VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
ĐINH THÙY LINH

IMPROVING 11TH GRADE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN
ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS AT VIETNAM – POLAND
HIGH SCHOOL BY USING COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES

(Cải thiện động cơ học trong giờ nói Tiếng Anh của học sinh lớp 11
Trường THPT Việt Nam – Ba Lan thông qua việc
sử dụng các hoạt động giao tiếp)
M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field:
Code:
English Teaching Methodology
60.14.10
HANOI - 2011
ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS v
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 2
3. Significance of the study 3

2. Causes of students’ lack of motivation in English speaking lessons 28
3. Action Research procedure 30
3.1. Action Plan 30
3.2. Implementation 31
3.3. Discussion of the lessons’ effectiveness 32
3.4. Reporting results 37
PART III: CONCLUSION 38
1. Major findings 38
2. Implications 39
3. Limitations of the study 39
4. Suggestions for further researches 39
5. Recommendations and suggestions 40
REFERENCES 41
APPENDICES I
Appendix 1: Questionnaires I
Appendix 2: Class observations XIII
Appendix 3: Lesson plans XVII v

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
Table Table 1: Students’ time of speaking


36
1

PART I: INTRODUCTION
This initial part states the problem and the rationale of the study, together with the
aims, objectives, the scope of the study, and the design of the rest of the paper. Above all,
it is in this part that the research questions are identified to work as clear guidelines for the
whole research.
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study
In the era of global integration, when the ability to use English as means of
communication has become so important, a really big concern of scholars, researchers,
educators and learners all over the world is how to improve the quality of English teaching
and learning. In this context, Vietnam – Poland high school (Viet Ba high school) is
putting the focus on enhancing the effectiveness of speaking lessons. The reason is many
students have voiced their worries about the slow improvements in their speaking ability.
Although they really like English, speaking skill is one of their most difficult ones to learn.
They face with so many obstacles (lack of motivation, vocabulary, activeness, enjoyment,
etc.,) when making presentation or expressing their ideas. Therefore, “What should they do
to speak English accurately and fluently?” is the question that all students would like to
answer.
Besides, most of teachers have been frustrated at their failure in helping the
students communicate better in English. As a teacher of Vietnam – Poland high school,
from my observation and my own teaching experience, the researcher realizes that during
speaking lesson classroom interaction is restricted. Only some students get involve in the
activities conducted by the teacher while others keep silence or do other things. Thus, one
of the challenges to the teacher is to find out the answer to the question “Why don’t many
students of English get involved actively in speaking lesson?”.
There is a saying: “You can bring a horse to water, but you can not make him
drink” refers to the reality that the effectiveness of a lesson depends at least as much as on
the learners as on the teachers. This is confirmed by the statement: “In language teaching,

motivation at Vietnam – Poland high school in the English speaking lessons. The factors
de-motivating 11
th
grade students in English speaking activities were also taken into
investigation. Then the study was expected to work out motivational techniques to increase
students’ motivation level and test the effectiveness of the communicative activities in the
form of an action research. In brief, these objectives could be summarized into three
research questions as follow:
1. How motivated are the 11
th
grade students in speaking lessons at Vietnam –
Poland high school?
2. What are major causes leading to these students’ lack of motivation in learning
speaking?
3. How effective are communicative activities in motivating students to learn the
speaking skill?
3

3. Significance of the study
Once having been completed, the research would serve as one of the initial studies
on students’ motivation at Viet – Ba high school in speaking skill. It is expected to have
several contributions to not only research but also teaching and learning in speaking
English as a foreign language. Firstly, the research gives 11
th
grade students’ level of
motivation in English speaking lesson at Vietnam – Poland high school. As a result, the
study enables students to raise students’ awareness in improving their speaking skill.
Secondly, it also proves the students’ difficulties and teachers’ drawbacks in teaching
spoken periods. In other words, the research pointed out students’ de - motivating factors
in speaking class. Then the research provides teachers with some techniques for raising the

lessons; Motivation and English speaking learning; Previous studies of motivation in
foreign language learning and speaking skill and communicative activities.
Chapter 2: Methodology presents the methodology performed in the study,
including the background information of the subjects of the study; the instruments used to
collect data, and the procedures of data collection. Along with this, the teaching and
learning English at Vietnam – Poland high school is described. Also, the study – its setting
and methodology are displayed in this chapter.
Chapter 3: Results and discussion presents analyses and discusses the findings
that the researcher found out from the data collected according to the three research
questions. The chapter also reflects a detailed description of data analysis which is shown
based on the survey questionaires and class observation. Some explanations, interpretations
and discussion of the findings of the study are explored in this. In addition, action research
procedure was presented in the chapter.
Part III: Conclusion is the conclusion of the study, summarizing the findings;
providing some implications, the limitation of the research, recommendations how to
motivate students in English speaking lessons. Some suggestions for further research are
also discussed in this chapter.
5

PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviews the theories related to motivation in speaking lessons. It also
reviews current researches on motivations in foreign language in general and in speaking
skill in particular that have been conducted so far. All of these serve as a basis for an
investigation into students’ motivation in English speaking lessons and solutions for their
troubles.
1. Theoretical background of motivation
1.1. What is meant by motivation?
Motivation in Gardner’s point of view (1985) is a key factor in determining the
preparation of learners to communicate. Motivation refers to the combination of effort and

researchers but this research only mention to the main ones.
In the literature on motivation, the concept has been classified in different ways.
The most well-known classification of motivation has been made in cognitive terms as
whether it is internal or external to the learner. In this respect, intrinsic motivation is to do
with “behaviour performed for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and
satisfaction” (Dörnyei, 2001, p.27) while extrinsic motivation is about “performing a
behaviour as a means to an end, that is, to receive some extrinsic reward or to avoid
punishment” (Dörnyei, 2001, p.27). A learner can be seen as intrinsically motivated when
he or she is boosted from within: Intrinsically motivated learner dynamically engage
themselves in learning out of curiosity, interest or enjoyment or so as to reach their own
intellectual and personal goals. To the learner who can be regarded as extrinsically
motivated when he or she keens on learning “purely for the sake of attaining a reward or
for avoiding some punishment” (Dev, 1997). In other words, intrinsically motivated people
accomplish a task for an internal interest whereas extrinsically motivated people perform
an activity because of an interest external to the activity.
1.3. The importance of motivation in foreign language learning
Success or failure in language learning largely depends on the learners’ motivation
to learn the target language. Up to now, many researchers have studied the role of
motivation in the learning process and most of the findings share the view that positive
attitude has close relationship with motivation in mastering foreign language. Gardner
(1985) emphasized that on motivation constructed the primary factor to influence students
on English learning. He believed that motivation for language learning cannot only include
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goal orientation but the combination of effort, desire to achieve the goal of learning the
language and the favourable attitudes toward learning the language.
Motivation for learning a second or foreign language is defined as the learner’s
orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language (Crookes & Schmidt,
1991)
Finegan (1999: 568) sees the vital role of integrative motivation in L2 learning

memorize new sounds, to understand the function of particular words in sentences, to
figure out grammatical rules from language samples. The third one is personality which
covers a number of personally characteristics such as extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem,
empathy, dominance, talkativeness and responsiveness. Learners' preferences are another
thing that affects learners’ motivation when describing the learning style. It can be seen
that learners have their own preferences in acquiring new knowledge. What learners
believe in the way to learn the language can have influence on learners’ motivation. Age of
acquisition is also influencing motivational element. Children are believed to be better than
adults in acquiring a foreign language and in speaking the new language.
1.4.2.

The teachers
With motivation being as important as a factor in learning success as argued above,
teacher skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness.
Teacher’s role in shaping pupils’ motivation is just as complex as that of the parents. This
is because teachers also act as key figures or authorities, who affect the motivational
quality of the learning process by providing mentoring, guidance, nurturance, support and
limit setting.
1.4.3.

The teaching and learning conditions
 Physical conditions: Physical conditions in the classroom, including the classroom
size, chairs, desks, tables, lights, boards and even bulletin boards, affect pupils'
motivation either positively or negatively. In addition, the L2 teachers should notice
that the classroom is not only a psychological but also physical environment.
Posters, flowers, funny objects can have a strong influence on the classroom
atmosphere.
 Classroom atmosphere: 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

other words, learners are able to make excellent performance when they feel really
self – confident. The important question, then, is how to maintain and increase the
students’ self – confidence and self – esteem in the language classroom, which is
inherently face – threatening for the learner (Dornyei, 2001: 130). Dornyei also
emphasized that language teachers can foster students the belief that enables them
to avoid worrying about language competence. Favourable self – conception of
foreign language competence can be promoted by providing regular experiences of
success and emphasizing what students can do more than can not do.
 Promote self – motivating learner strategies: Most of the discussion so far has
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concentrated on the teacher’s responsibility and role in stimulating student
motivation. It has been observed, however, that even under adverse conditions and
without any teacher assistance, some learners are more successful in keeping up
their goal commitment than some others. Therefore, an important role of teachers is
to raise their students’ awareness of relevant strategies and to remind them at
appropriate times of the usefulness of these.
 Make the curriculum relevant for the learners: Students have high motivation in
foreign language learning only when their materials are useful and practical.
Therefore, the duty of the curriculum designers is to find out their students’ goals
and the topic they want to learn and build these into their curriculum as much as
possible to make their curriculum desirable and valuable. On the significance of
“relevance” in foreign language teaching Chamber believed “If the teacher is to
motivate pupils to learn, then relevance can be the red thread permeating activities.
If pupils fail to see the relationship between the activities and the world in which
they live, then the point of the activity is likely to be lost on them. If pupils do not
see the relevance of a subject, the teacher has from the outset a major challenge”
(Chamber, 1999: 37).
 Use visual aids in learning: When teachers come to class with the preparation of
visual aids for his/ her lectures, most of students will feel motivated enough to

