THE USE OF WARM UP ACTIVITIES IN MOTIVATING 10TH FORM STUDENTS TO LEARN READING SKILL

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES
***
NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT NHUNG
THE USE OF WARM-UP ACTIVITIES IN
MOTIVATING 10
TH
FORM STUDENTS TO LEARN
READING SKILL
(SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG KHỞI ĐỘNG TRONG BÀI DẠY
ĐỌC HIỂU NHẰM NÂNG CAO HỨNG THÚ HỌC KỸ NĂNG
ĐỌC HIỂU CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10)
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.140.111
HA NOI, 2015
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES
***
NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT NHUNG
THE USE OF WARM-UP ACTIVITIES IN
MOTIVATING 10
TH
FORM STUDENTS TO LEARN
READING SKILL
(SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG KHỞI ĐỘNG TRONG BÀI DẠY
ĐỌC HIỂU NHẰM NÂNG CAO HỨNG THÚ HỌC KỸ NĂNG
ĐỌC HIỂU CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10)
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.140.111
Supervisor: Prof. Hoàng Văn Vân
HA NOI, 2015
CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “The use of warm-up activities
in motivating 10
th
form students to learn reading skill” is my own study in
the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty
of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Hanoi, 2015
Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Nhung
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my respectable
supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Van for his restless and sympathetic
encouragement, valuable advice and patient guidance until the completion of this study.
I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness to the two 10
th
form classes for
their enthusiastic participation in the project.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to my beloved parents, my husband, my
daughter, my siblings, and my post-graduate friends for their sacrifice,
encouragement and care.
ii
ABSTRACT
How to teach and learn English effectively is a big concern of most
teachers and language students. Many students at Kien An High School find it

boring to study reading lessons. This study is intended to investigate the use of
warm-up activities and their effects on the 10
th
form students at Kien An High
School and to make some suggestions to improve the quality of learning
reading lessons.
The study was conducted to answer the questions: What are warm-up
activities? Are warm-up activities an effective technique for motivating 10
th
form students to learn reading skill? The author took a sample of 94 students
at Kien An High School. Data from the questionnaires was analyzed
quantitatively and qualitatively.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY………………………………………… i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………… iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………iv
LIST OF CHARTS……………………………………………………………… vi
Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Nhung i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….ii
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………iviv
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale for the study 1

1.Aims of the study 2
2.Research questions 2
4. Method of the study 2
5.Scope of the study 3
6.Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.WARM-UP ACTIVITES IN A LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING. 4
1.1.Definitions 4
1.2.The importance of warm-up activities 5
1.3.Common warm-up activities in a reading lesson 7
iv
1.4.Summary 10
1.MOTIVATION 10
2.1.Definition 10
2.2.Types of motivation 11
2.3.The importance of motivation 14
2.4.Summary 15
1.DESCRIPTION OF SITUATION 17
1.1.Subjects 17
1.2.Materials 17
1.3.Teaching – learning strategies 18
2.DESCRIPTION OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 18
2.1.Questionnaire I 18
2.2.Questionnaire II 19
3.PROCEDURE 19
1.RESULTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE I 21
2.RESULTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE II 25
3.FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 29
3.1.Active effects 29

3.2.Limitations 29
4.RECOMMENDATIONS 30
1.RECAPITULATION 33
2.LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 34
REFERENCES 36
APPENDIX I
v
LIST OF CHARTS
Chart 1: Frequency level of teachers’ using warm-up 21
Chart 2: Careful guiding level of teachers 22
Chart 3: The diversity of warm-up activities used 22
Chart 4: How often warm-up activities should be used 23
Chart 5: The importance of warm-up activities in reading lessons 23
Chart 6: The necessary level of improving warm-up activities 24
Chart 7: Students’ involvement in learning reading lessons 25
Chart 8: Level of students’ concentration during the reading lessons 26
Chart 9: Level of interest 26
Chart 10: Level of appropriateness 27
Chart 11: Level of challenge 27
Chart 12: The role of warm-ups in creating a more interesting learning
atmosphere 28
Chart 13: The interaction among students in class when warm-ups are
applied 28
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PART A: INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims at providing the readers with an overview of the study. It
consists of the rationale for the study, the aims of the study, the research questions,
the method of the study, the scope and the design of the study.
1. Rationale for the study
There is a common belief that people will be successful more easily if they

