Factors affecting motivation in learning speaking english of grade 10 students at thanh ba high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING
SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT
THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

( Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng tới động lực học nói tiếng Anh của
học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



PHAN THỊ THÙY LINH

FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING
SPEAKING ENGLISH OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT
THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

( Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng tới động lực học nói tiếng Anh của
học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Thanh Ba)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Dr D

HANOI - 2016

ng Th N


DECLARATION

Title:
Factors affecting motivation in learning speaking English of Grade 10 students
at Thanh Ba High School
I certify that the thesis is the result of my own research for the Degree of
Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam
National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at
any other university or tertiary institution.

Hanoi, 2016

Phan Th Thùy Linh

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been accomplished with the help and encouragement of many
people to whom I would like hereafter to express my deep appreciation.
First and foremost, I would like to express my great attitude to my supervisor,
Dr. Dương Thị Nụ for her invaluable inspiration, assistance and guidance during the
time I tried to complete this paper.
I am thankful to all lecturers and staff of the Post-Graduate Department of
University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for
their scientific knowledge, guidance and enthusiasm during my course.
I am greatly indebted to my students from class 10A1 to class 10A5 and my
colleagues at Thanh Ba high school for their participation and assistance without
which this study could not have been successful.
And my heartfelt thanks are due to my dear family members who are always
beside me to support and encourage me to fulfill my study.

ii


ABSTRACT
This exploratory research is an attempt to investigate factors affecting
motivation in speaking English of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school.
The main purposes of the study are to find out: types of motivation possessed by
grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school, factors affecting students‟ motivation in
speaking English, activities and techniques applied by teachers and students‟

preference and then give some suggested solutions for teachers to stimulate students
to speak and overcome the difficulties they face with in teaching speaking.
This survey study was carried out with the combination of qualitative method
and quantitative method with some kinds of research instruments: questionnaires for
students and teachers, follow-up interviews and class observations.
The findings shows that grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school are not
only extrinsically, instrumentally but also intrinsically and integratively motivated.
Besides, their motivation in speaking is affected much by the factors coming from
students‟ themselves, teachers and learning condition. Based on theoretical
background of motivation and speaking, the researcher‟s knowledge, experience
and observation in teaching speaking, some recommendations for motivating
students to speak were suggested such as promoting students‟ internal factors,
setting up a co-operative atmosphere in class, applying varying speaking activities,
combining different materials or changing teachers‟ characteristics. The researcher
believes that these recommendations will be of help for high school English
teachers in general and for English teachers at Thanh Ba high school in particular.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION .................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... iv
LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS .................................................................. vii
PART A. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale ............................................................................................................. 1
2. Aims of the study ................................................................................................ 2
3. Research Questions ............................................................................................. 2

4. Methods of the study ........................................................................................... 2
5. Scope of the study ............................................................................................... 2
6. Significance of the study...................................................................................... 3
7. Design of the study .............................................................................................. 3
PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ............................................. 4
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning........................................ 4
1.1.1. Definition of motivation ...................................................................... 4
1.1.2. Types of motivation ............................................................................ 5
1.1.3. Factors affecting motivation inL2 learning……………………………6
1.2.1. Definition of speaking ....................................................................... 11
1.2.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking ............................................ 11
1.2.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking ....... 12
1.2.4. Motivation in speaking in classroom ................................................. 13
CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 15
2.1. The setting of the study ................................................................................... 15
2.2. Subjects .......................................................................................................... 16
2.3. Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at Thanh Ba
high school ........................................................................................................... 17
2.4. Participants ..................................................................................................... 17
2.5. Data collection instruments ............................................................................. 18

iv


2.5.1. Survey Questionnaires ................................................................................. 18
2.5.2. Interviews .................................................................................................... 19
2.5.3. Class observations ....................................................................................... 20
2.6. Data collection procedures…………………………………………………….16
CHAPTER 3- DATA ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 21

