A study on contextual influences on students' attitudes toward English language learning at Viet - Hung Industrial College = Nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng của hoàn cảnh

Vietnam national university, HaNoi
college of foreign languages
Department of Postgraduate

KHUONG THI THU HAI



A study on CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES ON STUDENTS’
ATTITUDES TOWARD ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING
AT VIET - HUNG Industrial college.

(Nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng của hoàn cảnh đến thái độ của sinh viên đối
với việc học tiếng Anh ở trường cao đẳng công nghiệp Việt - Hung)

MA. MINOR THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY
CODE: 601410









Hanoi,2009

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Table of content

Table of content
Acknowledgement
Abstract
List of abbreviations
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.Rationale of the study
1.2. Purpose of the study
1.3. Scope of the study
1.4. Research questions
1.5. Method of study
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Organization of the thesis
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 What is attitude?
2.2. Definition of Motivation
2.3. Distinction between Attitude and Motivation
2.4. Role of Attitudes in Foreign Language Learning
2.5. Role of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning
2.6. Models of motivation
CHAPTER III THE STUDY
3.1. The context
3.2. The participants
3.3. Methods of Data Collection
3.4. The Questionnaire
3.5. Presentation of two surveys:
3.6. Finding Analysis

3.6.1. Attitudes toward Learning Situation
3.6.2. Integrativeness
CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1. Conclusions
4.2. Recommendations
4.3. Limitations of the study
REFERENCES
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APPENDIX 1
APPENDIX 2
APPENDIX 3






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III
VII


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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AMTB
Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery
EFL
English as a Foreign Language
ESL
English as a Second Language
ESP
English for Special Purposes
FLL
Foreign Language Learning
L2
Second Language
2LL
Second Language Learning
TEFL
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
TL
Target Language
VIC
Viet Hung Industrial College







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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Attitudes and motivation are two important learner factors in second or foreign
language learning. Although English has been taught to vocational students as a
compulsory subject, there has yet been a study on the students‟ attitudes to, and motivation
for learning English. This study is an initial attempt in this regard. This chapter presents
the rationale, scope, research questions, research methods and design of the study.
1.1. Rational
Nowadays, English is considered as an international language, which is spoken by
millions of people all over the world. English has a dominant position in science,
technology, medicine, and computers; in research, books, periodicals, and software; in
transnational business, trade, shipping, and aviation; in diplomacy and international
organizations; in mass media entertainment, news agencies and journalism; in youth
culture and sport; in education systems, as the most widely learnt foreign language…It is
obvious that mastering English helps the country not only have more contacts with more
nations in the world but also enrich its people‟s knowledge.
Language learning is a complex activity for many reasons. Firstly, it is closely
related with linguistics. Most activities in the realm of language learning concern with the
learner receiving linguistic input of some form and use the acquired input for the sake of
communication in the form of linguistic output. Linguistics provides the answer to the
question of what people learn; either it is grammar, vocabulary or the language skills.
Secondly, language learning is social, as it occurs in a certain social context. This context
often imposes conditions for both learning behaviors and language use. In this way
language learning correlates with sociology. Finally, language learning is individual.
Personal characteristics such as experience, gender and age, attitude and aptitude,
motivation, belief, self-confidence and anxiety are very influential in language learning.
Insights in this field of learning are psychology.
In his socioeducational model, Gardner‟s (1985a,2000), has made a distinction
between two classes of attitudes, integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning

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situation. The model proposes that integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning
situation are two correlated variables that support the individual‟s motivation to learn a
second language, but that motivation is responsible for achievement in the second language
learning. In other words, integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation are
related to achievement in the second language learning, but that effect is indirect, acting
through motivation.
There are a variety of factors affecting learner‟s motivation and attitudes. Among
these factors are their learning purposes, instructional content and teaching methods. Good
learning environment tends to render in the learner proper motivation so that learning
becomes a self-directed process. However, many learners come into class without well-
defined set of motivation and attitudes. They are not clear about how and why languages
should be learnt for personal pursuits. Moreover, motivation can be treated as a dependant
variable in a research. Operating on motivation is supposed to improve achievement and
chances of success.
In Vietnam in general and at Viet Hung Industrial College (VIC) in particular,
English has an overwhelming position as a foreign language. It has been a compulsory
subject in curricular. In many schools such as VIC , teachers have been facing problems of
large size, prescribed textbooks, limited time for formal instruction and low proficiency
students. Many students learn English just as to pass the exams, and a lot of teachers‟
attempts to try out communicative activities fail at large classes. The matter of
heterogeneity also considerably limits the chance of success of communicative tasks.
Therefore, few students can use English to communicate in common real-life situations,
and they tend to „forget‟ English upon leaving school. Attaining the ability to produce
linguistic outcomes and maintaining interest in continuous learning seem to be a difficult
task for many students.
To sum up, there are many factors leading to successful foreign language learning.
In the extent of this study, the researcher wants to find out “contextual influences on
students’ attitudes toward English language learning at Viet Hung Industrial

