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iv

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

ii

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………….

iii

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

iv

LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS …………………………………….............

vii

PART I: INTRODUUCTION …………………………………………….............

1

1. Rationale ……………………………………………………………….............

1-2

2. Aims of the study ………………………………………………………………

2

3. Research questions ……………………………………………………………..

2

4. Scope of the study ……………………………………………………………...

2

5. Methods of the study …………………………………………………………..

2-3

6. 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. Types of motivation ……………………………………………………..

4-7

1.1.2.1. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

……………………..

4-5

1.1.2.2. Instrumental and integrative orientations ………………….

5-6

1.1.2.3. Global, situational and task motivation ……………………

7

1.1.3. The importance of motivation in second language learning ………

7-8

1.1.4. Factors affecting motivation in second language learning………..

8

1.1.4.1. Learners’ factors ……………………………………..........

9-11

1.1.4.2. Teachers’ factors ……………………………………..........

11-12

1.1.4.3. The atmosphere in the class ………………………………..

12-13

1.2. Theoretical background of speaking and the teaching of speaking skill .
1.2.1. What is speaking?.................................................................................

13
13-14

1.2.2. Phases of teaching speaking …………………………………………….... 14-15


v

1.2.3. Key issues in teaching speaking ………………………………………….

15-16

1.2.3.1. Reticence and dominance in speaking activities ……………..

15-16

1.2.3.2. Multi-level speaking classes students to speak in the target

language………………………………………………………………………. 16
1.2.4. Speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate …………

16

1.2.4.1. Speaking motivational activities ……………………………..

16-19

1.2.4.2. Techniques ……………………………………………...........

19-21

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

22

2.1. The current situation of teaching and learning English at HUT……….

22-23

2.2. Subjects of the study ………………………………………………………

23

2.3. Data instruments ………………………………………………………….

23-24

2.3.1. Questionnaire for students ………………………………………………..

24

2.3.2. Questionnaire for teachers ……………………………………………….

24

2.3.3. Interviews …………………………………………………………………...

24

2.3.4. Observation ………………………………………………………………...

24-25

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

26

3.1. Students ……………………………………………………………............

26

3.1.1. Types of motivation …………………………………………………………

26-27

3.1.2. Students’ opinions on learning English speaking skill ........................

27-30

3.1.3. Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking
skill …………………………………………………………………………………

30-33

3.1.4. Students’ opinions on what motivates them to speak English…………

33-36

3.2. Teachers ……………………………………………………………………

36

3.2.1. Teachers’ opinions on students’ motivation in learning English
speaking ……………………………………………………………………………..

36-37

3.2.2. Activities and techniques applied by teachers ………………………… 37-40
3.2.3. The teachers’ attitudes towards students who are unwilling to speak


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English and error maker ………………………………………………………..

41-42

CHAPTER 4: FINGDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………………..

43

4.1. Findings and discussions ……………………………………..................

43-45

4.2. Recommendations ……………………………………………………….

45-48

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

49-50

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………..

51-53

APPENDIXES:
APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS …………

I-III

APPENDIX B: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS …............

VII-IX

APPENDIX C: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW ………………………….

X

APPENDIX D: EXTRACT FROM THE MOTIVATION ORIENTATION OF
LANGUAGE TEACHING (MOLT) OBSERVATION SCHEME ………………

XII


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LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS
1. List of tables
Table 1. Reasons to learn English speaking skill
Table 2. Factors making students unwilling to speak English
Table 3. Factors preventing students’ English speaking process
Table 4. Techniques to motivate students to speak
Table 5. Students’ preferences for the speaking activities
Table 6. Teachers’ opinions on students’ motivation
Table 7. Teachers’ opinions on motivating students in the speaking stages
Table 8. Forms of carrying out activities by teachers by frequency
Table 9. Speaking activities applied by teachers
Table 10. Techniques applied by teachers
Table 11. Ways applied by teachers to make good relationship with students
Table 12. Teachers’ attitudes towards reluctant speakers and error makers
2. List of charts
Chart 1. The importance of English to students
Chart 2. Students’ aptitude for learning English speaking skill
Chart 3. Students’ attitude to learning English speaking
Chart 4. Students’ effort in learning speaking

Chart 5. Students’ interest in English speaking
Chart 6. Students’ unwillingness in speaking English in class
Chart 7. Forms of carrying out activities liked most by students