3.1. Results from students‟ pre- treatment and post-treatment questionnaires ........ 21
3.2. Results from teacher‟s survey questionnaire (Post-treatment) ......................... 37
CHAPTER 4. MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................... 42
4.1. Major findings and discussions ....................................................................... 42
4.1.1. Types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school
.............................................................................................................................. 42
4.1.2. Factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English ................ 42
4.1.3. Speaking motivational activities and techniques employed by teachers and
students‟ preferences ............................................................................................. 44
4.2. Recommendations for motivating students to speak English in class............... 45
4.2.1. Promoting students‟ internal factors ............................................................. 45
4.2.2. Varying speaking activities .......................................................................... 46
4.2.3. Managing speaking turns in class ................................................................. 47
4.2.4. Setting up a co-operative atmosphere in class .............................................. 47
4.2.5. Combining the textbook and relevant materials ............................................ 48
4.2.6. Recognizing the potential value of available facilities of the school and the
Internet .................................................................................................................. 48
4.2.7. Being enthusiastic, tolerant, helpful, creative and active .............................. 49
PART C. CONCLUSION
1. Recapitulation of the study ................................................................................ 50
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study .................................................... 50
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 52
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................I

v


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

CLT

Communicative Language Teaching

FM

Frequency modulation

L2

Second Language

SLA

Second Language Acquisition

VOA

Voice of America

vi


LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1. List of tables
Table 1.Reason for types of motivations ............................................................... 22

Table 2. Factors making students reluctant to speak English in class .................... 30
Table 3. Factors preventing students‟ speaking process ......................................... 31
Table 4. Factors encouraging students to speak .................................................... 33
Table 5. What teachers do to motivate students to take part in speaking activities. 34
Table 6. Teacher‟s opinions on students‟ motivation of the speaking stages .......... 37
Table 7. Problems teachers facing in teaching speaking ......................................... 38
Table 8. Activities applied by teachers by frequency ............................................. 39
Table 9. Techniques applied by teachers ................................................................ 39
Table 10 . Activities applied by the teachers and students‟ preferences ................ XV
Table 11. Speaking activities applied by teachers ............................................... XIX
2. List of charts
Chart 1. Students‟ average marks in the first semester ........................................... 21
Chart 2. Students‟ perceived importance of English .............................................. 24
Chart 3. Students‟ aptitude to learn English speaking ............................................ 25
Chart 4. Students‟ attitude to learn English speaking…………………………….26
Chart 5. Students‟ effort in learn English speaking ................................................ 27
Chart 6. Students‟ desire to learning speaking ....................................................... 27
Chart 7. Students‟ interest in speaking English .................................................... 28
Chart 8. Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time............................. 29
Chart 9. Students‟ reluctant of speaking English .................................................... 29
Chart 10 . Students‟ results after the treatment ....................................................... 32
Chart 11. Activities enjoyed most by students ...................................................... 34

vii


PART A. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Nowadays, English is widely known as the major language of intercommunication,
international commerce and business, science and technology and so on. Therefore,

people with good English proficiency are extremely needed in any fields of society.
As a result, there has been a positive trend of teaching and learning English across
the country. People, from children to adults, learn English with different purposes.
In general, despite deriving from different purposes, every one wants to turn
English to become their own instrument in their lives.
In the process of teaching and learning English, there are many factors affecting the
success of language learners such as attitude, age, personality, motivation and so on,
among which motivation plays an important role. Researchers on motivation have
pointed out that learners who are highly motivated can learn a foreign language
better than those who are not and vice versa.
With some years of experience in teaching English in some foreign language center
and two years of experience in teaching English at high school, I have realized that
motivation is one of the key factors that determine students‟ success or failure in
language learning. For teaching and learning speaking skill, the great impact of
motivation is not an exception. Although motivation in learning English is not a
new topic, it still is an unsolved problem of Grade 10 students at Thanh Ba High
school. This is the reason why I choose studying on factors affecting motivation in
speaking English of grade 10 students as the topic for my minor thesis. This study
will examine types of motivation that students have in speaking and point out some
factors that affect their motivation to speak. It also investigates the activities and
techniques applied by teachers, students‟ preferences and demands, and some
difficulties teachers faced in teaching speaking. The researcher hopes that this study
will figure out a concrete picture of motivation in speaking English of grade 10
students at Thanh Ba high school and it will be of help for teachers who want to
increase students‟ motivation in speaking English learning.

1


2. Aims of the study

The aims of the study are to investigate the factors affecting motivation in learning
speaking English of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school. Some main
purposes covering the study are summarized as follows:
(1) To point out some factors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking English.
(2) To give some suggestions for teachers to stimulate students in speaking English
and overcome the difficulties they have to face with in teaching speaking English
for grade 10 students.
3. Research Questions
1.

What are the factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English?

