VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
   NGUYỄN THỊ XUYẾN MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH AMONG THE
SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS IN FACULTY OF BANKING
AND FINANCE, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF BUSINESS AND
TECHNOLOGY
(Động lực học tiếng Anh của sinh viên năm thứ hai Khoa Tài chính-Ngân
hàng, Trường Đại học Kinh doanh và Công nghệ Hà Nội)
M.A Minor Programme Thesis
60 14 10 Hanoi, September/ 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

List of abbreviation terms……………………………………………………………… vi
List of tables and figures………………………………………………………………….vii
INTRODUCTION 1
1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1
2. AIMS OF THE STUDY 2
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2
4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 3
5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 3
6. DESIGN OF THE STUDY 3
DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4
1.1. Definition of motivation in L2 learning 4
1.2. Classification of motivation in language learning 6
1.2.1. Gardner’s classification…………………………………………………………….6
1.2.2. Deci and Ryan’s classsification………………………………………………… 7
1.3. Factors affecting negatively students’ motivation in L2/foreign language
learning……………………………………………………………………………………… 9
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ….13
2.1. Context of the study 13
2.2. Subjects 14
2.3. Data collection instruments 15
2.4. Data collection procedure 17
2.5. Data analysis…………………………………………………………………………… 18
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 19

v
3.1. Findings 19
3.1.1. Students’ motivation in learning English in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation…………………………………………………………………………………… 19
3.1.1.1. Extrinsic motivation…………………………………………………….19


L2
Second language
EFL
English as a foreign language
HUBT
Hanoi University of Business and Technology
FoBF
Faculty of Banking and Finance
SD
Strongly Disagree
D
Disagree
U
Undecided
A
Agree
SA
Strongly Agree
Table 6:
Teacher- related demotivating factors……………………………………………….
28
Table 7:
Learning environment-related demotivating factors………………………………
29 List of charts

Chart 1
The frequency and distribution of items measuring extrinsic motivation………….
20
Chart 2
The frequency distribution of items measuring intrinsic motivation………………
22
Chart 3
The frequency of demotivating factors by coding categories………………………
25
1
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Background of the study
In the globalization era, English has become more and more important as an
international language; therefore, in many countries all over the world, students are

learning.
Furthermore, as a lecturer of English at HUBT, the researcher herself realizes that
although English is considered one of the most important subjects at HUBT with a lot of
time and effort spent on teaching and learning English, students at HUBT in general and in
FoBF in particular seem not to be successful in learning English. After a great deal of talks
with those students as well as the researcher‟s observation, it seems that one of the reasons
may be related to students‟ motivation in learning English. However, there are not any
researches conducted to investigate into the situation of students‟ motivation in learning
English at HUBT in general and students in FoBF in particular.
All of the above-mentioned reasons have urged the researcher to conduct the
research with the title “Motivation in learning English among the second-year students
in Faculty of Banking and Finance, Hanoi University of Business and Technology.”
2. Aims of the study
This study is conducted in order to investigate into the motivational factors that
urge second-year students in FoBF to learn English as well as to find out whether those
motivational factors are intrinsic or extrinsic. This piece of research moreover is expected
to reveal the main factors that affect negatively the motivation in learning English, and the
order of frequency of these demotivating factors. Finally, basing on the results of the
research, this study will propose some strategies to improve the motivation in learning
English of the second-year students in FoBF in particular and the students at HUBT in
general.
3. Research questions
This study is guided by the following questions:
1. What is Banking and Finance second-year students‟ motivation in learning
English in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
2. What factors affect negatively the motivation in learning English of second-year
students in FoBF?
3. Which demotivating factors are the most frequent as perceived by second-year
students in FoBF?


limitations, and future directions for further study. 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In order to lay a solid foundation for this study, some theoretical background
knowledge as well as the previous studies on motivation in L2 learning and factors
affecting negatively motivation in L2 learning have been reviewed. It is obvious that the
clarification of a definition is the initial step to any investigation; this chapter hence will
firstly present a brief definition of motivation in L2 learning.
1.1. Definition of motivation in L2 learning
Motivation has been perhaps one of the most popular research topics since the
beginning of the 20
th
century, which attracts a lot of attention of researchers both in
psychology and education field. Despite the divergence of the approaches used to study
motivation, its definitions are surprisingly uniform. In simple terms, motivation, based on
the Latin verb for “move”, is understood as the force that makes one do something. It is a
process that involves goals, physical or mental activity, and is both instigated and sustained
(Pintrick & Schunk, 1996, p.4-5). In other words, motivation in general is characterized in
terms of direction, duration, and intensity.
However, the definition of motivation in L2/foreign language learning is less
uniform. Oxford and Shearin (1994) and Do
̈
rnyei (1998a) shared the same view when they
both pointed out that even though motivation is a term frequently used in both educational
and research context, there is little agreement in the literature on the exact definition of
motivation in L2/foreign language learning.
In his education-oriented theory, Keller (1983) defined motivation as “the choices