College”. The study was conducted with the hope that, the empirical evidence on students‟
preferences towards English language learning will help language teachers find the best
possible solution to improve their teaching performance in term of effectiveness.
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1.2 Purpose of the study
With the above-presented rationale, the study aims at:
 Investigating students‟ attitudes toward the learning situation at Viet
Hung Industrial College (VIC). It includes evaluation of the course and evaluation of the
teacher.
 Investigating integrativeness of the students at VIC. It means to find
out students‟ attitudes toward the target language group, interest in foreign languages and
integrativeness orientation.
 Proposing some recommendations and suggestions for language
teachers to teach English more effectively.
1.3 Scope of the study
As it has been stated above, the study aims at investigating how contexts influences
on students‟ attitudes toward English language learning at VIC in order to come up with
some methodological recommendations. It is, therefore, explorative by nature Because of
time limitation, the study only focuses on group of students of mechanical engineering as
the participants.
1.4 Research questions:
The study was intended to answer the following questions:
1. What are students‟ attitudes towards learning situation at VIC?
2. What are integrative motivation of students at VIC?
3. What are the methodologies of teaching to motivate students to learn
English successfully?
1.5 Methods of study
The study has been conducted in the form of survey research with its technique of
questionnaire with informants of three classes of 176 students third-year non major of

English at VIC.

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1.6 Significance of the study
The significance role of context in teaching and learning English can hardly denied.
The study is designed to find attitudes of students toward learning English beyond context
at VIC. Some suggestions will be given for language teachers to make teaching procedure
more convenient and effective.
1.7 Organization of the thesis
The thesis is divided into four chapters:
 Chapter I: Introduction
 Chapter II: Literature review
 Chapter III: The study
 Chapter IV: Recommendation and conclusion
The first chapter provides all information about the rationale, purpose, scope,
method and significance of the study.
The second chapter presents the theoretical background: the theories and concepts
related to attitudes and integrativeness in learning English
Chapter 3 is devoted to a detail description of data analysis and a discussion on the
findings of the study.
And the last chapter, chapter 4, present summary of the findings and draws out
some pedagogical suggestions in relation to the question of how to motivate students to
learn English more effectively.
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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

Motivation and attitudes are the key factors to gain language learning achievement
Positive attitudes and motivation are related to succeed in second language learning. This

chapter will find out the literature of attitudes and motivation as well as their relevance.
2.1 What is attitude?
The term „attitude‟ is commonly used in everyday conversation – this shows not
only that it is, as Baker comments, „part of the terminology system of many individuals‟
(1992: 9), but also shows that attitude plays an important role in various (if not all) aspects
of our lives, including our level of success in first and second language learning.
Attitude can be defined as a set of beliefs developed in a due course of time in a
given sociocultural setting. Although it necessarily so not determine behaviour but can
have some impact on it. It is studied that positive 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
result. Language learning is effected by the attitude and motivation. Motivated,
demotivated and motivated students have different perceptions of their class, teacher and
curriculum. Their perceptions are responsible to for their attitudes. An individual‟s
perception of the class, perception of the teacher, peer group, syllabus and his/her
awareness for future needs effect hi/her attitude to language learning.
Learning a language is closely related to the attitudes towards the languages (Starks
& Paltridge 1996: 218). In the Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics (1992:199)
„language attitudes‟ are defined as follows:
The attitude which speakers of different languages or language varieties have
towards each others‟ languages or to their own language. Expressions of positive or
negative feelings towards a language may reflect impressions of linguistic difficulty or
simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, degree of importance, elegance, social status,
etc. Attitudes towards a language may also show what people feel about the speakers of
that language.
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Gardner (1985: 10) sees attitudes as components of motivation in language
learning. According to him, „motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to
achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the
language‟. He believes the motivation to learn a foreign language is determined by basic

