BANKING ACADEMY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ---------- GRADUATION THESIS TOPIC: Demotivating Factors In Debating: The Case Study Of EFL Undergraduates At Banking Academy Of Vietnam Student : Tran Duc Long Class : K23ATCA Academic Year : 2020-2024 Student ID : 23A7510080 Advisor : Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy (MA) Hanoi, May 2024 DECLARATION I, Long Tran, as the author of this thesis entitled “Demotivating Factors in Debating: The Case Study of EFL Undergraduates at Banking Academy of Vietnam", affirm that the work presented herein is completely my own. I hereby certify that this research is a product of my findings and has not been submitted in part or in full for any degree at the Banking Academy of Vietnam or any other academic institution. I understand that plagiarism is a serious academic misconduct.
Therefore, I confirm that all materials, data, analysis, and written content contained within this document are exclusively my work, except in cases where I have provided proper citations to acknowledge borrowed concepts or excerpted text from other published sources. I am fully aware of the serious potential disciplinary consequences that may arise from any failure to uphold standards of academic integrity. Therefore, I acknowledge the serious nature of academic misconduct and am aware that failure to adhere to these declarations could result in disciplinary action by the Banking Academy. Hereby, I endorse the content of this thesis for examination and subsequent academic consideration.
Hanoi, May 2024 Tran Duc Long i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation to my advisor, Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy, M., for very high support and guidelines during my research. Her piece of advice and the feedback I got were in one way or another of great help throughout the work on the thesis. Her insight, patience, and suggestions guide me to complete this project humanely.
The most facilitative support for the collection of data, and therefore the greatest gratitude, goes to the members of the English Department at the Banking Academy. I am thankful to all the faculty members who gave their consent for me and to those students who participated very essentially. Furthermore, I am deeply grateful to my family and friends for their constant support and strong belief in me, which have always motivated me during my senior’s educational journey. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest thanks to researchers and academicians whose work was used for the making of this paper.
The brilliance of their work sets a good foundation for such research work to take place. With every contribution made, it shall continually remain that rallying support and encouragement towards me. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. v LIST OF TABLES.
vi LIST OF FIGURES.vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Background of the Study. Scope of the Study. Significance of the Study.
Objectives of the Study. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework. Definition of Debate and Debating Skills.
Steps in Debating. Teaching Debating at the Tertiary level. Features of Demotivated Learners. Data Design and Tools.
Population and Research Sample. 28 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. Frequency of Debate Engagement. Descriptive Results of Debate Engagement.
Discussions of Frequency Engagement. Internal and External Factors in Debating. Concern level of Internal Demotivation Factors. Concern level of Environmental Demotivation Factors.
Open-ended Questions Findings. 41 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 54 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BA Banking Academy L2 A Second Language EFL/ESL English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language SPSS27 Statistical Product and Services Solutions version 27 SDT Self-Determination Theory v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Description of the Questionnaire .1: Respondents’ distribution by gender and Year of Study. 31 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Debating Order by 6 individuals by Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2011) .2: Self-Determination Theory by Ryan & Deci (2000) .3: L2 Motivational Self System by Dornyei (2005).
17 vii ABSTRACT The value of debate in education has been widely recognized for its ability to boost critical thinking, enhance language proficiency, and promote active student engagement. However, the potential drawbacks and discouraging factors that might prevent undergraduate students from embracing debate in their learning journey have not been thoroughly explored. By examining the components that might demotivate or discourage students, slowing their academic progress and excitement for participation, this study aims to address this gap. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes online questionnaires with undergraduate students who have engaged in both learning courses, debating events, and observations from publication research, this study seeks to identify and analyze the factors that lead to students' hesitation or negative experiences.
The data for this study was collected from a group of 250 undergraduate students - a mix of undergraduates enrolled in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program at the Banking Academy Vietnam. Through quantitative data from a sample size, the results indicate that fear of public speaking, perceived lack of support, competitive pressure, and the shortage of a collaborative learning environment all play important roles in setting students' unfavorable attitudes about debate. Understanding and resolving these demotivating variables allows educational institutions to flexibly optimize debating classes as an instructional method, making it more accessible and enjoyable for students. Moreover, several recommendations and applications have been suggested.
Keywords: demotivation, recommendations, EFL, Debating, Debate viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The Introduction – Chapter 1 introduces the investigation into the demotivating factors that discourage undergraduates at the Banking Academy of Vietnam from engaging in EFL debate activities. The introduction outlines the core objectives and hypotheses of the study, aiming to dissect and understand the nuances of demotivation. This section contributes as the foundation for the study, and presents key issues by raising questions that seeks to be addressed. Background of the Study Debate has been universally recognized as an essence of the center in the development of critical thinking, public speaking, and persuasive communication skills.