2.

What have teachers done to motivate students in learning speaking English?

4. Methods of the study
To carry out the study, qualitative method was mainly used with two instruments: a
follow up interview and an informal observation. All the comments, remarks,
recommendations and conclusion provided in the study were based on the data
analysis of the study.
In addition, to make the data collected more reliable and authentic, quantitative
method was applied. The data collected for the study come from two sources: the
10th grade students and all teachers of English at Thanh Ba high school.
Survey questionnaires, two for students (pre- and post- treatment questionnaires)
and one for teachers, were used to gather information and evidence for the study.
5. Scope of the study
Studying motivation and its effects on the second language have been paid attention
to by many researchers so far. This study only investigates the factors affecting
motivation in speaking English of grade 10 students at Thanh Ba high school.

Because of the limited time and within an M.A. minor thesis, the researcher intends
to make a brief view of the current situation of teaching and learning English
speaking skill of the 10th grade students at Thanh Ba high school; identifies factors
affecting their speaking stimulation; examines techniques and activities used by

2


teachers

and

students‟

preferences

and

demands;

then

suggests

some

recommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak English and overcome
difficulties in teaching speaking.
6. Significance of the study
First, the information about types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students in

this minor thesis is believed to be useful for the teachers of English in general and
teachers of English at Thanh Ba high school in particular. Second, identifying some
factors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking English, pointing out students‟
preferences and demands to activities and techniques applied by teachers are
believed to be helpful for all teachers when teaching speaking. Third, giving some
recommendations for teachers to motivate students to speak English and overcome
obstacles and difficulties in teaching speaking is expected to be beneficial.
7. Design of the study
The study is divided into three parts: the Introduction, the Development and the
Conclusion.
Part A: Introduction- deals with the rationale, aims, scope, methods, significance
and design of the study.
Part B: Development- consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1- Theoretical background- is intended to give some theoretical
background related to motivation and speaking.
Chapter 2- Methodology- presents the situation analysis, participants, data
collection instruments, data collection procedures
Chapter 3- Data analysis- analyses collected data
Chapter 4- Major findings, discussions and recommendations
Part C: Conclusion- is a review of the study, suggestions for further research and
limitations of the study.

3


PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning
1.1.1. Definition of motivation
Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positive

correlation with second language achievement and proficiency. The motivated
learners are usually more active in learning, while unmotivated learners are more
likely to cause classroom disturbances. However, motivation is extremely difficult
to define and measure. In Atkinson‟s point of view (cited in Arnold, 2000:13),
motivation is a term used to describe what “energizes” a person and what directs his
activity. While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person‟s
thought and defined it as „the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a person
that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive
and the motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized,
operationalized and acted out‟(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9). In his word, Ellis stated
that „motivation involves the attitudes and effective states that influence the degree
of effort that learners make to learn an L2‟ (Ellis, 1997: 75). Similarly, Brown
(2000: 160) indicated that „motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes
someone to do things in order to achieve something‟
It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition in different
ways. However, they all share the same point of view that motivation combines
effort and desire plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination of internal
and external influences. This research, therefore, will follow the definition of
motivation proposed by Gardner (1982: 132- 147) that motivation is perceived to be
composed of three elements including effort, desire and affect. Effort refers to the
time spent studying the language and the drive of the learner. Desire indicates how
much the learner wants to become proficient in the language, and affect illustrates
the learner‟s emotional reactions with regard to language study.

4


1.1.2. Types of motivation
According to the point of view of many previous researchers, motivation can be
divided into three types: Integrative and instrumental motivation, intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation, and resultative motivation.
Firstly, about integrative motivation, Falk (1978), Finegan( 1999:568) and Lambert
(1974:98) shared the same conception that integrative motivation is the desire to
become familiar with or even integrate into the target language culture, whereas,
instrumental motivation is something which concerns „the practical value and
advantages of learning a new language‟ (Lambert 1974: 98- cited in Ellis, 1997),
such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a
job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material,
translation work or achieving higher social status.
Secondly, motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation refers to the
fact of doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from
participation (Deci and Ryan, 1985), for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provided.
Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation is what comes from outside
such as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear for punishment, Schulz (1991:18)
said that the concept of extrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which the
learning environment (i.e. the teacher, materials, curriculum, learning tasks etc.).
Lastly, resultative motivation refers to the result of learning. In terms of this,
Hermann (1980) stated that „it is success that contributes to motivation rather than
vice- versa‟ (cited in Ellis, 1997) and Ellis (1997) has the same point of view: „the
relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one. A high level
of motivation does stimulate learning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goals
can help to maintain existing motivation and even create new types.‟
To sum up, in my point of view, students‟ motivation can be divided into two main
types as extrinsic, instrumental and intrinsical or integrative motivation. In some
cases, resultative motivation are both of them depending on students‟ desire.

