THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI HOANG TRANG FACTORS AFECTING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG NINH MASTER THESIS THAI NGUYEN - 2023 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI HOANG TRANG FACTORS AFECTING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG NINH English language teaching methodology Code: 8140111 MASTER THESIS Supervisor: 1. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, Ph. Nguyen Thi Huong, Ph.D THAI NGUYEN - 2023 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgements in the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. Thai Nguyen, June 2023 Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Trang ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To everyone who helped and supported the completion of this study, I would want to express my appreciation. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, PhD. Nguyen Thi Huong for her support in completing my thesis.
All of my drafts were read by Mrs. Huong, who also carefully listened to my views. She also offered some crucial comments that considerably influenced the final adjustments. The thesis would not have been completed without her assistance.
I am also appreciative of my supervisor, PhD. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, for helping me complete my thesis. I am grateful to my parents, my entire family, and my friends for their support in getting me through the study. They offered me the energizing strength I needed to handle the pressure of working long study days.
Due to their helpful criticizes and suggestions, I am also appreciative of my friends and co-workers. Last but not least, I would want to express my deepest gratitude to all the eager students at Ha Trung Secondary School who provided important information for the study. The success of this investigation was made possible by their outstanding cooperation. iii ABSTRACT Speaking skill is of great importance to English language learners.
As is known, motivation plays an important role in the development of speaking skills. Motivation, in turn, is also affected by other variables. This study aims a) To identify the factors affecting the motivation and demotivation to learning English speaking skills of students at Ha Trung secondary school, b) To evaluate the impact of motivation and demotivation factors on grade 9th students’ English- speaking skills. Data collection method included a questionnaire distributed to the participant of this study which included 80 participants from Ha Trung Secondary School.
From this research, it is concluded that the variables that have the most influence on learners’ motivation are attitudes towards English language teachers, classroom environment and parents, and attitudes towards English language, where these variables have a positive effect on learners’ motivation. The following problems could demotivate English language learners, according to statistics: The lack of confidence, feeling nervous and fearful of making errors, the environment, and teaching methods. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the study. Aims and Objectives of the study. Scope of the study.
The significance of this study. Structure of the study. 6 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definition of speaking skills………….
Definition of motivation…………………………………. Motivation in learning English 10 2. Motivation in learning speaking English…. Types of motivation in foreign language learning.
Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking…. Definition of demotivation. Factors affecting students' demotivation in learning speaking skills. Factors related to learning attitudes ………………….
Factors related to teacher's competence and performances……. Factors related to facilities………………………………. Factors related to teaching materials ……………………. Factors affecting opportunity to practice speaking……………… 21 2.
21 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………………. Participants of the study…………………. Data collection instruments…………………………………. Semi-structured Interview……………………….
Data collection procedures…………………………………. Reliability and validity………………………………….……………… 30 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS…………………… 32 4. Findings for questionnaires………………. Factors from Parents……………….
Factors from Teacher………………. Factors from Method of teaching………………. Factors from Students attitude………. Factors from Facility…………….
Factors motivate the students’ learning speaking skills. Factors demotivate the students’ learning speaking skills. 56 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION………………………………………. Factors motivate the students’ learning speaking skills.
Factors demotivate the students’ learning speaking skills. Recommendations for students…………………………. Recommendations for teachers………………………………. Recommendations for the learning environment…………………… 62 5.
Recommendations for parents………………………………. 69 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the researcher provides general information about the context of the study, how the study’s ideas are formed. It also introduces the information about the study’s aims and its significance, objectives, the reasons for the formation of the research questions and the layout of the thesis. Rationale of the study With the movement toward globalization, English has become an essential language of communication in Vietnam.
Many English-speaking foreigners have started visiting and investing in Vietnam from other nations. Vietnamese nationals are now learning English in order to converse effectively with their overseas colleagues. Furthermore, the Vietnamese government instantly realized the value of English, and English is now a required subject in all primary, secondary, high schools and universities throughout the country. Each person has varying levels of need for English in the current world, but it is crucial for communicating and obtaining information.
Vietnamese students, however, face a variety of chances and obstacles as they adjust to a "growing" globalized Vietnamese society, and the cultivation of English sources is the key to advancing their educational opportunities. Being able to speak and communicate in English will help us have the opportunity to find jobs easily, build cross-continental relationships, thereby gain more understanding of culture, beliefs, politics, and lifestyles. Learning English requires four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure are the core topics of English language instruction in secondary and high schools.
