MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------------------- VU THUY DUONG IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING METHODS IN ENHANCING SECONDARY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING AT UK ACADEMY BA RIA Major: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Course code: 8140111 SUPERVISED BY: Nguyen Xuan Hong, Ph. Ba Ria-Vung Tau, September 2023 i DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I hereby declare that the thesis “Implementation of project-based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language. This thesis does not include any previously published or written by another person content with the exception of the references stated in the text. The study reported in this thesis was granted approval by the Graduate Faculty of Ba Ria Vung Tau university.
Author’s Signature Vu Thuy Duong ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the master’s thesis submitted today entitled: Implementation of project-based learning methods in enhancing secondary students’ motivation in learning English speaking at UK Academy Ba Ria. In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in master’s programs issued by Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria - Vung Tau University Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, September 2023 iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Vu Thuy Duong, being a candidate for the degree of TESOL accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of master’s Theses deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my master’s Thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses. Ba Ria - Vung Tau, September 2023 Signature …………………… Vu Thuy Duong iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, without his assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process, this thesis would never have been accomplished.
Once again, I would like to thank you very much for your understanding and support over the past few years. Secondly, I would also like to show my gratitude to my colleagues at UK Academy School, my family and my dear friends for supporting and encouraging me during the process of doing the research. Thirdly, I am deeply thankful for my students, my coworkers who are the participants of this study, who have cooperatively spent their precious time to take part in filling out questionnaires, answering interviews as well as contributing to the project. Last but not least, I would like to say thanks to all of the lecturers for their dedication and advice during my study at Ba Ria - Vung Tau University.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR. i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY. ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATION.
viii LIST OF TABLES. ix LIST OF BAR CHARTS. x LIST OF FIGURES. xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.
Background to the study. Statement of the problem. Objectives of the study. Definition of key terms.
The structure of the study. 9 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW. Learning English speaking skill. Definition of learning.
Definition of speaking skill. Definition of Motivation. Types of motivation. Impact of Motivation.
Motivation to speak English. Motivation to speak English and its importance. Challenges of motivating learners to learn English speaking. Increasing motivation to speak English.
Project -based learning (PBL). Definition of PBL and its significance in English teaching and learning. The significance of PBL. The process of Project -Based Learning.
Challenges to implementing PBL. Definition of attitude. Components of attitude. How attitude affects motivation.
Previous researches in foreign countries context. Previous researches in the context of Vietnam. 37 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Sample and sampling procedures.
Data collection procedures. Data analysis procedures. 46 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers and students’ attitude towards English Speaking skills and motivation to learn English Speaking skill.
The difficulties that the teachers and students have to face during the implementation of PBL to enhance motivation to learn English Speaking. Students’ attitude towards PBL. Students’ attitude towards the benefits that PBL brings about. Students’ attitude towards the implementation of PBL in general.
Whether PBL helps increase students’ motivation to learn English speaking. The difficulties that the teachers and students have to face during the implementation of PBL to enhance motivation to learn English Speaking. Students and teachers’ attitudes towards PBL. Whether PBL helps increase students’ motivation to learn English speaking.
77 vii CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION. Summary of the main findings of the thesis. Recommendations for further research. 81 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATION ESL English as a Second Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training NHG Nguyen Hoang Group PBL Project-based learning SDT Self - Determination Theory UKA UK Academy Ba Ria T1 Teacher 1 T2 Teacher 2 T3 Teacher 3 T4 Teacher 4 T5 Teacher 5 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 3.
Participants’ Personal Information. Students’ Attitude And Acknowledgement Towards English Speaking Skills. Difficulties And Challenges Of Learning English Speaking .3 Motivation To Learn English Speaking Skill .4 Pbl Approach And Understanding Of Pbl .5 Difficulties And Challenges Of Learning English Speaking .6 Pbl And The Enhancement Of Motivation In Learning English Speaking .7 Motivation To Learn English Speaking Skill. 71 x LIST OF BAR CHARTS BAR CHART 4.
STUDENTS' PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL. STUDENTS' PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL. REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH .4 REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH. REASONS WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO SPEAK ENGLISH.
ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. THE PROCESS OF PBL. THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION. THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION.
THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION. THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION. THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION. THE BENEFITS OF PBL APPLICATION.
STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS PBL. 72 xi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1:DIAGRAM OF COMPONENTS AND TYPES OF PERFORMANCE OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILL.2: TYPES AND COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION.3: DIAGRAM OF STEPS TO INCREASE STUDENTS' ENGLISH-SPEAKING MOTIVATION.4: PROCESS OF PBL AND ITS BENEFITS.5: ATTITUDE AND ITS COMPONENTS MODEL .6: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PBL AND LEARNERS' MOTIVATION TO STUDY ENGLISH SPEAKING. 37 xii ABSTRACT Being able to speak English fluently has become one of the must-haves in the skill set that a person needs to gain in order to apply for a professional position. Since the importance of this skill is well known, teaching and learning English Speaking at school has been greatly invested.
Moreover, speaking skill is a difficult skill to master as it requires a lot of factors, which demand learners to invest a lot of effort to achieve. Understanding the difficulties that the students have to encounter, making an attempt to motivate them so they want to keep putting in efforts is crucial. PBL approach has emerged as a teaching and learning approach that encourages learners’ motivation to learn. This approach is expected to not only support learners to study the language, but also to feel motivated to speak the language.
The objectives being addressed by employing students’ questionnaire and teachers’ interview to study their attitudes towards the approach. The results collected from the study show that the students’ and the teachers’ attitudes towards PBL were positive, and this teaching and learning approach definitely helps motivate the students to learn English Speaking at school. Even though, having PBL applied at school could be challenging for both the learners and the teachers at times. Keywords: Project – based learning, motivation, attitudes, English speaking skill, enhancing 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces about the current research such as background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, research scope, research significance, definition of some key terms mentioned in the research and organization of the study.
Background to the study In the last few decades, for the sakes of global communication and exchanging information, English language has developed as the primary language. This language is spoken by more people around the world than any other language, which gives it the name “global language”. English language has been known to gradually become one of the most popular languages with over 2 billion speakers all over the world. By the number of speakers, this language is considered the largest.
Moreover, the number of native English speakers is also the third largest which makes it even more common. English language has a very powerful ability to connect people from different countries and cultures. It helps strengthen relationships and build up understanding. There is an interesting fact that if a person can communicate in English, he or she will be able to speak or have a conversation with over 20 percent of people in the world because there are 67 countries using this language as their official language.
There are some main reasons making English a worthy language to spend time studying. First of all, English is the language of science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, trade tourism, etc. and that means being competent in English ensures people’s opportunities of applying or getting jobs in multinational companies. Secondly, English is spoken by people from all around the world and it means that when people are working, studying, or travelling in anywhere in the world, English ability can help them to have conversation with people from many other countries.
Thirdly, there are numerous scientific papers written in English. The truth is, in the last century, this number has started to outweigh the number of papers written in the native language of the researchers. For this reason, having a good knowledge of English is incredibly important to those working and studying in the scientific field. Another 2 reason is that English is also the language of the media industry and the Internet so having the ability to understand English could be beneficial for entertaining.
When it comes to discuss the importance of the use of English in the Vietnamese context, learning and teaching English has become utterly crucial, and being well supported and taken care of. The first reason for that is, the ability of using English benefits people in many ways, especially in Vietnam now. The demand of going abroad to study of Vietnamese students is higher than ever. In order to meet the opportunity of being given a chance to get a scholarship or being qualified to enroll in a school, the efficiency in English is undeniably necessary.
Another reason is that the numbers of investors from all over the world coming to invest in Vietnam are rising so being able to use English is like being given an opportunity to apply for a decent job. Moreover, understanding English helps a person with communicating and studying. Since tourism is developing rapidly and effectively in Vietnam, the numbers of foreigners coming and living in Vietnam is increasing so being able to speak and understand English helps a lot with socializing. It is a common knowledge that many subjects and materials are originally written and taught in English, in order for Vietnamese learners to expand their knowledge, understanding English is absolutely beneficial.
A person’s English ability is evaluated through four criteria: ability of speaking, reading, listening and writing. It is undeniable that all four skills are equally important, but in all of these four skills, speaking is considered the hardest to master and the most commonly evaluated. Being able to speak English, a learner would have to master these four elements such as vocabulary, fluency, grammar and pronunciation. That is the proof why we could say speaking is the skill that we need to invest the most time on.