Improving 11th grade students’ motivation in English speaking lessons at Vietnam – Poland High School by using communicative activities = Cải thiện động cơ học

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
ĐINH THÙY LINH

IMPROVING 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN
ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT VIETNAM – POLAND
HIGH SCHOOL BY USING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES

(Cải thiện động cơ học trong giờ nói Tiếng Anh của học sinh lớp 11
Trường THPT Việt Nam – Ba Lan thông qua việc
sử dụng các hoạt động giao tiếp)
M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field:
Code:
English Teaching Methodology
60.14.10
HANOI - 2011
ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS v
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 2
3. Significance of the study 3

4. Scope of the study 3
5. Method of the study 3
6. Design of the study 3
PART II: DEVELOPMENT 5
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1. Theoretical background of motivation 5
1.1. What is meant by motivation? 5
1.2. Types of motivation in foreign language learning 6
1.3. The importance of motivation in foreign language learning 6
1.4. Factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning 7
1.5. Techniques for improving students’ motivation in speaking lessons 9
2. Overview of speaking 11
2.1. Conceptions of speaking 11
2.2. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 12
2.3. Stages in a speaking lesson 13
3. Motivation and English speaking learning 14
4. Communicative activities 15
5. Previous studies in motivation in foreign language learning and speaking skill 17
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 20
1. Research methodology 20
1.1. Action Research 20
1.2. Key elements of an action research 20
iii

2. Subjects of the study 22
3. Data collection instruments 23
4. Data collection procedures 24
5. Brief description of the three lessons 24
CHAPTER III: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 26
1. Level of students’ motivation 26

2. Causes of students’ lack of motivation in English speaking lessons 28
3. Action Research procedure 30
3.1. Action Plan 30
3.2. Implementation 31
3.3. Discussion of the lessons’ effectiveness 32
3.4. Reporting results 37
PART III: CONCLUSION 38
1. Major findings 38
2. Implications 39
3. Limitations of the study 39
4. Suggestions for further researches 39
5. Recommendations and suggestions 40
REFERENCES 41
APPENDICES I
Appendix 1: Questionnaires I
Appendix 2: Class observations XIII
Appendix 3: Lesson plans XVII





v

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
Table


Table 1: Students’ time of speaking

27
Table 2: Students’ comment on teachers’ communicative activities

35



Chart


Chart 1: Students’ appreciation of English speaking skill

26
Chart 2: Factors de–motivating students’ motivation

29
Chart 3: Affecting factors of students’ interest in speaking class

29
Chart 4: Students’ level of motivation

32
Chart 5: Students’ feeling when participating speaking activities

33
Chart 6: Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of communicative activities

34
Chart 7: Class observation results before and after intervention

36
1

PART I: INTRODUCTION
This initial part states the problem and the rationale of the study, together with the
aims, objectives, the scope of the study, and the design of the rest of the paper. Above all,
it is in this part that the research questions are identified to work as clear guidelines for the
whole research.
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study
In the era of global integration, when the ability to use English as means of
communication has become so important, a really big concern of scholars, researchers,
educators and learners all over the world is how to improve the quality of English teaching
and learning. In this context, Vietnam – Poland high school (Viet Ba high school) is
putting the focus on enhancing the effectiveness of speaking lessons. The reason is many
students have voiced their worries about the slow improvements in their speaking ability.
Although they really like English, speaking skill is one of their most difficult ones to learn.
They face with so many obstacles (lack of motivation, vocabulary, activeness, enjoyment,
etc.,) when making presentation or expressing their ideas. Therefore, “What should they do
to speak English accurately and fluently?” is the question that all students would like to
answer.
Besides, most of teachers have been frustrated at their failure in helping the
students communicate better in English. As a teacher of Vietnam – Poland high school,
from my observation and my own teaching experience, the researcher realizes that during
speaking lesson classroom interaction is restricted. Only some students get involve in the
activities conducted by the teacher while others keep silence or do other things. Thus, one
of the challenges to the teacher is to find out the answer to the question “Why don’t many
students of English get involved actively in speaking lesson?”.
There is a saying: “You can bring a horse to water, but you can not make him
drink” refers to the reality that the effectiveness of a lesson depends at least as much as on
the learners as on the teachers. This is confirmed by the statement: “In language teaching,

teachers can provide all the necessary circumstances and input, but learning can only
happens if learners are willing to contribute” (Scharle, A and Szabo, A, 2000: 7). Hence,
motivation is considered to be one of the key factors to success on the way of mastering
2