5


1.1.3. Factors affecting motivation in L2 learning

1.1.3.1. Some previous researches on motivation
Garden, R. M. I. (2013). Factors affecting students‟ academic motivation to achieve
Excellence in Level 1 NCEA English (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of
Otago.
Ibrahim Abdelrahim Ibrahim Humaida (2012). Motivation to Learn English among
College Students in Sudan, , Faculty of Arts & Science-Tabarjal, Aljouf University,
King Saudi Arabia.
Naghmeh Babaee (2012). Motivation in Learning English as a Second Language,
University of Manitoba.
Nhung, N.T.M. (2003). Motivation and Factors Affecting Motivation in Learning
English Writing of the Freshment at the Department of English and AngloAmerican culture, VNU-CFL. Unpublished MA Dissertation. CFL-VNU.
Ratanawalee Wimolmas, A Survey Study of Motivation in English Language
Learning of First Year Undergraduate Students at Sirindhorn International Institute
ofTechnology (SIIT), Thammasat University, Thailand.
Although there are many previous researches on motivation and factors affecting
motivation in learning English, the studies focus on other subjects as the first year
students, or students of non-English majors and scope of the study is focus on
writing skill or motivation in learning in general. That the reason why this study
was carried to find out clearly factors affecting motivation in learning, especial in
speaking English skill.
1.1.3.2. Dornyei’s extended motivational framework.
Dornyei (2001:112- 113) analyzed L2 learning motivation within a framework of
three levels, which offers a vast list of motivational components;
(1) Language level involves factors related to the L2 such as the culture, the
community as well as practical values and benefits connected with learning
L2.

6

(2) The learner level involves individual characteristics that the learner brings to
the learning process. These characteristics include learners‟ self- confidence,
self- efficacy, need for achievements, causal attributions, the perceived L2
competences, and goal orientations and so forth.
(3) Learning situation level is associated with situation- specific motives of L2
learning within a classroom and it is divided into three aspects. The first is
course- specific motivational components which are related to the syllabus,
the teaching materials, the teaching method and the learning tasks The
second is teacher- specific motivational components which concern the
motivational impact of the teacher‟s personality, behavior and teaching
style. And the third is group- specific motivational components which are
related to the group dynamics of the learner group.
1.1.3.3 Williams and Burden’s framework of the L2 motivation
Williams and Burden (1997) analyzed L2 learning motivation in a framework of
two factors: internal and external. Internal factors encompass various components
such as intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency,
mastery, self- concept, attitudes, developmental age, stage and gender and other
affective states (confidence, anxiety, fear). External factors include significant
others (parents, teachers and peers); the nature of interaction with significant others
(mediated learning experiences, the nature and amount of feedback rewards, the
nature and amount of appropriate praise, punishments and sanctions); the learning
environment (sense of comfort, resources, time of day, week, year, size of class and
school, class and school ethos) and the broader context (which includes wider and
family networks, local education system, conflicting interests, cultural norms and
societal expectations and attitudes). (Cited in Dornyei, 2001: 114)
1.1.3.4. Factors affecting student motivation in L2 learning
There have been some studies on the factors affecting students‟ motivation in
learning a foreign language so far. Above are two L2 motivation frameworks that
refer to some factors such as language level, learner level, learning situation level

