ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I wish to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Pham Minh Hien, M.A for
her valuable guidance, helpful suggestions and critical feedback throughout the research.
Also, I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all the lecturers in the Department of
Postgraduate Studies, College of Foreign languages, VNU for their useful lessons from
which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this study.
I am greatly indebted to my students from class 10A1 to class 10A5 and my colleagues at
Yendinh 1 high school for their participation and assistance without which this study could
not have been successful.
Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my loving parents, my
husband, my daughter and my close friends who offered me their love, care, support and
encouragement so that I could accomplish my study.
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ABSTRACT
This study is an attempt to investigate factors affecting motivation in speaking English of
the 10
th
grade students at Yendinh 1 high school. The main purposes of the study are to
find out: types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school,
factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English, activities and techniques
applied by teachers and students’ preference and then give some suggested solutions for
teachers to stimulate students to speak and overcome the difficulties they face with in
teaching speaking.
The study consists of three parts. Part A, the introduction, states the rationale, aims, scope,
design and methods of the research. Part B is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1
reviews theoretical background relating to motivation and speaking. Chapter 2 presents the
instrumentation, data collection and data analysis. Chapter 3 summarizes some major
findings and discussion, and then gives recommendations to the teachers of English. Part
C, the conclusion, points out some limitations and give some suggestions for further study.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.2.2. Subjects 19
2.2.3. Speaking materials 20
2.2.4. Applying techniques and activities of CLT in teaching speaking at Yendinh 1
high school 22
2.3. Participants 23
2.4. Data collection instruments 23
2.4.1. Survey Questionnaires 23
2.4.1.1. Questionnaires for students 24
2.4.1.1.1. Pre-treatment questionnaire 24
2.4.1.1.2. Post-treatment questionnaire 24
2.4.1.2. Questionnaire for teachers 24
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2.4.2. Interviews 24
2.4.3. Class observations 25
2.5. Data collection procedures 25
2.6. Data analysis 26
2.6.1. Results from students’ pre- treatment questionnaire 26
2.6.2. Results from students’ post-treatment questionnaire 36
2.6.3. Results from teacher’s survey questionnaire 45
CHAPTER 3. MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 53
3.1. Major findings and discussions 53
3.1.1. Types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high school
53
3.1.2. Factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English 53
3.1.3. Speaking motivational activities and techniques employed by teachers and
students’ preferences 55
3.1.4. Teachers and students’ comments on speaking activities in Tieng Anh 10
textbook 55
3.2. Recommendations for motivating students to speak English in class 56
3.2.1. Promoting students’ internal factors 56

Table 8. Problems teachers facing in teaching speaking 46
Table 9. Activities applied by teachers by frequency 47
Table 10. Speaking activities applied by teachers 48
Table 11. Techniques applied by teachers 48
Table 12. Teacher’s evaluation on speaking skill of Tieng Anh 10 textbook 51
2. List of charts
Chart 1. Students’ average marks in the first semester 26
Chart 2. Students’ perceived importance of English 29
Chart 3. Students’ attitude to learn English speaking 30
Chart 4. Students’ effort in learning speaking 30
Chart 5. Students’ desire to learn English speaking 31
Chart 6. Students’ interest in learning speaking 31
Chart 7. Students’ frequency of speaking English in class time 32
Chart 8. Students’ reluctance of speaking English 33
Chart 9. Students’ opinions on the topics of Tieng Anh 10 textbook 35
Chart 10. Students’ opinions on the speaking tasks of Tieng Anh 10 textbook 36
Chart 11 . Students’ results after the treatment 39
Chart 12. Activities enjoyed most by students 43
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PART A- INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In recent decades, English has been more and more important in Vietnam. The importance
of English is not only in how many people speak it but also in what it is used for. Beside
the native language is popularly used in all fields of the society, English is now widely
known as the major language of intercommunication, international commerce and
business, science and technology and so on. Thus, people with good English proficiency
are extremely needed in any fields of society. As a result, there has been a positive trend of
teaching and learning English across the country. People, from children to adults, learn
English with different purposes. Children learn English because of the requirement of their
parents and school. Students learn English to pass the exams, to study abroad or to find a

