VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** QUÁCH THU HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTIVATIONS AND LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF FIRST- YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY Nghiên cứu về mối quan hệ giữa động lực học và chiến lƣợc học ngôn ngữ của sinh viên năm nhất khoa Điện, trƣờng Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội M. Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi - 2017 z VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** QUÁCH THU HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTIVATIONS AND LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF FIRST- YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY Nghiên cứu về mối quan hệ giữa động lực học và chiến lƣợc học ngôn ngữ của sinh viên năm nhất khoa Điện, trƣờng Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội M. Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. ĐỖ MINH HOÀNG Hanoi - 2017 z DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis entitled “An investigation into the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master at the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), Viet Nam National University, and this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees.
I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library. Hanoi, 2017 Quách Thu Hương i z ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Đỗ Minh Hoàng for helping me complete this study. This paper would not be finished without his support and guidance.
His useful suggestions and valuable critical feedback encouraged me during the process of conducting this study. I would also like to give my warmest thanks to the students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry who helped me a lot and showed their great willingness to take part in my survey and interview. My special thanks also go to my lecturers, my friends, my classmates for valuable comments and criticism, their interest and encouragement. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents and my brother for their love, care and encouragement.
ii z ABSTRACT This study investigates into the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies in the context of learning English as a second language of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry. The participants included 100 non-English major freshmen. The data were collected from survey questionnaires and interviews with 10 students. The results show that the students had strong instrumental orientations and integrative orientations.
It is suggested that they focused mainly on practical benefits and communicative purposes. In terms of learning strategy, participants used social and cognitive strategies most frequently; on the other hand, the use of compensation strategies gained the least attention. Moreover, there were significant correlations among types of motivation and learning strategies which were consistent to previous studies. From the findings and discussion based on data collection, some pedagogical implications, limitations and recommendations for further studies were included in this research.
iii z TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS .iv LISTS OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study. Objectives of the study.
Scope of the study. Methods of the study. Significance of the study. Organization of the study.
5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. The overview of motivation in second language learning. The overview of language learning strategies. Related previous studies on the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies.
The context of the study and the research participants. Data collection instruments. 15 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. Limitations and suggestions for further research.
I Appendix 1: Questionnaire: The language learning questionnaire (English version). I Appendix 2: Questionnaire: The language learning questionnaire (Vietnamese version). V Appendix 3: Interview Scripts in English (Summary) .IX z LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS EFT: English as a Foreign Language I: Interviewer L2: Second language LLS: Language Learning Strategies P: Participant RQ: Research Question SILL: Strategy Inventory for Language Learning iv z LISTS OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figure 1: Gardner’s Socio-Educational Model of Motivation. 6 Figure 2: Theoretical Framework for L2 Learning Motivation Scale.
17 Table 1: Theoretical Framework for L2 Learning Strategy Use Scale. 18 Table 2: Scale showing level of (dis)agreement. 22 Table 3: Oxford’s scale showing the frequencies of strategy use. 23 Table 4: Summary of Descriptive Statistic for Language Learning Motivation.
25 Chart 1: The overall mean of six motivational types. 26 Table 5: Descriptive Statistic for Each Motivational Item. 27 Table 6: Summary of Descriptive Statistic for Language Learning Strategy Use30 Chart 2: The overall mean for six types of language strategy use. 31 Table 7: Descriptive Statistic for Each Language Strategy Use Item.
32 Table 8: Correlations of motivational and strategy use components. 35 Table 9: Correlation Coefficients between overall motivation and learning. 37 v z PART A: INTRODUCTION In this part, the researcher will present the rationale of the study, the objectives, the scope, the methods, the significance, and the organization of the study. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study With educational innovation in recent years, it seems that research trend in English Language Teaching is shifted from language teaching methodology to language learning.
