speaking skill effectively.
4. Methods of the study:
The present study was designed to use both quantitative and qualitative research
methods for the analysis. According to Patton (2002), each method has different
advantages and disadvantages. A quantitative research method can obtain broad,
generalizable findings while a qualitative research method can yield in-depth, detailed
information.
Two major complementary sources of data were used in the current study. The
distributions of a questionnaire of Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)
(Horwitz, 1988) provided quantitative data. The presentations of the students about given
topic were used to elicit the qualitative data.
After collecting the distributions, the questionnaire data will be analyzed in order of
five themes of BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) so as to find out the beliefs of the students in
achieving a good speaking skill. The influence of students‟ beliefs on speaking
performance was examined via students‟ academic marks and their presentations.
5. Organization of the study
The study is organized as follows:
Part one: Introduction presents the rationale, the aim, the scope and significance, the
method and organization of the study.
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Part two: consists of three chapters
Chapter 1 “Literature review” deals with basic theoretical backgrounds related to the
study. It starts with the concepts of beliefs in language learning. It also presents related
model research of Horwitz (1987, 1988, and 1990) and speaking skill assessment criteria.
Finally, it states previous studies of beliefs about language learning.
Chapter 2 “The study” section 2.1 to 2.4 present the research questions, the information of
subjects, data collection instruments and procedure. Section 2.5 deals with data analysis
and discussions of the students‟ beliefs and its relationship with students‟ speaking
performance.
Part three: “Conclusion” summarizing all the issues in the research contains major
findings, limitations, implications and recommendation for further research.
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PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides the theoretical background related to the study. The first part of the
chapter evidences the existence of beliefs in language learning from origin of beliefs to
beliefs in language study; particularly beliefs about language learning. The second part
gives an overview of Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory Model (Horwitz, 1984,
1985, and 1988) which instrument was used to identify students‟ beliefs in many previous
studies. Either was it also used in this study. The third part presents speaking skill
assessment criteria in which the criteria suggested by Hughes (1996) were utilized in this
study. Finally, the last part of the chapter reviews previous studies of beliefs about
language learning.
1.1. Concepts of Beliefs
1.1.1. The origin of Beliefs
Early psychological studies into learner perceptions and beliefs about learning
"opened a whole new Aladdin's cave of personal beliefs, myths, understandings, and

superstitions as they were revealed by the persons' thoughts and feelings about their
learning" (Thomas & Harri-Augustein, 1983, p. 338). They concluded that beliefs about
learner capacity and personal models of their own processes were more central to
understanding the individuals' learning performances than universally accepted theories of
learning; these personal "myths" explained more about individual differences in learning
than such psychometric measures as intelligence or aptitude (Thomas & Harri-Augustein,
1983).
In cognitive psychology, learner beliefs about the nature of knowledge and
learning, or epistemological beliefs, have been investigated with the idea that they are part
of the underlying mechanisms of metacognition (Flavell, 1987; Ryan, 1984), form the
building blocks of epistemology (Goldman, 1986), and are a driving force in intellectual
performance. Psychologists have begun to acknowledge the pervasive influence of
personal and social epistemologies on academic learning, thinking, reasoning, and problem
solving (Schommer, 1993), persistence (Dweck & Leggett, 1988), and interpretation of
information (Ryan, 1984; Schommer, 1990).
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From this perspective, beliefs about language learning are viewed as a component
of metacognitive knowledge (Flavell, 1987), which include all that individuals understand
about themselves as learners and thinkers, including their goals and needs. Flavell (1979,
1981) emphasizes the study of meta-cognitive knowledge in second language learning and
focuses on the person. He calls this "person knowledge." Person knowledge is knowledge
learners have acquired about how cognitive and affective factors such as learner aptitude,
personality, and motivation may influence learning. In addition, it includes specific
knowledge about how the above factors apply in their experience.
1.1.2. Beliefs in language learning study
In a number of studies, the definition of beliefs is provided. Elaine Horwitz (1985),
one of the pioneer researchers of the studies on beliefs about language learning, refers to
“beliefs” using the terms such as preconceptions (1985), preconceived ideas (1987), and
preconceived notions (1988) without giving specific descriptions about the construct. In

