iii
ABSTRACTS

This study was aimed at investigating de-motivating factors in learning English
of the students at Ly Thai To High School in Bac Ninh, the degree of influence of
different de-motives on them and their experiences in overcoming de-motivation in
learning English. The sample of study consisted of 100 students at Ly Thai To High
School in Bac Ninh and the instrument of the study was a questionnaire on finding
their foreign language learning experiences. These findings indicated that their de-
motivation in learning English was a significant issue for EFL learning, and a
framework for discussing the different sources of de-motives was developed. While
some categories of de-motives occurred more frequent than others, no category
appeared to be more or less difficult to overcome. Rather these, students’ awareness of
the role of English language and their determination to succeed were critical factors in
overcoming their de-motivation in learning English. iv

Chapter 1: Literature review
1.1. Second language acquisition
1.1.1. What is “second language acquisition?”
1.1.2. What are the goals of SLA?
1.2. Theoretical background of motivation
1.2.1. Conceptions of motivation
1.2.2. Motivation in foreign language learning
1.3. Theoretical background of de-motivation
1.3.1. Conceptions of de-motivation
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5
6
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7
12
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v
1.3.2. De-motivating factors affecting students’ motivation in learning
foreign languages
1.3.2.1. Factors related to students
1.3.2.2. Factors related to environment
1.3.2.3. Factors related to teachers
1.3.2.4. Teaching and learning conditions
1.4. Study of de-motivation
1.5. Summary
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3. Limitations and further study

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References

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Appendix
I

vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

SLA: Second Language Acquisition
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
FL: Foreign Language
L1: First Language
L2: Second Language
NNS: Non-Native Speaking
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
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, 1986a, 1986b). However, as important as motivation is, it is clearly not the
only factor related to L2 and FL learning. This has become particularly apparent in a
world where intercultural communication and foreign language learning have become
an increasingly necessity for many people.
As English has become more and more important as an international language in
most countries around the world, large numbers of students are being required to learn
it through compulsory programs at schools and universities. Yet, despite its apparent
utility as a lingua franca or a world language (Brutt-Grifler, 2002), and the fact that
students must pass final examinations, many students have failed to learn it
successfully. This situation also applies to the students in the countries where learning
foreign languages is compulsory, but where the drop out rates in courses, once
compulsion ends, are very large, in some cases being so significant that the viability of
teaching some of these languages is undermined. In the countries like the United States
and Australia (Hornberger, 2005), students literally drop out of foreign language study,
while in the countries like China, Japan and Vietnam students either mentally withdraw
or look for strategies to pass the required exams with a minimum of effort. Are these 2
examples of resistance to language learning (Canagarajah, 1999), a lack of motivation,
or might some other factors be involved, particularly as a part of language teaching and
learning process? Based on our own experience, we supposed that de-motivation is the
factor that accounts for some of these problems, but it has not been adequately
investigated. Thus, this study is the first step in defining and testing the impact of this
construct in a specific context. As a starting point for investigating this question, and as
a way of trying to define what this concept might consist of, we have chosen to do an

3. Research questions.
Question 1: What are the external factors that cause a negative impact on students’
motivation to learn English?
Question 2: What are the internal factors that cause a negative impact on students’
motivation to learn English?
Question 3: What solutions can help students to overcome their de-motivation?

4. Scope of the study.
In terms of scope of the study, I investigated 100 students in grade 12 about the
factors which de-motivated them to learn English and solutions that can help them to
overcome their de-motivation (by asking them to answer the questionnaire).

5. Methodology.
The method applied in this study is both quantitative and qualitative. The data
which this study drew on come from questionnaire (closed-items and open-items) of
100 students who are in grade 12 at Ly Thai To High School in Bac Ninh.
4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is concerned with the definitions of second language acquisition,
theoretical background of motivation, de-motivation, de-motivating factors affecting
motivation in learning foreign language and some previous studies of de-motivation.

1.1 Second language acquisition:
1.1.1 What is “second language acquisition”?
“Language acquisition is one of the most impressive and fascinating aspects of

language and the attitudes that they develop towards it. For example, it is one thing to
learn a language when you respect and are respected by native speakers of that
language. It is entirely different when you experience hostility from native speakers or
when you wish to distance yourself from them.
Another external factor is the input that learners receive, that is, the samples of
language to which a learner is exposed. Language learning cannot occur without some
input. A question of considerable interest is what type of input facilitates learning. For
example, do learners benefit more from input that has been simplified for them or from
the authentic language of native-speaker communication?
L2 acquisition can be explained in part of these external factors but we also
need to consider internal factors. Learners possess cognitive mechanisms which enable
them to extract information about the L2 from the input to notice, for example, that
plurality in English is conveyed by adding an –s to a noun or that the relative pronouns
“who” and “which” substitute respectively for human and non-human nouns.
L2 learners bring an enormous amount of knowledge to the task of learning an
L2. For a start, they have already learned a language (their mother tongue) and we can
expect them to draw on this when they learn an L2. They also possess general 6
knowledge about the world which they can draw on to help them understand L2 input.
Finally, learners possess communication strategies that can help them to make effective
use of their L2 knowledge. For example, even if they have not learned the word “art
gallery” they may be able to communicate the idea of it by inventing their own term
(for example, “picture place”).
A final set of internal factors explain why learners vary in the rate they learn an
L2 and how successful they ultimately are. For example, it has been suggested that
people vary in their language aptitude (i.e. their natural disposition for learning an L2),
some finding it easier than others.
The goals of SLA, then, are to describe how L2 acquisition proceeds and to