When teacher centeredness has been substituted by learner centeredness, teaching method does not play the most important role in leading to success or failure of teaching and learning second language any more. Besides, other factors such as learners’ autonomy, learning strategies, learners’ beliefs and attitudes may have decisive effects on second language acquisition. According to Ellis (1985), language learning strategies and motivation are considered to be two key components to make differences in individual language learners. In other words, learners’ motivation and learning strategies are crucial elements involved in achievement of second language learning.
Hence, it is necessary for both teachers and learners to find out factors which motivate students to learn English and general strategies used in learning process. It is the fact that a close relationship between motivations and language learning strategies has been proved in some research (Ellis, 1994; Wen, 2004). However, it is hard to find the research which directly shows how much motivations have great influence on learners’ strategies and what aspects clearly reflect the relationship between them. That is the reason why more studies should be conducted to investigate students’ motivations and their learning strategies to learn English in other countries in general as well as in Vietnam in particular.
From the fact presented above, the researcher can assert that finding “the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies” is very necessary for students to develop their English. It is the reason that motivated the researcher to conduct a study 1 z on “the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies in the context of learning English as a second language of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry”. Objectives of the study The purposes of the study are to explore types of students’ motivational orientations as well as learning strategy uses and to examine whether there are any significant links between language learning motivations and the choice of language learning strategies. Moreover, the research aims to identify how motivations are related to learning strategies of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry.
Therefore, three research questions are raised as follows: What are language learning motivations of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry? What are language learning strategies of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry? To what extent is motivation correlated with strategy use for learning English of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry? 3. Scope of the study Within the limit of personal ability and reference materials, the study focuses on the relationship between motivations and language learning strategies in the context of learning English as a second language of freshmen at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry. Methods of the study The survey research was selected to investigate the relationship between language learning strategies and motivation. The research instruments were questionnaires and 2 z interviews.
The participants were 100 first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry who come from four classes. Data collection was conducted at regular English classes during the first semester of academic school year 2016 – 2017. Significance of the study The study presents a broad quantitative sketch of motivational orientations and learning strategy preferences of first-year students at Faculty of Electrical Engineering Technology, Hanoi University of Industry. By analyzing these variables and links between them, the research provides teachers an overall view of students’ developmental trends in language learning styles to choose and apply teaching techniques more effectively in order to assist their students achieve better results in learning.
From perspectives of learners, furthermore, findings revealed may help learners hold positive attitudes toward learning English as well as make suitable short- term and long-term goals to quickly reach their aims. Organization of the study The study consists of three main parts: Part I: Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the objectives, the scope, the method, the significance and the organization of the study. Part II: Development, includes three chapters: Chapter 1: Literature Review, reviews the theories on motivation, second language learning strategies and related previous studies on relationship between motivation and learning strategies Chapter 2: Methodology, describes the setting of the study, the participants and the research method. Moreover, this chapter shows how the researcher applied the data collection instruments and the procedure of conducting the study.
3 z Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion, analyzes the figure and information collected, followed by discussion of findings. Part III: Conclusion, gives concluding remarks, pedagogical implications, its limitations and suggestions for further studies. 4 z PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter is divided into three major sections. The first section sheds some light on theoretical background to motivation in second language learning.
The second section shows an overview of language learning strategies. The third section focuses on related previous studies on relationships between motivation and language learning strategies. The overview of motivation in second language learning 1. Definition of motivation in second language learning There are many different ways to define motivation.
Bandura (1986) defines motivation as a goal-directed behaviour begun and reinforced by expectations concerning the anticipated results or effects of actions and effectiveness for performing those actions. Myron (2004: 10) shared the same opinion that “motivation is the internal processes that give behaviour its energy and direction including goals, beliefs, perceptions and expectations” According to Pintrich (2003), the key construct “motivation” comes from the Latin verb “movere”, which means to “move”. In terms of second language learning, Dörnyei (2005, p.65) explains that motivation is a “dynamic, ever-changing process” which provides “the primary impetus to initiate L2 learning and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process”. Although these opinions are not exactly the same, they all show that motivation refers to the strong and powerful reason which involves demanding effort, arousing desire and raising expectations to promote learning process.