the important statement used to introduce her instrument, the Beliefs about Language
Learning Inventory (BALLI), which has become one of the most widely used instruments
in studies on beliefs about language learning, she used the word opinions to refer to beliefs,
the construct that the inventory is aimed for. Nevertheless, researchers do not seem to have
reached the same consensus about the meaning of beliefs. Because of its complexity, it
may be difficult to generate a fixed set of meaning or to be defined precisely. Pajares
(1992) stated that, “defining beliefs is at best a game of player‟s choice” (p. 309). Further,
he provided that an extensive list of words like the one below can be found in the literature
as a reference of beliefs “attitude, values, judgments, axioms, opinions, ideology,
perceptions, conceptions, conceptual systems, preconceptions, dispositions, implicit
theories, explicit theories, personal theories, internal mental processes, action strategies,
rules of practice, practical principles, perspectives, repertories of understanding, and social
strategy (Pajares, 1992, p.309).
Followings are some definitions of beliefs used in previous studies. Cabaroglu and
Roberts (2000), drawing from Harvey (1986), defined beliefs as “a set of conceptual
representations which signify to its holder a reality or given state of affairs of sufficient
validity, truth or trustworthiness to warrant reliance upon it as a guide to personal thought
and action” (p. 388). Peacock‟s (2001) operational definition of beliefs, adopted from
Richardson (1996), is “psychologically held understandings, premises, or propositions
about the world that are felt to be true” (p. 178). Huang (1997) viewed beliefs about
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language learning as “preconceptions language learners have about the task of learning the
target language” (p. 29). Kunt (1997) and Wang (1996) used the terms “opinions” and
“ideas” or “views” to refer to “beliefs.” The definitions of beliefs used in these studies
project some level of subjective, judgmental value, as suggested by Pajares (1992).
While Michaela Borg (2001) states that belief is related to knowledge and behavior
and affirms that “a belief is a mental sate which has as its content a proposition that is
accepted as true by the individual holding it, although the individual may recognize that
alternative beliefs may be held by others.” But “one of the key differences between belief

and knowledge is that knowledge must actually be true in some external sense.” In relation
to behaviour “most definitions of belief propose that beliefs dispose or guide people‟s
thinking and action.”
Personally, beliefs are preconceptions which people have and believe in to study or
work better. To learn a language, students also have their own beliefs which are formed
differently. Some beliefs are influenced by students‟ previous (positive or negative)
experiences as language learners (Gaoyin & Alvermann, 1995), while other beliefs are
shaped by students‟ cultural background (Alexander & Dochy, 1995), family/home
background (Dias, 2001), and individual differences such as personality (Langston &
Sykes, 1997; Abraham & Vann, 1987; Furnham, Johnson & Rawles, 2002). Regardless of
their origin, attitudes to learning and the perceptions and beliefs which determine them
may have a profound influence on learning behavior (Cotterall, 1995), and may directly
influence or even determine a learner‟s attitude and motivation when learning the
language in (Riley 1996).
1.1.3. Beliefs about language learning
Some researchers viewed beliefs about language learning as a part of metacognitive
knowledge; however, Wenden (1998) claimed that in second and foreign language
literature, these two terms are used interchangeably to refer to the same construct. The
term, beliefs about language learning, were not clearly defined by researchers in previous
studies. It seems either that the researchers assumed that the term can be understood
intuitively or that the construct is too complex to be operationalized. In most studies, the
term, beliefs about language learning, is used as a known construct without providing
further explanation.
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Second language researchers believed that EFL/ESL learners bring their norms,
attitudes, perception and experiences into the learning task process and learning strategies
(Sakui, & Gaies, 1999). Language experts identified that during the process of learning
English as a second/ foreign language, students bring complex issues such as beliefs,
attitudes, norms and expectation into the course syllabus. Based on the related research,