1

PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
It is a truth that English has become an international language. It is widely used in many fields
of our life such as business, trade, banking, science, technology, aviation, diplomacy, etc.
Because of the wide spread of globalization and the rapid development of information
technology, the demand for English has become more and more urgent in our life.
As a result, there has been an increase in the number of people desiring to learn and master
English with the hope of finding a good job, keeping up with the latest technology in the
world.
In Vietnam, English is taught not only at schools or colleges/ universities but also at many
foreign language centers. However, not all English learners succeed in learning English. Some
people succeed while others fail because learning a foreign language is not similar to the study
of other subjects. Second language learning is affected by many factors such as motivation,
learning environment, learning conditions, methods of teaching, attitude, age, etc. Among
these factors, motivation is considered as a key factor affecting success or failure of a second
language learner. Therefore, exploring ways to motivate learners is extremely important for
teachers. There have been many researchers investigating what factors have effects on foreign
language learning or types of motivation; little has been discussed about what ways should be
used to motivate learners.
In many Universities in general and in Ha Noi University of Science and Technology in
particular, teachers have to struggle with large class, prescribed books, limited time for formal
instruction and students with low English level, etc. Many teachers fail to try out
communicative activities because of these factors. The inhomogeneity of the students‟ English

proficiency is also a barrier to the success in carrying out
communicative tasks. As a result, a large number of students cannot use English to
communicative in real life. This actually drives the researcher to her study namely “Ways to
Motivate the First Year Non – English Majors at Ha Noi University of Technology in
Learning Speaking Skill” in order to study the current situation of teaching and learning the


2

speaking skill, the activities, methods and techniques used and then give recommendations to
motivate the students to speak English.
2. Aims of the study
The study is aimed at:


Investigating methods, activities and techniques used by the teachers to motivate the
students in speaking skill.



Recommending several activities and techniques to motivate the students to speak
English.

3. Research questions
In order to gain the aims mentioned above, the following questions were asked in the study:
1. What are the activities and techniques used by the teachers to motivate students in learning
English skill?
2. Which activities and techniques are considered as effective tools in motivating students to
speak English?
4. Scope of the study

The study will be carried out within the following scope:
As we know, motivation is a broad topic that cannot be thoroughly discussed in this paper. So
in this study, the researcher will discuss one specific aspect: ways to motivate students in
speaking skill. The subjects for this study are 99 first year non-English majors at Ha Noi
University of Science and Technology in the hope that the results of this study are
representative to all Vietnamese non – English majors.
5. Methods of the study
The study was planned to use a variety of methods to obtain its aims as follows:
A questionnaire was distributed to 14 teachers who are now teaching or have taught speaking
skill to first year non – English majors to collect their opinions on motivation, examine
speaking motivational activities, techniques used by teachers to motivate students to speak and


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explore their attitudes towards students who are reluctant to speak and keep making mistakes
as well as their ways for error correction.
Another questionnaire was distributed to 99 first year non-English majors to gather their
opinions on speaking skill, factors affecting their motivation to speak English in class, and
what activities and techniques used by the teachers.
An interview was conducted with 8 students randomly selected from the survey population to
explore further issues of interest.
An observation was conducted at the two speaking classes to investigate the students‟
responses and attitudes on the speaking lessons as well as speaking motivational activities and
techniques used by the teachers to motivate students to speak.
6. Design of the study
This paper consists of three main parts.
PART I. INTRODUCTION presents the rationale, the aims, the research questions, the
scope, the method and the design of the study.
PART II. DEVELOPMENT is composed of four following chapters:

CHAPTER ONE: Literature review presents the concepts relevant to the study such as
motivation, kinds of motivation, the importance of motivation in second language learning,
factors affection motivation in second language learning, the nature of speaking: definitions of
speaking, the importance of speaking, phases to teaching speaking, key issues in teaching
speaking, speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate students to speak.
CHAPTER TWO: Methodology presents a general view of the current situation of the
learning and teaching the speaking skill, subjects of the study and research instruments.
CHAPTER THREE: Data Presentation and Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: Discussions and Recommendations
PART III. CONCLUSION


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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter 1, Literature Review, presents some of the most significant issues in the theories of
motivation for teaching language in general and teaching speaking in particular and the nature
of speaking.
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation
1.1.1. Definitions of motivation
There has been a variety of theories of motivation over the course of decades of research. The
following are some different views of motivation.
According to Harmer (1991: 3), “Motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages
somebody to pursue a course of action. If we receive a goal and if that goal is sufficiently
attractive, we will be strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal.”
A similar definition of motivation was also presented by Brown (1994: 34). He states:
“Motivation is the extent to which you make choice about (a) goals to pursue and (b) the effort
you will devote to that pursuit”. He also claims: “motivation is something that can, like self –
esteem, be global, situational, or task – oriented. Learning a foreign language requires some of

all three levels of motivation.”
The concept of motivation has recently been seen differently by Dornyei and Otto (1998: 65,
cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9). They claims: “Motivation can be defined as the dynamically
changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies,
terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires
are selected, prioritized, operationalised and acted out.”
It is obvious that motivation is difficult to define and measure because motivation is affected
by many factors such as learners‟ themselves, teachers, and teaching and learning condition,
which will be discussed in detail later on.
1.1.2. Types of motivation


