VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐINH THỊ HÀ TRANG A STUDY ON DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN READING LESSONS OF THE 10th FORM STUDENTS AT HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED STUDENTS, HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (Nghiên cứu về những yếu tố gây mất hứng thú trong giờ đọc hiểu của học sinh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Chuyên – Đại Học Sư Phạm Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi - 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐINH THỊ HÀ TRANG A STUDY ON DEMOTIVATING FACTORS IN READING LESSONS OF THE 10th FORM STUDENTS AT HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED STUDENTS, HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION (Nghiên cứu về những yếu tố gây mất hứng thú trong giờ đọc hiểu của học sinh lớp 10 tại trường THPT Chuyên – Đại Học Sư Phạm Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn Hanoi - 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I certificate that the minor thesis entitled “A study on demotivating factors in reading lessons of 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education” is the result of my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institutions.
Đinh Thị Hà Trang Hanoi, 2015 i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my truthful gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan, from Faculty of Post - Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Thanks to his thorough reading, critical comments, invaluable guidance and precious corrections, I was able to find the right way to complete this study. I also would like to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education, who have been willing to complete my survey questionnaire and have given me invaluable suggestions to the research.
I appreciate the assistance and cooperation of the students in classes 10 Math 1, 10 Physics and 10 Chemistry at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. My special words of thanks are sent to my family, especially my husband who has given me encouragement and support throughout my research work. Hanoi, 2015 ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Reading has long been considered as a fundamental skill by many second language learners. Reading itself, however, causes students a lot of difficulties to acquire.
This study was conducted to investigate demotivating factors in English reading lessons of the 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. To meet the objectives of the study, two different groups of participants are taken into investigation, 109 students of three classes including 10 Math1, 10 Physics and 10 Chemistry and 6 teachers of English. This study was carried out in the form of survey research. The main instruments employed for data collection were questionnaires and interviews.
Specifically, two sets of questionnaires were designed, one for the students and the other for six teachers. Furthermore, to get the validity of the collected data from questionnaires, interviews were conducted among 10 randomly selected students who have already done the survey questionnaires. The data were then analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that the out- of- date content of reading texts in the current textbook “Tieng Anh 10” was the most dominant demotivating factors.
In addition, teachers‟ boring teaching methods, students‟ inadequate vocabulary knowledge and boring classroom activities should be taken into account. Based on the findings, feasible solutions are provided to mitigate students‟ demotivation in reading lessons. Hopefully, this study is of great help to better teaching and learning reading comprehension at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of tables and charts vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale of the study 1 2. Aim of the study 2 3. Significance of the study 3 5. Scope of the study 3 6.
Method of the study 3 7. Design of the study 3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Conceptions of demotivation 5 1. Demotivating factors in foreign language learning 7 1.
Reading and reading comprehension 11 1. Definitions of reading 11 1. Definitions of reading comprehension 12 1. The significance of reading comprehension 13 1.
Demotivating factors in reading comprehension 14 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2. Subjects 16 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Data collection instruments 17 2. Data collection procedures 19 2.
Data analysis method 20 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS 3. Students‟ responses to the questionnaire and the interview‟s 22 questions 3. Teachers‟ responses to the questionnaire 32 3. Findings and discussion 37 3.
Implications 39 PART C: CONCLUSION 1. Summary of the findings 43 3. Limitations of the study 46 4. Suggestions for further research 46 REFERENCES APPENDIX v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1: Students‟ attitudes towards the learning of reading English Chart 3.2: Students‟ interest in English reading lessons Chart 3.3: Students‟ opinions on teachers‟ classroom activities Chart 3.4: Teachers‟ attitudes towards the importance of teaching reading skills LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Information on the number of students surveyed Table 3.1: Students‟ purposes of learning reading comprehension Table 3.2: Students‟ opinions on factors that demotivate students in reading lessons Table 3.3: Students‟ opinions on teachers‟ employment of activities Table 3.4: Students‟ expectations towards teachers of reading skills Table 3.5: Teachers‟ perceptions of factors that demotivate students in reading lessons Table 3.6: The frequency of activities used by teachers in reading lessons vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale of the study These days, English has been widely chosen by almost all Vietnamese students as their foreign language. This enormous proportion, however, reflects a considerable demand for English rather than the quality of language learning and teaching process itself. While some students make a lot of effort to learn English as hard as possible, others mentally withdraw or look for strategies to pass the required exams with minimum effort. In fact, learning English has become an increasingly necessity for many people and there is a tremendous increase in the demand for the level of proficiency in learning English.
