MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY A Study into EFL Learner Motivation THE THESIS SUMMITED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL) Submitted by TRAN THI THUY HANG Supervisor Assoc. NGUYEN THANH TUNG SEPTEMBER 2016 Tai Lieu Chat Luong STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “A Study into EFL Learner Motivation” is my own work. Except for the reference which 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 qualified for or awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. Ho Chi Minh City, 12 September 2016 Tran Thi Thuy Hang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Nguyen Thanh Tung, for his generous assistance and great devotion to guiding me through the preparation and completion of this thesis. Without his great help, I would have never been able to finish this thesis.
Secondly, I am sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the TESOL program at Ho Chi Minh Open University for their helpful instruction and dedication from 2012 to 2014. Thirdly, I want to express my thanks to all the students and English teachers at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology for their participation in this study. Finally, I am deeply indebted to my beloved family and my friends for their support and encouragement so that I could have motivation to complete this thesis. ii ABSTRACT The research was designed to investigate learner motivation at Ho Chi Minh University of Technology in terms of the reasons why the students learnt English as these reasons could reveal their motivation types and the factors affecting their learning motivation.
This study also aimed at determining the lecturers’ perceptions toward their students’ motivation. It has been said that the low English performance of the students in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) University of Technology has not received enough attention from any studies. Therefore, the researcher conducted the research with 275 students and their twelve lecturers in twelve classes in the lowest English level course which requires the most motivational support. All the students and the lecturers were asked to answer the questionnaires specially written for them.
Furthermore, twelve students chosen randomly and the lecturers participated in the one-by-one interviews with the researcher. The results gathered from these questionnaires and interviews were analyzed with the support of SPSS. The results from the survey with 275 students indicate that the students are both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated to learn English. However, their extrinsic motivation is the dominant because of the better job opportunity in the future and the usefulness for effective communication in the modern society.
The findings also show that both internal factors and external factors play an important role in enhancing learner motivation and performance. Among those factors, the English teachers are considered as a crucial element because they can help the students to follow their learning goals, create a friendly classroom environment, give supportive feedback, conduct interesting classroom activities, and design the most suitable materials for their particular classes. In conclusion, although the lecturers could understand their students’ learning motivation types and applied varied methods to motivate the students to learn English in class, they also need more activities to increase the students’ time of using English outside the iii classrooms and more support from the administrative staff at the university. Based on the research findings, some pedagogical implications for the students, the lecturers and the administrative staff were withdrawn.
Hopefully, the results from this research can be helpful to improve learner motivation in particular as well as the quality of teaching and learning process at HCM University of Technology. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. III TABLE OF CONTENTS. V LIST OF TABLES .IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
Background of the study. English in Vietnamese tertiary level. Main constraints in Vietnamese learner motivation. Vietnamese learning style.
Teachers’ action and perception. Statement of the problem. Purpose of the study and the research questions. The significance of the study.
Limitations of the study. The organization of the study. 7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definitions of learner motivation.
The importance of learner motivation. Learner motivation types. Integrative and instrumental motivation. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Teachers’ perceptions toward students’ motivation. Related studies on learner motivation. Around the world. Data collection procedure.
Administering the questionnaires. Questionnaire for students. Questionnaire for lecturers. Administering the interviews.
Interview with students. Interview with lecturers. Summary of the data collection procedure. Validity and reliability.
45 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. Students’ types of motivation. Factors affecting students’ motivation. Lecturers’ perception towards students’ types of motivation.
Lecturers’ perception towards factors affecting students’ motivation. Discussion of the findings. 92 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Findings for students.
Finding for lecturers. Implications for students. Implications for lecturers. Implications for administrative staff.
Recommendations for further research. 137 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 The procedure of delivering and collecting data. 42 Table 2 Students’ information (gender). 46 Table 3 Students’ information (English in their university entrance exam).
47 Table 4 Students’ information (mid-term score). 48 Table 5 Students’ information (English learning experience). 49 Table 6 Students’ information (using English outside the classroom). 50 Table 7 Students’ reasons for studying English.
51 Table 8 Factors related to the students. 54 Table 9 Factors related to the teachers. 56 Table 10 Other motivational factors. 58 Table 11 Lecturers’ information (gender).
61 Table 12 Lecturers’ information (academic qualification). 61 Table 13 Lecturers’ information (teaching experience). 62 Table 14 Lecturers’ perception toward students’ reasons of learning English. 63 Table 15 Lecturers’ perception toward motivational factors related to the students.