the foreign language. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most
remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long – term goals, and there are no appropriate
curriculum and good teaching to ensure student achievements.
All these conditions, henceforth, offered the researcher a chance to conduct a study
on “Improving 11
th
grade students’ motivation in English speaking lessons at Vietnam –
Poland high school by using communicative activities”.
This study was an attempt to investigate the 11
th
grade students’ motivation levels
in speaking lesson at Vietnam- Poland high school to find out the causes of students’ low
motivation and passiveness when speaking English. In addition, through discovering the
reasons why existing students’ laziness in speaking period, this paper also aimed at seeking
better orientation for students at Vietnam- Poland high school to learn speaking skill more
effectively. We do hope that this study will help the teachers of speaking in some ways to
find appropriate methods to motivate students more and more in oral periods.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
This research was aimed to increase 11
th
grade students’ motivation in English
speaking lessons at Vietnam – Poland high school by using communicative activities. To
be more specific, the research was carried out to find out 11
th
grade students’ level of

motivation at Vietnam – Poland high school in the English speaking lessons. The factors
de-motivating 11
th
grade students in English speaking activities were also taken into
investigation. Then the study was expected to work out motivational techniques to increase
students’ motivation level and test the effectiveness of the communicative activities in the
form of an action research. In brief, these objectives could be summarized into three
research questions as follow:
1. How motivated are the 11
th
grade students in speaking lessons at Vietnam –
Poland high school?
2. What are major causes leading to these students’ lack of motivation in learning
speaking?
3. How effective are communicative activities in motivating students to learn the
speaking skill?
3

3. Significance of the study
Once having been completed, the research would serve as one of the initial studies
on students’ motivation at Viet – Ba high school in speaking skill. It is expected to have
several contributions to not only research but also teaching and learning in speaking
English as a foreign language. Firstly, the research gives 11
th
grade students’ level of
motivation in English speaking lesson at Vietnam – Poland high school. As a result, the
study enables students to raise students’ awareness in improving their speaking skill.
Secondly, it also proves the students’ difficulties and teachers’ drawbacks in teaching
spoken periods. In other words, the research pointed out students’ de - motivating factors
in speaking class. Then the research provides teachers with some techniques for raising the

students’ motivation level in speaking lesson.
4. Scope of the study
First, as could be seen from the title of the study, this paper placed strong emphasis
on the 11
th
grade students’ motivation at Vietnam – Poland high school and the techniques
to improve students’ motivation in speaking class.
In addition, it is noteworthy that students’ motivation is easily affected by the
content of lesson, textbooks, materials, teachers and teaching method. In this study, the
researcher focused on teaching method influence on motivation.
Finally, speaking skill is another matter of the researcher’s concern but not reading,
writing and listening.
5. Method of the study
As mentioned above, this research adopts an action research in an attempt to
improve the current situation of teaching speaking in the teacher – researcher’s own class.
In so doing, the method including questionnaires and class observation sheets were
employed during the process of data collection.
6. Design of the study
Part I: Introduction provides a general introduction, introducing the background
for the research topic and its aims, significance, research questions and the design of the
thesis.
Part II: Development is the main part of the thesis. It consists of three chapters
4

namely Literature Review, Methodology and Results and discussion.
Chapter 1: Literature Review mentions to critically examine the theoretical
background for the thesis with the focus on the main points: different psychological views
on motivation in language learning; Types of motivation in foreign language learning; The
importance of motivation in foreign language learning; Factors affecting motivation in
foreign language learning; Techniques for improving students’ motivation in speaking

lessons; Motivation and English speaking learning; Previous studies of motivation in
foreign language learning and speaking skill and communicative activities.
Chapter 2: Methodology presents the methodology performed in the study,
including the background information of the subjects of the study; the instruments used to
collect data, and the procedures of data collection. Along with this, the teaching and
learning English at Vietnam – Poland high school is described. Also, the study – its setting
and methodology are displayed in this chapter.
Chapter 3: Results and discussion presents analyses and discusses the findings
that the researcher found out from the data collected according to the three research
questions. The chapter also reflects a detailed description of data analysis which is shown
based on the survey questionaires and class observation. Some explanations, interpretations
and discussion of the findings of the study are explored in this. In addition, action research
procedure was presented in the chapter.
Part III: Conclusion is the conclusion of the study, summarizing the findings;
providing some implications, the limitation of the research, recommendations how to
motivate students in English speaking lessons. Some suggestions for further research are
also discussed in this chapter.
5

PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviews the theories related to motivation in speaking lessons. It also
reviews current researches on motivations in foreign language in general and in speaking
skill in particular that have been conducted so far. All of these serve as a basis for an
investigation into students’ motivation in English speaking lessons and solutions for their
troubles.
1. Theoretical background of motivation
1.1. What is meant by motivation?
Motivation in Gardner’s point of view (1985) is a key factor in determining the
preparation of learners to communicate. Motivation refers to the combination of effort and

desire to achieve the goal, the connection of learning the language and favorable attitudes
toward learning foreign language. That is, motivation to learn a foreign language is
considered in 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.
Rod Ellis defines motivation as referring to "the efforts which learners put into
learning an L2 as a result of their need or desire to learn" (1994:715). He proved that
learners’ performance resulted from their own need or desire when studying the language.
The challenge of the activities or tasks conducted by the teachers is emphasized in
Malone’s (1981) definition of motivation. He viewed that challenge depends on activities
must be suitable for students’ levels. The tasks or activities which are too easy or too
difficult will decrease students’ motivation. In contrast, if students are provided with the
activities challenging enough, they will be interested more, which leads to effective
learning.
Crookes and Schmidt (1991) based on learners' interest in and enjoyment with the
materials and activities used in class, their active participation or constancy with the
learning task as indicated by levels of concentration and interest. Learning process can
only makes sense if students enjoy activities and work hard.
While the term motivation is often assumed to be a rather abstract concept, it could
6

be basically defined as “the extent to which you make choices about goals to pursue and
the effort you will devote to that pursuit” (Brown, 2001:72).
It could be inferred from the definitions above that motivation is the effort,
enjoyment, enthusiasm and constancy that learners devote to the learning tasks as well as
the challenging activities conducted by the teachers to reach the setting – goals in foreign
language learning. Thus, when attempting to enhance learners’ motivation in learning a
foreign language, different aspects or stages of motivation and factors affecting it should
be concerned.
1.2. Types of motivation in foreign language learning
There are so many kinds of motivation in foreign language learning studied by the

researchers but this research only mention to the main ones.
In the literature on motivation, the concept has been classified in different ways.
The most well-known classification of motivation has been made in cognitive terms as
whether it is internal or external to the learner. In this respect, intrinsic motivation is to do
with “behaviour performed for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and
satisfaction” (Dörnyei, 2001, p.27) while extrinsic motivation is about “performing a
behaviour as a means to an end, that is, to receive some extrinsic reward or to avoid
punishment” (Dörnyei, 2001, p.27). A learner can be seen as intrinsically motivated when
he or she is boosted from within: Intrinsically motivated learner dynamically engage
themselves in learning out of curiosity, interest or enjoyment or so as to reach their own
intellectual and personal goals. To the learner who can be regarded as extrinsically
motivated when he or she keens on learning “purely for the sake of attaining a reward or
for avoiding some punishment” (Dev, 1997). In other words, intrinsically motivated people
accomplish a task for an internal interest whereas extrinsically motivated people perform
an activity because of an interest external to the activity.
1.3. The importance of motivation in foreign language learning
Success or failure in language learning largely depends on the learners’ motivation
to learn the target language. Up to now, many researchers have studied the role of
motivation in the learning process and most of the findings share the view that positive
attitude has close relationship with motivation in mastering foreign language. Gardner
(1985) emphasized that on motivation constructed the primary factor to influence students
on English learning. He believed that motivation for language learning cannot only include
7

goal orientation but the combination of effort, desire to achieve the goal of learning the
language and the favourable attitudes toward learning the language.
Motivation for learning a second or foreign language is defined as the learner’s
orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language (Crookes & Schmidt,
1991)
Finegan (1999: 568) sees the vital role of integrative motivation in L2 learning

“Integrative motivation typically underlines successful acquisition of a wide range
of register and a native – like pronunciation”.
Nunan (1991) shared his point of view in supposing one of the most decisive
factors of learners’ preparation in communication is motivation relating to the connection
of effort, wish to get achievement, supportive behaviours towards learning the language. In
other words, motivation is considered to be the limit, scale that learners try their best to
learn the language resulted from their dreams and happiness in this process.
Promotion in choosing strategies to learn a second or foreign language among
learners is another role of motivation. As Oxford (1994) proves “more motivated students
tend to use more strategies than less motivated students, hence, they tend to be more
successful”. It can be understood that if learners know how to apply learning strategies and
techniques effectively when learning a second or a foreign language, they will be more
successful.
Motivation not only plays an important role in learning but it helps the teaching as
well, Lite (2002) confirms “Motivation is the black-bone of any classroom. When the
students are motivated, the teacher can perform his/ her job the best”.
In conclusion, the researcher would like to stress that people are moved to take
action by a need to achieve or to be successful. Hence, motivation is the key factor leading
learners to achievements or failures. It stimulates and enables students to keep their interest
and excitement in the L2 learning class, which promotes teachers to make excellent
performance in their teaching periods.
1.4. Factors affecting motivation in foreign language learning
1.4.1.