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There have been many ways to classify motivation; however, in this paper, only Brown‟s and
Gardner‟s classification is mentioned because I see that their classification is greatly useful for
my study; it is also quite clear and easy to understand. Firstly, Brown classifies motivation
into three kinds such as global, situational and task motivation. (as cited in Brown, 1981).
Then Gardner (1985) distinguished integrative and instrumental as two types of motivation/
orientations. However, according to Brown (1994: 170), motivation is categorized into
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
1.1.2.1. Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
Being concerned with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Edward Deci (1975: 23, cited in
Brown, 1994: 172) defined intrinsic motivation as follows:
“Intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the
activity itself. People seem to engage in the activities for their own sake and not because they
lead to an extrinsic reward. . . . Intrinsically motivated behaviors are aimed at bringing about
certain internally rewarding consequences, namely, feelings of competence and self –
determination.”
On the other hand, “extrinsic motivation is fueled by the anticipation of a reward from outside

and beyond itself. Typical extrinsic rewards are money, prizes, grades, and even certain types
of positive feedback. Behaviors initiated solely to avoid punishment are also extrinsically
motivated, even though numerous intrinsic benefits can ultimately accrue to those who,
instead, view punishment avoidance as a challenge that can build their sense of competence
and self – determination.” Edward Deci (1975: 23, cited in Brown, 1994: 172)
So which form of motivation is more powerful? Maslow (1970, cited in Brown, 2007) claimed
that “intrinsic motivation is clearly superior to extrinsic motivation. He referred that
motivation is dependent on the satisfaction first of fundamental physical necessities (air,
water, food), then of community, security, identity, and self-esteem, the fulfillment of which
finally leads to self-actualization, or, to use a common phrase, „being all that you can be‟.‟‟
It may be concluded that intrinsic motivation brings learners more potential benefits than
extrinsic motivation.
1.1.2.2. Instrumental vs. integrative orientations/ motivation


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According to Gardner‟s view, integrative orientation concerns a positive disposition toward
the L2 group and the desire to interact with and even become similar to valued members of
that community; instrumental orientation is the utilitarian counterpart of integrative
orientation in Gardner‟s theory, pertaining to the potential pragmatic gains of L2 proficiency,
such as getting a better job or a higher salary. (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 49)
Relating to the importance of integrative orientation and instrumental motivation to the
success of second language learning, I will present some different views by Gardner &
Lambert, Lukmani and Aiming & Aimin.
Gardner & Lambert (1972 & Spolsky, 1969, cited in Brown, 2007: 170-171) suggest that
integrativeness generally accompanied higher scores on proficiency tests in a foreign
language. The conclusion from their studies was that integrativeness was indeed an important
requirement for successful language learning. However, Lukmani (1972, cited in Brown 2007:
171) demonstrated that among Marathi-speaking Indian students learning English in India,

those with instrumental orientations scored higher in tests of English proficiency.
Aiming & Aimin (2006)‟s outlook on integrative motivation is similar to Gardner &
Lambert‟s. They suggest that integrative motivation is considered as very powerful and has
the tendency to bring about deep learning because “a learner with integrative motivation are
more active in class and will take advantage of every opportunity to satisfy the motivationdriven needs to expand and deepen knowledge.” By contrast, “an instrumentally motivated
learner may stop efforts as soon as the profit disappears.” (cited in Aming & Aimin, 2006).
However, it could not be concluded that integrative motivation is the only predictor of L2
achievement or instrumental motivation cannot contribute anything to more successful
learning. They state: “In fact, in many situations, instrumental motivation can be strong
enough to drive learners to attain great academic achievements. So, both integrative
motivation and instrumental motivation can as remarkable predictors of success in L2
acquisition.” (cited in Aming & Aimin, 2006).
It is unclear that integrative or instrumental motivation is more important. Nevertheless, the
benefits they bring are undeniable. Therefore, when motivating students, it is necessary for
teachers to pay attention to both of these two kinds of motivation.


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1.1.2.3. Global, situational and task motivation
In this part, the researcher presents three other kinds of motivation by Brown (1981) such as
situational, task and global motivation.
Global motivation that consists of a general orientation to the goal of learning a second
language; situational motivation, which varies according to the situation in which learning
takes place and task motivation, which is the motivation for performing particular learning
tasks, that is, if the teacher designs appropriate tasks which will lead students to successful
performances, such constantly pleasant and rewarding experiences will provide students with
increasing confidence and consequently, they will gradually develop a liking for second
language learning. Therefore, learning a foreign language obviously requires some types of
motivation.