Because learning and teaching English are mostly centered on testing, with the tests focusing primarily on grammar, conversational English is typically not taught in a teaching approach. The primary goal of the elementary with high school curriculum in many schools is to get students ready for their entrance exams to move on to the next level. As a result, teachers only impart the information that is absolutely necessary for students to pass the exams; 2 regrettably, they do not place any emphasis on improving students' speaking abilities. One of the reasons of learners' losing motivation to learn is because English is only a topic they study at school and does not affect their daily life.
The value of being able to speak English fluently is something that many students struggle to understand. Speaking skills will integrate important skills such as listening comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, structure, and sentence formation. Speaking skills for Vietnamese students still seem to be very difficult because it requires many factors, which leads to laziness, no interest in learning. In reality, neither the teaching strategies nor the learning environment in the classroom give students the chance to meet their communication demands.
As a result, Vietnamese students struggle to communicate clearly and fluently in English since they need to gain the necessary experience with the language outside of certain settings and occasions like presentations and events hosted by foreign firms. Vietnamese people hardly ever speak English unless it is absolutely required. Because of this, despite studying English since primary school, many Vietnamese students still struggle with speaking it. Despite English speaking practice classes being included in the school curriculum, most EFL learners in Asia, where English is not an official language, lack the chance to speak the language.
Most EFL students are generally reluctant to use their English in public. This discouraging information forces us to reconsider what contributes to those Asian learners' troubles speaking English and what we may do to help. Speaking is seen to be the most important and still most challenging of the four language abilities to learn. The proficiency of learners' speaking abilities, according to Fitriani et al.
(2015) and Leong et al. (2017), accounts for the success of learning a foreign language. People who acquire a language are referred to be speakers of that language, according to Ur (1996). However, many students struggle to verbally communicate their ideas.
In general, when speaking a foreign language, language learners frequently encounter a lot of difficulties. The process of 3 communicating is challenging and complex. Speakers convey information to the audience through communication. Depending on the circumstance and individual interests of the students, they employ the language in a variety of flexible ways.
There are various factors that stop students from becoming more proficient speakers. Additionally, Fitriani et al. (2015) noted that "English speaking demands the speaker to utilize the authentic language, where it indicates that students need to use the language in any situations or while communicating with other students in an academic environment”. Ur (1996) stated that: “English speaking seems intuitively to be the most important skill compared to the others”.
The EFL learning setting has acknowledged language for communication as a crucial ability on a worldwide scale, as noted by Graddol (2006) "The use of English as a tool for international communication has obviously been continuing for several decades". For instance, Luoma (2004) emphasized that "The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent because the ability to speak a language reflects a person’s personality, self-image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real time". Al-Abri (2008) expressed that "the Ministry of Education in Oman advocated developing the young learners’ English communication skills for critical thinking and science technology". The importance of learning to speak English was underlined as an essential skill for both academic and professional works.
Speaking English is a problem for the majority of EFL students despite its crucial functions in learners' development. These typical issues, according to Ur's study from 1996, include inhibition and the inability to speak. The process by which learners procure a language has affected by various elements. Among these different factors, motivation is regarded to have a key influence.
In fact, one of the major factors that affect the speed and effectiveness of language learning is motivation. Particularly for English language learners, motivation is a key factor in encouraging them to improve their English proficiency. 4 It is generally recognized that students who are more motivated will study a second or foreign language more successfully. A person should talk (in any language) on a regular basis in order to function in society, which is another irrefutable fact.
Therefore, learners who are highly motivated to speak English accurately and fluently will find it simple to accomplish their life's objectives. Ely (1986) and Gardner (2000) said: “Those students with higher motivation are more successful and efficient in their learning”. Christiana (2009) stated that: “Motivation is an essential factor that plays a major role in achieving many fundamental goals in students’ academic life”. McDonough (1983) showed “In learning language, the most significant factor influencing the students’ success or failure is students’ motivation”.
In accord with Oxford and Shearin (1994): “In second language learning, motivation is extremely important and it is certainly crucial to understand what the students’ motivations are” The researcher has been teaching English to students in grade 9 for 2 years at Ha Trung secondary school and the author is aware that not every student is proficient in speaking English. They lack interest in participating in any activities or studying English in class, and they are also quite passive. Therefore, the researcher has decided to conduct the research entitled: “Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English speaking skills at a secondary school in Quang Ninh” to figure out the factors that affect their motivation in learning English and determine which factors influence them most.