The learners
According to Lightbown and Spada (1999), learners’ motivation can be influenced
by the following factors. The first one is intelligence, it related to students’ performance on
certain kinds of tests. The second one is aptitude which involves the ability to identify and
8

memorize new sounds, to understand the function of particular words in sentences, to
figure out grammatical rules from language samples. The third one is personality which
covers a number of personally characteristics such as extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem,
empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness. Learners' preferences are another
thing that affects learners’ motivation when describing the learning style. It can be seen
that learners have their own preferences in acquiring new knowledge. What learners
believe in the way to learn the language can have influence on learners’ motivation. Age of
acquisition is also influencing motivational element. Children are believed to be better than
adults in acquiring a foreign language and in speaking the new language.
1.4.2.

The teachers
With motivation being as important as a factor in learning success as argued above,
teacher skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness.
Teacher’s role in shaping pupils’ motivation is just as complex as that of the parents. This
is because teachers also act as key figures or authorities, who affect the motivational
quality of the learning process by providing mentoring, guidance, nurturance, support and
limit setting.
1.4.3.

The teaching and learning conditions
 Physical conditions: Physical conditions in the classroom, including the classroom
size, chairs, desks, tables, lights, boards and even bulletin boards, affect pupils'
motivation either positively or negatively. In addition, the L2 teachers should notice
that the classroom is not only a psychological but also physical environment.
Posters, flowers, funny objects can have a strong influence on the classroom
atmosphere.
 Classroom atmosphere: Language learning is considered one of the most face–
threatening school subjects. Language anxiety has been found to be a powerful
factor that hinders L2 learning achievement (Maclntyre, Young, 1999). Thus, it is

the teacher’s task to create a pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere. A
number of various components contribute to make up the ideal classroom climate
such as the teacher’s rapport with the students, the students’ relationship with each
other and the norm of tolerance; which helps students feel safe and comfortable
taking risks. It is very important to make students understood that mistakes are a
9

natural part of learning, and to ensure that they will not be criticized if they make
mistakes.
In short, learners’ roles, teachers’ duty and teaching – learning conditions have
influence on students’ motivation in learning foreign language in general and in
speaking skill in particular.
1.5. Techniques for improving students’ motivation in speaking lessons
How to improve students’ motivation in English speaking activities is a question
need to be answered by researchers and teachers in teaching spoken language. There are
some motivational strategies that researchers (Robert Harris, 1991 and Zoltan Dornyei,
2001) recommend for classroom teachers.
 Help students set their own proximal sub-goals”: Individual goal setting is one of
the most effective methods to enable students to experience a sense of control over
their own learning and perceive themselves as mastering material while
incorporating their own interest (Jones and Jones, 1995). It is particular relevant to
language learning because the final aim of this process – to communicate with
foreign speakers – is several years away, therefore, setting proximal sub-goals has a
powerful motivating function by providing advance organizer as well as immediate
incentive and feedback. As Oxford and Shearin (1994:19) supposed, goal setting is
very important because it can stimulate foreign language learning motivation, so
it’s necessary to spend time and energy in the foreign language classroom on goal –
setting.
 Increase the learner’s self – confidence: Self – efficacy is generally seen as a key
factor in determining the amount of effort exerted and the persistence displayed. In

other words, learners are able to make excellent performance when they feel really
self – confident. The important question, then, is how to maintain and increase the
students’ self – confidence and self – esteem in the language classroom, which is
inherently face – threatening for the learner (Dornyei, 2001: 130). Dornyei also
emphasized that language teachers can foster students the belief that enables them
to avoid worrying about language competence. Favourable self – conception of
foreign language competence can be promoted by providing regular experiences of
success and emphasizing what students can do more than can not do.
 Promote self – motivating learner strategies: Most of the discussion so far has
10

concentrated on the teacher’s responsibility and role in stimulating student
motivation. It has been observed, however, that even under adverse conditions and
without any teacher assistance, some learners are more successful in keeping up
their goal commitment than some others. Therefore, an important role of teachers is
to raise their students’ awareness of relevant strategies and to remind them at
appropriate times of the usefulness of these.
 Make the curriculum relevant for the learners: Students have high motivation in
foreign language learning only when their materials are useful and practical.
Therefore, the duty of the curriculum designers is to find out their students’ goals
and the topic they want to learn and build these into their curriculum as much as
possible to make their curriculum desirable and valuable. On the significance of
“relevance” in foreign language teaching Chamber believed “If the teacher is to
motivate pupils to learn, then relevance can be the red thread permeating activities.
If pupils fail to see the relationship between the activities and the world in which
they live, then the point of the activity is likely to be lost on them. If pupils do not
see the relevance of a subject, the teacher has from the outset a major challenge”
(Chamber, 1999: 37).
 Use visual aids in learning: When teachers come to class with the preparation of
visual aids for his/ her lectures, most of students will feel motivated enough to