As can be seen from the above theories, there are several types of motivation. In fact, there are
three main types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic and global motivation. Harmer‟s view led
me to such conclusion. Harmer (1983) indicates the relationship between two kinds of
motivation such as intrinsic, extrinsic, and other kinds of motivation. Harmer states that
extrinsic motivation consists of two sub-components: instrumental and integrative motivation.
He also claims that intrinsic motivation is primarily made up of parts: situational and task
motivation.
In short, motivation and its kinds has been studied from many different angles by many
researchers. However, no matter how motivation has been classified, all kinds of motivation
work in the second language learning context, and each kind contributes to the learners‟
progress in different ways and to different degree. It is difficult to say which is the most
effective because they are sometimes overlapping with one another. The next part, the role of
motivation as well as the factors affecting motivation will be discussed.
1.1.3. The importance of motivation in second language learning
There have been many theorists mentioning the role of motivation in foreign language
learning and teaching; however, in this paper, only several views will be discussed.
Concerning this aspect, Brown (2007: 168) states: “Undoubtedly the most frequently used
catch – all term for explaining the success or failure of virtually any complex tasks, motivation


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is a star player in the cast of characters assigned to second language learning scenarios around
the world.”
Reece & Walker (1997) also express that motivation is a key factor in the second language
learning process. They emphasize that a less able student who is highly motivated can achieve
greater success than the more intelligent student who is not well motivated. Sometimes
students may come highly motivated and the task of the teacher is to maintain motivation of
the students. The task of the teacher is to maximize the motivation.
Furthermore, Li (2009) claims that “Learning motivation and attitudes are emotional factors

influencing the result of the second language acquisition”. He explained his view in the
following way: Firstly, learning motivation is a strong internal drive for language learning.
Psychologically, teaching effect has a close relationship with learning motivation and interest,
which determines whether a learner wants to spend more time learning English. Besides,
learning motivation and attitudes are closely related to language learning strategies; therefore,
they influence language learning effect to some degree. He came to the conclusion: “the
stronger learning motivation is, the more passion learners have for learning, the more lasting
the learning activity will be, the more difficulties can be overcome.”
Wang (2009)‟s point of view is similar to Brown (2007)‟s. He affirms: “motivation is one of
the most important factors that will influence students‟ English achievements or performance.
It has a close relationship with students‟ success or failure in English teaching in college.
Therefore, teachers must pay more attention to this aspect”.
It has become clear that the success in second language learning depends on many factors such
as learners‟ factors (attitude, aptitude, intelligence, personality, etc), teachers‟ factors, teaching
and learning condition, and motivation. Among those factors, motivation is considered as a
key factor deciding the success or failure of a foreign language learning.
1.1.4. Factors affecting motivation in second language learning
A variety of factors may influence motivation in second language learning, including teaching
materials, syllabus, teaching means and methods, teachers, learners themselves and so on.
Because the purpose of my study is to find out ways to motivate students to speak English, in


9

this section, I will only focus on the main factors such as teachers, learners and teaching and
learning conditions.
1.1.4.1. Learners’ factors
There are various factors affecting foreign language learning such as aptitude, intelligence,
personality, learners‟ preferences, learners‟ beliefs and age; however, in this study, only
aptitude, attitude, personality, and learning style will be discussed because the researcher

think that these factors have the greatest impact on second language learning.
 Aptitude:
Grass & Selinker (2008: 417) states: “Aptitude, simply put, refers to one‟s potential for
learning new knowledge or new skills. With regard to language aptitude, it refers to one‟s
ability to learn another language.”
Basing on the studies of second language learning aptitude by J. B. Carroll, Skehan (1989: 26)
gave the „standard four components‟ view of language aptitude as follows:
1. Phonemic coding ability: This is an ability to discriminate among foreign sounds and to encode them in a
manner such that they can be recalled later.
2. Grammatical sensitivity: This is the ability to recognize the functions of words in sentences. It does not
measure ability to name or describe the functions, but rather the ability to discern whether or not words in
different sentences perform the same function.
3. Inductive language learning ability: This is the ability to infer, induce, or abduct rules or generalizations
about language from samples of the language. A learner proficient in this ability is less reliant on wellpresented rules or generalizations from a teacher or from materials.
4. Memory and learning: Originally this was phrased in terms of associations: the ability to make and recall
associations between words and phrases in a native and a second language.
(Cited in Grass & Selinker, 2008:418)

The four components mentioned above can be considered predictors of second language
learning success in that one person who is very good in one or more of those capacities may be
more advantageous in foreign language learning.
 Attitude:
Verma defines attitude as “a set of beliefs developed in a due course of time in a given sociocultural setting”. He claims “It is studied that attitude facilitates learning. If the learner is
reluctant to learn or he/ she does not have a positive attitude, he/ she does not produce any