each second language learner has his/her beliefs and thought about language learning and
many factors will have opportunity to affects students beliefs and they can be considered
as affective factors (Hortwitz, 1987). Aptitude, attitude, norms and perceptions have
the potential to affect learners‟ language learning process, their motivation and their
ability to cope with English as a foreign language. Consequently, they can be considered
as push or pull factor to help learners‟ ultimate success in attainment of new language in
shorter time (Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005). Rod Ellis (2003) indicated that a learner has a
belief about language learning when:
 S/he has identified different attributes about language learning and their ability to
learn language, for example, the language they are learning; how best to learn a
language; the importance of learning about the culture of the second language;
whether they expect to be successful.
 S/he has evaluated these attributes as positive or negative
1.2. Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) by Horwitz
In the early 1980s, Horwitz (1985) developed an instrument for identifying beliefs
about foreign language learning. As Patricia S. Kuntz (1996a) maintains, Horwitz‟s
BALLI evolved as a result of a brain-storming session that she had with 25 language
teachers. Horwitz (1988) then compiled a teacher-generated list of beliefs that students
might have about language learning and developed an instrument for her study, which she
called Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) after consulting specialists in
cognitive science and psychology. Three distinct BALLIs are in use today: (1) BALLI to
measure the beliefs of the students of English as a second language (ESL BALLI - 1984,
1987); (2) BALLI to explore beliefs held by foreign language teachers (teachers BALLI -
1985); and (3) BALLI to assess beliefs of students learning foreign languages (foreign
language BALLI – 1988, 1990). The first BALLI consisted of 27 statements and was used
to assess beliefs of immigrants learning English as a second language in Texas. The second
BALLI focused on the beliefs held by teachers of foreign languages; it consisted of 27
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statements. The third BALLI comprised 34 statements and was employed by Horwitz to

gather the opinions of students learning French, German and Spanish at the University of
Texas at Austin. All the different versions of BALLIs employed a 5-point Likert scale
ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.
Questions in the BALLI were divided into groups according to their theme or topic.
Initially, Horwitz‟s BALLIs (1981, cited in Kuntz 1996a) comprised four themes, i.e. (1)
foreign language aptitude, (2) difficulty of language learning, (3) nature of language
learning, and (4) language learning strategies. Then Horwitz (1987) modified the fourth
theme to “learning and communication strategies” and added “motivation and expectation”
to her instrument. The final BALLI (1988) to assess beliefs about foreign language
learning had this structure. The first category of the BALLI „Foreign Language Aptitude‟
concerns the general existence of special ability for language learning. The second
category „Difficulty of language learning‟ concerns the general difficulty of learning a
foreign language. The third one „Nature of language learning‟ refers to relevant issues
related to the nature of language learning process. The forth theme of BALLI „Learning
and Communication Strategies‟ refers to various strategies learners use to master a foreign
language. The last category „Motivation and Expectation‟ concerns the desire and
expectation for language learning opportunities.
The concepts of the five themes of BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) were given generally in
the above paragraph since Horwitz did not develop the inventory to be used for EFL
students in particular. Most studies that were conducted in an EFL context, then, used the
ESL version of the inventory and modified it for their particular group of students. The
concepts of these themes could be elaborated more in some previous studies which also
presented the influences of these beliefs on language learning.
(A) Beliefs about Foreign Language Aptitude
The belief that some people have a special ability to learn foreign languages has
been discussed in a few studies as possibly having negative effects on learners‟ language
learning. However, little empirical evidence has been revealed. For instance, Horwitz
constantly discussed the negative effects of beliefs about foreign language aptitude in her
three studies (1985, 1987, and 1988). She argued that learners who believe in the existence
of foreign language aptitude but do not think that they themselves have it risk negative

effects on their own language learning. She further explained that “Students who feel that
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they lack some capacity necessity to language learning - by virtue of personal make-up or
group membership - probably doubt their own ability as language learners and expect to do
poorly in language study” (p. 288). In her study of learners of Japanese, she found that the
learners who believed that a foreign language learning ability was an innate ability and
could not be improved tended to achieve less in language learning than those who
“perceive their own ability as a controllable, increasable entity” (p. 408).
(B) Beliefs about the Difficulty of Language Learning
Beliefs about the difficulty of language learning were found to associate with
language achievement. Mori (1999) found that learners who perceived the target language
that they were learning as an easy language tended to do better than those who believed
that they were dealing with a difficult task. On the other hand, Horwitz (1989) and Truitt
(1995) found that beliefs about language difficulty of the target language were associated
with anxiety. Learners who perceive that they are dealing with an easy task may not be
confronted with discomfort caused by anxiety. They can make efforts in their learning up
to their potential, and thus attain ultimate success in their learning. In contrast, learners
who are confronted with anxiety, though they have the potential to be successful in
language learning, may avoid performing language tasks and lose opportunity to improve
their language skills. Consequently, these learners may not perform well in language
classes.
(C) Beliefs about the Nature of Language Learning
Two beliefs in this category have been discussed in studies on beliefs about
language learning about their negative effects on learners‟ success in language learning.
These beliefs are beliefs about vocabulary learning and beliefs about grammar instruction.
Horwitz (1987) claimed that learners who reported beliefs about the importance of
vocabulary and grammar in language learning risk negative effects. She claimed that
learners who possess these beliefs may spend a lot of time “memorizing vocabulary lists
and grammar rules at the expense of other language learning practices” (p.124). Peacock