(1) To identify types of motivation possessed by grade 10 students at Yendinh 1 high
school.
(2) To point out some factors affecting students’ motivation in speaking English.
(3) To examine some activities and techniques applied by teachers and students’
preferences.
(4) To give some suggestions for teachers to stimulate students in speaking English and
overcome the difficulties they have to face with in teaching speaking English for grade 10
students.
3. Research Questions
1. What are the types of motivation possessed by Grade 10 students in learning speaking
English?
2. What are the factors affecting Grade 10 students in learning speaking English?
3. What are teachers and students’ attitudes towards speaking skill?
4. What have teachers done to motivate students in learning speaking English?
5. What are teachers and students’ opinions on Tieng Anh 10 textbook?
4. Methods of the study
To carry out the study, quantitative method was mainly used. The data collected for the
study come from two sources: the 10
th
grade students and all teachers of English at
Yendinh 1 high school.
Survey questionnaires, two for students (pre- and post-treatment questionnaire) and one for
teachers, were used to gather information and evidence for the study.
In addition, to make the data collected more reliable and authentic, qualitative method was
applied with two instruments: a follow up interview and an informal observation.
2
All the comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion provided in the study were
based on the data analysis of the study.
5. Scope of the study
Studying motivation and its effects on the second language have been paid attention by

and a comprehensive analysis on the data collected are focused
Chapter 3- Major findings, discussions and recommendations- shows major findings
and discussions and offers some recommendations for teachers to motivate students to
speak and overcome some difficulties teachers meet in teaching speaking.
Part C: Conclusion- is a review of the study, suggestions for further research and
limitations of the study.
4
PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theoretical background of motivation in L2 learning
1.1.1. Definition of motivation
Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positive correlation with
second language achievement and proficiency, that is to say, motivation of high levels
often leads to high L2 achievement and proficiency. The motivated learners are usually
more active in learning, while unmotivated learners are more likely to cause classroom
disturbances. However, motivation is extremely difficult to define and measure. Atkinson
(cited in Arnold, 2000:13) defined motivation as ‘a cluster of factors that ‘energize’ the
behavior and give it ‘direction’’. Thus, in Atkinson’s point of view, motivation is a term
used to describe what energizes a person and what directs his activity, energy and
direction. While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person’s thought
and defined it as ‘the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a person that initiates,
directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive and the motor
processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalized and
acted out’(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 9). In his word, Ellis stated that ‘motivation involves the
attitudes and effective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn
an L2’ (Ellis, 1997: 75). Woolfolk (2001: 366) also defined motivation as ‘an internal state
that arouses, directs and maintains behavior’. Similarly, Brown (2000: 160) indicated that
‘motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to
achieve something’
It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition in different ways.

promotion’ (Ur, 1996: 276) and the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from
the study of a second language (Hudson, 2000). With instrumental motivation, the purpose
of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or
university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability,
reading technical material, translation work or achieving higher social status. Instrumental
motivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no social
integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place, or in
some instances is even desired.
• Integrative vs. Instrumental Motivation
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While both integrative and instrumental motivation are essential elements of success, it is
integrative motivation which has been found to sustain long- term success when learning a
second language (Ellis 1997). Those who do support an integrative approach to language
study are usually more highly motivated and overall more successful in language learning.
However, it has been found that generally students select instrumental reasons more
frequently than integrative reasons for the study of language. One area where instrumental
motivation can prove to be successful is in the situation where the learner is provided with
no opportunity to use the target language and therefore, no chance to interact with
members of the target group. Lukmani (1972) found that an instrumental orientation was
more important than an integrative orientation in non- westernized female learners of L2
English in Bombay (cited in Ellis, 1997). Therefore, ‘a learner with instrumental
motivation is more interested in how the language can be a useful instrument towards
furthering other goals, such as gaining a necessary qualification or improving employment
prospects’. (Littlewood, W. 1998: 57)
1.1.2.2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation
Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation, generally, refers to the fact of
doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation (Deci and
Ryan, 1985). Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide
variety of behaviors that are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sake
(Deci and Ryan, 1985). Schulz (1991:18) said that the concept of extrinsic motivation