force arises, initiates action, and persists as long as no other force comes into play to
weaken it and thereby terminate action or until the planned outcome has been reached”
(Drnyei, 1998, p.118).
In brief, each approach to motivation reflects a different perspective from which
L2/foreign language learning motivation is conceptualized. There are differences in the
way different researchers define motivation because they study motivation from the
perspectives of different languages in different contexts, with different subjects and
different learning conditions. However, from whatever angle the researchers look at the
concept of motivation in L2/foreign language learning, most of them have identified three
crucial components of motivation: (1) the conscious decision directed to the goal of

6
learning a language, (2) the effort expanded to achieve that goal, and (3) the sustenance of
that goal/effort.
1.2. Classification of motivation in language learning
Different researchers describe different reasons/motives why people learn a
language following different theories; thus, there exists different ways to classify
motivation in language learning. In this paper, the researcher would like to review only two
ways of classification of motivation in language learning of some famous researchers,
namely Gardner, and Deci and Ryan since their theories of motivation are considered the
most fundamental and influential in the field of motivational psychology and education.
1.2.1. Gardner’s classification
By the early 1990s, Gardner‟s motivation theory and framework dominated the
field. Motivation, as defined by Gardner, is a composite construct of goal, desire to attain
the goal, effortful behavior, and favorable attitudes towards the activity involved in
achieving the goal (Gardner, 1985, p.50). He proposed that motivation could have different
orientations, mainly integrative orientation and instrumental orientation.
Integrative motivation or integrativeness refers to positive attitudes towards the
target language group, and willingness to learn an L2 in order to learn about, interact with
or become closer with the L2 community. Instrumental motivation on the other hand is

distinguish integrative motivation from instrumental one.
1.2.2. Deci and Ryan’s classification
Deci and Ryan‟s (1985) theory of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation and self-
determination is one of the most influential theories in mainstream motivational
psychology (Drnyei, 2001, p.58). The theory distinguishes between two main kinds of
motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation deals with individual‟s motivation
to perform a particular activity for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and
satisfaction, such as the joy of doing a particular activity or satisfying one‟s curiosity.
Extrinsically motivated individual, on the other hand, perform a specific activity to achieve
some instrumental end such as earning a reward (e.g. good grades) or avoiding punishment
(Drnyei, 2001, p.27).
Although intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are typically considered uni-
dimensional constructs, Vallerand (1997) has divided intrinsic motivation into three sub-
types and extrinsic motivation into four sub-types.

8
Intrinsic motivation is subdivided into intrinsic motivation to know, intrinsic
motivation toward achievements, and intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation
(Drnyei, 2001, p.28). Intrinsic motivation to know refers to motivation for “engaging in
an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction of understanding something new, satisfying
one‟s curiosity and exploring the world” (Drnyei, 2001, p.28). Intrinsic motivation
towards achievements is the feeling of satisfaction associated with attempting to surpass
oneself, to cope with challenges and to accomplish or to create something. In other words,
this subtype of intrinsic motivation refers to the effort to realize a goal or master a task.
Intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation refers to motivation to engaging in an
activity to experience pleasant sensations stimulated by the activity itself (Drnyei, 2001).
Extrinsic motivation is divided into four subtypes, namely external regulation,
introjected regulation, identified regulation, and integrated regulation.
External regulation, according to Drnyei (2001), refers to “the least self-
determined form of extrinsic motivation, coming entirely from external sources such as