predispositions and personality characteristics such as the learner‟s attitudes towards
foreign people in general, and the target group and language in particular, motives for
learning, and generalized attitudes (Gardner 1985). Wenden (1991) sees attitudes as
including three components: First, attitudes tend to have a cognitive component. This could
involve beliefs or perceptions about the objects or situations related to the attitude. Second,
attitudes have an evaluative component. This means that the objects or situations related to
the attitude may generate like or dislike. Third, attitudes have a behavioral component, i.e.
certain attitudes tend to prompt learners to adopt particular learning behaviours. Bernat and
Gvozdenko (2005) discuss the current issues, pedagogical implications and new directions
in beliefs about language learning including social, cultural, contextual, cognitive,
affective, and personal factors among which attitudes have an important place. Similarly,
Csizér and Dörnyei (2005) conclude attitude as an important factor in language learning in
their study on the internal structure of language learning motivation and its relationship
with language choice and learning effort, which was put forward previously as the Process
Model of L2 Motivation (Dörnyei and Ottó 1999). Moreover, Dörnyei (2000) proposes a
process-oriented approach to the understanding of student motivation which broke down
the motivational process
Social psychologists like Krech, Crutchfield & Ballachey (1962) define attitudes as
„enduring systems of positive or negative evaluations, emotional feelings, and pro or con
action techniques with respect to social objects‟ (p. 29). Rokeach (1979) also takes
endurance to be characteristic, defining attitude to be „a relatively enduring organization of
beliefs around an object or situation predisposing one to respond in some preferential
manner‟ (p. 105). Ajzen (1988), focusing more on attitudes as explaining human
behaviour, holds that „an attitude is a disposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to an
object, person, institution, or event‟ (p. 4). Likewise, Baker (1992) describes attitude as „a
hypothetical construct used to explain the direction and persistence of human behaviour‟
(p.10).
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Similarly, Klausmeier (1985), an educational psychologist, holds that attitudes „are

learned, emotionally toned predispositions to behave in a consistent way toward persons,
objects, and ideas. Attitudes have both an affective component and an informational
component‟ (p. 403). This learning need not be conscious or consciously directed –
similarly, the attitude itself need not be conscious.
All the above definitions of attitudes share some common characteristics. In the
broadest sense, attitudes are enduring evaluative constructs that exert a directive influence
on behaviour – that is, a lack of neutrality in evaluating an object, a psychological
tendency to be for or against an object. These constructs have both affective (I like the
taste of green tea) and informational components (I believe that green tea is good for me)
combining into an attitude (I am pro green tea, and ceteris paribus will buy and drink it).
Attitudes are internal dispositions that cannot be directly observed, but (since they
exert a directive influence on behaviour) can be inferred from external, habitual ways of
behaviour (see for example Ajzen, 1988; Baker, 1992). They are then used when
explaining behaviour – people act in accordance with their attitudes. (Indeed, a similar
process of inference is arguably followed to determine ones‟ own subconscious attitudes).
Inferring attitudes is made yet more difficult by the fact that people may hold multiple and
contradictory attitudes towards the same object (or the same object under different
descriptions)
2.2. Definition of Motivation
Motivation is considered a key factor in the successful acquisition of second and
foreign languages, and a great deal of research has been conducted on the issue as a result.
Many theories of motivation have been put forward over the years, because it is
thought of as the key to understanding behaviour.
According to Gardener (1985) the term „motivation’ means „referring to the extent
to which the individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to do so
and the satisfaction experienced in this activity (p.10).
Humanistic theorists intend not so much to manipulate human behaviour as to
understand it. Because humanistic theories are concerned with the normal aspects of
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human behaviour, they seem to attract broader interest. Maslow (1970), one of the main
proponents of humanistic theory, proposes that motivation itself implies need-satisfying
behaviour, with the hierarchy of needs-motives as follows; 1) physiological needs (the
lowest rank in his hierarchy); followed by 2) safety needs, 3) belongingness and love
needs, 4) esteem needs, 5) self-actualization needs, 6) desires to know and understand, and
7) aesthetic needs. Higher level needs come into effect (cause, or explain) only when
lower-level needs have been gratified. Maslow suggests a kind of cut-off for „higher-level‟,
around level five, self-actualization needs. Self-actualization refers to people‟s desire for
self-fulfillment, namely, the tendency for them to become actualized in what they are
potentially‟ (Maslow, 1970: 22). Rivers (1983) interprets Maslow‟s theory as follows:
“all human beings have a hierarchy of needs that must be satisfied before they can reach
the stage where the achievement of their potential as individuals becomes their chief
concern- the stage where they seek to develop their powers and increase their knowledge
and experience”. (p.148)
Rivers goes on to argue that Maslow‟s hierarchical needs theory can be adapted to
second language learning, especially to bilingual settings. When language students are not
performing to their teachers expectations, „the reasons may be traceable to unsatisfy lower
levels of Maslow‟s hierarchy of needs‟ (p. 148).
Motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon which can be
defined in terms of two factors: learner‟s communicative needs and their attitudes towards
the second language community. If learners need to speak the second in a wide range of
social situations or to fulfill professional ambitions, they will perceive the communicative
value of the second language and will therefore be motivated to acquire proficiency in it.
In summary, motivation refers to goal-directed behaviors and when one is
attempting to measure motivation, attention, can be directed toward a number of features
of the individual. The motivated individual expends effort, is persistent and attentive to the
task at hand, has goals, desires and aspirations, enjoys the activity, experiences
reinforcement from success and disappointment from failure, makes attributions
concerning success and/or failure, is aroused, and make use of strategies to aid in achieving
goals. That is, the motivated individual exhibits many behaviors, feelings, cognitions, etc.,