10

result.” Verma also affirms that learners‟ consciousnesses are to blame for their attitudes. One
person‟s

consciousness of the class, their teacher, peer group, curriculum and his/ her

perception for perspective demands have an impact on his/ her attitude to language learning.
( />.pdf). Sharing the same view with Verma, Krashen (1985), claims that attitudes can act as
barriers or bridges to learning a new language and are the essential environmental ingredient
for language learning. Krashen also states that learning can only happen if certain affective
conditions, such as positive attitudes, self-confidence, low anxiety, exist and that when these
conditions are present input can pass through the affective filter and be used by the learner.
It has become clear that attitudes play a significant role in the language learning. They have a
close relationship with motivation.
 Personality and learning style:
Many language teachers believe that students‟ personality creates significant contributions to
the success or failure of second language learning. Lightbown & Spada (1999) indicate some
characteristics of personality that have a great influence on the success of second language
learning: responsiveness, talkativeness, dominance, empathy, inhibition, extroversion and self
– esteem.
According to Cornett (1983: 9), learning styles are the common methods such as global or
analytic, auditory or visual, which learners utilize in learning a new language. Cornett called
these styles “the overall patterns that give general direction to learning behavior”.
( />Sharing the same view with Cornett, Lightbown & Spada also point out that learners‟
preferences can be called learners‟ favorite learning style. Learners have their own preferences
in acquiring new knowledge and can be divided into the following groups: visual learners,
aural learners and kinesthetic learners or field independent and field dependent learners. Grass
& Selinker (2008) states: “Visual learner are those who take in information visually. Thus,
reading is preferred to listening”; “Auditory learners are those who prefer to take in
information auditorily. They prefer listening to reading”; “Kinesthetic learners are better when
the whole body is involved or when objects can be manipulated, such as in lab work”; “…

11

field-independent individuals would be better at analytical tasks in second language learning.
This would appear to be an advantage. On the other hand, field dependence would seem to
help in social interactions”, etc.
In sum, second language learning in general and motivation in second language learning in
particular are both influenced by many factors; therefore, when teaching a foreign language,
teachers must study deeply factors affecting language learning in order to find out appropriate
teaching methods, effective motivational strategies as well as activities inspiring learners, and
so on.
1.1.4.2. Teachers’ factors
According to Dornyei (2001), teachers play a significant role in socializing and shaping the
motivation of their students through their personal characteristics, verbal and non–verbal
immediacy behaviour, active motivational socializing behaviour, and classroom management
practices.
 Teachers’ behaviors
The following are some different views on the influence of teachers‟ behaviors on second
language learning.
Relating to teachers‟ behaviors in second language learning, Dornyei (2001: 120) states:
“Almost everything a teacher does in the classroom has a motivational influence on students,
which makes teacher behavior a powerful tool.” Similarly, Dornyei and Csiser‟s (1998, cited
in Dornyei, 2001) claim that “participants rated the teacher‟s own behavior as the most
important and, at the same time extremely underutilized, motivational factor in the
classroom.” Moreover, Chambers (1999) asserts that “of all the factors that were hypothesized
to contribute to the pupils‟ positive or negative appraisal of L2 learning, the teacher came out
on top for all cohorts surveyed.” (Cited in Dornyei, 2011). Sharing the similar viewpoint with
the theorists above, Alison (1993, cited in Dornyei, 2001) states: “motivational teacher
influences are manifold, ranging from the rapport with the students to specific teacher
behaviors which persuade and/ or attracts students to engage in on – task behaviors.”
It is obvious that the teacher‟s behavior has a great influence on learners‟ motivation;

therefore, the teacher should be on his/ her best behavior.


12

 Relationship between teachers and students
The importance of establishing good relationship between teachers and learners is confirmed
by Alison (1993). He says, “A key element factor is to establish relationships of mutual trust
and respect with the learners.” This involves finding opportunities to talk with them on a
personal level and letting them know that we have thought about them and that their individual
effort is recognized. (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 120).
 Teachers’ enthusiasm
As we know, enthusiasm always has a positive influence and is considered as an indispensable
factor in any aspects of life, especially in language teachning.
According to Good and Brophy (1994: 240, cited in Dornyei, 2001: 179), teachers‟ enthusiasm
“does not mean pep talks or unnecessary theatrics.”; it means that “teachers identify their own
reasons for being interested in the topic or for finding it meaningful or important and project
these reasons to the students when teaching about the topic.”
Csikszetmihalyi (1997, cited in Dornyei, 2001) claims that the most valuable quality of a
teacher is enthusiasm. He states: “the most influential teachers - those who are remembered
and who make a real difference in their students‟ development – are not the ones, who have
most status and power, and they may not even be the most intelligent or knowledgeable
instructors a student has. Instead, they are usually the ones, who love what they are doing, who
show by their dedication and their passion that there is nothing else on earth they would rather
be doing.”
We can come to the conclusion that teachers‟ enthusiasm is one of the important factors
leading to the success of a lesson.
1.1.4.3. The atmosphere in the classroom
Besides the factors mentioned above, learning and teaching conditions in the classroom
contribute to the success or failure of second language learning.