While integrative and instrumental motivation is difficult to separate, intrinsic and
extrinsic factors, according to Brown (2000), can be easily identified in foreign language
classrooms regardless of the differences between the cultural beliefs and the attitudes of
learners and teachers. About the relationship between intrinsic-extrinsic motivation and
integrative-instrumental motivation, Schmidt et al. (1996) concluded that intrinsic-extrinsic
distinction is similar to integrative-instrumental distinction but not identical. Both
instrumental and integrative motivation can be seen as subtypes of extrinsic motivation
because both are related to goals or outcomes. They also stated that integrative and
instrumental motivation is not a dichotomy, and that there are some learners who are both
instrumentally and integratively motivated to learn a foreign language and those who are
neither instrumentally or integratively motivated.
1.3. Factors affecting negatively students’ motivation in L2/foreign
language learning
Within L2/foreign language learning motivation research, there is a tendency to
conceive motivation as a kind of a cumulative force whose strength ranges “… on a
continuum from zero to strong” (Drnyei, 2001, p.141). However, teachers‟ and students‟
experiences suggest that certain negative influences, or demotives can also have a
significant effect on motivation. Drnyei (2001) defined demotives as “specific external
forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an
ongoing action” (p.43) Demotivation is also considered a shared feature of most L2/foreign

10
language learning where the language studied is a required school subject. As Chamber
(1983) stated, many L2/foreign language teachers may be familiar with some student who,
“….makes no effort to learn, shows no interest, demonstrates poor concentration, produces
little or no homework, fails to bring materials to lessons, claims to have lost materials;
doesn‟t respond well to extra help; lacks a belief in own capabilities; demonstrates
lethargy, „what‟s the use?‟ syndrome, and gives negative or nil response to praise; is
unwilling to cooperate, distracts other pupils,…” (as cited in Drnyei, 2001, p.147)
Despite the popularity of demotivation phenomenon in L2/foreign language

big or not on the right level, or teachers changing too frequently. Negative attitude towards
the L2 is the fourth source of demotivation, followed by the compulsory nature of the L2
study, which means, for instance, feeling compelled to choose English over another
language because of its utility and popularity. Interfere of another foreign language being
studied comes sixth. This demotivating source could be easily seen in mixing up two
languages. Negative attitude towards L2 community is the seventh source of demotivation.
For example, some students participating in Do
̈
rnyei‟s (1998b) study stated that they found
American culture with its best-known aspects such as McDonalds and films unattractive.
The eighth source of demotivation is attitudes of group members. For instance, a student
always feels embarrassed because s/he thinks the group members laugh at him/her because
of his/her poor English skills. The last source of demotivation study is the course book.
(see Drnyei, 2001, p.152-153).
The strength of Do
̈
rnyei‟s 1998b study lies in his focused approach to studying
demotivation. To be more clearly, his study focuses on students who are identified as
demotivated ones, which offers detailed and comprehensive insights into the source of
demotivation since these learners have presumably given them many thoughts. However,
the variety of demotivating factors might be wider if students that are not specifically
demotivated are not excluded from the study because in fact, every learner has some
experience of feeling demotivated during the process of L2 learning.
In Vietnam, Tran and Baldauf (2007) conducted a research on demotivation in
English language learning using stimulated recall essays from 100 university students of
their foreign language learning experiences. The study offered a framework of
demotivation (See Appendix 3).
Tran and Baldauf‟s (2007) study revealed that the phenomenon of demotivation not
only exists in EFL learning in Vietnam but is also a serious problem. The findings of this
study seem to be consistent with the general results reported in previous studies when it


13
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the context and the subject of the study, the data collection
instruments, the data collection procedure, and the data analysis procedure will be
presented.
2.1. Context of the study
This study is conducted at Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT),
a private university in Hoang Mai District, Hanoi, Vietnam. HUBT is rather famous for
providing good training in two main fields: business and technology. Business involves
several different majors such as Banking and Finance, Accounting, Business
Administration and Commerce. Of all, Banking and Finance is considered the most
popular major of HUBT with the greatest number of students studying in this faculty.
Every year there are approximately 1,000 new students enrolling in FoBF; this faculty
hence receives a lot of attention of the university.
At HUBT, English is considered an extremely important subject to all students
regardless the majors they are learning; the students hence have to study English during
three and a half years at HUBT and complete 72 credits of English (equivalent with 1080
periods) before allowed to take the Graduation examination by the end of the fourth year.
In addition, HUBT always looks for new ways to improve the quality of teaching and
learning English. Hence, in the school year 2010-2011, HUBT plans to pilot a new English
course called DynEd with the freshmen (K15) and the sophomore (K14) in FoBF. DynEd
is an English-learning software that allows students to learn English online so that they can
practice their English more at home, and teachers can easily manage their study records via

Initially all 900 students (equivalent with 30 classes) who are studying the second
year in FoBF at HUBT were invited to participate in this study. Of which, 238 students are
males (26.5%) and the rest 662 students are females (73.5%). All of those students were
born in 1990 or 1991. They come from different parts of Vietnam (from rural/mountainous
areas to big cities). That explains why they have experienced different methods of
instructions and achieved different levels of English proficiency. However, all of them are
supposed to be at Pre-intermediate level of proficiency. Those students have studied
English for at least eight years, and have finished the first year of studying business
English at HUBT; thus, they are supposed to be familiar with the teaching and learning
methods at HUBT. However, all of them use Vietnamese in their daily conversations, and