that the individual who is unmotivated does not.
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The relationship between motivation and learning is connected and motivation and
learning are mutually causal. That is, those students, “who are more motivated learn more
…those who learn more become more motivated.” (Richmond, 1990, p. 194).
In this study the motivations in education in general and in second or foreign
language learning in particular discussed above will shed a light on the analysis of the
motivation of English learning of students at VIC.
2.3. Distinction between Attitude and Motivation
In his series of studies on language achievement, Gardner (1977) found that greater
motivation and attitudes lead to better learning. A uni-directional causal relationship
between motivation and learning was established.
Baker (1992), discussing the distinction between „attitude‟ and „motivation‟ in
foreign language education, notes that these two terms „often appear without discussion of
the extent of over-lap and difference‟ (p. 14). Gardner & Lambert (1972) define
„motivation‟ as the second-language learner‟s overall goal and orientation, and „attitude‟ as
the learner‟s persistence in striving to the goal. However, „motivation‟ and „attitude‟ are
not thereby clearly delineated from one another, in that „the learner‟s motivation for
language study would be determined by his attitudes and readiness to identify and by his
orientation to the whole process of learning a foreign language‟ (1972: 132).
Indeed, as Mitchell and Myles‟ (1998) note, research on L2 language attitudes has
largely been conducted within the framework of broader research on motivation, of which
attitudes form one part (p. 19). Ellis (1985) discusses the difficulty of separating attitudes
and motivation, noting that both are only derived from the behaviour of language learners,
and are never directly observed. He goes on to say that it is clear that there is no general
agreement about what precisely “motivation” or “attitudes” consist of, nor of the
relationship between the two‟ (p.117).
However, it is widely accepted that attitudes are object specific, and motivation
has particular actions as its goals (Newcomb, 1950; Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Baker,

1992). Johnstone (1989), for example, writes that attitudes have objects as their points
of reference, e.g. a positive attitude to school, a negative attitude to mathematics‟ and
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continues that motivation has goals rather than objectives as its point of reference‟ (p.:
120).
Therefore, individuals are assessed on whether they have negative or positive
attitudes to a certain object. On the other hand, motivation is either present (at some
strength) or absent, rather than negative or positive.
Ellis (1994: 198) states that
Learners manifest different attitudes toward (1) the target language, (2) target-
language speakers, (3) the target-language culture, (4) the social value of learning the L2,
(5) particular uses of the target language, and (6) themselves as members of their own
culture. These attitudes are likely to reflect the particular social settings in which learners
find themselves. Learner attitudes have an impact on the level of L2 proficiency achieved
by individual learners and are themselves influenced by this success. Thus, learners with
positive attitudes, who experience success, will have these attitudes reinforced. Similarly,
learners‟ negative attitudes may be strengthened by lack of success. We will also find cases
of learners who begin with positive attitudes but who, for one reason or another, experience
inadequate learning opportunities, fail to progress as they expected, and consequently,
become more negative in their outlook.
In this study, I will adopt Ellis‟s above attitudinal theory to explore the attitudes of
the students at VIC towards English language learning.
2.4. Role of Attitudes in Foreign Language Learning
In educational psychology, attitudes are considered to be strongly determinative of
academic achievement (this is of course simply a special case of the conclusion reached in
section 3.1 above, that „affective variables are thus expected to be greatly determinative of
success in learning English‟). For example, Klausmeier (1985) notes that „attitudes
influence how well students learn and how they behave‟ (p. 375) and goes on to give an
example – high school students with positive attitudes toward mathematics take optional