Relating to this aspect, MacIntyre (1999 and Young, 1999 cited in Doinyei, 2001: 121)
affirms that “any practicing teacher will be aware of the fact that students‟ anxiety created by a
tense classroom climate is one of the most potent factors that undermine learning effectiveness
and L2 motivation.” Dornyei (2001: 121) says that “learner involvement will be highest in a


13

psychologically safe classroom climate in which students are encouraged to express their
opinions and in which they feel that they are protected from ridicule and embarrassment.”
Good and Brophy claim that a pleasant and co-operative climate in classroom is a good
condition for the development of students‟ motivation in learning. Good and Brophy (1994:
215, cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121) reveal that “to be motivated to learn, students need both
ample opportunities to learn and steady encouragement and support of their learning efforts.
Because such motivation is unlikely to develop in a chaotic classroom, it is important that the
teacher organize and manage the classroom as an effective learning environment.” They also
state that “because anxious or alienated students are unlikely to develop motivation to learn, it
is important that learning occurs within a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. The teacher
should be a patient, encouraging person who supports students‟ learning efforts. Students
should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks because they know that they will not be
embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake.”
(cited in Dornyei, 2001)
Besides the factors such as teachers and learners, learning and teaching condition is a factor
affecting success or failure of the learners. Moreover, it can motivate or demotivate students.
1.2. Theoretical background of speaking and the teaching of speaking skill
1.2.1. What is speaking?
It seems that the concept of speaking is quite familiar to everyone; however, not anybody can
give an exact definition of speaking. The following are several definitions of speaking being
seen from different angles.
Bailey (2005: 2) defines that speaking is composed of “producing systematic verbal utterances

to convey meaning”.
Another definition of speaking was provided by Florez as follows: Speaking is „an interactive
process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing
information‟. It is „often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving‟, but it is not completely
unpredictable.” (cited in Bailey, 2005: 2).


14

Sharing the same view with Florez, Brown (1994) and Burns & Joyce (1997) state: “Speaking
is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and
processing information.” Its form and meaning are subsidiary to the situation in which it
happens, involving „the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical
environment, and the purposes for speaking.‟ (Burns & Joyce, 1997).
Being different from the viewpoints mentioned above, Byrne (1986: 8) gave a more specific
definition of speaking that helps us understand the nature of speaking. He defines: “Oral
communication is a two-way process between speaker and listener and involves productive
skill of speaking and the perceptive skill of understanding/ listening with understanding”. In
which, “both speaker and listener have a positive function to perform.” In simple terms, the
spokesperson „has to encode the message‟ he desires to impart in suitable parlance, while the
receiver „has to decode/ interpret the message.‟ It is necessary to remember that the hearer‟s
interpretation will not necessarily give his or her response to the spokesperson‟s implicit
meaning. The message itself, in common discourse, normally contains a good amount of
„information‟ that is excessive. For instance, it contains more information than the listener
actually needs in order to understand, so that he is not obliged to follow with the maximum
attention. At the same time, the listener is helped by prosodic features, such as stress and
intonation, which are part of the meaning of the spoken utterance, as well as by facial and
bodily movements such as gestures. (cited in Byrne, 1986)
In brief, speaking is a communicative process, including the speaker, the listener, in which, the
role of the speaker is providing information, and the hearer‟s is receiving information.

1.2.2. Phases to teaching speaking
According to Byrne (1991: 22-31), there are three phases to promote students‟ speaking
ability. They are presentation phase, practice phase, and production phase. They are briefly
summarized as follows:
1. 2.2.1. Phase 1: The presentation phase
At this phase, teachers work as an informant for these reasons: teachers know English much
better than students; teachers choose the materials to teach; teachers provide this in such a way
that the meaning of the new language is as intelligible and memorable as possible, whereas the


15

students are motionless. They pay attention to what the teaching are saying, try to understand,
and say very little. This phase is teacher-centred.
1.2.2.2. Phase 2: The practice phase
Unlike the presentation phase, it is the students‟ turn to do most of the talking. At this stage,
the teacher does the minimum amount of talking. He provides the maximum amount of
practice. Practice is normally in the form of exercises or activities for improvement of fluency.
1.2.2.3. Phase 3: The production phase
At this phase, students need chances to speak English freely even if they make mistakes. A
real speaking of English takes place when the students are able to use English for themselves,
not for the teachers. Accordingly, we must take on the role of manager or a guide to supply
activities for free expressions and care for them as they carry them out.
1.2.3. Some key issues in teaching speaking
In Bailey (2005)‟s Practical English Language Teaching: Speaking as well as problems
dealing with teaching speaking are presented quite clearly; however, in my study, I will only
focus on two main issues that are related to my study.
1.2.3.1. Reticence and dominance in speaking activities
According to Tsui (1996, cited in Bailey, 2005), the students‟ reticence is due to five factors:
(1) the students‟ low English proficiency; (2) the students‟ fear of mistakes and the derision

they thought they would face as a result; (3) the teachers‟ intolerance of silence; (4) the
teachers‟ uneven allocation of turns; and (5) incomprehensible input from the teachers. Basing
on these factors, Bailey comes to the conclusion that “it seems the teachers themselves were
creating conditions that contributed to the students‟ reticence.” On the contrary, in a speaking
class, there are students who have the tendency to „dominate‟ others. These students have the
ability to „speak a great deal because of personality traits, cultural issues, proficiency, or any
combination of these factors‟. (Bailey, 2005: 164)
1.2.3.2. Multi-level speaking classes
Concerning this issue, Bailey points out that speaking classes have students at different levels,
the learners with lower level of proficiency „may feel intimidated‟ by the learners with higher
level of proficiency. On the other hand, „the more proficient learners may feel that the other