participate in the lesson. It was said that memory is often connected to visual
images. Therefore, we can provide better learning by attaching images to the ideas
we want to convey. Using drawings, diagrams, pictures, charts, graphs, bullet lists,
even three – dimensional objects help students anchor the ideas to the image and
certainly make the learners more motivated.
 Vary teaching methods: Teachers should not use the same strategies all the time
because reawakening students’ involvement in the course and their motivation is
the main purpose of teacher .Teachers should apply a variety of teaching activities
and methods in your course such as role plays, debates, brainstorming, discussion,
demonstrations, audiovisual presentations, pair work or group work, etc. to increase
your students’ motivation.
 Have students take part in the lesson: The active involvement of students in their
own learning is considered to be one of the key factors of high motivation. Standing
11

in front of them and lecturing to them is thus a relatively poor method of teaching.
It is better to get students involved in activities, group problem solving exercises,
helping to decide what to do and the best way to do it, working with each other, or
in some other ways getting physically involved in the lesson. A lesson about nature,
for example, would be more effectively walking outdoors than looking at pictures.
By choosing several students to help the teacher (take role, grade objective exams,
research bibliographies or biographies of important persons, etc.,) students’ self –
esteem is boosted and as a result, their motivation increased. Use every opportunity
to have students help you. Assign them home work that involve helping the teacher
such as finding learning materials from newspapers, drawing pictures, or preparing
real objects for the next lesson.
In summary, in this section, some theoretical background knowledge of motivation
in TEFL is reviewed, and various motivational strategies as well as great deal contribution
of motivation in language learning have been well – documented in the literature. There is
no doubt that if they are used appropriately by teachers, they can bring about great effect

on increasing students’ motivation.
2. Overview of speaking
2.1. Conceptions of speaking
Speaking plays an important role among the four language skills (reading, listening,
writing and speaking) since it helps to identify who knows or does not know a language.
Pattison (1992) points out that when people mention knowing or learning a language, they
mean being able to speak the language.
There are a variety of definitions for the term “speaking”. However, in this study,
the researcher chose the one given by Bygate. In a social context, social roles are likely to
be taken by those who learn and know how to speak, but not by those who do not have this
skill. There is no doubt that speaking deserves as much attention as or even more attention
than written skill. In order to carry out many of the most basic transactions, it is necessary
for learners to speak with confidence. Therefore, Bygate (1987) is reasonable when he
argues that "speaking is a skill which deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skills,
in both first and second language". Our learners often need to be able to speak with
confidence in order to carry out many of their most basic transactions. It is the skill by
12

which they are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends.
It is the vehicle of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of
business. It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and is particularly
conducive for learning. Therefore, it is useful for learners to possess a good speaking skill
in foreign language.
In brief, Bygate’s definition seems to be the most suitable for the researcher’s view
point on speaking.
2.2. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity
Classroom activities that develop learners’ ability to express themselves through
speech are important components of a language course. However, it is difficult to design
and administer such activities. In order to be successful in organizing speaking activities it
is essential to identify the characteristics of a good speaking activity.

Ur (1996: 120) suggests four characteristics which help to define an effective
speaking activity:
1. Learners talk a lot. As much as possible of the period of time alloted to the activity
is in fact occupied by learner talk. This may seem obvious, but often most time is
taken up with teacher talk or pauses.
2. Participation is even. Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority of
talkative participants: all get a chance to speak, and contributions are fairly evenly
distributed.
3. Motivation is high. Learners are eager to speak because they are interested in the
topic and have something new to say about it, or because they want to contribute to
achieving a task objective.
4. Language is of an acceptable level. Learners express themselves in utterances that
are relevant, easily comprehensible to each other, and of an acceptable level of
language accuracy.
In Friederike Klippel’s point of view, an effective speaking lesson is characterized
by the following features. The first one is message oriented communication which
indicates the moments in foreign language when target language is used as a vehicle of
communication. The second one is learner – centered activities in which students’ feelings,
purposes and ideas are the focus. The third is active learning, cooperation and empathy
which emphasize the students’ active participation in the speaking process.
13