(1999) found supporting evidence for Horwitz‟ claims about the effect of beliefs about
grammar instruction and vocabulary learning. Learners who agreed that learning a foreign
language is a matter of learning grammar rules were found to be less proficient in English
than those who believed otherwise. In another study (Peacock, 2001), he found significant
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negative relationships between not only beliefs about learning grammar rules but also
beliefs about learning vocabulary and English proficiency.
(D) Beliefs about Learning and Communication Strategies
In this fourth category of the BALLI, several beliefs were found to be associated
with the use of several learning and communication strategies (Huang, 1997; Yang, 1999).
However, some beliefs have been discussed in terms of their negative influence on
learner‟s learning. These beliefs include beliefs about correct pronunciation and beliefs
about one‟s own self-confidence in speaking English. For beliefs about correct
pronunciation, Horwitz (1987) claimed that learners who reported these beliefs may not be
receptive to concepts of communicative approaches to language learning. However, no
empirical study has been conducted to explore the effect of these beliefs. In another study
(Horwitz, 1989) asserted that learners who are concerned about correctness in their
performance in language learning but do not have an ability to meet their own expectation
are likely to experience anxiety. Oh (1996) and Truitt (1995) did not find any significant
relationship.
Beliefs about self confidence in speaking, on the contrary, have been found to have
negative effects on learners‟ language learning. Horwitz and Cope (1986) found that
anxious foreign language students were not confident enough to speak the target language.
Similarly, Oh (1996) found a significant relationship between these beliefs and anxiety in
her study of Japanese learners. Kunt (1997) and Truitt (1995) also found similar
relationships in their EFL students. In these studies, the learners who reported lacking
confidence in speaking the target language tended to have high foreign language anxiety,
suggesting that these learners may not want to engage in practice activities because of their
high anxiety level and would not be able to develop their language skills fully.

(E) Beliefs about Motivation and Expectation
The last category of “Beliefs about Motivations and Expectations” expressed desire
of opportunities and motivations to achieve the language. There are not many findings
showed the effects of these beliefs on language learners. However, Altan (2003) in his
study of beliefs about language learning of foreign language – major university students
showed that a great majority of participants associated language skills with better job
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opportunities and many opportunities” to use their new language and the participants has
strong level of instrumental motivation to be successful language learners.
1.3. Speaking Skill Assessment Criteria
Two methods are used for assessing speaking skills. In the observational approach,
the student's behavior is observed and assessed unobtrusively. In the structured approach,
the student is asked to perform one or more specific oral communication tasks. His or her
performance on the task is then evaluated. The task can be administered in a one-on-one
setting with the test administrator and one student or in a group or class setting. In either
setting, students should feel that they are communicating meaningful content to a real
audience. Tasks are focus on topics that all students can easily talk about, or, if they do not
include such a focus, students should be given an opportunity to collect information on the
topic.
There are many sets of criteria used in oral tests. For example, the Cambridge
Certificate in English Language Speaking Skills (CELS) (Thornbury S., 2005) uses
analytic scoring based on four assessment criteria: 1) Grammar and Vocabulary (accurate
and appropriate use of syntactic forms and vocabulary to meet the task requirements), 2)
Discourse management (ability to express ideas and opinions in coherent and connected
speech), 3) Pronunciation (ability to produce comprehensive utterances to fulfill the task
requirements), 4) Interactive Communication (ability to interact with other interlocutors by
initiating and responding appropriately and at the required speed and rhythm). Another
example is the criteria suggested by Underhill N. (1987), which consists of 1) Fluency and
Naturalness, 2) Vocabulary, 3) Connecting sentences (the ease of speaking several

sentences together in a connected way. Finally, the criteria suggested by the Royal Society
of Art (RSA) (Hughes A., 1989) include:

 Accuracy: Pronunciation still obviously influenced by L1 though clearly
intelligible. Grammatical/lexical accuracy is general high, though some errors
which do not destroy communication are acceptable.
 Appropriacy: Use of language generally appropriate to function. The overall
intention of the speaker is always clear.
 Range: A fair range of language is available to the candidate. He is able to express
himself without overtly having to search words.
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 Flexibility: Is able to take the initiative in a conversation and to adapt to new topics
or changes of direction – though neither of these may be consistently manifested.
 Size: Most contributions may be short, but some evidence of ability to produce
more complex utterances and to develop these into discourse should be manifested.
1.4. Review of Previous Studies
Research on the beliefs about language learning since Horwitz‟s pioneering study
in 1985 has shown that some of these beliefs held by learners have damaging effects on
their learning. Empirical evidence has been found in support of the assumptions about the
effects of beliefs about language learning on language learning success discussed earlier.
Low proficient and high proficient second and foreign language learners were found to
possess different beliefs about language learning in some aspects. To begin with, in her
study of American college students studying Japanese, Mori (1999) found significant
correlations between three beliefs and achievement (indicated by daily quizzes,
achievement exams, proficiency test, and course achievement). The findings reveal that
learners who performed well in the learning of Japanese are likely to 1) consider that
Japanese is not a difficult language 2) tolerate multiple, ambiguous answers and 3) believe
that learning ability is not innately fixed, but can be improved.
Similarly, Samimy and Lee (1997) found a relationship between some beliefs about

language learning and Chinese proficiency in their study on beliefs about language
learning and language performance (final grades) of American college students studying
Chinese. In particular, they found that students who had higher grades in Chinese were
more likely to agree with the following statements in the BALLI:
1) It is best to learn Chinese in a Chinese speaking country
2) I enjoy practicing Chinese with native Chinese speakers
3) I have a special ability in learning foreign languages
4) Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language
5) I would like to have Chinese friends
6) If I learn Chinese very well, I will have better opportunities for a good job
7) I want to learn to speak Chinese very well
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8) It is easier to speak than understand a foreign language
Consistently with the two foreign language learners‟ studies, Peacock (1999, 2001)
found relationships between some beliefs and English proficiency in an EFL context. He
investigated beliefs about language learning of university EFL students (1999) and pre-
service EFL teachers in Hong Kong (2001) and found significant relationships between
English proficiency and beliefs about the role of grammar and vocabulary. The data reveal
that learners with high proficiency tended to disagree that English learning was a matter of
learning vocabulary and grammar while low proficiency students tended to agree.
In brief, the above mentioned studies reveal empirical evidence of relationships
between some beliefs about language learning and learners‟ success in second or foreign
language learning.
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CHAPTER 2
THE STUDY
The first section presents the research questions of the thesis. The second section describes
the subjects who are selected to do the research. The third part presents the instruments

used to collect the students‟ beliefs with description of the questionnaire and the students‟
presentations. The last part of the chapter deals with the findings of the students‟ beliefs
and the influence of their beliefs on their speaking performance.
2.1. Research Questions:
This study was set up to answer the following questions:
1. What are the students‟ beliefs in speaking English?
2. How do their beliefs affect their speaking performance?
2.2. Subjects
The study involved in 40 English – major students of DHAV5 from Faculty of
Foreign Language at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI). Of the 40 students, 5 are
male and 35 are female aged from twenty to twenty - three. They all have finished their
second academic year and have been in the third year at university. Their English
proficiency was considered to be qualified as intermediate.
2.3 Data Collection Instruments
2.3.1. Questionnaire
The Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) to assess beliefs of
students learning foreign language (Horwitz, 1988) was adopted to collect student‟s beliefs
in speaking. However, the questionnaire included only 20 statements extracted from 34
statements of BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) (Appendix B) including item 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 31 and 34. These statements were selected due to its
involvement to speaking skill. Moreover, only 20 items extracted from 34 ones was to
create a simpler questionnaire to collect data and not too long for the forty – page thesis.
These 20 statements are grouped in five categories:
(A) The Foreign Language Aptitude (item 1, 6, 10 and 20)
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(B) The Difficulty of Language Learning (item 2, 16)
(C) The Nature of Language Learning (item 4, 7, 11, 14 and 17)
(D) Learning and Communication Strategies (item 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, and 13)
(E) Motivation and Expectation (item 15, 18, and19)

