MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY NGUYEN HOAI AN AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS AFFECTING FIRST-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AT HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES Major Code: 8 140 111 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: Dr.PHAN THI NGOC THANH Ho Chi Minh City - 2021 Tai Lieu Chat Luong TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là:………Nguyễn Hoài An…………………………………………….……… Nơi sinh:…Berlin – Đức………… Chuyên ngành: …TESOL…….…… Mã học viên: 1881401110001…… Tôi đồng ý cung cấp toàn văn thông tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ về bản quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh sẽ kết nối toàn văn thông tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học của Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Ký tên (Ghi rõ họ và tên) Nguyễn Hoài An CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẪN Giảng viên hướng dẫn: TS. Phan Thị Ngọc Thanh Học viên thực hiện: Nguyễn Hoài An Lớp: MTESOL018A Ngày sinh: 05/03/1990 Nơi sinh: Berlin – Đức Tên đề tài: An Investigation into Factors Affecting First-Year Non-English Major Students’ Motivation in English Language Learning at Ho Chi Minh City Open University Ý kiến của giáo viên hướng dẫn về việc cho phép học viên được bảo vệ luận văn trước Hội đồng: Học viên đã hoàn thành luận văn theo yêu cầu.
Tôi đồng ý cho học viên Nguyễn Hoài An bảo về luận văn này. Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ngày 19 tháng 9 năm 2021 Người nhận xét Phan Thị Ngọc Thanh STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “An Investigation into Factors Affecting First-Year Non-English Major Students’ Motivation in English Language Learning At Ho Chi Minh City Open University” is my work. Except for the references which are made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain 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 acknowledgment in the main text of this thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.Phan Thi Ngoc Thanh, for her patience, generous assistance, considerable encouragement, and great devotion to guide me through the preparation and completion of this thesis. Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my MA thesis.
I am sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the TESOL program at Ho Chi Minh City Open University for their helpful instruction and dedication from 2018 to 2020. I wish to send my appreciation to all the English teachers and students at Ho Chi Minh City Open University – Nguyen Kiem Campus for their participation in this study. Without their valuable opinions and ideas on the questionnaires and interviews, the study would not have been accomplished. I offer my regards to my loving parents for their continuous and unparalleled love, help, and support.
And most of all, I owe my deepest gratitude to my husband, for his affection, encouragement, understanding, and patience. My thesis acknowledgment would be incomplete without thanking my baby son, whose smiling face always makes me happy and inspires me. Finally, I thank God for always being with me. Name: Nguyen Hoai An Signature: Date: 19/09/2021 ii ABSTRACT Motivation is critical to a foreign language learner's success.
Therefore, English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers who wish to assist their students in improving their academic performance should be aware of the factors that influence students' motivation to learn English. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors influencing Vietnamese undergraduate students' motivation to learn English. The mixed-method research design was employed in this study to investigate the factors impacting first-year non-English major students' motivation in English language learning at Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMCOU). The study's data sources included survey questionnaires taken by 232 students and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 9 students, and the participants were chosen by simple random sampling technique.
The factors influencing first-year non-English major students' motivation to learn English were identified using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). Descriptive Statistics Analysis was used to determine how the factors affect first-year non-English major students' motivation to learn English, and Content Analysis was applied to analyze the data qualitatively to help explain the quantitative results. The research results showed that nine factors positively impact students' motivation to learn English. While goals setting, feedback, classroom environment, self-confidence, peers, activities, and teachers affect students' motivation to learn English to a fairly high extent in descending order; expectancy and anxiety have an average influence.
The study also suggested critical recommendations to raise students' motivation for English learning to increase their success in the study program. Keywords: motivation, factors, EFL, non-English major students, influence. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF TABLES. vi LIST OF FIGURES. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. viii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION.1 Statement of the problem .2 Purpose statement and research questions .3 Significance of the study .4 The organization of the study .4 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Motivation in foreign language learning .1 Definition of motivation in foreign language learning .2 Classification of motivation .3 The impact of motivation on students in foreign language learning .3 Factors influencing students’ motivation in foreign language learning .4 Previous studies related to the topic .3 Research sites and participants .1 Questionnaire data analysis .2 Interview data analysis .7 Reliability and validity .1 Reliability and validity of questionnaire .2 Reliability and validity of interview .45 Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.2 Factors that influence first-year non-English major students’ motivation to learn English at HCMCOU.3 The extent to these factors influence first-year non-English major students’ motivation to learn English at HCMCOU.83 Chapter 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research .1 Limitations of the study .2 Suggestions for further research.