16

students slow them down‟. Therefore, teachers need to prepare speaking activities that not
only are corresponding to learners‟ level but also attract the attention of all students.
1.2.4. Some speaking motivational activities and techniques to motivate students to speak
1.2.4.1. Speaking motivational activities
The following are some examples of oral accuracy practice and oral fluency practice activities
that can be used for motivating students in speaking lessons.
 Games
According to Byrne (1986), games are considered as “a form of play governed by certain rules
or conventions”. In the language classroom, games are not only a diversion, a break from
routine activities but also a tool contributing to language proficiency in some way by getting
students to use language in the course of game. There are three kinds of games provided by
Byrne (1986) such as accuracy-focused games, fluency-focused games and board games
The use of games in teaching English speaking skill is very beneficial to students because it
helps increase their motivation. “Language games are highly motivating. Enjoyment,
excitement and passion are naturally generated from playing games”. (Wright, Betteridge, and

Buckby, 1984, cited in Wang, 2010). According to Adam (1973, cited in Wang, 2010),
“games are self-motivating to stimulate learners‟ interest and curiosity, which benefits learners
best to play with the language in their first stages of language learning.” It has become clear
that games play a considerably important role in motivating students.
 Role play
In Byrne (1986)‟s book, in role play, “the participants interact either as themselves in
imaginary situations or as other people in imaginary situations”. Byrne suggests that in order
to carry out a role play activity successfully, teachers „need not only to identify situations
which will stimulate the learners but also give them roles that will match the requirements of
their personalities‟.
Relating to the importance of role play in learning English speaking, Ladousse (2004, cited in
Huang, 2008) pointed out that “role play is one of a whole gamut of communicative
techniques which develop fluency in language students, which promotes interaction in the


17

classroom, and which increases motivation.” He also revealed that role-play stimulate „peer
learning and sharing the responsibility for learning between teacher and student‟. In belief,
role play can make significant contributions to enhancing students‟ motivation in speaking
English.
 Information gap
Information gap is defined as “an activity where learners are missing the information they
need

to

complete

a

task

and

need

to

talk

to

each

other

( />
to
In

find

it.”

speaking

lessons, information gap activities “provide an opportunity for extended speaking practice,
they represent real communication, motivation can be high, and they require sub-skills such as
clarifying meaning and re-phrasing.” ( />Information gap activity is one of the efficient ways for encouraging students to participate in

speaking activities. Neu & Reeser (1997, cited in Raptou, 2001) claimed that information gap
activities „are extremely effective in the L2 classroom‟; “they give every student the
opportunity to speak in the target language for an extended period of time and students
naturally produce more speech than they would otherwise”. Another benefit of information
gap activities is that „students are forced to negotiate meaning because they must make what
they are saying comprehensible to others in order to accomplish the task‟. (cited in Raptou,
2001).
 Conduct interviews
“An interview is a conversation between two people (the interviewer and the interviee) where
questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.”
( />According to Kayi, when students conduct interviews, teachers should provide them with a
rubric „so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but
students should prepare their own interview questions‟. He also affirms that learners will
benefit much from conducting interviews. He states: “Conducting interviews with people
gives students a chance to practice their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and


18

helps them becoming socialized”. It is obvious that using interview activities in teaching
English speaking can help students develop asking and answering question skill in real
situations. As a result, it can improve students‟ interaction as well as elicitation skills.
( /> Picture describing
Picture describing activity means giving just one picture and having students describe what it
is in the picture. In this activity, learners may work in groups and each group is provided a
different picture. Firstly, learners debate the picture in their groups, subsequently, a leader of
each group describe in front of the class. This activity „fosters the creativity and imagination
of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.‟ ( />Speaking.html). Therefore, this activity helps increase the amount of time students spend on,
the persistence in the learning process; it can also increase students‟ interest and their attention
to the lesson. As a result, picture description helps increase students‟ motivation in learning

English speaking.
 Problem-solving activities
Problem-solving activities consist of „a range of activities which require the learners to find
„solutions‟ to problems of different kinds”. (cited in Byrne, 1986: 94). So what is the role of
these activities in learning speaking English? Shumin (1997) helped us find out the answer to
this question. He said that problem-solving activities foster interaction and collaboration
among students that complement the affective factors in the L2 learning. He also states: “Selfesteem, empathy, reduced anxiety, and improved attitude and motivation are all fostered when
students are engaged in genuine interaction”.
It can be concluded that problem-solving activities bring learners many benefits; however,
when applying them, it is necessary to make sure that they are suitable for the learners‟ level
of English proficiency as well as the purpose of each lesson. Besides, knowing how to handle
them properly is of great importance.
1.2.5.2. Techniques
According to Dornyei (2001), the objective of techniques is to „generate and enhance student
motivation, as well as maintain ongoing motivated bahaviour and protect it from distracting