7


(Dornyei, 2001) and internal and external factors (Williams and Burnden, 1997).
Although researchers have had some different views in this issue, they all have
come to an agreement with a list of common factors affecting students‟ motivation.
These factors can be divided into three groups: teacher‟s factors, students‟ factors
and learning condition factors.
 Students’ factors
The first factors are students‟ intelligence and aptitude. Intelligence, according to
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 52), refers to „performance on certain kinds of test‟
and aptitude is something which „involves both underlying language learning
capacity and a capacity to handle decontextualized language‟ (Ellis, 1997: 522).
Lightbown and Spada also point out that language aptitude is usually described as a
combination of four factors: (1) the ability to identify and memorize new sounds,
(2) the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, (3) the
ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples and (4) the ability to
memorize new words (1999: 53).
The second is students‟ personality. In the eyes of many language teachers, the
personality of the students constitutes a major factor contributing to success or
failure in language learning. Ellis (1997) has proved that extroverted learners are
advantaged in the development of the kind of language associated with basis
interpersonal communication skills and that extroverted learners may also be more
likely to participate actively in oral communication (1997: 523). Shared the same
view with Ellis, Lightbown and Spada list a number of personality characteristics
that have a great influence on the success of second language learners: extroversion,
inhibition, self- esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness
(1999: 54- 55).
The third factor is learners‟ age. Children are believed to be better than adults in
acquiring an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native- like fluency

in particular. Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn the
syntax and the vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like

8


pronunciation is impossible for them. Also, they concluded that younger learners
have a greater chance of attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learners
may show faster progress at the beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young
ones in the end.
The fourth factor is learning style. The term „learning style‟ refers to the
characteristic ways in which individuals orientates to problem- solving. Keefe
(1979) defined learning style as „the characteristic cognitive, affective and
physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners
perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment… Learning style
is a consistent way of functioning that reflects underlying causes of behavior‟
(cited in Ellis, 1997: 499).
The last factor is learners‟ belief. Most learners have strong beliefs about how
languages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered. Little, Singleton
and Silvius found out „past experience, both of education in general and of
language learning in particular, played a major role in shaping attitudes to
language learning‟ (cited in Ellis, 1997: 478- 479).
 Teacher’s factors
Teacher plays an important role in students‟ learning motivation. As a matter of
fact, some teacher‟s factors and appropriate teacher behaviors will increase students
to motivate in learning.
Dornyei (2001) pointed out some teacher‟s factors affecting students‟ motivation:
appropriate teacher behavior, teacher‟s enthusiasm and a good relationship with the
students.
Firstly, appropriate teacher behavior in classroom is very important. It is considered

a powerful „motivational tool‟. Alison (1993) stated that teacher‟s behavior could
„persuade‟ or „attract‟ students to engage in on- task behaviors (cited in Dornyei
2001: 120). „The teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports
students‟ learning efforts. Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks

9


because they know that they will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a
mistake‟ (Good and Brophy, 1994 - cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121).
Secondly, teacher‟s good relationship with the student is also a key element of
motivation in student learning. The teacher should establish the relationship of
mutual trust and respect with students. This relationship also involves finding
opportunities to talk with them on a personal level and letting them know that
teachers have thought about them and that their individual effort is recognized.
(Dornyei, 2001: 120).
The third factor is teacher‟s enthusiasm. Csikzentmihalyi (1997) said that teachers
needed to be „enthused and involved in the teaching process and in the material they
are teaching‟ (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 178). Csikzentmihalyi also points out that
enthusiastic teachers are the ones who love what they are doing, who show by their
dedication and their passion that make students willing to pursue knowledge (cited
in Dornyei, 2001: 177- 178)
The last factor is teacher‟s commitment to the students‟ academic progress.
Teachers should care for what their students have learnt and succeeded (Dornyei,
2001). They should also offer concrete assistant, responding immediately when help
is requested, correcting tests, arranging extra- assignments and so on.
In short, teacher‟s attitude, behavior as well as the general level of their
commitment towards the students, their learning and their subject matter, constitute
some of the most prevailing influences on student motivation. Dornyei says that
„teachers are the designated leaders of the class group‟ and therefore, they cannot

lack their responsibility for maintaining their own commitment to the teaching
process because the lack of this responsibility will cause „psychological absence‟
from teaching process, which is the fastest way to undermine the motivational base
of the learners.
 Teaching and learning condition
Teaching and learning condition involves classroom atmosphere and physical
condition. A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere will create motivation;

