VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------------------- NGUYỄN THỊ THỊNH THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER’S DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION Ảnh hưởng của việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa trên phong cách học cá nhân đối với động lực học của sinh viên M.Combined Program Thesis Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.111 HANOI - 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------------------- NGUYỄN THỊ THỊNH THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER’S DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS BASED ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES ON THEIR MOTIVATION Ảnh hưởng của việc đa dạng hóa phương pháp giảng dạy dựa trên phong cách học cá nhân đối với động lực học của sinh viên M.Combined Program Thesis Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60. Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify that this research entitled “The effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation” was conducted and then submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (M. This paper was original and has not been submitted for any degrees at any other universities or institutions. Hanoi, October the 11 2013 Signature Nguyen Thi Thinh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Dr.
Le Van Canh for his expert guidance and priceless encouragement during my completion of this MA thesis. Reviewing the first manuscript in spite of his hectic schedule, he made some important suggestions which greatly contributed to the final improvements. Special thanks should also be sent to my students at University of Languages and International Studies, without whom the data procedures could not have ever been completed. Finally, I take this opportunity to record my sincere gratitude to my family, for their patience, support and encouragement.
I am also profoundly indebted to my fiancé, Dang Tuan Thanh, for his remarkable tolerance and unshakeable faith which motivated me enough to accomplish this paper on schedule. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Motivation which has a profound impact on students‟ academic achievement at university is determined by a lot of factors. Among them, students‟ learning style is one of the most important one. The correlation between motivation and learning styles has been documented in a lot of research.
This paper reports an action research undertaken in a reading course for second-year English majors in a university in Hanoi, Vietnam. Involving a group of twenty-six sophomores from the same class, this study aims to 1) identify the given class‟s learning styles and current level of academic motivation; 2) project and implement some instructional differentiations upon the students‟ different learning modalities aiming to improve their academic motivation; and 3) evaluate the impact of the psycho-pedagogical intervention on the students‟ motivation level. Using two questionnaires, interviews with students, and researcher‟s self-observation and reflection as the main research instruments, the study shows that these students had low current level of motivation which was probably caused by different learning preferences. Basing on the insight into the students‟ learning styles, differentiated instructions were employed in hope to raise their motivation.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS List of tables Table 1. Kolb‟s model of learning styles. Dunn and Dunn‟s learning style theory (VAKT). Two out of six learning styles in Reid‟s model.
Three classroom elements for differentiation. 21 List of figures Figure 1. Kolb‟s model of learning styles. Learning cycle and decision factors used in planning and implementing differentiated instruction.
The flow of instruction in a differentiated classroom. Low prep vs. high prep differentiation. Components of foreign language learning motivation.
The rationale behind differentiated classes. Range of activities in a differentiated classroom. The proportions of the students by their study record in the first year. Equivalent scales of 12 mini-AMTB items.
AMTB questionnaire keys. The research first cycle. Students‟ perceptual learning style preferences. 59 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The participants‟ level of motivation before the intervention. Motivational intensity over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012). English teacher evaluation over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012). Desire to learning English over a six-week period (Sept to Oct 2012).
75 List of abbreviations AMTB: Attitude motivation battery test PLSPQ: Perceptual learning style preference questionnaire LS: Learning style(s) LSI: Learning style inventory ESL: English as a second language EFL: English as a foreign language v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
Statement of the problem. Aims, objectives and research questions of the research. Significance of the research. Scope of the research.
Organization of the research. 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8 1. Learning motivation in ESL/EFL context. Evidence of effectiveness of differentiated instruction.
Differentiated instruction and learning style. 36 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Differentiated instruction and ESL/EFL motivation. Class problem from the teacher‟s perspective.
Procedure of data collection. Procedure of data analysis. 57 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Summary of the major findings of the research.
The teacher-researcher‟s reflection on the project, limitations and suggestions for next cycle. I vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter containing the rationale, general objectives (guided by research questions) and organization of the study is expected to provide readers background materials and a map of the research paper. Statement of the problem As a lecturer in an English-major university, the researcher of this study has been teaching several courses of English skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) so far. Therefore, she has had to deal with different teaching situations as well as various kinds of English major students.