19

and/ or competing action tendencies‟. This means that techniques are used to „increase student
involvement and to save the action when ongoing monitoring reveals that progress is slowing,
halting, or backsliding‟. (cited in Dorneyi: 2001). In this section, I will present several
motivational techniques that can be used to increase their students‟ „commitment, effort and
persistence‟.
 Increasing the learners’ self-confidence
According to Dornyei (2001: 130), self-efficacy plays a decisive role in „determining the
amount of effort and the persistence‟. The following are several ways of increasing the
students‟ self-confidence‟:
-

Teacher can foster the belief in their students that competence is a changeable and controllable
aspect of development and they can help to dispel misconceptions and unrealistic fears.

-

Favourable self-conceptions of L2 competence can be promoted by providing regular experiences
of success and emphasizing what learners can rather than cannot do.

-

Everybody is more interested in proceedings if they feel that they have an important part to play,
therefore, and therefore even hard-to reach learners can be motivated by giving them the feeling of
making a useful contribution and creating classroom situations where they can demonstrate
positive features and come forward to offer help. (Alision, 1993)

-

Sometimes a small personal word of encouragement is sufficient.

-

Finally, teachers can reduce classroom anxiety by making the learning context less stressful and by
providing learners with strategies to cope with anxiety-provoking situations.
(Dornyei, 2001: 130-131)

 Build a supportive learning environment
It is clear that when learners receive support from their teacher and classmates, it is possible
that they will feel willing to speak English. The following are several ways that teachers can
use to create a supportive atmosphere in the class.
- Encourage peer support in the classroom

Tsui (1996: 160) states: “allowing students to check their answers with their partners before
offering them to the whole class also encourages students to speak up.” Similarly, if students
have the chance to discuss their answers with their partners before presenting in front of the
class, they will feel more confident in speaking English.
- Tolerate the first language use when appropriate


20

Students with low communicative levels are unable to convey all their ideas in English, so
teachers should be tolerant of the first language use of some students. According to Nation
(1997), using the first language can help learning in many cases; therefore, the teachers‟
attitudes to the first language use should be positive when it is appropriate. On the contrary,
when the first language use is unnecessary, teachers should tactically lead learners back to
using English.
- Make the classroom environment a non-threatening place
With the reference to Oxford (1999), the classroom should be an environment where learners
are not afraid of making mistakes and being ambiguous in communicating. Young (1991)
suggests that teachers should avoid calling on students without allowing them to prepare for
the answers, and calling on a student simply because he or she is quiet or not concentrating.
 Give students appropriate guidance
The role of teachers in making class active by their guide and arrangement is of great
importance. It is necessary to encourage and respect learners‟ initiatives; however, this does
not mean that teachers do not have to give guidance and assessment. In general, the guidance
and help from the teachers can make students‟ performances become better in the class.
( /> Make the curriculum relevant to the students
According to Nation (2000), teachers can create recalling and sharing-experience
opportunities for students to make use of their background knowledge and experience in doing
tasks. Moreover, it is necessary for teachers to grade the difficulty level of oral tasks to suit
their students‟ communicative ability. Concerning this issue, Dornyei (2001: 126) claims:

“The average student in a good school tends to do the work even when a subject does not
arouse high intrinsic motivation and even when rewards and punishments are not salient.” So,
why do these students make such effects?” His answer to this question is that „these learners
share the belief of the curriculum designers that the programme is desirable and valuable‟. He
suggests that if teachers want to „increase this beneficial effect‟, they have to explore their
students‟ objectives and the topics they are interested in learning, and construct these into their
syllabus.


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 Vary speaking activities and topics
Dealing with this aspect, Davies (2000) points out that “Varied activities, interactions and
topics can all contribute to making oral accuracy practice, and lessons in general, more
enjoyable and effective for the learners.” Besides, varying speaking activities bring students
some other benefits such as motivating learners‟ interest and encouraging them to speak;
improving students‟ spoken English progressively.
( />It has become clear that motivational techniques are indispensable in teaching Englishspeaking skill. In my opinion, they are key factors leading to the success of language teaching.
1.3. Summary
In conclusion, this chapter presents the theoretical background knowledge concerning to the
study. It has discussed the concepts and issues relating to motivation, types of motivation, the
importance of motivation and some factors affecting motivation in second language learning.
In addition, several aspects relating to speaking has been presented such as definitions of
speaking, phases to teaching speaking, key issues in teaching speaking, speaking motivational
activities and techniques to motivate students to speak.
The following chapters will display the methodology, the findings and the recommendations
under the light of the above discussed theories.