want to do their duties. For example, to please her husband, a wife will try to cook
delicious meals. A student can concentrate on learning English to communicate
with an English, an American or a foreign speaking English, to listen to English
songs or to get better jobs, etc. In other words, if people are motivated, they will do
their best to achieve their goals faster. Motivation is some kind of internal drives
which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something. Student
motivation refers to a student’s interest, desire, compulsion, and need to participate
in and be successful in the learning process. It is generally accepted that student
motivation plays a key role in academic learning. Motivated students have a
positive impact on learning. They take advantage of a given opportunity and show
intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning process. Also,
they reveal positive emotions such as excitement, enthusiasm, interest, and
optimism during learning. Besides, a teacher or an instructor has a significant role
in guiding less motivated students. It means that the teacher has to consider students
as the centre in teaching process. To make an English teaching period effective,
bring into play maximally student’s ability to grasp, the teacher has to find suitable
teaching method for each teaching period, each student and necessarily, to create
the learning motivation of students from the start. It is very important not only for
English but also other subjects. Creating the motivation of students for the lessons
and their enthusiasm in learning is the art of the teacher.
There are many ways to increase the learning motivation of students but a
large number of teachers consider warm-up activities as one of the most effective ways.
1
English is undeniably an international language that serves as the most
effective and popular communicative tool between different nations. Therefore
English is one of the major subjects for Vietnamese students to acquire at schools so
that they are qualified with a useful tool to get access to the knowledge of mankind
as well as to develop international communication, especially in the trend of
integration and globalization. The introduction of Tiếng Anh 10 is thus hopefully to
improve learners’ communicative competence as the traditional method mainly

focuses on English grammar. In the context of teaching and learning English in
Vietnam, where the number of students in each class is up to 40-50, the use of
warm-up activities is also a useful tool in class management by involving learners’
participation. However, this method still leaves much room to develop in Vietnam.
For the reasons mentioned above, the researcher wishes to conduct the
research on “The use of warm-up activities in motivating 10
th
form students to learn
reading skill.”
1. Aims of the study
The study is targeted at investigating the use of warm-up activities and their
effects on motivating the 10
th
graders in reading lessons.
2. Research questions
To achieve the above aim, the following questions are raised for exploration:
1. What are warm-up activities commonly employed for motivating to improve
reading skill?
2. To what extent can warm-up activities be used as effective technique to
improve reading skill?
4. Method of the study
In order to answer the research questions as raised above, the thesis uses both
qualitative and quantitative research method. The qualitative method is used to
study the notion of “warm-up activities” and that of “motivation” as conceptualized
by different researchers. Quantitative method is used to collect data that for
2
emphasizing the effectiveness of using warm-up activities to motivate 10
th
form
students to learn reading skill.

5. Scope of the study
This study is carried out at Kien An High School and it only focuses on reading
skill of Tiếng Anh 10.
6. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts which discuss the following matters.
Part A – Introduction – introduces the background of the study that includes
the rationale, the aims of the study, the research questions, the method, the scope as
well as the design of the study.
Part B – Development – is composed of three chapters as follows:
Chapter 1 – Literature Review – presents the theoretical background about
warm-up activities and motivation.
Chapter 2 – Research Methodology – focuses on the subjects, the data
collection instruments and the procedure.
Chapter 3 – Results, Discussions and Recommendations – presents and
analyzes preliminary results and the results after improving the warm-up activities
and suggest some recommendations.
Part C – Conclusion – summarizes the main findings, presents the limitations
of the study, and makes some suggestions for further studies.
In addition, the study also includes the sections of References which displays the
sources of referenced information and Appendix which presents the survey
questionnaire.
3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter deals with two major issues: (1) warm-up activities in language
teaching and learning including the definitions, the importance and common warm-
up activities and (2) motivation in language learning including the definitions, the
importance of motivation, and types of motivation.
1. WARM-UP ACTIVITES IN A LANGUAGE TEACHING AND
LEARNING