The subjects were asked to read statements and decide if they: (5) Strongly agree;
(4) Agree; (3) Neither agree nor disagree; (2) Disagree; (1) strongly disagree. Statements
were followed by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly
disagree”. The following was the sample of the questionnaire. The completed
questionnaire was shown in Appendix A.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire was adopted from the questionnaire of Horwitz (1988) about Beliefs about
Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)
Your answer to these statements will be highly appreciated and will be valuable help in
examining students‟ beliefs in English speaking skill and suggesting some solutions to
improve speaking performance to second – year students at Ho Chi Minh University of
Industry (HUI). You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the
data. Thank you very much for your help!
I. Student’s personal information:
1. Sex: a. Male b. Female
2. Age: ………………….
II. Beliefs in Speaking English:
Students are asked to read each statement and indicate by (√)
(5) Strongly agree (4) Agree
(3) Neither agree nor disagree (2) Disagree
(1) Strongly disagree
Statements
Opinion
5
4
3
2
1
1. Some people are born with a special ability which helps them learn a foreign language.

2. I believe that I will ultimately learn to speak this language very well.





3. It is important to speak a foreign language with an excellent accent.






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2.3.2. Observation and Note Taking
Observation and note taking were also applied in this study. Students were asked to
talk about a topic titled “Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Phone”. Their
presentations were taken notes for further assessment based on the criteria set of RSA
(Authur Hughes, 1989).
2.4. Data collection procedure
2.4.1. Questionnaire
The survey extracted from BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) was distributed to 98 subjects
of DHAV5 (including DHAV5A, DHAV5B, and DHAV5C) at the beginning of the
classes and with the author‟s attendance so that their needs for clarification of some words
as self-conscious or ultimately or accent could be met. It was carried in the mid of

September, 2011 as the student began their first semester of third-year university. All the
data were collected at DHAV5 right after the students spent five minutes completing at
classes.
However, due to some excuses of the students‟ lateness and absence and
carelessness in answering all items of the questionnaire, only forty completed responses
were collected. Therefore, the data of the students‟ beliefs were analyzed on only these
forty questionnaires.
2.4.2. Observation
Observation was administrated to ten students (two excellent students, three
average and five good students) were asked to raise their opinions about “Advantages and
Disadvantages of Mobile Phone. The presentations were implemented on only ten students
since the time was partly not allowed to do with all forty students. The students partly did
not seem cooperated with the author.
Ten students were gathered in a group after their class and asked to take turn to
raise their voice about the topic while the author was observing and taking notes. The
presentations were taken down to assess based on criteria of fluency, accuracy, range and
size and re-typed for evidences in this paper (Appendix E).

17

2.4.3. Records of Learning Results
The study results of speaking for the second semester of forty students who filled in
the questionnaire were collected from their teacher of speaking in order to assess how their
beliefs impact on their speaking performance as shown in their study results.
2.5. Data Analysis and Discussions
The data analysis will be presented in two sections. Section 2.5.1 discusses the
findings of the students‟ beliefs in speaking skill to answer the first research question
“what are the students‟ beliefs in speaking English?” Results of students‟ beliefs will be
presented in terms of the five themes mentioned earlier and will be presented in the
following order: (A) Foreign Language Aptitude; (B) The Difficulty of Language

Learning: (C) The Nature of Language Learning; (D) Learning and Communication
Strategies; (E) Motivation and Expectation. Section 2.5.2 discusses the relationship of the
students‟ beliefs and their speaking performances.
2.5.1. The Students’ Beliefs in Speaking Skill
The following table summarizes the results of all questionnaire items.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics of Inventory Questionnaire
Results of questionnaire (N= 40)
Themes
Statements
5
4
3
2
1
Mean
LL Aptitude
Statement 1
15
20
2
3
0
4.1
Statement 6
0
6
20
14
0
2.8

