solutions to enhance students’ motivation at thuongmai university

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstracts ............................................................................................................. i
Tóm tắt ............................................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. ii
List of Tables .................................................................................................... iv
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale........................................................................................................ 1
2. Aims of the study .......................................................................................... 1
3. The research questions of the study .............................................................. 2
4. Scope of the study ......................................................................................... 2
5. Significance of the study ............................................................................... 2
6. Design of the study........................................................................................ 2
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 4
1.1. Motivation and language learning.............................................................. 4
1.1.1. Definition ................................................................................................ 4
1.1.2. Theories on motivation ........................................................................... 4
1.1.3. Types of motivations ............................................................................. 10
1.1.4. Factors affecting motivation in second language learning ................... 12
1.1.5. The importance of motivation in language learning ............................. 15
1.1.6. Previous study ....................................................................................... 16
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................ 20
2.1. The context of the study ........................................................................... 20
2. Methodology ............................................................................................... 20
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2.1. Research questions ................................................................................... 20
2.2. Participants ............................................................................................... 21
2.3. Instruments ............................................................................................... 21
2.4. Procedures of data analysis ...................................................................... 22

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................ 23
3.1. Findings .................................................................................................... 23
3.1.1. Students’ attitude towards learning English ......................................... 23
3.1.2. Classroom activities .............................................................................. 24
3.1.3. Teaching methods ................................................................................. 25
3.1.4. Praise and rewards................................................................................. 26
3.1.5. Classroom atmosphere .......................................................................... 28
3.1.6. Cooperative learning ............................................................................. 29
3.2. Discussion ................................................................................................ 30
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 34
1. Solutions to enhance student’s English learning at Thuongmai university 34
2. Limitations of the study .............................................................................. 35
3. Suggestions for further research ................................................................. 38
REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 39

iii


List of Tables
Table 3.1: Motivators relating to classroom activities

24

Table 3.2: Motivators relating to teaching methods

25

Table 3.3: Motivators relating to praise and rewards

26

Table 3.4: Motivators relating to classroom atmosphere

28

Table 3.5: Motivators relating to cooperative learning

29

iv


INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Research has shown that there are various factors affecting English language
learning such as: age, motivation, learning methods, attitude, interest, will power,
personality, etc. Guanjie (1996) posited that motivation (accounting for 33%) is
identified as one of the main factors in the acquisition of English. Other elements
include: aptitude (33%), intelligence (20%) and others (14%). Unmotivated student
exhibit behaviors of being unengaged, distracted and unwilling to make efforts in
learning. Conversely, motivated students demonstrate strong will and persistence to
pursue successful learning. Apparently, motivation is of great importance in
language acquisition, thus teachers always place strong emphasis on motivating
students which in turn leads to their high performance. However, the current
situation at Thuongmai university reveal the fact that students lack motivation in
learning English. Most of them show little interest in English lessons which results
in their low engagement in learning. Specifically, instead of concentrating on the
lesson, many students chat, send messages, read novels, surf the net, facebook, etc.
Low motivation in learning English has a correlation with their achievement; as a
result, graduates at Thuongmai university are said to have low level English

proficiency at workplace. They are unable to use English properly and precisely in
daily communication, negotiation, presentation and email writing. This problem
poses a need to raise their language competency at university and one of the urgent
action is to increase students’ motivation in learning English. Thus, this study is an
attempt to give an insights into motivation and its key role in language learning,
simultaneously, put forth some solutions to motivate students to learn English at
Thuongmai university. The study hopefully serve as a good reference to enhance
students language skills, assist them to become global citizen with good expertise
and fluent English to confidently join the world of jobs after graduation.
2. Aims of the study
The main aims of the study are as follows:

1


- explore the factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English.
- propose some recommendations to enhance students’ motivation in learning
English.
3. The research questions of the study
In order to achieve the aforementioned aims, the study seeks to answer the
following questions:
1. What are the factors affecting students’ motivation to learn English?
2. What are the solutions to enhance their motivation in learning English?
4. Scope of the study
The study focuses on identifying solutions to enhance English competence for
Thuongmai non-English majors. It was carried out in the second semester of 20162017 academic year with 108 second year students. The impacts of different
methods to boost students motivation are taken into account such as: classroom
activities, teaching methods, praise and rewards, classroom atmosphere, and
cooperative learning.
5. Significance of the study

The study is intended to shed light on the factors affecting non English major
students’ motivation in learning English. Then, possible solutions are recommended
to boost their motivation in language learning which in turn enhance their
competence. Thus, it is beneficial for both learners and teachers in the way that
teachers will have some insights into how to motivate students to learn better, and
learners will be equipped with necessary methods and conditions to develop their
English skills. The study hopefully lay a solid foundation for English teaching at
Thuongmai university in the pursuit of effective and high quality education.
6. Design of the study
The study is organized as follows:

2


INTRODUCTION specifies the background of the study which covers a wide range
of information such as rationale, aims, research questions, scope, significance, and
design of the study.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of literature on motivation in language learning.
Chapter 2 discusses the research methods of the study.
Chapter 3 deals with the findings and discussion of the study.
CONCLUSION summarizes the main issues of the study, accompanied by
limitations and suggestions for further study. Additionally, some possible
implications for language teaching and learning are presented.

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CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Motivation and language learning
1.1.1. Definition

Motivation is considered as an influential factor in the success of any activity. It has
positive contribution to the learning process in any educational context. In the
learning process, motivation plays a vital role in providing energy to continue and
achieve the desired goal. Therefore, initiating any goal needs first to be preceded by
desire or wish that provides this action with necessary means for implementation
and accomplishment.
In second language learning acquisition, there are a lot of research focusing on type
and factors affecting motivation. First of all, Gardner (1985) sought to investigate
how the language learners’ attitudes towards the second language speaking
community affects their desire to learn. He also made the distinction between two
kinds of motivation. The first one is integrative motivation which means that
someone learn a language to achieve a higher level of integration and assimilation
in the target language community. The second kind of motivation is instrumental
motivation where a student learns a language to achieve some kind of benefits. The
interest in this case focused on the product of the language and not on the language
itself. The second phase of motivations began in the 1990s and it has been based on
cognitive theories (Dornyei, 2009). Many concepts have been formed in this phase
as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, attributions, self-efficacy and situation-specific
motives related to the learning environment such as courses, teachers, peers. The
third phase of motivation research has been conceptualized with temporal aspects.
This trend has been based on a process oriented approach to motivation that pays
more attention to the dynamic nature of motivation. It investigates the complicated
processes of motivation and how motivation works, starting with intention
formation and ending with realizing the goals (Dornyei, 1994)

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As there are many phases of research on motivation, its definiton also varies.
According to Harmer (1991), motivation is an “internal drive” that make somebody

to desire to do something. If people think that their goal is worth doing, then they
make every effort to reach that goal. Gardner (1985), in his socio-educational model,
stated that motivation encompasses three elements, namely effort, desire and affect.
Effort refers to the time the learner spends studying the language. Desire
demonstrates how much the learner wants to become proficient in the language, and
affect means the learner’s emotional reactions related to language study.
Research in motivation and language learning by Dornyei (1994) and Williams
(1994) revealed that there are a number of motivational strategies in langauge
classroom such as: teachers should act as a role model, class atmosphere is relaxed
and pleasant, tasks are properly relevant to students, good teacher-student
relationship should be maintained, teachers know how to increase students’ self
confidence, learner autonomy should be promoted, teachers take care of individual
student’s needs, etc.
For the purpose of this study, the authors adopt the definition of motivation
developed by Dornyei (1994) in which it is the willing to learn as influenced by
teachers, classroom atmosphere, teacher-student relationship, etc.
1.1.2. Theories on motivation and conceptual framework of the study
For a long time, aptitude and intelligence had long been considered the most
important factors of learners’ success or failure (Nakata, 2006). However, Gardner
and Lambert (1959) later prove that motivation also plays a crucial role in learning
a language. Gardner and Lambert’s research has triggered many subsequent studies
relating to language motivation. Up to now, there are four main motivational
theories namely, the socio-psychological, cognitive-situated, process-oriented and
socio-dynamic perspectives.