1.1. Definitions
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English (2009) defined warm-up as
“a period or act of preparation for a game performance or exercise session,
involving gentle exercise or practice.” In The Oxford Advanced Learners’
Dictionary 8
th
Edition, warm-up is “a short practice or a series of gentle exercises
that you do to prepare yourself for doing a particular sport or activity.”
Jonell (1985:364) pointed out that warm-up activities are designed to get
students’ attention to help them, put aside distracting thoughts and to get them ready
to focus individually and as group on whatever activities follow.
Cynthia in see warm-up activities as activities which
cultivate the students and draw them into the lesson – giving us the opportunity to
do our thing.
An other author, Ninel () also defines warm-up activities as
an “integral part of lessons that serve to make critical thinking strategies and the
process of teaching more effective.” A warm-up often helps create a conductive
atmosphere for learning and gets students ready for active and fruitful learning.
These activities are especially helpful in preparing students to work in pairs and groups.
4
In short, there are numerous opinions about warm-up; however, warm-up
activities are activities or games carried out at the beginning of each class to
motivate students, so they can make good use of class time. They make the lessons
interesting or boring and they contribute to motivate students. Therefore, they play
an important role in teaching process.
1.2. The importance of warm-up activities
No one can deny the role of warm-up activities in teaching and learning
English. Activities at the start of the lesson deserve more attention than they usually
receive. In fact, the initial activities that start the class are very important.
Warm-up activities help to get the class going because after that, students

usually become more attentive and are then mentally and physically alert in order to
participate fully in later activities. What is more, the first few minutes of a lesson
are sometimes the most difficult for the teacher, and can set the tone for the whole
of that lesson. Deacon (2002:31) suggests that a simple warm-up activity at the
beginning of any class will create a positive and relaxed atmosphere that will
encourage all the students to take full part in the rest of the class. In addition, warm-
ups increase group rapport and promote socialization; are do-able, success-oriented
for everyone; fun and quick energizing.
It is said that people never get a second chance to make the first impression.
A second chance is never got to kick off a lesson on the right foot, either whether
you have groggy early morning learners, lethargic after-lunch groups or others in
between, a good warm-up can spark your classes and get everyone immediately
energized and turned into your lesson.
“Warm-ups help your learners put aside their daily distractions and focus on
English. If they have not used English all day, they may take a little while to shift
into it. Warm-ups also encourage whole-group participation which can build a sense
of community within the group.” (Kristina, )
5
In brief, Chris () gives four reasons for effective
warm-ups:
 Warm-ups set the tone of the lesson because they are the first activities of the lesson.
A full activity raises energy, less inhibited students later in the lesson, because
it goes against the notion of language learning as difficult work assessed through
tests. For example, an activity that students find too difficult of confusing can prove
discouraging while a fun activity will make the lesson interesting and effective and
raise energy levels.
 Warm-ups get students to begin thinking and focusing on English.
It may have been a few days, a week, or even longer since they last used
English. A little time here will improve receptivity later. For classes in a non-
English speaking country, the lesson may represent the only chance for students to

use the language. They may not have spoken English for a week, maybe longer, but
warm-up will prepare everyone for the more intensive during classroom time.
It usually takes about ten minutes to get the wheels turning. Once in English
mood, students make fewer mistakes during the early stages of the lesson when the
teacher is introducing and drilling the target material. They will also have fewer
slips of the tongue with familiar language.
As a final comment, where a short warm up does not get everyone into
English mood, a warm up that is too long takes away valuable time from the lesson.
Students have less time to practice and apply the new material.
 Warm-ups provide a transition into the topic or target language
An activity at the start of the lesson activates pre-existing knowledge on a
subject, and may even get students to use (or consider) some of the ideas,
vocabulary, or even grammar important to the lesson.
If the lesson focuses on past vacations, then a few lower-intermediate
questions on vacation will get everyone to think about the topic. The warm-up
activities have already held information, in this case about vacations. There is also
6
the chance that students may inadvertently produce some of the key language,
which you can make note of and use to present the target material.
 Warm-ups allow the teacher important opportunities to access character ability
of the students.
Firstly, the warm-ups let teacher sit back, observe, and assess the students’
abilities. With any class, the teacher will catch students on good and bad days. If
everyone is a bit tired and unfocused, the teacher may have to scale back the lesson
objective. On the other hand, you may have to expand the scope if everyone uses
the target language correctly from the start. Assessment lets the teacher adjust what
and how he/she will present materials from the start.
Secondly, warm-ups let the teacher also assess who will partner well
together, and who will not. During the initial activity, the teacher can determine
who will form the best groups for subsequent activities. Strong students may not