new types. Conversely, a vicious circle of low motivation = low achievement= low
motivation can develop’.
1.1.3. Factors affecting motivation in L2 learning
1.1.3.1. Dornyei’s extended motivational framework.
Dornyei (2001:112- 113) analyzed L2 learning motivation within a framework of three
levels, which offers a vast list of motivational components;
(1) Language level involves factors related to the L2 such as the culture, the
community as well as practical values and benefits connected with learning L2.
(2) The learner level involves individual characteristics that the learner brings to the
learning process. These characteristics include learners’ self- confidence, self-
efficacy, need for achievements, causal attributions, the perceived L2 competences,
and goal orientations and so forth.
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(3) Learning situation level is associated with situation- specific motives of L2 learning
within a classroom and it is divided into three aspects. The first is course- specific
motivational components which are related to the syllabus, the teaching
materials, the teaching method and the learning tasks The second is teacher-
specific motivational components which concern the motivational impact of the
teacher’s personality, behavior and teaching style. And the third is group-
specific motivational components which are related to the group dynamics of
the learner group.
1.1.3.2. Williams and Burden’s framework of the L2 motivation
Williams and Burden (1997) analyzed L2 learning motivation in a framework of two
factors: internal and external. Internal factors encompass various components such as
intrinsic interest of activity, perceived value of activity, sense of agency, mastery, self-
concept, attitudes, developmental age, stage and gender and other affective states
(confidence, anxiety, fear). External factors include significant others (parents, teachers
and peers); the nature of interaction with significant others (mediated learning experiences,
the nature and amount of feedback rewards, the nature and amount of appropriate praise,
punishments and sanctions); the learning environment (sense of comfort, resources, time of

The third factor is learners’ age. Children are believed to be better than adults in acquiring
an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native- like fluency in particular.
Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn the syntax and the
vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like pronunciation is
impossible for them. Also, they concluded that younger learners have a greater chance of
attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learners may show faster progress at the
beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young ones in the end.
The fourth factor is learning style. The term ‘learning style’ refers to the characteristic
ways in which individuals orientates to problem- solving. Keefe (1979) defined
learning style as ‘the characteristic cognitive, affective and physiological behaviors that
serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond
to the learning environment… Learning style is a consistent way of functioning that
reflects underlying causes of behavior’ (cited in Ellis, 1997: 499).
The last factor is learners’ belief. Most learners have strong beliefs about how
languages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered. Little, Singleton and
Silvius found out ‘past experience, both of education in general and of language
10
learning in particular, played a major role in shaping attitudes to language learning’
(cited in Ellis, 1997: 478- 479).
• Teacher’s factors
Teacher plays an important role in students’ learning motivation. As a matter of fact, some
teacher’s factors and appropriate teacher behaviors will increase students to motivate in
learning.
Dornyei (2001) pointed out some teacher’s factors affecting students’ motivation:
appropriate teacher behavior, teacher’s enthusiasm and a good relationship with the
students.
Firstly, appropriate teacher behavior in classroom is very important. It is considered a
powerful ‘motivational tool’. Alison (1993) stated that teacher’s behavior could ‘persuade’
or ‘attract’ students to engage in on- task behaviors (cited in Dornyei 2001: 120). ‘The
teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports students’ learning efforts.

potent factors that undermined learning effectiveness and L2 motivation. (cited in Dornyei,
2001: 121).
Physical conditions are important, too. Physical conditions refer to something in classroom
such as classroom’s size, classroom’s facilities (chairs, desks, tables, electric facilities…).
Hammer (1992) stated that physical conditions had great impact on students’ learning as
well as their attitude towards the subject matter. Physical condition affects both teacher and
students’ motivation. The large class, the poor facilities will decrease the relationship
between teacher and students, and as a result, will decrease motivation.
1.2. Theoretical background of speaking in L2 learning
1.2.1. Definition of speaking
Florez (1999) defined speaking was ‘an interactive process of constructing meaning that
involves producing and receiving and processing information’. (cited in Balley, 2005: 2). It
is ‘often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving’, but it is not completely unpredictable. In
other words, ‘speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey
meaning’. (Balley, 2005:2).
Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every bit as much
as literacy skill. It is often thought of as a ‘popular’ form of expression that uses the
unprestigious ‘colloquial’ register. Speaking is in many ways an undervalued skill. Perhaps
this is because we can almost all speak, and so take the skill too much for granted. In his
12
own view, Mackey (1965) shows that ‘oral expression involves not only the use of the
right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and
inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning’(cited in Bygate, 1997: 5).
According to Mackey, for the student who wants to be good at speaking, he/ she has to
choose the right forms, put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even
produce the right meanings.
1.2.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking
• The Grammar- translation Method
In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to
translate from one language to another. The Grammar translation method, therefore, does