“WHY”.
1.2.2 Motivation in foreign language learning
In recent years, motivation has become a familiar term in second language
learning. Motivation in foreign language learning has been defined in different ways.
According to Dornyei, 1988, motivation refers to the efforts learners make to
learn a foreign language. Motivation is one of the keys that influence the rate and
success of language learning.
Park (2002:2) believes that motivation is shaped as “… sets of belief about
language learning, the target culture, their culture, the teacher, the learning tasks, etc.”
Holt (2001:1), referring to Cookes and Schmidt (1991), defines motivation as
“… the learner’s orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language”.
Motivation in this context can be understood as one relating to attitude and vice
versa with both having an influence on learning and acquisition. Gardner (1985) as
cited in Dornyei, (2001), assumed that motivation involved desire to learn a language,
intensity of effort to achieve this, and attitudes toward learning the language. 8
According to the framework by Dornyei (1994), motivation consists of 3 main
levels which are language level, learner level and learning situation level.
Language level refers to integrative motivational subsystem and instrumental
motivational subsystem.
Learner level depends on need for achievement, self-confidence which is
language use anxiety, perceived L2 competence, casual attributions and self-efficacy.
Learning situation level refers to course specific motivational components, teacher
specific motivational components and group specific motivational components.
Below is Dornyei’s (1994) framework of L2 motivation.

Table 1: Dornyei’s (1994) framework of L2 motivation (Adapted from Dornyei, 2001)


Group cohesion
Classroom goal structure

Another comprehensive attempt to summarize the motivational components that
are relevant to L2 instruction has been made by Marion and Bob Burden (1997) as a
part of a larger overview of psychology for language teachers. The motivational
components summarized consist of internal factors and external factors. The
components of these factors are displayed in the framework below.

Table 2: William and Burden’s (1997) framework of L2 motivation
(Adapted from Dornyei, 2001)

Internal factors
External factors
Intrinsic interest of activity
- arousal of curiosity
- optimal degree of challenge
Significant others
- parents
- teachers
- peers
Perceived value of activity
- Personal relevance
- Anticipated value of outcome
The nature of interaction with significant
others
- mediated learning experiences 10

- realistic awareness of personal
strengths and weaknesses in skills
required
- personal definitions and judgments
of success and failure
- self-worth concern
- learned helplessness

Attitudes
11
- to language learning in general
- to the target language
- to the target community and culture
Other affective states
- confidence
- anxiety, fear
Developmental age and stage
Gender

In conclusion, motivation is one variable, which, combined with other factors,
influences a learner’s success.

1.3 Theoretical background of de-motivation:
1.3.1 Conceptions of de-motivation:
Dornyei (2005:143) defined de-motivation as “specific external forces that
reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing
action”.

Aptitude refers to the special ability involved in second language learning
(Douglas et al 1995). The relationship between aptitude and second language learning
success is a very important one and various studies, such as Gardner (1980) and
Skehan (1989) have reported that aptitude is a major factor determining the level of
success of second language learning (Douglous et al 1995). Students can have a “good
aptitude for learning”. This can infer various things, such as:
- The understanding of the function of words in sentences.
- The ability to understand and use grammatical rules.
- Memory of key words, what they mean and how to use them. 13
An important point regarding aptitude and second language learning is that
successful learners may not be strong in all the components of aptitude and can still
succeed at learning a second language. For example, some individuals may have strong
memories but only average abilities in the other components of aptitude (Spada 1999).
c. Personality
Learners’ emotional states have a powerful influence on their behavior and
performance in the classroom and other learning situations. There are various theories
that claim that personality factors are important predictors of success in second
language learning. Personality traits such as extroversion, risk-taking, independence
and empathy have been the basis of discussion and disputes relating to this topic (Ellis
1986).
d. Learning strategies
As in all school topics, learning strategies are a factor of second language
learning. One definition of learning strategies is: “Steps or actions taken by learners to
improve the development of their language skills” (Gass at al 1993: 265). Different
learning strategies work best for different people when learning a second language. For
example, one student may learn vocabulary through writing and practicing the
vocabulary using cue cards, whereas another student may only read the vocabulary and