want to work with weak students, or a young businessperson. Although the teacher
will not be able to fully determine abilities or personalities for later pair and group
work, the warm-ups will signal any potential problems or conflicts at the very least.
1.3. Common warm-up activities in a reading lesson
Not only with a reading lesson but also with any skill lessons, warm-up
activities are very multiform. Not any warm-up activities can apply for all lessons.
According to the purpose and requirement of the lesson, the teacher can choose an
appropriate warm-up activity.
As we know, in the English textbook of high school level, reading is the
beginning part of a unit. So in reading lessons, most of warm-up activities are those
aiming to introduce the topic of the new unit. Moreover, because “the teaching of
reading has often involved little more than giving students a text and requiring them
to answer a series of comprehensive questions”(Le Van Su, 2005) we can use
warm-up activities aiming to introduce new words of the new lesson, or warm-ups
aiming to revise learned vocabulary which relate to the new lesson. Besides, warn-
up activities create joyful atmosphere before starting the new lesson are also useful.
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Based on these, there are four types of warm-up activities:
 Warm-up activities to introduce the topic of the new lesson
 Hang man (unit 7 in English lesson plan book of grade 11, 2007)
Students have to guess a secret word. Teacher gives some clues and number of
letters of the word. The class is divided into two teams. One student from each team
suggests a letter in turn. If the letter appears in the word, the teacher writes it in the
correct position. If it is not, the teacher starts to construct gallows for that team. One
line is added for each wrong choice. The game finishes when there is the correct
guess.
 Word Association (unit 5, English lesson plan book of grade 11, 2007)
The class is divided into groups of four or five students. Teacher passes
handouts of four words which are similar in meaning. Ask students to write down
the missing word in each group.

Eg: horn, graze, milk, hay – cow
Ask students to find out the key word which is formed by the initial letter of
all the words they have found (the key word relates to the topic of the new lesson).
The group who finds out the word first is the winner.
 Picture Talk (unit 1, English lesson plan book of grade 11, 2007)
Students work into two groups.
Stick pictures of some things on blackboard.
Ask students to name them and find out what the pictures talk by colleting the
first letters of each name from the picture.
The group that can first find out the word will be the winner. The word relates to
the topic of the new lesson.
 Kim’s game (unit 10, English lesson plan book of grade 11, 2007)
Students work in two groups. Teacher shows some pictures/ things in front of
the class in 30 seconds, puts them away and asks students to write down the names
of those things/ pictures. The group showing the right answers in a shortest time is
the winner. Teacher shows again to check the correct answers.
 Chatting (unit 9, English lesson plan book of grade 11, 2007)
8
Teacher chats and exchanges with students about the problems relating to the
topic of the lesson. For example, teacher may ask them some questions. Then
teacher introduces the lesson: now we are going to read a text about…
 Warm-up activities to introduce new words
 Bingo (Kristina, )
Teacher writes on the board twelve words which are new words of the
reading text. Students choose five words to write on their paper. Teacher points any
word on the board with a ruler and reads loudly. While teacher is reading the word,
students circle the word they have written. When a student circles his/her five words
first, he/ she will say loudly “BINGO” and become the winner.
 Warm-up activities to revise learned vocabulary relating to the lesson
 Brainstorming (Kristina, )

Teacher divides the class into two groups, gives a topic and asks two teams to
write things related to the topic. In two minutes, which group writes more is the
winner.
 Warm-up activities to create joyful atmosphere before starting the new
lessons
 Riddles and definitions (Callum, 1980:62)
For this type of warming up activity, teacher only gives some riddles for
students to help them joyful, create relaxation for students to learn new lesson more
effectively.
Eg: What is the end of everything? (letter G)
What has legs but cannot walk? (a table)
What has teeth but cannot bite? (a comb)
 Incomplete definition (Lee, 1991:41-42)
A member of one team defines something and challenges somebody in the other
team to guess what it is. One point is for each correct guess and an extra point is for
correct spelling.
Eg: A piece of furniture in which we keep clothes (a wardrobe)
A way of telling us to stop or go ahead in the street (traffic lights)
A place where a farmer keeps his cow (a cattle shed)
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1.4. Summary
In short, warm-up activities are those used before starting a new lesson to
motivate students and make the lesson more interesting and effective. They have
deep effects on language teaching and learning. They set the tone for the lesson, get
students to think and focus on English, provide a transition into the topic and finally
allow teacher important opportunities to get access to students’ ability and
character. Warm-up activities are also multiform. Most of them are used to
introduce new words such as Hangman, Word Association, Picture Talk, Kim’s
Game and Chatting. Another type which introduces new words is Bingo.
Brainstorming is to revise learned vocabulary. Besides, to create joyful atmosphere