on increasing students’ motivation.
2. Overview of speaking
2.1. Conceptions of speaking
Speaking plays an important role among the four language skills (reading, listening,
writing and speaking) since it helps to identify who knows or does not know a language.
Pattison (1992) points out that when people mention knowing or learning a language, they
mean being able to speak the language.
There are a variety of definitions for the term “speaking”. However, in this study,
the researcher chose the one given by Bygate. In a social context, social roles are likely to
be taken by those who learn and know how to speak, but not by those who do not have this
skill. There is no doubt that speaking deserves as much attention as or even more attention
than written skill. In order to carry out many of the most basic transactions, it is necessary
for learners to speak with confidence. Therefore, Bygate (1987) is reasonable when he
argues that "speaking is a skill which deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skills,
in both first and second language". Our learners often need to be able to speak with
confidence in order to carry out many of their most basic transactions. It is the skill by
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which they are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends.
It is the vehicle of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of
business. It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and is particularly
conducive for learning. Therefore, it is useful for learners to possess a good speaking skill
in foreign language.
In brief, Bygate’s definition seems to be the most suitable for the researcher’s view
point on speaking.
2.2. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity
Classroom activities that develop learners’ ability to express themselves through
speech are important components of a language course. However, it is difficult to design
and administer such activities. In order to be successful in organizing speaking activities it
is essential to identify the characteristics of a good speaking activity.

into four stages. They are the presentation stage, the practice stage and the production
stage. Harmer (1983: 50) in “The practice of English Language Teaching” mentions three
stages during this process: introducing new language, practice and communicative
activities. Matthews et.al. (1985:17) in “At the Chalkface” argues that the process of
teaching spoken language include three stages. They are the presentation stage, the practice
stage and the production stage.
From these authors’ ideas, it is seen that teaching spoken language should be
divided into three stages. They are: the presentation stage, the practice stage and the
production stage. Each stage has its own purpose and relevant activities. An overview on
these stages is introduced below:
 The presentation stage aims to give students the opportunity to realize the
usefulness and relevance of a new language item. In this stage, students have to
concentrate not only on the meaning but also on the pronunciation, stress,
intonation and spelling of the new language item. Besides, grammar is paid
attention to. Students are passively receivers, they are only asked to practice (role –
play) and dramatize a dialogue or to talk about what they have to learn from a prose
based on the previous answers at the end of this phase. The teacher’s role in this
stage is to introduce to students the new knowledge, such as new words, new
grammatical structures. In other words, he plays the role of an informant.
 The purpose of the practice stage is to give students “the opportunity to use the
newly presented language in a controlled framework so as to allow them to
memorize its form and assimilate its meaning more fully” (Matthews et.al. 1991:
8). In addition, it aims at making students more confident in using new language. In
the controlled practice, the teacher acts as a conductor who conducts what the
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learners should do and which kind of language they are expected to produce. In the
guided practice, the teacher is only the one who suggests situations, and sometimes
corrects the learners’ mistakes. The learners here are freer to work, discuss with
their partners and to produce utterances prompted by visual or written cues. At the

success or failure in speaking process.
4. Communicative activities
Communicative activities include any activities that encourage and require a learner
to speak with and listen to other learners, as well as with people in the program and
community. Communicative activities have real purpose: to find out information, to break
down barriers, talk about self and learn about culture.
A variety of communicative activities can be used to develop speaking skills.
Below are some of the common ones.
Role-play
Role-play is an activity that the class is usually divided into pairs or groups. These
pairs or groups are given situations and roles to act out and explore. This acting is done for
the sake of the language and imaginative activity, not for exhibition. The various groups,
therefore, are activated simultaneously. Role-plays are simple to plan and easy to play and,
along with games and other communicative activities, are recommended to be used in the
English speaking classes.
Information Gap Activity (IGA)
IGA is one of the easiest and most interesting forms of communicative activity in
the speaking class. In order to get the most proficiency, the teacher can divide the class into
pairs or groups. In each pair or each group, one acts as the asker, the other the answerer, let
them discuss for a few minutes and they change the role.
IGA may take three forms: (1) One student has some information and the other has
to find it by asking questions; (2) One student has some information and tells it to the other
student; (3) Both students have different information and they tell each other.
Discussions
After a content-based lesson, a discussion can be held for various reasons. The
students may aim to arrive at a conclusion, share ideas about an event, or find solutions in
their discussion groups. Before the discussion, it is essential that the purpose of the
discussion activity is set by the teacher. In this way, the discussion points are relevant to
this purpose, so that students do not spend their time chatting with each other about
irrelevant things.