10


it encourages students to express their opinions and thinking. MacIntyre (1999) and
Young (1999) pointed out that students‟ anxiety created by a tense classroom
climate was one of the most potent factors that undermined learning effectiveness
and L2 motivation. (cited in Dornyei, 2001: 121).
Physical conditions are important, too. Physical conditions refer to something in
classroom such as classroom‟s size, classroom‟s facilities (chairs, desks, tables,
electric facilities…). Hammer (1992) stated that physical conditions had great
impact on students‟ learning as well as their attitude towards the subject matter.
Physical condition affects both teacher and students‟ motivation. The large class,
the poor facilities will decrease the relationship between teacher and students, and
as a result, will decrease motivation.
1.2. Theoretical background of speaking in L2 learning
1.2.1. Definition of speaking
Florez (1999) defined speaking was „an interactive process of constructing meaning
that involves producing and receiving and processing information‟. (cited in Balley,
2005: 2). In other words, „speaking consists of producing systematic verbal
utterances to convey meaning‟. (Balley, 2005:2). Bygate (1997) stated that speaking
was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much as literacy skill. Speaking is
in many ways an undervalued skill. Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak,

and so take the skill too much for granted. In his own view, Mackey (1965) shows
that „oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right
patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the
right order to convey the right meaning‟(cited in Bygate, 1997: 5). To sump up,
speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one‟s feelings or
thinking by oral words.
1.2.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking
There are three approaches the teaching speaking: the Grammar- translation
method, The Direct Method and Audiolingualism and Communicative Language
Teaching.

11


In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to
translate from one language to another. This method is not consistent with the goals
of increasing English learners‟ fluency, oral production, or communicative
competence. The Direct Method strongly influenced the development of the
Audiolingual Method. Speaking is taught by having students repeat sentences and
recite memorized dialogues from the textbook. Because two above methods did not
lead to fluent and effective communication in real- life situations, the
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) evoked. The goal of language teaching
in the light of CLT is learner- centeredness to develop communicative competence
which is an essential element to raise learners‟ motivation in language learning.
CLT favors interaction among small numbers of learners with a purpose to
maximize the time each learner learns and uses languages, shares information and
negotiates meaning. CLT features more interaction- based activities, such as roleplays and information gap tasks. Pair work and group work are typical
organizational features of interaction- based lessons in CLT.
In summary, among some approaches of the language teaching methods mentioned
above, CLT is the most appropriate way to teach students to communicate. My

minor thesis is about factors affecting students‟ motivation to speak English in
class, so what I have to find out are what affecting students in speaking English and
how to motivate them to speak English better. In terms of speaking skill, I think that
CLT is one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to speak in second
language. Therefore, I have decided to choose CLT not any other method to teach
speaking and doing my treatment of the study.
1.2.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking
Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, the
practice stage and the production one. In each stage, the role of the teacher is
different.
At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role, introduces
something new to be learned, and is at the center of the stage. At the practice stage,

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the teacher is like the skillful conductor of an orchestra, giving each of the
performers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that it is
satisfactory. At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of
manager and guide. Students are given opportunities to use language freely and
express their own ideas.
To sum up, the teacher works as a motivator and his/ her roles closely relate to the
three stages of learning. Whatever teacher is doing in the classroom, his/ her ability
to motivate the students, to arouse their interest and involve them in what they are
doing, will be crucial. Therefore, some key factors of teacher‟s role are teacher‟s
own performance- the mastery of teaching skills, which depend on teacher‟s careful
preparation; teacher‟s selection, and presentation of topics and activities, and, of
course, teacher‟s own personality, which, in language teaching, must be flexible
enough to allow the teacher to be both authoritative and friendly at the same time.
1.2.4. Motivation in speaking in classroom

1.2.4.1. Motivation in the classroom setting
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 57- 58) stated that the content is interesting and
relevant to their age and level of ability, where the learning goals was challenging
yet manageable and clear, and where the atmosphere was supportive and nonthreatening, teachers could make a positive contribution to students‟ motivation to
learn. Two researchers replicated findings from studies by Graham Crookes and
Richard Schmit (1991) and pointed out some pedagogical practices for teachers to
motivate students in classroom setting: Motivating students at the opening stages of
lessons, remark teachers make about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels
of interest on the part of the students; Varying the activities, tasks and materials;
Using co- operative rather than competitive goals: students must work together in
order to complete a task or solve problem. These techniques will increase the selfconfidence of students, including weaker ones.