before lessons, Riddles and definitions and incomplete definitions are used.
1. MOTIVATION
2.1. Definition
There exists a great deal of definitions of motivation. Behind are just some of
them.
Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action
toward a desired goal; the reason for action; that which gives purpose and direction
to behavior (Matt, )
According to Nguyen Ngoc Thao (2001) motivation is called reason or aim
to boost the action to get success.
Roberto (2009) gave the similar opinion: “Motivation is something that may
drive a person towards success, and it is crucial to possess an inner motivation to
view life in an optimistic way.”
Motivation is defined as the desire or aspiration for achieving a goal
combined with the efforts towards that goal. (David, )
Similarly, another author, James, (http:exinearticles.com) defined that
“Motivation is the characteristic that helps you achieve your goal. It is the drive that
pushes you to work hard and reach whatever it is that you are after. It is the energy
10
that gives you the strength to get up and keep going-even when things are not going
away.”
Motivation is often the reason why somebody does something or behaves in a
particular way. (Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary of Current English
2000:829)
Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal,
selection, direction and continuation of behavior. (Biehler and Snowman, 1997:399)
Although there are various definitions of motivation, in the researcher’s
opinion the definition of Crookes and Schmidt (1991) is relevant to this study most.
Motivation is defined as “interest in and enthusiasm for the material used in class;
persistence with the learning task, as indicated by the levels of attention or action

for an extended duration; and levels of concentration and enjoyment.” The reason
why the author chooses this definition is that it belongs to a methodologist and it
aims directly to the process of teaching and learning a language. Moreover, it deals
with the same problems as the purpose of this thesis – students’ learning motivation
in a class period.
2.2. Types of motivation
There are various types of motivation; however, in this study, the researcher
only focuses on two basic types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations
which are very popular in most researches of motivation.
a. Intrinsic motivation
 Definitions
Intrinsic motivation can be defined as the fact of doing an activity for itself,
and the pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation. (Lyn, 1999)
Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual
rather than from external or outside reward.
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Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do
something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they
feel that what they are learning is significant.
 Some features of intrinsic motivation
A student who is intrinsically motivated undertakes an activity for its own
sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of
accomplishment it evokes.
When students do activities for their own sakes, out of interest, and to reward
themselves with an internal feeling, they are intrinsically motivated.
When intrinsically motivated, students tend to employ strategies that demand
more effort and that enable them to process information more deeply.
Intrinsic motivation comes from rewards inherent to a task or activity itself –
the enjoyment of a puzzle or the love of playing. This form of motivation has been
studied by social and educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Researchers

have found that it is usually associated with high educational achievement and
enjoyment by students. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
• attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g.
The amount of effort they put in),
• believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are
not determined by luck),
• are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good
grades. (Bandura,1997)
b. Extrinsic motivation
 Definitions
Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an
individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money
or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may
not provide. (Carol, )
Extrinsic motivation refers to external incentives (such as money, grades or
prizes) for a person to perform a given task.
 Some features of extrinsic motivation
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An extrinsically motivated student performs in order to obtain some reward
or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself such as grades, stickers, or
teacher approval.
When students are extrinsically motivated, they are doing something in
order to earn a reward or to avoid a punishment.
Students are extrinsically motivated when they do activities to a tangible
reward or for instrumental reasons.
In a school setting, extrinsic motivation is fairly common, for example,
teachers may give prizes to students if they finish all of their home reading for the
month. Therefore it may be possible that the students finish all their home reading
to receive a prize rather than for their own enjoyment of reading. If teachers know
more about these concepts it may be able to help them better understand and teach

their students.
Extrinsic motivation techniques have been used in some schools for years,
although there is evidence to show that far from encouraging learning, it actually
undermines it. Extrinsic motivation addresses the first stage of natural learning
waterfall: it gives students goals. Students want to get the prize, so they are willing
to play by the rules of the game the teacher sets up. But unfortunately, it fails on the
second stage. Students learn to see the knowledge the teacher wishes to convey as a
way to win the prize rather than something interesting to know on its own. They do
not see it as something useful in its own right. So they do not generate questions
about it. And once the prize has been achieved, students no longer have any
motivation to retain what they have learned. (Roger, )
c. The comparison between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations push a person to achieve a goal.
However, extrinsic motivation is motivation that is inspired by outside forces, while
intrinsic motivation is motivation that is inspired from within a person. Both types
of motivations are essential to success.
The types of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation factors are very different:
Extrinsic motivational factors can be money, people around you, good grades and
rewards, while with intrinsic motivation, they can be happiness, personal goals,
13
values and morals, willingness and eagerness to learn and physiological, social, and
self-esteem needs.
Intrinsic motivation is when you want to do something but extrinsic
motivation is when somebody else tries to make you do something.
Intrinsic motivation is better than extrinsic motivation. But for many findings
intrinsic motivation is not easy – it has to come from inside out. But once you get it,
intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than the extrinsic. (James,
)
2.3. The importance of motivation
Motivation has extremely important role, especially in education.