15
they rarely have chances to use English as a means of communication, except for some
time in the classroom with teachers and classmates.
2.3. Data collection instruments
This study employs a mixed method design that includes both quantitative and
qualitative research methods in order to get a more detailed and comprehensive picture
about what is investigated.
In this study, qualitative data is gained from semi-structured interviews and
quantitative data is achieved from self-report questionnaire. Self-report questionnaire is
used in this study since motivation, as Drnyei (2001) stated, is “an abstract term that
refers to various internal processes and states. It is therefore not subject to direct
observation but must be inferred from some indirect indicator, such as the individual‟s self-
report accounts” (p.185). In order to ensure that the participants can understand correctly
the content of the questionnaire and the interview, both of them are conducted in
Vietnamese.
The questionnaire consists of three parts. The table 2 displays the structure of the
questionnaire.
Part I: Background Information: This part is designed to gather the information
about the participants‟ demographic information including gender, number of years of


Part II
Type of motivation
Extrinsic motivation
5 (Q1, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q9)
Intrinsic motivation
5(Q2, Q4, Q6, Q8,
Q10)
Part III
Demotivating factors
Attitudes towards English
2 (Q11, Q12)
Experience of failure or lack of
success
3 (Q13, Q14, Q15)
Self-esteem
1 (Q16)
Teacher‟s behavior
2 (Q17, Q18)
Teacher‟s competence
2 (Q19, Q20)
Teaching method
4 (Q21, Q22, Q23,
Q24)
Grading and assessment
2 (Q25, Q26)
Classroom atmosphere

questionnaires were returned.
Concerning the interviews, they were conducted to gain more in-depth information
about students‟ motivation and factors affecting negatively their motivation in learning
English at HUBT. After the researcher analyzed the questionnaires, 20 students were
chosen to participate in the interview, of which 10 were identified as extrinsically
motivated learners and the other were intrinsically motivated. These interviews were also
conducted through the Internet with the help of Yahoo!Messenger. Before the interview
was conducted, the interviewees were invited to join in a chat room at the time and date
suitable for the interviewees. All the content of the interviews were copied into Words for
analyzing. 18
2.5. Data analysis
After all the questionnaires were returned, the researcher printed them out to check,
sort, and number. The researcher herself coded the participants (by named them P1, P2,
and so on). Due to the constraint time and large number of questionnaires to be analyzed,
five English teachers (who are the researcher‟s colleagues) were recruited to record the
participants‟ responses to the questionnaires with the researcher. The results of the
recording process were then input into a computer for analyzing with the help of the
programs Word 2000 and Excel 2000. For each part of the questionnaire, the total number
of respondents choosing answer choice SD and D, U, and A and SA was counted and
compared using the functions DCOUNT, AVERAGE, and SUM.
After conducted, all the content of the interviews with 20 students were copied into
Word 2000. The researcher read each response of each student to sort out the reasons for
them learning English, and the demotivating factors.
To ensure the consistency of the data, except when recording the participants‟
responses to the questionnaire, during the process of analyzing the data achieved from the
questionnaires and the interviews, the researcher did them alone.


frequency of each answer choice, namely 1-Strongly Disagree (SD), 2-Disagree (D), 3-
Undecided (U), 4-Agree (A), and 5-Strongly Agree (SA) of all the respondents to each
item (1,2,3,4,etc.) in each category of the questionnaire. All those frequencies were sorted
out into two different tables (see Table 2 and Table 3). Then the functions SUM and
AVERAGE were applied to calculate the total number and the average number of
participants choosing the choice SD, D, SD and D, U, A, SA, and A and SA. Then the total
number of SD and D and the total number of A and SA were compared.
3.1.1.1. Extrinsic motivation
Table 2 and Chart 1 show that students in this study have a strong extrinsic
motivation in learning English. On average, 72.7 % students agreed and strongly agreed
with the items measuring extrinsic motivation. Of which, 100% participants agreed and
totally agreed that they learned English in order to get a good job in the future. 242 out of
269 (90%) students stated that everybody in Vietnam should be able to speak English.
Learning English to communicate with foreigners is also a statement chosen by many
participants accounting for 76.6%. 67.3% of students shared that they learned English