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1.2.4.2. Factors affecting students unwilling to speak in classroom
Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors affecting the reluctance of the student to
speak up in class: students‟ perceived low proficiency in English, students‟ fear of
mistakes and derision, teachers‟ intolerance of silence, uneven allocation of turns
and incomprehensible input(cited in Nunan, 1999: 234). In his investigation, Oxford
(1998) also stated some factors that decrease students‟ motivation in classroom: The
teacher‟s personal relationship with the students, the teacher‟s attitude, style
conflicts between teachers and students about the amount of structure and conflicts
about the amount the degree of closure or „seriousness‟ of the class, the nature of
the classroom activities, including irrelevance, overload and repetitiveness (cited in
Dornyei, 2001: 146). In summary, although two researchers give many different
factors, it might be gathered in three factors group as students‟ factors, teachers‟
factor and learning condition‟s factors.
1.2.4.3. Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking
According to Nunan (1999), there are some preconditions for effective motivation

such as: supportive environment( including orderly classroom, teacher‟s classroom
management skill; students‟ comfortable feel in taking risks, feedback is positive),
appropriate level of difficulty, meaningful learning (meaningful activities; the clear
relationship between activities and objective), strategies and content( students can
relate content to own experience; topics are interesting) (Nunan, D. 1999: 235).
In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge
related to the topic of the study. It has discussed some concepts and ideas
concerning to the issue of motivation in general and motivation in L2 study in
particular. Besides, some different aspects related to speaking were also discussed,
especially some aspects related to factors affecting students‟ speaking motivation.

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CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY
2.1. The setting of the study
The study was conducted at Thanh Ba high school, a rural school of Phu Tho
province. Currently, there are ten teachers of English, 30 classes and over 1350
students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12. Most of students come from villages
and town in the district. Like other high schools in Vietnam, English was taught
here as a compulsory subject. However, the teaching of English, especially for
Grade 10 has met some difficulties. The first difficulty is that English is not paid
much attention by most of students in school because one- fifth of the tenth grade
students wish to take university entrance exam in English. The second is teachers
have to teach in the large size classes with at least 45 students for each class.
Therefore, teachers will face with some problems in monitoring work, giving
feedback, setting up communicative tasks as well as paying attention to all students
during class time. The third is most of the students are not familiar with teaching in
English. They say that they do not understand if all English lessons are taught in
English. They also feel quite uncomfortable and pressured when using English to

express themselves. The last is the lack of materials for reference and self- study.
There is a library at school but there are not many books, English newspapers and
magazines for reference. Moreover, some facilities needed for learning such as
computers, projectors are not enough. There are no language labs and library
Internet for students, too.
In school year 2015- 2016, the students at Thanh Ba high school continue to take
part in new syllabus which was designed following communicative approach. It
required students not only expert in doing grammar exercises but also in practicing
multi- skills. Normally, there are only three periods (135 minutes) of studying
English every week. Yet, it is not enough for the students to practice and develop
their skills as well as to enrich their background knowledge, vocabulary and
structure capacity. What‟s more, English is hardly used to talk outside class. As a
result, these factors may affect students‟ motivation in learning English especially
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in learning English speaking. So, it is advisable for the teachers to employ various
techniques to arouse students‟ interest in learning English speaking. They, then,
may improve their speaking skill and other language skills.
2.2. Subjects
 Grade 10 students
Grade 10 students, both male and female, had similar backgrounds, come from
villages or town, finished secondary school with 4 years of learning English.
The students under investigation have just finished the first term of grade 10 school
year. Although they have had for over four years of learning English, their English
proficiency has been very low. It can not deny that most students want to learn
English well, but their condition, learning environment and their capacity do not
allow them to do so. About two third of them are from farmer families so that their
lives are rather poor so it is not equipped enough for learning. Moreover, outside
class time, they often help their families with farming and housework so often have

little time for extra-learning and doing homework. Added to that, their parents do
not take care of children‟s study enough. Besides, learning environment is very
important, too. When being asked why students at Thanh Ba high school are not
good at English, most of the teachers agree that they do not have good environment.
English seems never to be used outside class. Furthermore, in English lessons,
English is used much by teachers and good students. The others are lazy or reluctant
to talk because they have no effort and aim to learn. Some are afraid of talking as
they fear to make mistakes and lose face, and sometimes they fear to get bad marks
and be paid bad attention from teachers. By and large, students have few chances to
practice English and to speak it out.
 Teachers
Thanh Ba high school consists of ten teachers of English aged from 24 to 56. All of
them have been teaching at school for at least two years. They have got the
University Bachelor‟ Degree in English and Certificate of English Language
Proficiency Level B2 and C1. As rural teachers, they have few opportunities to

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