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The socio-psychological theory
According to Gardner and Lambert (1959:193), learning a second language “must

be viewed as a central social psychological phenomenon and is different from
learning academic subjects such as Maths and Physics”. Accordingly, those
researchers believe that motivation to learn a second language is different from
motivation to learn other subjects. Learners not only learn new knowledge such
grammar, vocabulary and pragmatics, but also are willing to integrate with
community speaking that language. In this theory, two types of motivation are
identified: integrative and instrumental motivation. In this regard, learners are
motivated to learn by either integrative or instrumental orientations. Integrative
motivation is connected to the willingness to learn the second language in order to
get to know the people who speak that language. They are also interested in the
culture associated with that language because their spouse or girl friend or
boyfriend speak that language. Meanwhile, instrumental motivation refers to the
wish to learn a language for the purpose of obtaining a concrete goal such as a good
job, graduation, the ability to read academic materials or job-related materials.
Gardner’s findings revealed that integrative-oriented students exerted more effort in
learning a second language and were more successful than instrumentally-oriented
students.
Socio-educational model of second language acquisition
Socio-educational model emphasizes the characteristics of students in second
language learning. Gardner (2006) states a motivated learner demonstrates all
features about motivation which consists of effort, desire to learn and attitudes
towards learning a second language. Of these factors, effort is considered the most
important aspect in creating the success of learners or predicting their language
proficiency. Without effort, there may be little learning and thus lead to low
achievement.

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Moreover, it is proposed that the individual’s motivation to learn a second language

has a direct effect on their achievement and is influenced by a number of other
social-psychological variables. Two affective components included: intergrativeness
and attitudes toward the learning situation, and the complex of such attitudes and
motivation reflects an integrative motive that promotes language learning.
According to Gardner (2006), integrative motive consisting of the openness to
cultural identification seems more associated with pursuing the ultimate level of
achievement than other motivational types that lack this component.
Cognitive-situated theory
While the social psychological theory focused on the importance of attitudes and
feelings of language learners towards the target language and communities, the
cognitive period emphasized on cognition or mental processes. The learning
contexts and the needs of the students and teachers in the classroom were
considered more important than the community and the social context. This did not
signify that the social and psychological findings were ignored, in fact, the idea was
to broaden the previous theories but with consideration for other cognitive
perspectives.
Dornyei (1994) proposed motivation on three different levels as follows:
- Language level: considers the language and the community as well as the
instrumental and integrative motivations proposed by Gardner.
- Learner level: includes the learner’s personal traits and cognitive processes.
- Learning situation level: focuses on three specific learning levels in the classroom.
In this period the transition from a general to a more specific perspective in the
understanding of motivation in learning a language becomes more apparent.
Specifically, there were a greater interest in learners and their learning experiences
as opposed to the focus on the attitudes towards the language learning in the
previous period. This focus laid the foundation for other researchers in order to

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understand that motivation was not only influenced by social and psychological
aspects, but it was also influenced by more specific facets inside the classroom such
as the curriculum, the syllabus, the learner’s needs, and the role of the teacher.
Central to this theory is self-determination theory which includes two types of
motivation, namely intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation generally
refers to learners’s engagement in the activity because they find it interesting and
want to explore new knowledge. On the contrary, extrinsic motivation is concerned
with action that is carried out to receive a reward or avoid a punishment. The roles
of two types could be enhanced or undermined by the social factors. Since this
feature is relevant to the aims of this research, cognitive theory is chosen as the
guiding theory for our study.
Socio-dynamic theory
This theory is characterized by “the complexity of the second language motivation
process and its organic development in dynamic interaction with a multiplicity of
internal, social and contextual factors” (Doryei & Ushioda, 2011:72). In this regard,
learners’ motivation are influenced by social demands or other significant people in
their lives such as: teachers, peers and parents.
Adoption of a dynamic conception of the notion of motivation has been induced by
both the situated and process-oriented conceptualisations of motivation. As Dörnyei
& Ushioda (2011) stress, this approach allows researchers to integrate various
aspects of the key factors in SLA, namely the learner, the learning task and the
learning environment into a complex system. They argued that L2 motivation in
particular lends itself to the analysis from this perspectives because of its inherently
changing nature. In line with a complex dynamic systems approach, motivation is a
dynamic subsystem entering continuous and complex interactions with other
subsystems (i.e. cognition and affect).
Contemporary theories of motivation