Statement 10
0
5
17
11
7
2.5
Statement 20
15
20
3
2
0
4.2
Overall mean score






3.4
LL Difficulty
Statement 2
3
15
15
0
7
3.35

Statement 16
4
13
15
8
0
3.32
Overall mean score

3.34
LL Nature
Statement 4
13
25
0
1
1
4.2
Statement 7
26
10
1
3
0
4.4
Statement 11
1
21
10
8

0
3.3
Statement 14
10
19
8
3
0
3.9
Statement 17
2
7
16
15
0
2.9
Overall mean score






3.77
18

Themes
Statements
5
4

3
2
1
Mean
L & C Strategies
Statement 3
4
21
10
5
0
3.6
Statement 5
2
4
2
18
14
2.0
Statement 8
2
29
6
3
0
3.7
Statement 9
12
20
5

2
1
4.0
Statement 12
14
24
1
0
0
4.3
Statement 13
1
22
16
1
0
3.5
Overall mean score






3.55
Motivation and
Expectation
Statement 15
22
15

1
2
0
4.4
Statement 18
27
11
0
1
1
4.5
Statement 19
11
25
4
0
0
4.1
Overall mean score






4.38
5= strongly agree; 4= agree; 3= neither agree nor disagree; 2= disagree; 1= strongly disagree
(For more details see Appendix C)
As can be seen in the above table, the students scored the theme of Motivation and
Expectation to learning speaking skill with the highest mean score 4.38. This revealed that

the students of DHAV5 have very high motivation and expectation. The beliefs about The
Nature of Language Learning were considered as the second important factor to contribute
to the speaking proficiency as mean scored at 3.77. In addition, the students also believed
that Learning and Communicative Strategies partly helped them to gain a good
performance. Furthermore, the students did not believe in The Difficulty of Language
Learning in their learning process compared to other categories since the mean was at
neutral of 3.34. Besides, table 1 revealed that the students strongly agree with item 18 as
27 out of 40 chose scale 5 and strongly disagree with item 5 as 14 of them answered
disagreement.
The detailed results according to five themes of the BALLI are presented as below:
(A) Foreign Language Learning
The first category of BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) deals with the aptitude of students‟
foreign language. The four statements of beliefs about Foreign Language Aptitude address
the issues of individual potential for achievement in language learning of the students.
Table 2 showed the highest mean of item 20 was 4.2. In this statement, the findings
revealed that 35 out of 40 students occupied 87.5% agreed with it. The statement 1 was the
second highest mean. This meant that the students also thought that special ability in
19

language helped students learn a language better when a high number of 35 students
occupied 87.5% indicated scale 5 and 4 of strongly agreement and agreement. However,
the students did not think that they have English language aptitude (Item 10) which might
constrain their ability in language performance since the mean was shown at the lowest at
2.5 compared to other statements. Seventeen students, accounting for 42.5%, kept their
neutral opinions. Moreover, they did not approve that someone who learnt a foreign
language will study another one easily (item 6) as half of the students neither agreed nor
disagreed.
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of Theme A
Results of questionnaire (N= 40)
Theme

Statements
5
4
3
2
1
Mean
Language
Learning
Aptitude
1. Some people are born with a special ability which
helps them learn a foreign language better.
15
20
2
3
0
4.1
6. It is easier for someone who already speaks a foreign
language to learn another one.
0
6
20
14
0
2.8
10. I have a foreign language aptitude.
0
5
17

11
7
2.5
20. Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language.
15
20
3
2
0
4.2
5= strongly agree; 4= agree; 3= neither agree nor disagree; 2= disagree; 1= strongly disagree
All statements of category A deal with beliefs concerning the positive beliefs of
good language learners. The students had beliefs in learning ability of people.
(B) The Difficulty of Language Learning
The second theme of BALLI (Horwitz, 1988) concerns the specific difficulty of the
students‟ particular target language. Item 16 assesses the relative difficulty of different
English skills, and item 2 surveys students expectation for learning success. The findings
in table 3 presented the neutral opinions about this belief category for the means are 3.32
and 3.35 respectively. Nearly half of the students (37.5%) stated their neutral idea in these
items. However, there were another 18 students, accounting for 45%, agreed with item 2.
This also showed that the students were confident of successfully learning this language.
Another 13 students occupied 32.5% thought that speaking is easier than understanding a
foreign language. In brief, the statistics of this theme did not show any evidences of
students‟ beliefs about speaking skill here.
20