Both Ur and Klippel share some points in common. From their ideas, we can see
that the most prominent features of a successful speaking activity are the maximization of
learners’ speaking time and equal chance for everybody to speak. Motivation is one of the
crucial factors that is able to make the speaking lesson meaningful. Teachers should bear
these features in mind when designing speaking tasks for their students.
2.3. Stages in a speaking lesson
So far many linguists have identified stages in teaching spoken language. Byrne
(1976: 22) in “Teaching Oral English” divides the process of teaching spoken language

into four stages. They are the presentation stage, the practice stage and the production
stage. Harmer (1983: 50) in “The practice of English Language Teaching” mentions three
stages during this process: introducing new language, practice and communicative
activities. Matthews et.al. (1985:17) in “At the Chalkface” argues that the process of
teaching spoken language include three stages. They are the presentation stage, the practice
stage and the production stage.
From these authors’ ideas, it is seen that teaching spoken language should be
divided into three stages. They are: the presentation stage, the practice stage and the
production stage. Each stage has its own purpose and relevant activities. An overview on
these stages is introduced below:
 The presentation stage aims to give students the opportunity to realize the
usefulness and relevance of a new language item. In this stage, students have to
concentrate not only on the meaning but also on the pronunciation, stress,
intonation and spelling of the new language item. Besides, grammar is paid
attention to. Students are passively receivers, they are only asked to practice (role –
play) and dramatize a dialogue or to talk about what they have to learn from a prose
based on the previous answers at the end of this phase. The teacher’s role in this
stage is to introduce to students the new knowledge, such as new words, new
grammatical structures. In other words, he plays the role of an informant.
 The purpose of the practice stage is to give students “the opportunity to use the
newly presented language in a controlled framework so as to allow them to
memorize its form and assimilate its meaning more fully” (Matthews et.al. 1991:
8). In addition, it aims at making students more confident in using new language. In
the controlled practice, the teacher acts as a conductor who conducts what the
14

learners should do and which kind of language they are expected to produce. In the
guided practice, the teacher is only the one who suggests situations, and sometimes
corrects the learners’ mistakes. The learners here are freer to work, discuss with
their partners and to produce utterances prompted by visual or written cues. At the

end of the phase, Ur (1996) supposed what the teacher reaches is to better students’
fluency.
 The production stage aims to provide the opportunity for learners to use new
language in freer, more creative ways. Its purpose is also to help learners integrate
newly – learnt language with previous – learnt one in unpredictable situations. In
this stage, the teacher is no longer an instructor. Instead, he acts as the monitor,
advisor, mistake – hearer, and consultant who gives advice is necessary. Generally,
the teacher does not interfere much in the production stage. Students seem to be
more confident and motivated to take part in freer activities by working
individually, in pairs or in groups.
In the speaking lesson, learners’ speaking ability can be improved if teachers follow
three stages orderly. However, teachers should consider the time limitation, the levels of
learners, the students’ motivation and material in use when they design the speaking
activities.
3. Motivation and English speaking learning
Many students suppose being able to speak a language means knowing the
language and then they view learning the language as learning how to speak the language,
or as Nunan (1991) wrote, "success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a
conversation in the (target) language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak or
do not get any opportunity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-
motivated and lose interest in learning. On the other hand, if the right activities are taught
in the right way, speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivation
and making the English language classroom a fun and dynamic place.
Motivation, in the view of Ur (1996: 120), is one of affecting factors to make sure
the speaking lesson effective or not. Learners have high motivation when they are eager to
speak because they are interested in the topic and have something new to say about it, or
because they want to contribute to achieving a task objective.
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General speaking, motivation can be seen as one of keys that decides learners’

success or failure in speaking process.
4. Communicative activities
Communicative activities include any activities that encourage and require a learner
to speak with and listen to other learners, as well as with people in the program and
community. Communicative activities have real purpose: to find out information, to break
down barriers, talk about self and learn about culture.
A variety of communicative activities can be used to develop speaking skills.
Below are some of the common ones.
Role-play
Role-play is an activity that the class is usually divided into pairs or groups. These
pairs or groups are given situations and roles to act out and explore. This acting is done for
the sake of the language and imaginative activity, not for exhibition. The various groups,
therefore, are activated simultaneously. Role-plays are simple to plan and easy to play and,
along with games and other communicative activities, are recommended to be used in the
English speaking classes.
Information Gap Activity (IGA)
IGA is one of the easiest and most interesting forms of communicative activity in
the speaking class. In order to get the most proficiency, the teacher can divide the class into
pairs or groups. In each pair or each group, one acts as the asker, the other the answerer, let
them discuss for a few minutes and they change the role.
IGA may take three forms: (1) One student has some information and the other has
to find it by asking questions; (2) One student has some information and tells it to the other
student; (3) Both students have different information and they tell each other.
Discussions
After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons. The
students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in
their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the
discussion activity is set by the teacher. In this way, the discussion points are relevant to
this purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other about
irrelevant things.

