VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LỤC THỊ MỸ BÌNH DEVELOPING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING SKILL OF STUDENTS AT THIEU HOA HIGH SCHOOL, THANH HOA PROVINCE (PHÁT TRIỂN ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT THIỆU HÓA, TỈNH THANH HÓA) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Cohort: K18 Supervisor: Đỗ Bá Quý, MEd. HANOI, 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LỤC THỊ MỸ BÌNH DEVELOPING MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING SKILL OF STUDENTS AT THIEU HOA HIGH SCHOOL, THANH HOA PROVINCE (PHÁT TRIỂN ĐỘNG LỰC HỌC KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG THPT THIỆU HÓA, TỈNH THANH HÓA) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Cohort: K18 HANOI, 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ii ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to investigate factors affecting motivation in learning English reading skill of the students at Thieu Hoa high school. The main purposes of the study are to find out: types of motivation possessed by the students at Thieu Hoa high school, factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English reading skill, activities and techniques applied by teachers and students’ preference and then give some suggested solutions for teachers to stimulate students to read and overcome the difficulties they face with in teaching reading. The study consists of three parts.
Part A, the introduction, states the rationale, aims, scopes, design and methods of the research. Part B, the development, is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 reviews theoretical background relating to motivation and reading. Chapter 2 presents the methods used in the study including the setting of the study, individuals participating in the study, instruments, data collection and data analysis.
Chapter 3 shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview. Part C, the conclusion, presents the conclusions, the study’s limitations and suggestions for further study. The results of the study show that in learning English reading skill, most of the students at Thieu Hoa high school appeared to possess a combination of both instrumental and integrative motivation; however, the instrumental orientation is stronger than the integrative one. Besides, the sudy reveals that the reading materials and the teachers are the most important factors affecting the students’ motivation.
Therefore, the researcher suggests two strategies to develop the students’motivation namely developing the reading materials and improving the teachers’ role. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iii Acknowledgements First of all, I wish to acknowledge my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Do Ba Quy, MEd for his valuable guidance, helpful suggestions and critical feedback throughout the research, without which my research could not been completed. I wish to send my sincere thanks to all the lecturers in the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU for their useful lessons from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this study.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my students in three classes 11G, 11M, 11N and my colleagues at Thieu Hoa high school for their participation and assistance without which this study could not have been successful. My sincere thanks to my cousin, Ngo Khac Vi and my close friends who offered me their help, care, support and encouragement during the time I study at Hanoi. Finally, my love and thanks to my beloved family, especially my husband and my son for not only their encouragement and support but also their whole-hearted help during my research. Thanh Hoa, August, 2011 Luc Thi My Binh LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS I.
LIST OF TABLES: Table 1: Participants by age and gender……………………………………………………………17 Table 2: The students’ experience of learning English………….………………18 Table 3: The students’ reasons for learning reading skill……………………….18 Table 4: Activities used by the teachers…………………………………………………………….25 Table 5: Technique used by the teachers…………………………………….25 Table 6: The students’ preference for the techniques used by the teachers…………………….28 Table 7: The teachers’ opinions on the textbook……………………………………………….…30 Table 8: The students’ opinions on reading materials……………………………………………. LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Types of students’ motivation in learning reading skill…………………….…20 Chart 2: The students’ interest in learning reading skill……………………………………….21 Chart 3: Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading skill…………………….22 Chart 4: The students’ preference for activities used by the teachers……………………….27 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com v TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION. Rationale for the study. Aims of the study.
Scopes of the study. Methods of the study. Design ofthe study. Design of the study .4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Overview of motivation. Definitions of motivation. Types of motivation. Global, situational and task motivation.
Roles of motivation in second language learning. Overview of reading. Definitions of reading. Roles of reading in foreign language learning.
Motivation in learning reading. The importance of motivation in learning reading. Common factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading skill. The reading materials.
The setting of the study. 13 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Individuals participating in the study. 16 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, MAJOR FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS.
Data analysis and major findings. The identification of students’ motivation. Types of students’ motivation. The students’ interest in learning reading skill.
Factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading skill. Activities, teaching aids and techniques used by the teachers and the students’ preference. Activities, teaching aids and techniques used by the teachers. The students’ preference for activities and techniques used by the teachers .3 The teachers and students’ opinions on the textbook.
The teachers’ opinions on the textbook. The students’ opinion on the textbook. Suggestions for motivating students in learning reading skill. Developing the reading materials.
Improving the teachers’ roles. Limitations and suggestions for further studies. I APENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS. I APENDIX B: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS.
V LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope, the methods, the significance and the design of the study in order to help readers have a general view on the research. Rationale for the study In our modern society, English has become an international language for communication and it is also an important demand for schooling and job opportunities. The number of people who are learning English is increasing so quickly and English has been learnt through many sources in many different ways. It can be clearly seen that in Vietnam, we are mainly teaching and learning English in non-language environment so reading is the main source to get knowledge of language and life as well as to develop other skills.
However, many learners of English are not interested in learning reading. They often think that reading is the least important skill as it does not help learners directly in communicating. On the other hand, learners also complain that reading always makes them feel bored and stressful. So, it can be concluded that our students lack of motivation to read.
In fact, motivation is one of the most important factors affecting the result of learning English. Students with high motivation can learn a foreign language better than those who do not. Therefore, one of the first duties of English teachers is motivating their students to read. Because of the above reason, I do my research on “Developing motivation in learning English reading skill of students at Thieu Hoa high school, Thanh Hoa province”, hoping to find out some solutions to better the current situation of teaching and learning English reading skill and hoping to help English teachers and students in general and those at Thieu Hoa high school in particular in their teaching and studying.
Aims of the study The study is aimed at: - Identifying types of motivation possessed by students at Thieu Hoa high school in learning reading skill. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 - Studying factors affecting motivation in learning English reading skill of students at Thieu Hoa high school. - Finding out strategies to develop motivation of students in order to improve their results of learning reading skill. Research questions The study was carried out in order to find out the answers to the following research questions: 1.
What are the types of motivation possessed by students at Thieu Hoa high school in learning reading skill? 2. What are the factors affecting students’ motivation in learning English reading skill? 3. What are appropriate strategies to develop students’ motivation in learning reading skill? 4. Scope of the study The topic “Developing motivation for learning English reading skill of students at Thieu Hoa high school, Thanh Hoa province” has many interesting aspects that I want to mention.
However I do not hope to cover all these aspects with my limited time and knowledge. So in my assignment, I will focus on the types of motivation possessed by students, the factors affecting motivation in learning English reading skill and the strategies to develop motivation for learning English reading skill of students at Thieu Hoa high school. Significance of the study The study highlights the important roles of motivation to English second language learning in general and to reading skill in particular. The findings of the study are believed to be useful for English teachers to be aware of the essential roles of factors affecting studentds’motivation in a reading lesson.
Besides, the suggested strategies for developing students’ motivation in learning reading skill, which are based on the theoretical background and the current situation of teaching and learning English reading skill at Thieu Hoa high school, hopefully can help English teachers and students in general and those at Thieu Hoa high school in particular in their teaching and studying. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Methods of the study The theoretical background of the study mainly bases on references and analysis to relevant theories about motivation and reading of many authors. The study is carried out on the basis of survey questionnaires and interview.
Firstly, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on motivation and reading have been gathered, analyzed and synthesized thoroughly with the clue consideration for the teachers’ and students’ teaching and learning situations. Secondly, for the practical basis, interviews and questionnaires are carried out with teachers and students of English to gather the most reliable data for the thesis. Design of the study The study is organized in three parts: Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the methods of the study and the design of the study. Part B: Development includes three chapters Chapter 1: Literature review provides theoretical backgrounds for the study.
Its focus is on introducing important relevant concepts, discussions of issues and ideas on theories for motivation, nature of reading and motivation in learning reading as well as factors affecting motivation in learning reading. Chapter 2: The methodology presents the methods used in the study including the setting of the study, participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis procedure. Chapter 3: Data analysis, major findings and suggestions shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview. Part C: Conclusion presents the conclusions, the study’s limitations and the suggestions for further study.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the theoretical backgrounds for the study are provided.