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In the first half of the twentieth century, the dominant theories considered
motivation as a basic human instincts and drives. The middle of the twentieth
century was influenced by conditioning theories that were related to behaviorist
psychology. Later on, there emerged the theories relating to the desire to achieve
personal growth and to fully develop the capacities and talents that learner have
had.
Dornyei (2011) states that the current trend in motivational psychology is featured
by the cognitive approach which places the focus on how the individual’s conscious
attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, and interpretation of events influence their behavior. Up
to now, the following sub theories were later developed concerning cognitive
perspectives:
a. Expectancy-value theories: Motivation to carry out the tasks is based on
expectancy of success and the value the individual attaches to success on that task.
The greater the likelihood of success is, the higher degree of the individual’s
positive motivation.
b. Achievement motivation theory: This theory focuses on the expectancy of
success and incentive values. It also emphasizes the need for achievement. The
negative sides include the fear of failure and the incentive to avoid failure.
c. Self-efficacy theory: refers to people’ belief in their capabilities to carry out
certain tasks and their sense of efficacy will determine their choice of the activities,
the effort they exerted and the persistence they displayed.
d. Self-worth theory: People are highly motivated to behave in ways that enhance
their sense of personal value. When these thoughts are threatened, they struggle
vigoriously to protect them, which results in a number of unique patterns of face
saving behaviours in school settings.

9

e. Goal setting theory: Human action is caused by intention, and for action to take
place, goals have to be set and pursued by choice. Goals that are both specific and
difficult lead to strong commitment and highest motivation.
f. Goal orientation theory: Mastery goals (focusing on learning the content) are
superior to performance goals (focusing on demonstrating ability and getting good
grades) in that they are associated with a preference for challenging work, an
intrinsic interest in learning activities, and positive attitudes towards learning.
g. Theory of planned behavior: Attitudes have direct influence on behavior,
because attitude towards a target influences the overall tattern of the person’s
subjective norms.
1.1.3. Types of motivations
1.1.2.1. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation
There are two types of motivation introduced by Ryan & Deci (2000) which include
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
a. Intrinsic motivation: It means the students are willing and voluntary to learn
what they think it is worth or important for them. When students have intrinsic
motivation, they have the inner desire to learn and pay little attention to external
outcomes. Intrinsic motivation pushes the student to learn without rewards, because
the need is innate or come from inside or depends on their own will. Intrinsic
motivational factors include: involvement (the desire to be involved), curiosity
(exploring their interest), challenge (figuring out the complexity of a topic) and
social interaction (establishing relationship).
b. Extrinsic motivation: It refers to the desire to get a reward and avoid punishment.
This type of motivation highlights external requirement to convince the learner to
take part in learning activity (Arnold, 2000) such as homework, grade, or doing
something to please teachers. Because extrinsic motivation is largely based on
external outcomes such as rewards and punishment, it has several negative impact