Through her continuous classroom self-observation, informal interviews with students and evaluation of students‟ lesson journals (a learning dairy which students were personally asked to keep writing from the beginning of each course to reflect their perspectives and feelings of the lessons and teachers), the researcher has recently identified some questionable problems in her reading class: 1) the students were not motivated enough to actively join in class activities; 2) some students were somehow more involved in certain activities while sometimes the others even showed no interest in these ones at all. Different activities may evoke different reactions and feelings from different students. These concerned the researcher so seriously that she decided to investigate the situation to look for the answers in a structured manner, rather than in an informal one like before. Reviewing the body of knowledge which is expected to probably result in the current problem, the researcher has found some factors having a considerable influence on students‟ motivation such as their beliefs, affective state, aptitude, personality, age, and learning styles (To and Nguyen, 2009).
Although these elements all affect students, and thereby worth studying, the researcher intend to keep focus only on learning style factor in relation to motivation due to her interest and the obvious disadvantages of researching many conditions at the same time. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Owing to the development of brain and psychology research into individual differences, the field of learning style theory has drawn much attention from educational researchers since the 1970s. However, it was not until the 1980s with the decline of behaviorism (stimulus/ response model), the concept of individual learning preferences was taken into serious consideration in some studies as a basic influential factor to students‟ learning. Some studies at that time could be mentioned, for example, Cafferty‟s study of the match in teacher‟s and student‟s cognitive style (1980), Dunn‟s work on students‟ identifying their own learning style (1983), or learning strategies developed from learning styles differences (Willing, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1988).
These studies have come to some important findings 1) learners have different preferred learning styles which determine their reactions and attitudes towards particular types of in-class activities and 2) teachers‟ accommodation to different learning styles can have impact on students‟ motivation (Hunt, 1979, quoted in Willing, 1988, 1988, p. Because learning style is an influential factor on motivation, teacher‟s accommodation to students‟ different learning mode appears to probably raise the level of motivation. Many researchers have been arguing about matching/mismatching theories which suggest teachers should either try to match their teaching styles to students‟ learning styles or try to expand their comfort zone by forcing them to study with different learning styles. Acknowledging almost all the existing theories, differentiated instruction approach recently has gained much attention in educational settings.
According to Tomlinson (2001), the goal of the approach is to encourage teachers to proactively prepare and offer a wide range of activities which can cater for students‟ differences (including learning styles). Despite a lack of numerous empirical studies over the effectiveness of differentiated instructions, positive feedbacks from teachers during the application of the approach in a variety of school settings have been reported worldwide. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com For the aforementioned reasons, the researcher decided to start an action research project named “The effects of teacher’s differentiated instructions based on students’ learning styles on their motivation: An action research” to find the solutions to the classroom problem. Though solutions suggested by other researchers‟ studies may have been proved to be effective, they may never work for her generally unique circumstance.
Action research has been employed for its practical goal of solving problem, rather than other kind of research for theory construction or testing. This study, after finished, is supposed to contribute to a relatively neglected area of research in Vietnam or may be implemented by other practitioners for their shared classroom problem. Aims, objectives and research questions of the research a. Aims and objectives of the research This study is supposed to examine the relationship among three concepts learning styles, differentiated instructions and academic motivation in higher education classroom setting.
This action research project was conducted to aim at solving the problem of low motivation level which possibly caused students‟ low achievement at university. In the light of that general aim, some specific objectives are drawn up to outline the actual directions of the study as follows: 1) To identify the given class‟s learning styles and current level of academic motivation; 2) To project and implement some instructional differentiations upon the students‟ different learning modalities aiming to improve their academic motivation; 3) To evaluate the impact of the psycho-pedagogical intervention on the students‟ motivation level. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research questions In brief, the objectives of the research could be specified into these research questions: 1) What are the students‟ learning styles and their current level of motivation? (Identifying the problem) 2) To what extent does the new intervention cater for the students‟ learning styles? 3) How does differentiated instruction approach affect the students‟ motivation level in terms of their motivational intensity, lecturer evaluation and English learning desire? 3.
Significance of the research Once having been finished, this action research is expected to find the solutions to the problem of the researcher‟s own class; otherwise, its findings would shed light on necessary further studies in order to solve the issue of students‟ lack of motivation in learning English as a foreign language. In case the intervention of differentiated instructions works for this class, it may suggest a good potential treatment to the problem of students‟ low motivation.