to learners’ motivation.
1.3.2.3 Factors related to teachers
Based on Dornyei (2001), teachers’ factors and appropriate teacher behaviors
are mentioned as follows:
a. Enthusiasm
An American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi conducted a survey into
the question “Who have been your most influential teachers?” He then addressed in a
thought-provoking (1997) that it was the enthusiastic ones. It is teachers’ love; 15
dedication and passion together will commitment toward the subject matter that instills
in students a willingness to pursue knowledge.
Also, teachers should clearly identify their reasons for loving and being
interested in the subject matter or L2, and then share these reasons with their students
(Good & Brophy, 1994).
b. Commitment to the students’ progress
Teachers should show commitment towards their students’ learning and
progress, at the same time they should care for what their students have learnt and
succeeded (Dornyei, 2001).
In order to express commitment towards the students, teachers should:
- offer concrete assistance
- offer to meet students individually to explain things
- respond immediately when help is requested
- correct tests and papers promptly
- send learners copies of relevant interesting articles
- arrange extra-curricular instructional programs
- encourage extra-assignments and offer to assist with these
- Show concern when things are not going on
- Allow students to call at home when they have a problem

+ Send notes to absent students …
1.3.2.4 Teaching and learning conditions
a. Physical conditions
Physical conditions in the classroom refer to the classroom size, chairs, desks,
tables, boards and even bulletin boards. Jeremy Harmer (1992) confirmed that such
physical condition had great impact on students’ learning as well as their attitude
towards the subject matter. These affect students’ motivation either positively or
negatively. 17
L2 teachers should be reminded that the classroom is not only a psychological
but & physical environment. The decoration: posters, flowers, funny objects influence
strongly the atmosphere. More importantly, teachers should create the ownership of the
class among students. He stated “Personalizing the classroom can be seen as students
exercising increasing control over their environment” (Dornyei, 2001:42).
b. A pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom
Language learning is considered one of the most face-threatening school
subjects. Language anxiety has been found to be a powerful factor that hinders L2
learning achievement (Maclntyre, Young, 1999). Thus, it is the teacher’s task to create
a pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere.
A number of various components contribute to make up the ideal classroom
climate such as the teacher’s rapport with the students, the students’ relationship with
each other and the norm of tolerance; which helps students feel safe and comfortable
taking risks. It is very important to make students that mistakes are a natural part of
learning, and to ensure that they will not be criticized if they make mistakes.
Moreover, humor is a very potent factor to improve the classroom atmosphere.
The use of humor helps students feel at ease without tension in the air. Scheidecker and
Freeman (1991:138) had a summary on the essence of the ideal classroom climate:
“When one watches students enter such a classroom, one classroom, one gets an

so-called de-motives really suffer from them?
To examine the degree to which teachers’ perceptions of what affects student
motivation were similar to those found in student reports, Gorham and Millette (1997)
conducted a further study based on Gorham’s previous research in which teacher
participants were asked, with reference a specific class, to respond to the open-ended
question, “What do you perceive decreases students’ motivation to try to do their best
in this class and to achieve your instructional goals?” The results indicated that
teachers and students agreed on a set of central factors that are relevant to de-19
motivation. The high frequency categories were similar across both data sets and the
order of frequency of mention of de-motives was more similar than different across all
categories in the data, which gave the researchers reasonable confidence to conclude
that the set of de-motives identified provided a viable description of classroom
motivational dynamics. Despite these similarities, teachers were more likely to
attribute student de-motivation to performance-related factors such as the students’
lack of success on graded work, the students’ lack of prerequisite skills or knowledge
and the students’ heavy workload. In contrast, students attributed more of their de-
motivation to teacher behavior, in particular poor presentational skills, lack of
enthusiasm on the part of the instructor, and to the instructor’s overall choice and
organization of course material.
In the area of L2 classroom learning, student de-motivation has not been the
topic of much research with Chambers (1993), who examined the problem using
questionnaires to gather both student and teacher perspectives, providing the only
evidence, that is, his research is the only study that was fully devoted to de-motivation
in L2 learning completed so far. In contrast to the findings of the Gorham and
Millette’s study (1997), the reasons underlying student de-motivation were perceived
quite differently by the teachers and their students. Teachers perceived the causes of
de-motivation to be related to psychological, attitudinal, social, historical and

Ushioda provided only a very general description of her de-motivation results as they
formed only a part of a broader discussion on effective motivational thinking.
Finally, while it is not difficult for the students who are involved with, and quite
interested in, language learning to point out things that may be classified as de-motives,
it is also the case that being able to name such de-motivating factors does not provide
any insights on the possible effects that de-motives may have on different students.
Dornyei (1998) addressed this issue by hypothesizing that only de-motivated students,