10

to students such as: students do not learn with strong intention but they may learn
unwillingly just to receive rewards or to avoid punishment. When a student targets
at a reward, he will be highly motivated to come to classes and study hard to
achieve the goal. However, when these rewards are taken away, the student will
lose interest in coming to class and learning the language.
After all, extrinsic motivational factors include: compliance (to meet another’s
expectation and do what is told), recognition (to be publicly acknowledged), and
punishment avoidance (avoid being punished for bad performance).
In the past, extrinsic motivation was featured as being non-autonomous because it
was regulated by external forces like tangible reward, praise and punishment.
However, nowadays researchers conceptualize it differently based on the
assumption that humans possess an innate ability to internalise external regulation
and integrate external attributes into and internal system. Ryan and Deci (2000)
posit that due to this process of internalisation, individuals can be autonomous when
experiencing this extrinsically-motivated behaviour. Internalisation refers to the
natural process in which individuals become aware of the importance of engaging in
a task and take ownership for the task, instead of feeling obligated and forced to
engage in the task requirements.
1.1.2.1. Instrumental and Integrative motivation
According to Gardner & Lambert (1972), there are two types of motivation:
instrumental and integrative.
a. Instrumental motivation: If a person learns a language for a purpose like getting a
job or meeting an academic requirement, he/she is affected by instrumental
motivation. To put it simply, instrumental motivation refers to the need to acquire
language as a means of achieving goals such as getting a promotion in a job,
reading and understanding technical texts or communicating with foreign colleagues
at workplace.

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b. Integrative motivation is the integration of one person within a culture to become
a part of that society. Learners with integrative motivation want to study that
language in order to understand and get to know people who speak that language. It
is thought that students who are most successful when learning a target language are
those who like the people that speak the language, admire the culture and have the
desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the society in which the
language is used (Gardner, 1972).
1.1.4. Factors affecting motivation in second language learning
According to Harmer (1991), there are many factors that have impacts on students’
motivation as follows:
a. Attitude of students
Research shows that learners’ favorable attitude to language learning would
motivate them to reach their learning goals. Their attitude is actually influenced by
the teachers and classroom environment (Gardner, 2000). Thus, the researcher
ssuggests that teachers should use strategies to reduce language anxiety and create a
positive classroom atmosphere to increase student motivation.
b. Classroom climate which refers to the atmosphere in class. For instance, we can
not expect high motivation in learning if students have to study in a dark classroom,
big class size, or have to look at small board with small words, etc. They will easily
lose their interest to learn if physical environment are in poor condition.
c. Method of teaching which means the way that students are taught in class. It is
likely that students will lose their motivation if they feel bored at the teachers’
methods. Thus, teachers should use methods which encourages students to move
and engage in the activities like role play, discussion, debate, etc. Other activities
involve puzzles, brain teasers, or detective-like projects.
d. The teachers’ characters is considered the most powerful factor in motivating
students to learn. According to Brewer & Burgess (2005), teachers should maintain

12


a positive attitude toward students. Some personal qualities that ensure to enhance
students’

motivation

includes:

open-minded,

friendly,

enthusiastic,

and

knowledgeable about students’ names and interests. Moreover, teachers’ out-ofclassroom relationship with students is highly valued by students. Through outside
contact with teachers, students may feel that their teachers care about them which
may motivate them to perform better in class (Arnett, 2002).
e. Teachers’ qualification: The teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter and the
motivational level are among the most important factors to motivate students to do
well at school. That may be because professors could influence the students’
internal state of wanting to learn well. Besides, teaching quality is thought to play
an important role in motivating students. Teachers need to acquire new qualities and
continue to develop as they are role models for the students. Additionally, apart
from subject matter knowledge and classroom management skills, teachers should
master pedagogical techniques. The pedagogical skill includes the ability to
organize and present particular topics, problems or issues; then adapt to the diverse

interests and abilities of learners.
f. Students’s psychological needs
According to Ryan and Deci (2000), there are three psychological needs to promote
people’s motivation: a need for autonomy, a need for competence and a need for
relatedness. Firstly, the need for autonomy refers to an individual’s need to have
choose and act freely without any control or pressure from external forces. It is
considered the most important because autonomy is the ability to take charge of
one's own learning. Secondly, the need for competence will enable individuals to
seek challenges that are relevant to their capacity. When carrying out the
challenging tasks, learners have a chance to maintain and enhance their competence,
which is critical in their growth and development process. Competence is not a skill
which can be attained by an individual, rather it is an individual’s sense of being
confident and effective in undertaking a task. Thirdly, the need for relatedness
pertains to feeling cared for, and caring for others, and feeling respected by

