HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES = = == = = CAO THI VAN ANH A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH) Field: English Language Teaching Hanoi, May 2019 HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES = = == = = CAO THI VAN ANH A CASE STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH) Field: English Language Teaching SUPERVISORS: Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, M.A Dr William H Salazar, Ed.D Hanoi, May 2019 STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP Title: A study on factors affecting first-year English major students’ motivation in English speaking classes at Hanoi Pedagogical University I hereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work under strict guidance from my supervisors and no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from other person‟ work without the proper acknowledgements I have also provided fully documented references to the work of other researchers Date submitted: May 10th 2019 Student Supervisor Supervisor Cao Thi Van Anh Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, M.A Dr William H Salazar, Ed.D i ACKNOWLEDGMENT In the completion of this thesis, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisors, Ms Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, M.A who taught me how to organize my thesis and Dr William H Salazar, Ed.D who helped me organize my ideas and how to edit my paper for their experience, guidance, stimulating suggestions and encouragement throughout my research Additionally, I would like to convey my deepest thanks to the lecturers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages for their advice and assistance in introducing me many reference materials related to this research project I am especially indebted to 50 first-year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University for their participation into my study Last but not least, I owe my special thanks to my loving parents, my younger brother and my dear friends who offered me their love, care, support and encouragement so that I could accomplish my study Hanoi, May 2019 ii ABSTRACT Motivation is one of the most vital factors determining the success or failure of students‟ foreign language learning Without motivation, nothing can be accomplished But in spite of that, in reality many students in general and some students at Hanoi Pedagogical University in particular, not have enough motivation to practise speaking English smoothly While speaking is considered one of the most important skills when compared with other skills; it is the most essential skills in our daily lives and is the most effective mean of communication Therefore, this study was implemented to investigate the factors affecting first-year English major students‟ motivation in English speaking classes at Hanoi Pedagogical University The participants were 50 first-year English major students and three lecturers of English Survey questionnaire, interviews and classroom observations were used as the major data collection instruments The data were computed and analyzed The major findings demonstrated that there were four main groups of factors that affect students‟ motivation in English speaking classes in order of importance: (1) Student – related factors (mean = 3.59); (2) Lecturer – related factors (mean = 3.4); (3) Classroom – related factors (mean = 3.3) and; (4) Course book – related factors (mean= 2.72) Mean scores of 3.5-5.0 on the 5-point Likert scale were defined as highly motivated; mean scores of 2.5-3.4 were defined as moderately motivated; and mean scores defined as lowly motivated were 1.0-2.4 Based on the findings of this study, implications and suggestions to increase students‟ positive motivation at Hanoi Pedagogical University were made: 1) Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation are very important to increase students‟ speaking skill level 2) Lecturers should design interesting activities that are relevant to students 3) Lecturers should create a positive classroom environment and show their enthusiasm in their teaching Key words: student motivation, factors affecting motivation, English speaking classes, first-year English major students, L2 motivation iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HPU2 Hanoi Pedagogical University FFL Faculty of Foreign Languages L2 Second language iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Demographics of the participants 22 Table 2: Student – related factors .23 Table 3: Lecturer – related factors 26 Table : Classroom – related factors 29 Table : Course book – related factors 31 Table 6: The comparison among four factors 33 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Student – related factors .23 Chart 2: Lecturer – related factors 26 Chart 3: Classroom – related factors .29 Chart : Course book – related factors 31 Chart : The comparison among four factors 33 v TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A INTRODUCTION 1 RATIONALE AIMS OF THE STUDY RESEARCH QUESTIONS METHOD OF THE STUDY SCOPE OF THE STUDY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY DESIGN OF THE STUDY PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Motivation in Second/ Foreign Language Learning 1.1.1 Definition of Motivation 1.1.2 Definition of Motivation in L2 Acquisition 1.1.3 Motivation in Practising English Speaking Skills 1.1.4 Types of Motivation 1.1.4.1 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 1.1.4.2 Integrative and Instrumental Motivation 1.2 Motivation in L2 Speaking Classroom 1.2.1 Related Issues of Speaking Skills 1.2.1.1 Some Definitions of Speaking Skills 1.2.1.2 Types of Classroom Speaking Performance 10 3.2 Motivation in Speaking Classroom 10 3.2.1 Factors Demotivate Students to Speak in Classes 10 3.2.2 Some Conditions for Effective Motivation in Speaking Classroom 11 1.3 Factors Affecting Motivation in L2 Learning 12 1.3.1 Dornyei‟s Extended Motivational Framework 12 1.3.2 Williams and Burden‟s Framework of the L2 Motivation 12 1.3.3 Factors Affecting Students‟ Motivation in Learning L2 13 1.3.3.1 Student – related Factors 13 vi 1.3.3.2 Lecturer – related Factors 14 1.3.3.3 Classroom – related Factors 15 1.3.3.4 Course book – related Factors 15 1.3.4 Previous Studies on Factors Affecting Students‟ Motivation in L2 Speaking Class 15 CHAPTER TWO: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Description and Context of the Study 17 Participants 17 2.2 Data Collection Instruments: 18 2.2.1 Survey Questionnaire for Students (Appendix A) 18 2.2.2 Interview for Lecturers and Students (Appendix B) 19 2.2.3 Classroom Observation (Appendix C) 19 2.4 Data Analysis 20 CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 Results 22 3.1.1 Results of Survey Questionnaire, Interviews and Classroom Observations about Factors Affecting the First-year English Major Students‟ Motivation in English Speaking Classes 22 3.1.1.1 Demographics of the Students taking part in the Survey 22 3.1.1.2 Student – related Factors 22 3.1.3 Lecturer – related factors 25 3.1.4 Classroom – related Factors 28 3.1.5 Course book – related Factors 30 3.1.6 The Comparison among Four Factors Affecting Sudents‟ Motivation in English Speaking Classes 32 3.2 Discussion of Findings on Factors Affecting Students‟ Motivation in English Speaking Classes 34 3.2.1 Student – related Factors 34 3.2.2 Lecturer – related Factors 35 3.2.3 Classroom – related Factors 36 3.2.4 Course book – related Factors 36 CONCLUSION 38 vii Summary of the Study 38 Pedagogical Implications 38 Limitations of the Study 40 Suggestions for Future Research 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES 46 viii ... in English speaking classes at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 AIMS OF THE STUDY This study aims at investigating the factors affecting first-year English major students' motivation in English speaking. .. enthusiasm in their teaching Key words: student motivation, factors affecting motivation, English speaking classes, first-year English major students, L2 motivation iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HPU2 Hanoi. .. this part will present the pedagogical implications of the investigation for improving motivation; including 38 increasing positive motivational factors and decreasing negative motivational factors