Mostly, we feel that the bad effect of class period doesn’t depend on the
technique and enthusiasm on class of teacher but mainly, the leaning attitude of
students. So, how to keep student’ interest in learning must be focused.
Unfortunately, some English teachers often pay more attention to fill the students
with many mechanical exercises, ignoring the interest and motivation in class.
Motivation in education can have several following effects on how students
learn and how they behave towards subject matter:
• Motivation directs behavior toward particular goals
Social cognitive theorists propose that individuals set goals for themselves
and direct their behavior accordingly. Motivation determines the specific goals
toward which learners strive. Thus, it affects the choices students make-for instance,
whether to enroll in physics or studio art, whether to spend an evening completing a
challenging homework assignment or playing videogames with friends.
• Motivation leads to increased effort and energy
Motivation increases the amount of effort and energy that learners expend in
activities directly related to their needs and goals. It determines whether they pursue
a task enthusiastically and wholeheartedly.
• Motivation increases initiation of and persistence in activities
Learners are more likely to begin a task they actually want to do. They are
also more likely to continue working at it until they have completed it, even if they
14
are occasionally interrupted or frustrated in the process. In general, then, motivation
increases students’ time on task, an important factor affecting their learning and
achievement.
• Motivation affects cognitive processes
Motivation affects what learners pay attention to and how effectively they
process it. For instance, motivated learners often make a concerted effort to truly
understand classroom material – to learn it meaningfully – and consider how they
might use it in their own lives.
• Motivation determines which consequences are reinforcing and punishing

The more learners are motivated to achieve academic success, the more they
will be proud of an A and upset by a low grade. The more learners want to be
accepted and respected be peers, the more they will value membership in the “in”
group and be distressed by the ridicule of classmates. To a teenage boy uninterested
in athletic, making or not making the school football team is no big deal, but to a
teen whose life revolves around football, making or not making the team may be a
consequence of monumental importance.
• Motivation often enhances performance
Because of the other effects just identified-goal-directed behavior, effort and
energy, initiation and persistence, cognitive processing, and the impact of
consequences – motivation often leads to improved performance. As you might
guess, then, students who are most motivated to learn and excel in classroom
activities tend to be our highest achievers. Conversely, students who have little
interest in academic achievement are at high risk for dropping out before they
graduate from high school.
2.4. Summary
Chapter I has given an overview of warming up activities and motivation in
language teaching and learning. In short, in education, motivation is “interest in and
enthusiasm for the material used in class; persistence with the learning task, as
indicated by levels of attention or action for an extended duration; and levels of
concentration and enjoyment.” (Crookes and Schmitdt, 1991) There are two basic
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types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Motivation plays an
important role in education. It can direct behavior toward particular goals, lead to
increased effort and energy, increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities,
enhance cognitive processing, determine what consequences are reinforcing and
lead to improved performance.
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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Chapter II provides the theoretical background to the study. This chapter

discusses three issues: (1) the description of subjects of the study; (2) the
description of data collection instrument and (3) the procedure of the study.
1. DESCRIPTION OF SITUATION
1.1. Subjects
The subjects who were involved in the study are the 10
th
form students at
Kien An High School. The researcher has done a survey and implemented teaching
in two classes: 10C5 and 10C15 at this school. 94 students in two classes at the age
of 16 quite good in comparison with the average level of the 11
th
class students at
this school, and all of them have learnt English for 4 years at secondary school.
Class 10C5 includes 47 students in the class (15 boys and 32 girls). This is a
Math class, so most students are intelligent and active in learning, especially in
English lessons. Most of them are good at English. In the last period, 70% of
students got high marks (from 8 to 10) in final exams and ranked the third in the
grade, 26% got from 6 to 7 marks, and only 4% got 5 marks. There are no students
under average.
Class 10C15 is an English class. The students are always top of grade in
English examinations. They are good at English, and selected among all students
entering the school. There are 47 students, mainly girls (42 girls) and 5 boys. The
class’s learning English movement is very exciting with many interesting activities
to help students in the class learn better and better.
1.2. Materials
Tiếng Anh 10 consists of 16 units with 6 main subjects (You and Me,
Education, Community, Nature, Recreation, People and Place). Each unit has 5
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