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significant others such as teachers, peers and family members. When feeling secure
and cared by other people, which characterise the satisfaction of need for
relatedness, people tend to initiate the task and find the task enjoyable. In contrast,
if these needs are not satisfied, there is a strong likelihood that people feel
controlled, incompetent and isolated. As a result, they may find engaging in a task
obligatory and uninspiring and even waste of time.
Students’ success also play an important role in creating their motivation. Their
success refers to the suitable level of challenge designed by the teachers. If the the
task is either too difficult or too easy, it can lead students to a demotivated situation
in learning. Specifically, teacher should design task so that students can experience
the success at the beginning of the course. Once students feel they can do it
successfully, teachers can gradually increase the level of difficulty and students still

retain their high motivation. Compliments and rewards for students’ good job are
also emphasized because they can triger students’ motivation to learn harder.
g. Cooperative activities
Cooperative activities give students a sense of safety and help them to reduce the
fear of failure as compared to working individually. In this case, both high and low
performing students benefit from each other. On the one hand, it is a chance for
good students to share their knowledge and play the role of leader and role model
which in turn increase their confidence in the subject. On the other hand, low
performing students are provided with the opportunity to learn and receive
necessary help from their peers.
h. Using technology
Technology has positive effect on students’ attitude towards learning process and
makes learning more enjoyable. According to Ramachaudran (2004), it encourages
the exchange of ideas outside the classroom and motivate learners to use the target
language. Kim (2003) explores that using technology to chat in English helps
students to improve their language proficiency. Specifically, they have the

14


opportunity to interact with other students, teachers and online learning content.
Students become more expressive in the computer-based communications than in
their classroom environments and demonstrate more active participation.
i. Learning assessment
Teachers should give effective and useful assessment in language teaching and
learning to boost students’ motivation. Chastain (1988) believes that teachers need
to evaluate constantly their teaching on the basis of student reaction, interest,
motivation, preparation, participation, perseverance, and achievement. The
conclusions drawn from such an evaluation constitute their main source for
measuring the effectiveness of selected learning activities. Evaluation of

achievement is the feedback that can help to make improvement. By means of
evaluation, strengths and weaknesses are identified. Evaluation, in this sense, is
another aspect of learning, one that enables students to grasp what they missed
previously and the teacher to comprehend what can be done in subsequent lessons
to improve learning. To do so, alternative methods (e.g. dialogue journals, portfolio
conferences, interviews and questionnaires, observation, etc.) are available for
collecting useful information about language learning and about student related
factors which influence the processes of language teaching and learning. Genesee
(cited in Carter and Nunan, 2001) is of opinion that for tests and alternative forms
of language assessment to be useful for classroom-based evaluation, they should be:
linked to instructional objectives and activities; designed to optimize student
performance; developmentally appropriate, relevant and interesting to students;
accurate; fair and ongoing.
1.1.5. The importance of motivation in language learning
The importance of motivation in language learning is widely recognized due to the
fact that it is the decisive factor in the success or failure of learning process.
Gardner (1985) points out that motivation refers to the combination of effort plus
desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward

15


learning the language. He also states that motivation to learn a foreign language is
determined by basic predispositions and personality characteristics such as the the
leaners’ attitudes toward foreign people in general, and the target group and
language in particular, motives for learning and generalized attitudes.
Moreover, Claire (2008) notes that in language learning, motivation is the
determining force which influence a learners’ effort and perserverance. It is a
complex phenomenon which includes many elements such as: internal drive, the
need for success, curiosity, desire for stimulation and new experience, ect.