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of Theme B
Results of questionnaire (N= 40)
Theme
Statements

5
4
3
2
1
Mean
The Difficulty
of Language
Learning
2. I believe that I will ultimately learn to speak this
language very well.
3
15
15
0
7
3.35
16. It is easier to speak than understand a foreign
language.
4
13
15
8
0
3.32
5= strongly agree; 4= agree; 3= neither agree nor disagree; 2= disagree; 1= strongly disagree
(C) The Nature of Language Learning
The third category of The Nature of Language Learning includes issues related to
English learning which influence on students‟ speaking skill. Item 4 and item 7 concern the
role of cultural contact and language immersion in language achievement. Item 11, 14 and

17 assesses the students‟ conception of the focus of the language learning task. The
students highly valued the role of cultural role and language immersion when they showed
their strongest beliefs in studying a foreign language in the foreign country with the
highest mean of 4.4 and in necessarily knowing the foreign culture to speak the foreign
language (4.2). In statement 4, almost students 38 out of 40 occupied 95% showed their
strong agreement and agreement. Most of 36 students agreed with the item 7.
In contrast, the students disagreed with learning a language by translating (item 17)
since the mean score was below 3. Nearly half of students, accounting for 37.5%,
answered scale of 2.
Table 4. Descriptive Statistics of Theme C
Results of questionnaire (N= 40)
Theme
Statements
5
4
3
2
1
Mean
The
Nature of
Language
Learning
4. It is necessary to know the foreign culture in order
to speak the foreign language.
13
25
0
1
1

4.2
7. It is better to learn a foreign language in the foreign
country.
26
10
1
3
0
4.4
11. Learning a foreign language mostly a matter of
learning many new vocabulary words.
1
21
10
8
0
3.3
14. Learning a foreign language is mostly a matter of
learning a many of grammar rules.
10
19
8
3
0
3.9
17. Learning a foreign language is mostly a matter of
translating from English
2
7
16

15
0
2.9
5= strongly agree; 4= agree; 3= neither agree nor disagree; 2= disagree; 1= strongly disagree
21

Regards to the importance role of vocabulary and grammar in speaking English,
half of the students (55%) endorsed the importance of vocabulary in speaking English
fluently (item 11). Besides, 29 out of 40 students occupied 72.5% showed that they totally
agreed that grammar was important in English spoken accuracy (item 14).
In summary, the students of DHAV5 believed that it had better to learn a foreign
language in the foreign country and learn its culture as well. Furthermore, most of them
found that vocabulary and grammar were important to their language learning.
(D) Learning and Communication Strategies
The forth category of Learning and Communication Strategies of BALLI (Horwitz,
1988) addresses learning and communication strategies and are probably the most directly
related to students‟ actual practice of speaking English. Item 12 refers to learning strategy
and other items concern communication strategies. In this category, the students showed
their strongest belief in practicing and repetition which are important to learn the foreign
language, especially speaking skill, with the highest mean of 4.3. Agreed with this
statement, 38 students occupied 90% did. The findings showed that students‟ beliefs of
practicing helped them be a good English speaker. The speaking learning strategies of item
9 scored as the second highest mean. This finding showed that an ability of guessing
unknown words was also primary in speaking a language well. Other items of 3, 8 and 13
scored at average means of 3.6, 3.7 and 3.5 respectively. Only the mean of item 5 was
below 3 showing that the disagreement of the students with this statement.
Table 5. Descriptive Statistics of Theme D
Results of questionnaire (N= 40)
Theme
Statements

5
4
3
2
1
Mean
Learning and
Communication
Strategies
3. It is important to speak a foreign language with
an excellent accent.
4
21
10
5
0
3.6
5. You should not say anything in the foreign
language until you can say it correctly.
2
4
2
18
14
2.0
8. If I heard someone speaking language I am
trying to learn, I would go up to them so that I
could practice speaking the language.
2
29

6
3
0
3.7
9. It is okay to guess if you do not know a word
in the foreign language.
12
20
5
2
1
4.0
12. It is important to practice and repeat often.
14
24
1
0
0
4.3
13. I feel self-conscious speaking the foreign
language in front of other people.
1
22
16
1
0
3.5
5= strongly agree; 4= agree; 3= neither agree nor disagree; 2= disagree; 1= strongly disagree