121 v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Eliminated items from Zhao’s (2012) questionnaire for students Table 3.2 The distribution of questionnaire items Table 3.3 Interpretation of mean score in terms of factors that influence students’ motivation to learn English Table 3.4 Summary of Cronbach’s Alpha analyzes Table 4.1 Students’ background information (Gender) Table 4.2 Students’ background information (Age) Table 4.3 Students’ background information (Hometown) Table 4.4 Students’ background information (Major) TTable 4.5 Students’ background information (English learning experience) Table 4.6 EFA analysis results of final independent variables Table 4.7 EFA analysis results of final dependent variables Table 4.8 Correlation between independent variables and the dependent variable Table 4.10 Model summary Table 4.11 Regression analysis results Table 4.12 Internal factors that influence students’ motivation to learn English Table 4.13 External factors that influence students’ motivation to learn English Table 4.14 Students’ responses to factors that influence students’ motivation to learn English vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Factors acting on motivation, within the social context Figure 2.2 Recommended research model Figure 3.1 Explanatory sequential design Figure 4.1 Adjustment model vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CA: Cronbach’s Alpha EFA: Exploratory Factor Analysis EFL: English as Foreign Language ESL: English as Second Language F: Frequency HCMCOU: Ho Chi Minh City Open University KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin L1: First language L2: Second language M: Mean MLR: Multiple Linear Regression MoET: Ministry of Education and Training P: Percentage SD: Standard Deviation SPSS: Statistical Package of Social Sciences TOEIC: Tests of English for International Communication VIF: Variance Inflation Factor viii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem English language has been used in many countries all over the world either as a second language or a foreign language and considered as a popular and effective tool for communication. Consequently, the pressure to improve English language instruction has been steadily increasing. English has become a vital communication language in Vietnam due to the economy's booming international trade and many backpackers and tourists visiting the country. The Vietnamese government immediately identified the English language's importance.
Therefore, English language programs were made compulsory in secondary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) of Vietnam developed a curriculum that included English as a compulsory subject in ten credits out of a total of two hundred at the tertiary level (MoET, 2003a). English proficiency is a graduation requirement for students and a ticket to better job opportunities. Knowing English demonstrates students' intellectual strength.
It demonstrates to employers how much time and effort that students put into learning a new language. However, English can be challenging to teach in an EFL environment since actual language input may be scarce outside the classroom. Language learners' motivation must be frequently high when learning a character-based language, as perseverance and drive are required to cope with the stress of a complex language. No matter what enforces students to study English,in order to succeed, they must have and maitain strong motivation.
According to Nguyen and Habok (2021), motivation contributes as a crucial aspect in the process of learning a language. Many studies have discovered a positive correlation between motivation and success in English language learning (Lambert, 1963; Gardner, 1985; Lightbrown & Spada, 1993; Bernaus, 1995; Gardner et al. EFL learners who are highly motivated can be 1 successful in learning, and perceived success in accomplishing learning objectives can help to sustain their existing motivation. Due to the importance of English in Vietnam and the curriculum for teaching English in universities published by MoET, English is a compulsory subject for all students at HCMCOU, regardless of major.
The EFL programs at HCMCOU are intended to provide students with English proficiency, ensure learning outcomes, meet employer demands, and assist students in pursuing further education programs in Vietnam or other countries (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2018). However, learning another language is challenging, and English is especially difficult to learn because it is a mash-up of many other languages. At tertiary level, Vietnamese students face numerous obstacles when attempting to learn English, which decrease their motivation. As an English lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City Open University teaching English to non-English major first year students, the researcher has encountered some issues that affect students' motivation to learn English.
Students' inactivity in English learning; students' lack of motivation in English learning; students who refuse to participate in any English activities owing to disinterest in the materials or classroom environment; or students who study exclusively for tests are all instances of these concerns. Students are physically present in the classroom all of the time, but it does not imply that they are paying attention in class. Therefore, the researcher struggles to motivate her students daily. Based on what the researcher has encountered in her own classes and reading findings of prior research studies on learners' motivation in studying English, the researcher is curious about what factors actually influence her students' motivation in learning English.
According to Prapphal (2003), teachers, instructors, and curriculum designers must analyze and comprehend the factors that influence EFL learners' motivation to construct practical courses to improve student's learning outcomes.