Allwright & Bailey (1994: 182) state that “the motivated learners are more
receptive than those who are not motivated”. Moreover, motivation provides the
primary impetus to initiate learning and later to sustain the long learning process.
Motivation determines the extent of active, personal involvement in learning.
Research shows that motivation directly influences how often students use language
learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers and how long
they persevere and maintain language skills after the course is over (Oxford &
Shearin, 1994 as cited in Huang, 2007). On the contrary, without sufficient
motivation, even individuals with the most notable abilities cannot accomplish
long-term goals and the most appropriate curriculum and good teaching can not
ensure student achievement.
With regard to the relationship between motivation and educational outcomes, Deci
and Ryan (2000) state that different types of motivation may lead to different
outcomes. Past empirical research studies found that students with high intrinsic
motivation persisted in learning for a longer time and expended higher levels of
effort in learning task. Consequently, those students have positive academic
performance than other types of motivation.
1.1.6. Previous study
Review of research on motivation to learn English in the world

16


Up to now, motivation in language learning has been the focus of attention of many
researchers. First of all, there are a number of studies examining the influencing
factors affecting students’ motivation. For example, Astuti (2013) stated that a good
rapport between teachers and students enhanced students’ motivation to learn
English. In another study using quantitative research method conducted by
Moskovsky (2013), it found that teachers might enhance students’ motivation to
learn English by using games or humor in teaching. Consistent with this result,

Claire (2008) claimed that teacher is the most influential element affecting the
enthusiasm, interest and motivation of students.
Additionally, Boosakorn (1985) carried out a study to investigate students’
motivation in learning English in Malaysia. The result showed that most of the
students here are highly motivated to study English. In another research, Shaaban
(2000) discovered that female students are more interested in learning English than
male counterpart. The result in Clement (2006) indicated that classroom
environment is the most important factor to motivate students in English lessons.
Another research using quantitative questionnaire to 500 students at a university in
Taiwan. Warden and Lin (2000) found that participants were motivated to learn
English to get good jobs in the future, others reported that they did not have any
inner motivation to learn English and they studied English only because of being
required to do so and taking the tests. In the context of Indonesia, the participants in
Bradford’s study (2007), he found that the highest levels of extrinsic motivation to
learn English is to get well-paid jobs and earn money. The study aslo revealed that
most of the students had very low level of integrative motivation to identify with
English native Asian region. Likewise, Thai university in Hayes’s research (2014)
exhibited a strong motivation to learn English to prepare for future jobs.
Additionally, according to Koseoglu’s research in the context of Turkey, he carried
out mixed methods on 523 university students together with interview with five
students from each faculty. The result showed that students had very high level of
instrumental motivation and very low level of integrative one. It is evident that

17


student are mostly extrinsically motivated to learn English (to get good job, to have
good English marks, etc.) while they have low intrinsic or integrative motivation.
Review of research on motivation to learn English in Vietnam
In Vietnam, motivation in English teaching and learning has been also the source of

interest for many researchers. Loan, M.T (2014) conducted a study on strategies to
motivate students in language lessons. The result showed that course book play the
crucial part in increasing their motivation because if the book is too challenging or
the topics are too out-dated and boring, the students would feel demotivated. In
another study implemented by Hanh, L.T (2011), she found that teaching methods
exert the most influence on student motivation. The research also put forth some
recommendations in that teachers should change methods to suit students’ level and
needs. Duc, H (2009) made an investigation in the motivation to learn speaking skill
of a College in Vietnam. It was revealed that two most important factors that
motivate students to learn are teaching styles and the quality of course book.
In another research conducted by Phan (2010), she used semi-structure interviews
with both lecturers and students, the result showed that in formal learning
environment, students were inclined to have intrinsic motivation when their
lecturers provided them with informative feedback and conducted interesting and
challenging activities. They were demotivated to learn English when their lectures
were not willing to help them and their classmates did support them. In informal
learning environment, these participants were motivated to learn when they could
choose what they wanted to learn.
Another study carried out by Tran (2007) investigated demotivating factors in
learning English. The result indicated that demotivation was caused by internal
factors such as students’ past failure in learning English, students’ negative attitude,
lack of chance to use English in everyday conversation and their low self-efficacy.
External demotivating factors included teachers’ negative feedback, teachers’