courses in mathematics, whereas those with negative attitudes take only the required
courses. Furthermore, he insists on the importance of teachers' attitudes towards students in
facilitating learning. Finocchiaro (1989) suggests even more broadly that „the attitudes of
students, teachers, community members, peers, and others with whom the student comes
into contact‟ all are causal factors for motivation (p. 48).
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The term „attitude‟ in foreign language learning is generally used to refer to the
attitude of the learners towards the TL society (Lightbown & Spada, 1999; Littlewood,
1984; McLaughlin, 1987; Brown, 1994). This attitude towards the target society is „a factor
of learners attitudes toward their own native culture, their degree of ethnocentrism, and the
extent to which they prefer their own language over the one they are learning as a second
language‟ (Brown, 1994: 168). In terms that concern us here, then, we are interested in
students‟ attitude at VIC towards learning English.
Attitudes, as enduring or persistent, are particularly important „determinant of
academic achievement‟ in foreign language education, because learning a foreign language
requires such long-term endeavour. Attitudes, of both the learner and other people in the
learners‟ social environment, play a crucial role in determining the degree and persistence
of the learners‟ motivation.
2.5. Role of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning
Given the widespread acceptance that motivation is a key to success in mastering a
foreign language, it is no surprise that a substantial body of research into motivation and
both 2LL and FLL exists. The social psychological approach and extensive
experimentation of Gardner & Lambert (1959, 1972) won them particular favour with
linguists. They identify two types of motivation; instrumental motivation or „a desire to
gain social recognition or economic advantages through knowledge of a foreign language‟,
and integrative motivation or „a desire to be representative members of the other language
community‟ (Gardner & Lambert, 1972: 14).
In their first study (1959), a twelve-year study of English-speaking high school
students who were studying French in Montreal, Gardner & Lambert used a measure of

motivational intensity similar to Jones‟ (1950) index of interest in learning a language.
In this research, they found that students with integrative motivation were more
successful in learning a second language that those with instrumental motivation. The
students‟ parents‟ attitudes also affected their motivation. That is, the students integratively
oriented to learn French had „the parents who also were integrative in outlook and
sympathetic to the French community‟ (Gardner & Lambert, 1972: 5).
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Results such as these led the researchers to conclude that integrative motivation can
last longer and create more positive results than instrumental motivation, because the
former is more deeply concerned with the personality of the learner.
Meaningful involvement in language learning happens only when learners find
their needs to be met. Thus it is assumed that motivation is one of the major factors
contributing to one‟s success in learning a second or foreign language. Oxford & Shearan
(1994) state that:
“Many researchers consider motivation as one of the main elements that determine
success in developing a second or foreign language; it determines the extent of active,
personal involvement in L2 learning.”(Page 78)
Herman (1980) and Skehan (1989) argue that it is also possible for motivation to be
the result of learning. Learners who achieve success tend to persevere motivation, and
those who don‟t succeed become discouraged and gain less success. In such circumstances
a vicious circle can evolve, with low motivation resulting in low achievement, low
achievement creating low motivation and so on.
Spolsky (1997) presents a model of language learning which involve,4 factors.
According to her, linguistic outcome K is the summary of K
P
(knowledge and skills at the
moment), A (a symbol to represent various components of ability including physiological,
biological, intellectual and cognitive skills), M (a symbol to include various affective
factors such as personality, attitude, motivation and anxiety), and O (opportunity for

learning a language). Simply stated. Future knowledge and skills K = K
P
+ A + M + O, but
if any one part is absent, there can be no learning. Although this seems to be
oversimplification of a complicated matter of learning, it does represent key components
that can contribute to success. Unlike factors such as K
P
and A, which are hard to be
changed, motivation is both social and personal and possesses potential for achievement
improvement.
In a teaching/learning environment, it is important to assist the learner to develop a
self-attribution explanation of effort (internal, control). If the person has an attribution of
ability (internal, no control) as soon as the individual experiences some difficulties in the
learning process, he or she will decrease appropriate learning behavior. If the person has an
external attribution, then he will not rely on himself for success. Consequently, learning
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becomes passive process. In this case, there is nothing to be done by the learner when
learning problems occur. The teacher‟s task is then to focus students on the control aspect
of learning by asking learners to try their best on the one hand, and design tasks of
appropriate difficulty level on the other hand.
Motivating students using reward one way of satisfying learners‟ needs. Rewards
mean two things: it is a physical incentive, also it is recognition of good job to be done.
Robert Harris (2001) identifies 5 students‟ basic needs as survival, love, power, fun and
freedom. He suggests that in the classroom context, rather than always avoiding or
suppressing these needs, teachers should design an educational activity to fulfill them. This
will even lead to students overcoming substantial immediate unpleasantness to complete
difficult learning tasks.
To sum up, different theories have provided us varied views of motivation.
However, these theories all treat motivation as either internal or external drive of human