to the passage, not to the language. They acquire language unconsciously, with their whole
attention engaged by the activity, in much the same way as they acquire their mother
tongue. Games can be played at the opening stages of the lessons or at the production
phase or whenever learners feel tired after long time of learning, they will draw more
17

attention to the lesson with lower stress.
Communicative activities allow students to practice using all of the language they
know in situations that resemble real settings. In these activities, students must work
together to develop a plan, resolve a problem, or complete a task.
In general, through well-prepared communicative output activities, we can
encourage students to experiment and innovate with the language, and create a supportive
atmosphere that allows them to make mistakes without fear of embarrassment. This will
contribute to their self-confidence as speakers and to their motivation to learn more.
5. Previous studies in motivation in foreign language learning and
speaking skill
The impact of motivation in foreign language learning has been recognized
significantly by many educational researchers.
Gardner (1985), Dornyei (2001), Brown (1994) etc., have generated the concept of
motivation, its effects in foreign language learning and applicable strategies for improving
learners’ motivation in class. In the light of their researches, teachers are able to answer the
question how to motivate learners for success and their findings encourage or support
educational researchers to do more research in different aspects of language teaching.
Everybody needs to have motivation and a reason for the action. Second and
foreign language learners should be offered the opportunity to be motivated and fulfill their
learning orientations. Thus, Sulaiman Hasan H. Qashoa (2006) carried out a research
“Motivation among learners of English in the secondary Schools in the Eastern Coast of
the 99UAE”. One hundred students participated in completing a questionnaire reflecting
their orientations for learning English and what affects negatively their English learning
motivation. The data revealed that the UAE students have a higher degree of

and enough chance for students to speak, varying speaking activities and encouraging
them to “show off”. Based on three methods mentioned above, she has achieved her goal
of motivating speaking in some of her students and in the class. Firstly, her students
participated actively almost in class. They formed an active learning atmosphere.
Secondly, those who had never volunteered made progress and began to participate in
speaking class. In her study, she didn’t use any study instrument to collect the data, her
study seems to be less believable. She got findings and summary only through her own
observation of students’ performance.
In Vietnam, Phan Van Hoa and Le Viet Ha (2009) studied upper secondary school
students’ English learning motivation in Quangnam province. They used a modified 8 –
item survey adapted from Gardener and a 15 – possible de-motivating factor survey are
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administered to 100 upper secondary EFL students in four upper secondary schools in
Quangnam. The researchers use a questionnaire of two parts and interview as the data
collection. The study revealed that the students have positive attitudes towards learning
English and are highly motivated to study it, and that they are more instrumentally
motivated. Moreover, the students’ motivation is more de-motivated by some subject –
related factors rather than by teacher – related ones.
Another study conducted by Hoang Duc Doan (2009) to investigate motivation in
learning English speaking of the second year tourism major students at tourism and foreign
language department at Sao Do College of Industry. The study employed questionnaire,
interview and class observation as main data instruments. The subjects were 67 students
selected at random to take part in the research and 6 teachers who have taught there at least
one year. The findings from the study revealed teaching speaking skills have made great
effort to motivate students in English speaking classes. Furthermore, aptitude and lack of
vocabulary of the students are main de-motivating factors.
Overall, there have been number of studies in motivation in foreign language
learning and English speaking lesson. However, there has been little research into
motivation of students in English speaking lessons at high school. This is the gap that the

own teaching. It is a way of improving actions and reactions in the classroom and outside,
for the benefit of the learners.”
1.2. Key elements of an action research
Action research should be used not only by the researcher but also by students. The
more students were familiar with action research, the more they could further develop into
21

autonomous learners. Warrican (2006, p.2) argued that the core goal of action research was
to create sustainable learning capacities and give participants the option of increasing
control over their own situation.
Nunan (1992, p.19), Nunan (1993, pp.41 - 42) and Bailey, Curtis & Nunam (2001,
p.137) described the process of action research as a series of steps.
Figure 1: Steps in the action research cycle

Step 1: Problem identification. The researcher identified the problems that had
occurred in the classroom from previous experience.
Step 2: Preliminary Investigation. The researcher further investigated students’
feelings towards their problems and consulted other classes about their problems.