66 Table 16 Lecturers’ perception toward motivational factors related to the teachers. 68 Table 17 Lecturers’ perception toward other motivational factors. 70 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS MOET: Ministry of Education and Training EFL: English as Foreign Language L2: Second Language HCM: Ho Chi Minh M: Mean x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the study 1.
English in Vietnamese tertiary level English has become the most important foreign language in Vietnamese educational system at all levels. However, English is especially emphasized at tertiary level because it plays a crucial role in the future of the leaners who expect to have a better career and position in society. These leaners need English not only for graduation requirement but also for a ticket to an international working environment and higher income. Nevertheless, the matter of English in Vietnamese universities is complicated and disappointed.
After completing the 10 credits within the first and second years of study, very few training branches are allowed to provide further English training for students. Most universities do not have policies or regulations to encourage their learners to continue learning a foreign language. 5) Phan’s statement pointed that English education in universities has not effectively prepared students for the demand of English after their graduation. As the result, the English proficiency of the majority of university students and graduates are quite disappointing.
They do not appear to be confident with their English (Tran T. In an effort to discover the reasons behind that unpromising consequence, Tran (2013) in her study mentioned learner motivation as a vital factor affected English learning process in Vietnamese universities. She reported that good motivation can be viewed as a factor which can positively lead to the successful enhancement of English teaching and learning at universities (p. In addition, she also had further analysis in Vietnamese setting: The teaching of English in Vietnamese universities received many criticisms from the participants.
They all suggested that the current English teaching and learning 1 at universities was ineffective and disappointing. It negated their motivation and made them lose their hope in English learning. 141) Therefore, in order to improve the current English achievement in universities, learner motivation should be the center of attention. The following section turns to focus on learner motivation.
Main constraints in Vietnamese learner motivation Despite of the previously mentioned essential influence of learner motivation on English learning process, it is believed that Vietnamese university students obtain a low level of motivation. Tran and Richard Jr. (2007) wrote that: Despite the current extrinsic pressures to learn English as a foreign language in Vietnam, many students don’t seem ever to have developed any interest in learning English, or if they have, they seem to have lost that interest for some reason, that is, they have become demotivated. 81) Sharing the same point view, Phan and Le (2009) also noted that Vietnamese students are not strongly or appropriately motivated.
As the result, the students turn to lose their enthusiasm and confidence in English learning (p. That situation has received a number of studies analyzing the constraints of learner motivation in Vietnamese tertiary system. As the result, Vietnamese learning style, teachers’ action and perception as well as classroom organization are viewed as the main constraints. The following section will discuss Vietnamese learning style.
Vietnamese learning style The first constraint refers to Vietnamese passive learning style. The Confucianism even now maintains its influence on preventing leaners from interrupting their teachers with questions (O'Sullivan, 1997, p. 4) noted that “influenced by Confucianism, students feel rude if they interrupt, question, or argue with their teacher”. In other words, raising learners’ voice in class is discouraged because of ethic boundaries in society.
Therefore, Vietnamese students tend to be passive in classrooms and depend 2 on their educators. Nguyen (1989) and Tran (1999) reported that: “The attempt to have insight into Vietnamese students’ voices remains limited owing to the commonly held belief that teachers are traditionally considered the knowledgeable “expert”. 153) also contributed: “students may think that it is more beneficial to let teachers decide their needs, because teachers know more about what they need to learn and how their knowledge will be assessed in examinations”. 6) continued the argument with his point that Vietnamese students are accustomed to getting the knowledge from their teachers.
Learning actively is not a common habit of Vietnamese students (Le S. Accordingly, Vietnamese learners gradually lose their own interest in classrooms and the ability to set their goals in learning English. This situation results in the fact that Vietnamese student motivation has been decreasing considerately, which triggers their low English proficiency. The next section will discuss the teachers’ action and perception.
Teachers’ action and perception Besides Vietnamese learning style in the last section, the second constraint, Vietnamese teachers’ action and perception, also has an important effect on learner motivation. “Teachers were found to have a strong impact on students’ demotivation or motivation to learn” (Tran & Baldauf, 2007, p. However, the influence of Vietnamese university educators is believed to be negative. Luu (2011) raised his convincing points: The word “ignore” is highlighted since numerous teachers understand the position of the learner element in their teaching strategies.
Nevertheless, they do not want to explore it due to such factors as time constraints, energy insufficiency (due to teaching several hours a day), brief and unrepeated teaching of a particular class, and pride in their degrees or ranks. It is their “pride” that a number of teachers even take students’ resistance as an offence, but teaching students without understanding them is a greater offence like doctors treating patients without investigating their medical histories.