behaviors. Motivation explains for man‟s action.
2.6. Models of motivation
Derived from different theoretical psychological theories, models of motivation are
also diversified in number and nature. In fact, there is no unique model applied in all
situations because models can be different in popular. Instead, researchers often seek to
build up their own model to fit in their social context of study. There are some of important
models the researcher have found in the literature as follow:
Of the models of motivation in language learning, the most notable is Gardner and
Lambert‟s (1972) socio-educational models. This model incorporate four variables
summarizing individual differences: intelligence, language aptitude, motivation and
situational anxiety. These psychologist researchers insist that the primary factor in the
model is motivation. He defines motivation as a combination of attitudes towards learning
the language, desire to learn the language, and effort made to learn the language. All these
3 components determine success if the students is truly motivated. According to Gardner, a
highly motivated individual will enjoy learning the language, want to learn the language
and strive to learn the language. Achievement can influence attitude, but the primary
causal relationship is that achievement is the result of attitude and motivation.
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Gardner‟s (1972) studies have led to an introduction of integrative and instrumental
motivation. Integrative motivation occurs when the learner is studying a language because
he/she wishes to assimilate and identify with the culture of speakers of that language. An
instrumental motivation describes a group of factors concerned with motivation arising
from external goals such as passing exams, increasing chances of getting a good job, or
gaining promotion. Initially, Gardner stated that integrative motivation contributed more to
language learning achievement than instrumental motivation. Now he no longer holds this
point, but insists that integrative motivated students tend to have more chances of success
than those who are not. Later research has included that while integrative motivation is
perhaps more important in a second language context, an instrumental motivation maybe
more important in other situations where language is learnt as a foreign language (Clement

et al; Dornyei, 1994)
One avenue of research on the role of motivation in second language acquisition is
that conducted by R.C.Gardner and associates. This research is driven by Gardner‟s
(1985a, 2000) socioeducational model of second language acquisition and generally makes
use of the Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) to measure the major components of
the model. In the socioeducational model, a distinction between two classes of attitudes,
integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation, and a third component,
motivation. The model proposes that integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning
situation are two correlated variables that support the individual‟s motivation to learn a
second or foreign language, but that motivation is responsible for achievement in the
second language. This conceptualization implies that integrativeness and attitudes toward
the learning situation are related to achievement in the second language or foreign
language but that effect is indirect, acting through motivation.
The AMTB consists of a series of self-reported questionnaires containing a battery
of questions to measure 11 different subscales which represent different aspect of
motivation. Eight of the subtests were designed to measure three primary concepts in the
socioeducational model: motivation, integrativeness, and attitudes toward the learning
situation. Table 1 presents a listing of the constructs assessed in the AMTB, the subtest
that define each construct, and the number of items typically used in each subtest.

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Table 1
Construct 1:

Attitudes toward the Learning Situation

subtest 1:
Evaluation of the course(10 items)
subtest 2:

Evaluation of the teacher(10 items)
Construct 2:
Integrativeness
subtest 3:
Attitudes toward the target language group (4 items)
subtest 4:
Interest in foreign languages(10 items)
subtest 5:
Integrative orientation (10 items)
Construct 3:
Motivation
subtest 6:
Motivation intensity (10 items)
subtest 7:
Desire to learn the language (10 items)
subtest 8:
Attitudes toward learning the language (10 items)
Construct 4:
Instrumental Orientation
subtest 9:
Instrumental motivation (4 items)
Construct 5:
Language Anxiety
subtest 10
Language class anxiety (10 items)
subtest 11
Language use anxiety (10 items)

Gardner‟s approach has influenced many studies in L2 motivation. Although it is
clear that Gardner‟s theory has made a large contribution to this area, many studies calling

for reconceptualization of motivation have emerged. Gardner, however, stressed that there
is not one Attitude/Motivation Test Battery, but the items should be developed so that they
are suitable to the particular situation and context in question. Thus some researcher have
tried to broaden or narrow the spectrum of attitude and motivation to includes such issues
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as interaction between person and situation, self-efficacy and anxiety as well as cognitive
aspects of learning motivation.
In the scope of this study, the researcher has applied 5 of the subtests which
involve context influence on students‟ attitude toward learning foreign language. They are
designed to measure two primary concepts in the socioeducational model: integrativeness
and attitudes toward learning situation.
Integrativeness
The concept of integrativeness refers to an openness to identify, at least in part,
with another language community. This concept was hypothesized (cf.Gardner, 1985a) to
influence second language acquisition because learning a second language requires the
adoption of word sounds, pronunciations, word orders, and other behavioral and cognitive
features that are part of another culture. Integrativeness implies openness on the part of
individuals that would facilitate their motivation to learn material. Individuals who want
(or are willing) to identify with the other language group will be more motivated to learn
the language than individuals who do not
Three scales have been included in the AMTB to measure integrativeness. One is
Attitudes toward the Target Language Group, because it was expected that favorable
attitudes toward the group would facilitate such openness, whereas negative attitudes
would impede it. A second scale is Integrative Orientation. It was hypothesized that
individuals who expressed an interest in learning the language in order o interact, meet,
socialize, become friends, etc., and with members of the other community would be more
open than individuals who did not express such reasons. The third scale is Interest in
Foreign Languages. It was hypothesized that it was possible that some individuals may not
have a particular interest in the target language group, but may simply be open to all