It is considered an essential component of undergraduate education. Engaging in debate emerges as an important competency for academic, personal, and professional development. On the other side, in the absence of some of the demotivating factors that may hinder undergraduate students from active learning in debates, there are the existing benefits. This research paper seeks to examine these demotivating factors and understand the roots behind students’ reluctance.
Debate is something that engages human beings in most educational contexts, especially among undergraduates in EFL. Debate is a human inquiry and advocacy process that helps one to a reasoned conclusion about a claim. People use debates to reach a decision, or people use debates to persuade others to agree (Freeley & Steinberg, 2009). There are a number of learning techniques, but debating is one of them.
This lays the responsibility of course content understanding upon students, and it would allow debates to create active learning in class. The student basically moves from a passive to an active attitude (Snider & Schnurer, 2002). Learning is most effective when students' interactions with the material are not passive but rather involve them in debating, applying, and gaining from the material (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). This makes a person better understand the difference in attitude, which is likely to promote empathy and open-mindedness toward others (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).
1 Firmansyah (2019) suggested that the best way to increase curiosity, investigation, reading, listening, speaking, collaboration, and teamwork to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skill development at the undergraduate student level was through debating. He posits that debate has been considered an outstanding exercise for speaking among language learners because it engages them in a variety of verbal and cognitive activities. He says that the technique of persuading and influencing an audience has been the most widely used interactive, persuasive reasoning by debate form. Scope of the Study What remains a huge challenge is the reluctance of undergraduate students to take part in debate activities, notwithstanding all these benefits, showing the need to explore the reasons behind this barrier.
As such, the following study is, therefore, necessary to explore the challenges of learning debate skills: As outlined, in previous studies, a wide range of influences has been identified to have an impact on student motivation within educational settings, including the English language learning environment. The same issues are explored and scrutinized before laying down the same issues grappling the students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking Academy. This is because EFL students become aware of such limitations, and thus, teaching and instruction approaches from the educators' side, and learning strategies, stand to be affected. The rationale for this study, therefore, is that there might be parallel reasons between students' motivation to be part of the activity and the debate activity, just like in language acquisition.
Significance of the Study This study investigates what demotivates EFL undergraduates at the Banking Academy of Vietnam from engaging in debate, aiming to enhance both teaching and learning. 2 This research highlights the importance of understanding demotivating factors in EFL undergraduates' debate classrooms. This helps teachers to refine teaching strategies to meet student needs and reduce negative impacts. By addressing specific challenges, instructors can provide targeted support, increasing engagement and making learning more effective.
Awareness of these factors also allows teachers to foster a classroom atmosphere that promotes engagement and positive educational experiences. Understanding what demotivates students to improve their engagement and academic outcomes in debate activities. This understanding supports the development of self- awareness and effective strategies, enhancing students debating experiences. Furthermore, applying these insights encourages greater participation in debates, improving confidence in using English for public speaking.
Objectives of the Study The objective is to identify key personal and environmental factors that affect students' learning in debate classes. This involves assessing psychological and emotional barriers, classroom contexts, which EFL students might perceive as challenging to their learning process. The second aim is to propose recommend strategies for teachers at Banking Academy of Vietnam to create a more supportive and motivating learning environment. These strategies are intended to address the demotivating factors identified in the findings.
Research Questions The research pursues these goals through qualitative and quantitative approaches, gathering its data from interviews, surveys, and observation of the students at the undergraduate level who are currently learning the course of debate. Theoretically, analysis is grounded on motivational identity-related frameworks in L2 learning, such as Dornyei and Ushioda's L2 self-system model (2011), Norton's (2001) investment concept, and Kramsch's (2009) linguistic identity construction theory. 3 While many literatures on teaching and learning debating skills focus on the strategies to be used in motivating students, it is not less likely that motivation alone may not explain more rationally the current issues faced by undergraduates in learning debate as a subject in a designed curriculum. Investigation into the impact of demotivating elements is required.
The following are the research questions of the present study: 1. What are the personal demotivating factors and external factors that mostly and least influence students to get motivated to engage in the learning process of acquiring debating skills? 2. How do students' debate learning processes relate to external influences such as peers or instructors? 3. What are the difficulties of students at the Banking Academy of Vietnam in debating? 4.
What possible strategies could be used to deal with the factors that were demotivating? Evidently, the questions requirement are needed in the realization of which difficulties students face at the Banking Academy of Vietnam while debating, as this would be based on a foundational insight for the realization of developing interventions or recommendations. In addition, great value is added through insights to the thesis by helping ground theoretical discussions in real students' experiences. This not only gives the research findings practical relevance but also ensures that the results are applicable for improving the educational outcomes for students.