Learning reading skills is one of the biggest obstacles for Vietnamese students. Reading was traditionally regarded as a passive process in which the readers simply decode the written symbols without bringing their own knowledge to interact with the text (Clarke & Silberstein, 1977). Reading was also viewed to involve reading words in a linear fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time. According to Stanovich (2000: 252 - 258), “The range of vocabulary encountered in reading is much greater than is typically used in speaking and listening settings”.
Reading seems to be a source of frustration. Some students complain that they feel rather bored when they learn reading skills. The reading process requires a certain amount of time and involves a lot of individual work, which is not in some way related to the communicative language ability. Unlike speaking or listening, there is little chance for students to ask for additional explanation or clarification.
Reading lessons are considered to cause the tiredness, even making students lose their interest in learning other skills or demotivating students in absorbing the knowledge. However, reading is fundamental in developing the mind and it is of great importance to improve other language skills. Consequently, a large number of studies (Dornyei, 1990, 2001a, 2001b; Gorham and Christophel, 1992; Oxford, 1998; Falout and Maruyama, 2004; Tsuchiya, 2006; Arai, 2004; Kikuchi and Sakai, 2009) have been carried out in the field of motivation and demotivation, especially both Vietnamese and foreigners have made numerous researches on demotivating factors in reading comprehension. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com These studies have revealed several findings about factors to demotivate Vietnamese students in learning reading skills and methods to overcome these demotivating factors.
However, there have not been a large number of studies going into reality to check those findings from the perception of students. Despite the great effort from teachers and learners, there are still weaknesses in the current teaching and learning reading English skills at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. Specifically, students‟ demotivation can constitute a barrier for an enjoyable teaching and learning. All these facts, henceforth, have offered the researcher a chance to conduct “A study on demotivating factors in reading lessons of 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education”.
The purpose of this research is to find out demotivating factors to better the current situation of teaching and learning English reading skills at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. These factors involve the current textbook “Tieng Anh 10”, the learning environment, the learning conditions, classroom activities, teaching methods, teacher‟s behavior and competence. Aim of the study The ultimate aim of this study is to increase 10th form students‟ motivation in reading comprehension. In order to achieve the above aim, the following objective is to investigate factors that demotivate the 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education when they are engaged in reading lessons.
Based on the findings, some feasible solutions are given to eliminate factors that demotivate students in reading lessons. Research questions This study focuses on answering the following research question: What are factors that demotivate the 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education when they are engaged in reading lessons? 4. Significance of the study 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com This study highlights factors that demotivate 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education when they are engaged in reading lessons. The results of the findings can be of great use for the teachers of the classes surveyed in the way that they can adapt their teaching methods as well as activities so that their students can be more motivated in learning English.
Therefore, the recommendations of this study will be vital to improve the teaching and learning of reading at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education in particular and of high school students in general. Scope of the study This study was conducted to find out factors that demotivate 10th form students non - majoring in reading lessons and suggest some recommendations in order to develop students‟ motivation for learning English reading skills at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. Method of the study In order to achieve its aim, a survey research design is employed in the study. The research is carried out on the basis of survey questionnaires and interviews.
Firstly, the data were collected with the use of the survey questionnaires which were conducted with 6 teachers of English and 109 students in the 10th form students at High School for Gifted Students, Hanoi National University of Education. Then, interviews were employed with ten students randomly selected for further information. Design of the study The study is organized as follows: Part A - INTRODUCTION - presents the rationale, the aims, and the research questions, the significance of study, the scope of the study, the method of the study and the design of the study.