groups.
Attitudes toward the Learning Situation
Attitudes toward the learning situation refer to the individual‟s reaction to anything
associated with the immediate context in which the language is taught. As conceived in the
socioeducational model, these attitudes are considered relative to others in the class.
Obviously, there would be differences in attitudes among classes because of the nature of
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the particular classroom environment, but in the earlier research (see, for example, Gardner
& Lambert, 1972; Gardner & Smythe, 1981), this variation was eliminated from the
correlations. This was because the focus of the research was on individual differences and
their relation to achievement, and in such a context, any class differences that might result
because of pedagogical or other differences among classes would be considered confounds
that would mask the true correlation.
There are two scales in the AMTB that assess attitudes toward the learning
situation. One is Evaluation of the Course, and the other is Evaluation of the Teacher.
Other features of the course could have been considered as well, such as valuation of the
text and associated learning materials and evaluation of the teaching environment and
classmates, but it was decided that much of the important variation in attitudes toward the
learning situation would be captured if attention were directed to assessing the individual‟s
evaluation of the course and the teacher.
In conclusion, in this chapter the researcher has reviewed the different theories of
attitudes and motivation in TEFL, the distinction between attitudes and motivation, the
modes of motivation. In fact, there are varied views in study. This makes it difficult to
provide a neat summary of motivation. However, researchers agree that motivation and
attitudes of learning language contributes great deal in language learning success. In
addition, the AMTB is presented to measure the language learning achievement, but only
two constructs of five, integrativeness and attitudes toward learning situation and five
subtests of eleven are applied in this study for the context of VIC because of time
limitation and scope of the study. In the following chapter, I will present contextual

influence toward learning English achievement or more particular, integrativeness and
attitudes toward learning situation in my college context. The setting, the participants and
data collection methods and findings will be discussed in details.
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CHAPTER III THE STUDY

This chapter discusses the context of learning English at Viet Hung Industrial
College (VIC). I start by describing the situation where the study was conducted and the
participants involved in the study. Method of data collection, survey questionnaires and
findings are also discussed in details.
3.1. The context
The language learning context of the student will moderate the relationship
between achievement and the attitude, motivation and orientation variables.
Social conditions can determine learning to large extent. It is quite clear that
language learning is facilitated much more in ESL environment than EFL context. Not
only does it decide the level of language learning opportunity, it also sets level of
motivation and effort spent on learning. According to de Lopez (1994), there are two levels
of social environment contributing to the learning of a language. The first level is the
society as a whole in which the learner lives and works. At this macro level, common
social values, language opportunity and language tendency are determined. Each individual
often has little or no control over it. The second level is called individual social
environment. It is related conditions set by the learning groups and the significant others
(teachers, peers, ). We look at these two levels to define the context of the study.
At the society level, as mentioned in the part rationale mastering English plays an
important role in our social life. International integration and cooperation has spelled
anyone to speak the common language of international community if he wishes to survive
and excel the game. English is one of compulsory subjects at secondary and tertiary
schools, requirement of English skills for employment and promotion. More and more jobs
now require a certain level of English if they were to be completed efficiently. And English

skills are considered as a pre-requisite for graduation at several schools and college. So
many foreign language centers are presented to add up more excitement to language
learning environment in recent years.English is so important and necessary, but
achievement of learning English at school and college is not accessible and formal English
instruction in schools seems to respond slowly to such changes. The result is that many
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students end up years of learning English without being able to communicate the basics.
Even those good students would soon forget English just because they no longer use it
upon leaving schools. It is also common to find tertiary students go back to elementary
curriculum they already completed in secondary school simply because they have no
choice of what they are going to learn.
At individual social environment, Viet - Hung Industrial College is a college in
which there are more than eight thousand students of many different fields such as
Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Business Administration, Tourist
Guide, Accounting, Automobile Engineering, Electrics and Electronics. All of them are
non-major English students. Our college was upgraded to the college from the technical
worker training school in 2005. We started enrolling of college students in 2006 with 450
students. So both curriculum and method of teaching is at the path of being better. The
participants in this study are the students of the first college students training course.
My students take technical domains as their major and English as a minor subject.
The school‟s overall emphasis in the curriculum is on the practical side of mechanical
engineering technology. There is little need for students to read extensively or investigate
profoundly in a certain area of academy. Therefore, formal instruction time for theoretical
subject such as English is kept low. Students are trained to used English for basic daily
communication and in the workshop contexts.
For many students English is just a compulsory subject. Many of them do not have
the right aptitude and attitude to take the subject seriously. Although the course objective is
to focus more on the reading skill, which is assumed necessary in reading technical
materials and instructions, students awareness of the relationship between the benefit of