centeredness, which is an essential element to raise learners’ motivation in language
learning. CLT features more interaction- based activities, such as role- plays and
information gap tasks. Pair work and group work are typical organizational features of
interaction- based lessons in CLT.
In summary, among some approaches of the language teaching methods mentioned above,
CLT is the most appropriate way to teach students to communicate. My minor thesis is
about factors affecting students’ motivation to speak English in class, so what I have to
find out are what affecting students in speaking English and how to motivate them to speak
English better. In terms of speaking skill, I think that CLT is one of the most effective
approaches to teach learners to speak in second language. Therefore, I have decided to
choose CLT not any other method to teach speaking and doing my treatment of the study.
1.2.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking
Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation stage, the
practice stage and the production one. In each stage, the role of the teacher is different.
At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role. The teacher
introduces something new to be learned and present it in such a way that the meaning of
the new language is as clear and memorable as possible. The students listen and try to
understand. At this point of the lesson, the teacher is at the centre of the stage. Therefore,
teacher’s time spending should be sensible so that the students get enough time to practise
themselves
At the practice stage, it is the students’ turn to do most of the talking while teacher’s main
task is to devise and provide the maximum amount of practice, which must the same time
14
be both meaningful and memorable. The teacher’s role, then, is completely different from
that at the presentation one. The teacher is like the skilful conductor of an orchestra, giving
each of the performers a chance to participate and monitoring their performance to see that
it is satisfactory.
At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of manager and guide.
Students are given opportunities to use language freely. Sometimes students can make
mistakes at this stage, but mistakes are unimportant. The more important is that students

increase in boredom. Varying the activities, tasks, and materials can help to avoid
this and increase students’ interest levels.
- Using co- operative rather than competitive goals: Co- operative learning activities
are those in which students must work together in order to complete a task or solve
problem. These techniques will increase the self- confidence of students, including
weaker ones.
1.2.4.2 . Factors affecting students unwilling to speak in classroom
Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors affecting the reluctance of the student to speak
up in class:
- students’ perceived low proficiency in English
- students’ fear of mistakes and derision
- teachers’ intolerance of silence
- uneven allocation of turns
- incomprehensible input
(cited in Nunan, 1999: 234)
In his investigation, Oxford (1998) also stated some factors that decrease students’
motivation in classroom:
- The teacher’s personal relationship with the students, including a lack of caring,
general belligerence, hypercriticism and patronage
- The teacher’s attitude towards the course or the material, including lack of
enthusiasm, sloppy management and close- mindedness
- Style conflicts between teachers and students, including multiple style conflicts,
conflicts about the amount of structure and conflicts about the amount the degree of
closure or ‘seriousness’ of the class
- The nature of the classroom activities, including irrelevance, overload and
repetitiveness
(cited in Dornyei, 2001: 146)
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1.2.4.3. Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking
Nunan (1999) pointed out some preconditions for effective motivation

2.2.1. The setting of the study
The study was conducted at Yendinh I high school, a rural school of Thanhhoa province.
The school has 30 classes with over 80 teachers of different subjects. Like other high
schools in Vietnam, English was taught here as a compulsory subject. Currently, there are
ten teachers of English and over 1500 students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12. Most of
students come from villages and town in the district.
English has been taught as a compulsory subject at Yendinh 1 high school since 1995.
However, the teaching of English, especially teaching English speaking for Grade 10 has
met some difficulties. The first difficulty is that English is not paid much attention by most
of students in school. About one- fifth of the tenth grade students wish to take university
entrance exam in English, so only they have real interest in learning. The second is
teachers have to teach in the large size classes. There are at least 50 students for each class.
Therefore, teaching English speaking is very difficult for teachers. Teachers will face with
some problems in monitoring work, giving feedback, setting up communicative tasks as
well as paying attention to all students during class time. The third is most of the students
are not familiar with teaching in English. They say that they do not understand if all
English lessons are taught in English. They also feel quite uncomfortable and pressured
when using English to express themselves. The last is the lack of materials. Materials for
reference and self- study are not available. There is a library at school but there are not
many books for reference. English newspapers and magazines, which are good sources of
current target language, are not available. Moreover, some facilities needed for learning
18
such as computers, projectors … are not enough. There are no language labs and library
Internet for students, too.
In school year 2007- 2008, the students at Yendinh 1 high school had to take part in two
syllabus: the old one was for Grade 12, and the new one was for Grade 10 and Grade 11.
The old was acquainted and easy for students because it had been applied in teaching and
learning for over 10 years and its requirement for students was lower than the new. The
new was designed following communicative approach. It required students not only expert
in doing grammar exercises but also in practicing multi- skills.