VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ MINH HƯỜNG FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN HỨNG THÚ HỌC KĨ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** LÊ MINH HƯỜNG FACTORS AFFECTING NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH LISTENING SKILLS AT COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUES CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN HỨNG THÚ HỌC KĨ NĂNG NGHE TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Supervisor : Dr. Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “Factors affecting non-English major students' motivation in learning English listening skills at College of Industrial Techniques" is entirely my own work.
The substance of this thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for a degree to any other universities or institutions. Hanoi, August 2014 Lê Minh Hường LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this study would not have been possible without the assistance of special and wonderful people. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa for her unfailing encouragement, constant support and invaluable suggestions during all stages of the study.
She not only gave me reliable guidelines but also shared much of her experience in language studying and teaching. I would also like to thank my supervisor for her patience in reading and editing my drafts. I would also like to send my sincere thanks to all staff, teachers and members at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies of University of Languages and International Studies-Vietnam National University for their work and services. Especially, I am grateful to the librarians who supplied me with a lot of materials.
My gratitude is also to my colleagues and students at the College of Industrial Techniques who were willing to answer my questions and complete my questionnaires. They gave me invaluable advice and suggestions on the thesis. Without them, my thesis could not be completed and successful. Last but not least, I would like to send my thanks to my beloved people, my parents, my husband and my daughter for their encouragement and support which help me overcome difficulties to complete this study.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Motivation is one of the most important factors that influences the rate and success of second language learning. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting non-English major students' motivation in learning English listening skills at the College of Industrial Techniques. In this study, 55 first-year non- English major students from different faculties of College of Industrial Techniques were chosen as the subjects. A survey questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used as the data collection instrument.
The findings of the study showed that the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills derive from 3 sources: students, teachers, learning conditions. In details, the first factor is that students‟ lack of basic knowledge, lack of confidence, personality and belief in learning English listening skills. The other factor is that students have to face are teachers‟ behaviors and methods in teaching English listening. In addition, inadequate school facilities, lack of target language environment, textbook and exam- orientation are also factors affecting that prevent students at College of Industrial Techniques from concentrating and motivating in their learning English listening skills.
Based on the findings of the study, some discussions and implications of learning English listening skills are made along with recommended suggestions for further research. At last, it is hoped that the results of this study could be of much benefit for students in learning English listening skills at College of Industrial Techniques. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi LIST OF CHARTS. vii LIST OF TABLES. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Rationale of the study. Aims of the study. The research questions. Scope of the study.
Method of the study. Design of the study. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Theoretical background of motivation.
Definition of motivation. Types of motivation in foreign language learning. The role of motivation in second language learning. Theoretical background of listening skills.
Definition of listening skills. Teaching listening skills. The factors affecting motivation in learning listening skills. The student-related factors.
The teacher-related factors. Teaching and learning conditions. Previous studies in the world and in Vietnam. The setting of the study.
17 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Instrument for collecting data. Data collection procedures. 21 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.
Level of students‟ motivation. Students‟ attitudes towards the learning of listening English. Students‟ motivation in learning listening English. Factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT.
The student-related factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills. The teacher-related factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills. Learning conditions affecting students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills. Limitations of the study.
Suggestions for further research .I APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE. I APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW. III APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS. IV LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2 : Second Language CIT : College of Industrial Techniques % : Percentage LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Students‟ attitudes towards the learning of listening English Chart 2: Students‟ participation in speaking lessons Chart 3: Students‟ motivations on learning listening skills Chart 4: Teachers‟ factors LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The student-related factors Table 2: Learning conditions LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale of the study Among four macro skills of languages, listening skills make a significant contribution to the process of acquiring language. Listening skills play a crucial role in communication. It has been estimated that the time people spend on communication activities 45 percent is devoted to listening, only 30 percent to speaking, 16 percent to reading and a mere 9 percent to writing by Rivers, W. In addition, it also requires a wide range of knowledge and ability: knowledge of phonology, vocabulary, semantics of the language in use, culture of its people, and their life experiences in the topic, their ability to predict and respond.
However, how to listening English well is a problem for many learners of English, especially for the students of colleges and universities. Despite the fact that the students have been learning English since they were at secondary or high school, most of students are weak at listening skills and have a lot of difficulties in listening acquisitions. They even become stressful and ignorant in listening lessons. In literature, there have been numerous studies conducted by the international teachers and researchers to investigate a multitude of factors that may affect language learning.
Among all, motivation has been proved to play a significant role in determining whether students succeed or fail in school. In other words, there has been a highly positive relationship between motivation and learners‟ achievement in language learning. According to Oxford and Shearin (1996, cited in Ha 2009: 163-164), motivation directly influences how much effort students make, how often students use L2 learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being learned, how well they do on curriculum related achievement tests, how high their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over Ely (1986); Oxford & Shearin (1996). Particularly, toward learning listening skills, motivation is one important element in foreign language teaching in general and learning English listening skills in particular.
1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com With six years of teaching English at College of Industrial Techniques (CIT), the researcher has realized that students normally lack of motivation in learning English in general and in listening skills in particular. In fact, most students have passive attitudes toward learning listening English due to the previous experiences that listening skill is hard to learn and they fail to take listening input. Many of them get bored and become de- motivated when listening classes start. They are generally less aware of its importance.
In addition to the lack of well-equipped facilities, classes at colleges and universities are usually very large-between fifty and sixty students. Another problem is students‟ low level of proficiency in terms of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, skills. Listening skill is treated equally as other skills in terms of time allocation. The foreign language they learn is often presented in the first language, the emphasis is on grammar only with the aim to help students pass the exams given by either the school examination board or the Ministry of Education and Training.
All of these have inspired the author to make an attempt to carry out the research “Factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT”. This will be the basis for the researcher in general and the teachers of English at CIT in particular in arousing motivation for students in listening skills, helping them to get involved in different listening activities, keep their efforts during learning process and then achieve successes. Aims of the study This survey is conducted in order to investigate the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT. Objectives of the study are summarized as follows: - To investigate the non-English major students‟ level of motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT - To identify the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT.
The research questions To achieve the aims mentioned above, the following research questions were proposed: 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. How motivated are the non-English major students in learning English listening skills at CIT? 2. What are the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT? 4. Scope of the study This study mainly focuses on the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT.
However, due to the limit of time and the scope of a minor thesis, the researcher only carried out to investigate the non- English major students‟ level of motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT and identify the factors affecting non-English major students‟ motivation in learning English listening skills at CIT. The other study of this minor thesis would be beyond of the scope. Method of the study This survey research uses two instruments to collect the data. Firstly, the survey questionnaire was conducted with 55 students randomly chosen from about 300 first year students at CIT.
Secondly, semi-structured interviews with 5 students, who have done the survey questionnaire, were carried out. Design of the study This study consists of three main parts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion. Part A is the Introduction. It lays out the reasons for choosing the topic for this thesis and points out the aims, the scope, the methods and the design of the study.
Part B is the Development.