learning English and completion of their long-term professional goals is generally low.
Recently, the situation has been slightly improved, with the programme to send graduate
students abroad to work and direct recruitment from foreign invested companies in
Vietnam. Moreover, the requirement of English at level B is compulsory when they apply
for the job in domestic companies and offices. This has motivated students to learn English
more seriously.
In order to assist self-directed learning and development of communicative skills,
the term exams are designed to test all 4 macro language skills. Exam requirements and
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materials are provided at the beginning of the course to help students informed of what is
required in the course. Teachers are also encouraged tasks that practice students‟ skills
without focus on reading skill.
Course content has been designed into two phases for total 195 periods. Phase 1 is
general English with 150 periods to help students finish an elementary level and half of
pre-intermediate level. Most students study again this elementary level done at secondary
school with the book New Headway Elementary (75 periods) and the rest 75 periods
students study the book New Headway Pre-Intermediate. In phase 2 students study 45 -
period ESP syllabus of Mechanical Engineering Technology designed by the teachers of
English at Foreign Language Department. Focus of this syllabus is practicing reading skill
and mastering terms of technical meaning. So they study English in the first three terms.
3.2. The participants
There is one sample of participants in this study for the questionnaire survey. The
informants are 2
nd
year students from Mechanical Engineering Technology (3 class of 167
students), representing 450 students in 8 classes of the course. They finished 195 periods of
English curriculum. The researcher assumed that there was no or little difference between
the students in the sample and other students in the college in terms of motivation and
language proficiency. The researcher chose these participants because Mechanical

Engineering Technology is the most long-term and most crowded domain of our college of
the course. Therefore this sample does not necessarily present the whole population of VIC
students.
Most students are 19 – 20 years of age and study English in a homogeneous, 55 to
70 member class. Heterogeneity reflexes markedly, as students come from different
background and environment, varied from the city to mountainous areas. About half of
students have learnt English for 8 to 9 years, but some have just taken it when they
attended the college. About the rest half have studied English for 4-5 years.
As a whole, these participants have studied English as a school requirement for 3
semesters, the first two being general English and the next being ESP semester. At the time
of this study, they were attending the fourth semester. These students have been taught by
the other teachers of English not the researcher.
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3.3. Methods of Data Collection
The data collection method applied in this study was aimed at collecting
quantitative data from two questionnaires and being analytic statically. The procedure of
data collection was as follows: A questionnaire was administered at the last of third
semester when students had finished the whole English curriculum.
3.4. The Questionnaire
The survey questionnaire was an adaptation from Gardner‟s (1985)
Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). Although the full AMTB consists of about 100
questions, the mini version is much neater and was open to more inclusions. Five original
categories are Integrativeness, Attitudes toward the learning situation, Motivation
intensity, Instrumental motivation and Language anxiety. In my study, I apply
Integrativeness, Attitudes toward the learning situation that have been proved how
context influences toward students‟ attitude of learning English. The total numbers of
questions included in the questionnaire are 20 (see Appendix 1). The two subscales on this
measure as follow:
1. Attitudes toward learning situation. This was measured by 7 items, one assessing

Evaluation of the Course (questions 7,12,19) and the other measuring Evaluation of the
Teacher (questions 14,15,16,17)
2. Integrativeness. This measures the degree to which respondents were learning
English for the purpose of interacting and communicating with members of the second
language community. Integrative motivation including 13 items was measured with three
measures of Attitude toward the Target Language Group (questions 2,9,10); Interest in
Foreign Language (questions 1,5,8,11,13,20) and Integrative Orientation (questions
3,4,6,18)
The questionnaire took the students 30-45 minutes to finish. The questionnaire was
presented to students in Vietnamese since the language of presentation may affect their
responses. In this case, the effect would probably be to elicit slightly less favorable
attitudes to English because the possibility of misunderstanding the questionnaire in
English is thought to be reduced by allowing students to respond in their mother tongue.
The researcher explained all items carefully while urging the respondents to answer