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inappropriate

communication

styles,

teacher-centered

approach,

conveying

knowledge in a boring way, lack of care, and dull textbook.
Apparently, many studies has been implemented to identify the types of motivation
and factors affecting students’ motivation. However, in the context of Thuongmai
university, there is a dearth of study relating to solution to enhance students’
motivation. Thus, the authors make an attempt to conduct the study with the hope
that these solutions will serve as a source of reference for learning and teaching
English.

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1. The context of the study
This study was conducted at two English classes of second year students at
Thuongmai university. The students in these two classes shared some common
features such as: mixed ability, different attitudes, dissimilar motivation towards
learning English. The coursebook included five units with integrated skills, namely
reading, listening, writing and speaking. The level of difficulty is thought to be
relevant to second year students with different business-related topics like:
Managing people, Conflict, New business and Products. The initial part of each unit
is “starting up activity” to lead the students gradually in to the lesson. Subsequently,

vocabulary exercises are introduced to make students familiar with the words
related to topic lesson; reading comprehension questions and listening exercises are
also included in the lesson. Grammar and exercises are the final parts of each lesson
which give students the opportunity to consolidate grammar points. At the end of
the course, students in both classes took mid-term test and made presentation on the
previously assigned topics.
According to teacher’s observation, about over a half of the class are motivated to
study English in class. The rest pay very little attention to the lesson and doing
something else instead of concentrating on learning activities in class. Students who
have high motivation keep serious attitude, show interest, listen attentively and
make significant contribution to the lesson, whereas students with low motivation
sleep, chat, text messages, facebook, read books, etc during the lesson. This
situation trigger the researchers to investigate factors affecting students’ motivation
and work towards the solutions to enhance their motivation.
2. Methodology
2.1. Research questions
The study seeks to find the answer for the following questions:

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1. What are the factors affecting students’ motivation to learn English?
2. What are the solutions to enhance their motivation in learning English?
To fulfill the research aims, survey questionnaires and interview were carried out to
collect the data.
2.2. Participants
The participants of the study included 108 second year students from two classes
(86 female and 22 male students) at Thuongmai University who were studying
English 3 in the second semester, 2016-2017 academic year.
To the authors’ observation, these students are different in English competence,

attitude and motivation to learn English. One of the authors taught these two classes,
so they were chosen to study for the purpose of approachability to conduct both
questionnaire and interview.
2.3. Instruments
The study employed questionnaire and interview to collect answers from students
about their motivation towards English learning. The questionnaire included 12
questions which focused on students’ attitude towards learning English, classroom
activities, teaching methods, praise and rewards, classroom atmosphere, cooperative
learning. Due to time constraint, the authors only made an attempt to investigate
five out of many factors presented in theoretical background. The questionnaire
used 5 point Likert Scale ranging from “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” to
gather information.
Eight of 108 students were then selected to be interviewed face to face to elicit
detailed answers. The interview was conducted to seek information for further
explanation and exploration of the problems. All the conversations in the interview
were audio recorded and transcribed for later analysis.

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2.4. Procedures of data collection
Initially, the questionnaire was administered to 108 students. The first part of the
questionnaire examined the attitude of students toward English learning. The
remaining questions focused on their assessment on the factors to promote
motivation. Then 8 of 108 students were interviewed for more detailed information
and to seek solutions to motivate students. These eight students were given
pseudonyms by the researchers to ensure their privacy and confidentiality for the
interviewees. Their pseudonyms were Hang, Hoa, Lien, Linh, Nga, Tuan, Hung,
and Phuong.
In an attempt to make students understandable and comfortable in expressing

themselves elaborately, all the questionnaires and interviews were conducted in
Vietnamese. These kinds of data are outlined and discussed in the next chapter.

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