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Brainstorming
On a given topic, students can produce ideas in a limited time. Depending on the
context, either individual or group brainstorming is effective and learners generate ideas
quickly and freely. The good characteristic of brainstorming is that the students are not
criticized for their ideas so students will be open to sharing new ideas.
Storytelling
Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody
beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates. Story telling
fosters creative thinking. It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning,
development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have. Students
also can tell riddles or jokes.
Interviews
Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people. It is a good
idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what type of questions
they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own interview
questions. Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice their
speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them becoming socialized.
After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class. Moreover, students
can interview each other and "introduce" his or her partner to the class.
Story Completion
This is a very enjoyable, whole-class, free-speaking activity. Students sit in a circle.
For this activity, a teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops
narrating. Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the previous one
stopped. Each student is supposed to add from four to ten sentences. Students can add new
characters, events, descriptions and so on.
Games
Games are activities through which the learners can practise the language learnt in
the classroom. Games can enhance motivation. When playing games, learners pay attention

to the passage, not to the language. They acquire language unconsciously, with their whole
attention engaged by the activity, in much the same way as they acquire their mother
tongue. Games can be played at the opening stages of the lessons or at the production
phase or whenever learners feel tired after long time of learning, they will draw more
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attention to the lesson with lower stress.
Communicative activities allow students to practice using all of the language they
know in situations that resemble real settings. In these activities, students must work
together to develop a plan, resolve a problem, or complete a task.
In general, through well-prepared communicative output activities, we can
encourage students to experiment and innovate with the language, and create a supportive
atmosphere that allows them to make mistakes without fear of embarrassment. This will
contribute to their self-confidence as speakers and to their motivation to learn more.
5. Previous studies in motivation in foreign language learning and
speaking skill
The impact of motivation in foreign language learning has been recognized
significantly by many educational researchers.
Gardner (1985), Dornyei (2001), Brown (1994) etc., have generated the concept of
motivation, its effects in foreign language learning and applicable strategies for improving
learners’ motivation in class. In the light of their researches, teachers are able to answer the
question how to motivate learners for success and their findings encourage or support
educational researchers to do more research in different aspects of language teaching.
Everybody needs to have motivation and a reason for the action. Second and
foreign language learners should be offered the opportunity to be motivated and fulfill their
learning orientations. Thus, Sulaiman Hasan H. Qashoa (2006) carried out a research
“Motivation among learners of English in the secondary Schools in the Eastern Coast of
the 99UAE”. One hundred students participated in completing a questionnaire reflecting
their orientations for learning English and what affects negatively their English learning
motivation. The data revealed that the UAE students have a higher degree of

instrumentality than integrativeness. The finding also shows that difficulties with English
such as vocabulary, structures and spelling were de-motivating factors.
Peacock (1997) conducted a study in the area of motivational techniques “The
effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners”. Two beginner–level EFL
classes participated including 31 South Korean students, and both used authentic and
artificial materials alternately. Most of students stated that they needed English for future
work or study requirements. The research used on – task behaviour, overall class
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motivation observation sheets and interview questions. The finding in this study was that
learners reported authentic materials to be significantly less interesting than artificial
materials. This confirmed the positive effect of the authentic material on the motivation of
EFL learners. Moreover, the result also indicated that at least for the learners who
participated, interest in the materials in use is quite separate as a component of motivation
from levels of attention or action and persistence with the learning task.
Relating to students’ motivation to study English, Wen – chi Vivian Wu and Pin –
hsiang Natalie Wu (2008) Chien – kuo Technology University, Taiwan did research on
“Creating an Authentic EFL Learning Environment to enhance student motivation to study
English ”.They use quantitative methodology, explored the perceptions of students at a
Taiwanese technical university concerning its EFL learning environment in three aspects:
the physical environment, instructional arrangements and social interaction. The study also
examined the relationship between the learning context and student motivation. The data
revealed that the EFL environment in the three aspects was considered by students to be an
obstacle to their learning, and that student motivation positively correlated with the
learning environment.
In terms of action research on students’ motivation in speaking, He Lina in China
carried out “How can I help my students’ motivation in speaking?”. He Lina is in charge
of 28 students - English majors but she found them only able to read and memorize a lot
instead of speaking much. So her question arouse as to how to improve their motivation in
speaking. She applied three techniques to improve her students’ motivation: offering equal

and enough chance for students to speak, varying speaking activities and encouraging
them to “show off”. Based on three methods mentioned above, she has achieved her goal
of motivating speaking in some of her students and in the class. Firstly, her students
participated actively almost in class. They formed an active learning atmosphere.
Secondly, those who had never volunteered made progress and began to participate in
speaking class. In her study, she didn’t use any study instrument to collect the data, her
study seems to be less believable. She got findings and summary only through her own
observation of students’ performance.
In Vietnam, Phan Van Hoa and Le Viet Ha (2009) studied upper secondary school
students’ English learning motivation in Quangnam province. They used a modified 8 –
item survey adapted from Gardener and a 15 – possible de-motivating factor survey are
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administered to 100 upper secondary EFL students in four upper secondary schools in
Quangnam. The researchers use a questionnaire of two parts and interview as the data
collection. The study revealed that the students have positive attitudes towards learning
English and are highly motivated to study it, and that they are more instrumentally
motivated. Moreover, the students’ motivation is more de-motivated by some subject –
related factors rather than by teacher – related ones.
Another study conducted by Hoang Duc Doan (2009) to investigate motivation in
learning English speaking of the second year tourism major students at tourism and foreign
language department at Sao Do College of Industry. The study employed questionnaire,
interview and class observation as main data instruments. The subjects were 67 students
selected at random to take part in the research and 6 teachers who have taught there at least
one year. The findings from the study revealed teaching speaking skills have made great
effort to motivate students in English speaking classes. Furthermore, aptitude and lack of
vocabulary of the students are main de-motivating factors.
Overall, there have been number of studies in motivation in foreign language
learning and English speaking lesson. However, there has been little research into
motivation of students in English speaking lessons at high school. This is the gap that the

current thesis study tries to bridge. By doing research through questionnaires and class
observations, this study hopes to add further evidence to the small but growing body of
research on this topic.
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CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
In the previous chapter, the literature related to the topic has been reviewed as a
theoretical basis for the study. In this chapter, the practical aspect of the study is described
thoroughly with the participants, instruments, the data collection and data analysis
procedures, which justify for the validity and reliability of the study.
1. Research methodology
1.1. Action Research
A form of research which is becoming increasingly significant in language
education is action research. This research has been defined in a number of different ways.
Action research is the process of systematic collection and analysis of data in order to
make changes and improvement or solve problems (Michael J. Wallace, 1998, p.1 and
Coles & Quirke, 2001, p.14). Cohen and Manion (1985) affirmed that action research is
first and foremost situational, being concerned with the identification and solution of
problems in a specific context. They emphasized that the aim of action research is to
improve the current state of affairs within the educational context in which the research is
being carried out. When other people read about their work, notice it, or make use of it,
that is simply icing on the cake. Action researchers undertake a study because they want to
know whether they can do in a better way.
Action research can help a researcher fill the gap from theory to practice (MacNiff,
Lomax & Whithead, 1996, p.13 and Zuber – Skerritt, 1992, p.16). Therefore, in this study,
action research was used to help the researcher improve her professional knowledge and
skill, teaching and researching. Moreover, doing action research helped her to become a
systematic and critical thinker and to reflect on expected and unexpected situations that
happened in and outside the class. In addition, this method is beneficial for learners as Dr.
Moira Laidlaw defined “Action research is a program of self-directed learning about one’s

own teaching. It is a way of improving actions and reactions in the classroom and outside,
for the benefit of the learners.”
1.2. Key elements of an action research
Action research should be used not only by the researcher but also by students. The
more students were familiar with action research, the more they could further develop into
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autonomous learners. Warrican (2006, p.2) argued that the core goal of action research was
to create sustainable learning capacities and give participants the option of increasing
control over their own situation.
Nunan (1992, p.19), Nunan (1993, pp.41 - 42) and Bailey, Curtis & Nunam (2001,
p.137) described the process of action research as a series of steps.












Figure 1: Steps in the action research cycle

Step 1: Problem identification. The researcher identified the problems that had
occurred in the classroom from previous experience.
Step 2: Preliminary Investigation. The researcher further investigated students’
feelings towards their problems and consulted other classes about their problems.

Step 3: Hypothesis. The researcher formed the hypothesis that most students had
low motivation in speaking skill because they had developed negative attitudes towards
speaking skill learning in previous classes and teacher’s normal teaching method.
Step 4: Intervention. After observing the class and forming the hypothesis, the
researcher planned the lessons and identified techniques which may solve the problem
defined by the hypothesis.
Step 5: Evaluation. In this step, the researcher’s observer colleagues and her
worked through the stages of: act, observe, reflect and revise to evaluate the outcomes in
terms of activities, materials, classroom atmosphere and teacher’s role.
Step 7: Follow-up
(Revise for next cycle)
Step 1: Problem identification
Step 2: Preliminary investigation
Step 3: Hypothesis
Step 4: Intervention
Step 5: Evaluation
Step 6: Dissemination