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

NGUYEN THANH NGA

THE IMPACT OF LEARNERS’ MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH
ACQUISITION: A CASE OF NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS
AT TRAN DAI NGHIA UNIVERSITY Nghiên cứu về ảnh hưởng của động cơ học tập đối với việc học Tiếng Anh của
học viên không chuyên tại trường Đại học Trần Đại Nghĩa M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL
STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************


Signed: ___________________ Date: _________________
ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am deeply indebted the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of
Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi as an
active learning environment where I have chance to receive knowledge and
experience life as a post-university student. Thanks to the school, I have been
approached professional training and educating that is required by modern society.
I would like to sincerely thank the teachers at the Post-graduate Studies for
providing me with foundation as well as advanced knowledge of English language
in learning process.
I am greatly indebted to PhD Phan The Hung, as my supervisor for
providing me with useful techniques to carry out the study. I also have
accumulated helpful experience from his suggestions and valuable comments on
the writing of this thesis.
My appreciation is also extended to a number of members of classes
DH03601 of the Faculty of Infantry Weapon and DH03801 at the Faculty of
Ammunition, with their truthful answers, I can complete my research. Their
support is greatly appreciated.
Very special thanks are due to my close friends who are Pham Le Nu Tuyet
Ngan, Do Thi Tuyet Suong, Nguyen Quynh Nga. With their suggestions and
contributions, I had many good ideas for my research, they are my fellow-
travellers who shared happiness and difficulties with me throughout this research
period.
And last, but by no means least, my heartfelt thanks go to the members of
my family. They gave me the biggest encouragement to help me not feel pressure
to focus on this task. Without whose unfailing love, understanding,
encouragement, and support over time and distance, I could not have got this far.


5. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5
1.1 Motivation 5
1.1.1 Definition of motivation 5
1.1.2 Motivation in English acquisition 6
1.1.3 Classification of motivation 10
1.1.3.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation 11
1.1.3.1.1 Intrinsic motivation 11
1.1.3.1.2 Extrinsic motivation 12
1.1.3.2 Integrative and instrumental motivation 12
1.1.3.2.1 Integrative motivation 12
1.1.3.2.2 Instrumental motivation 13
1.1.4 De-motivation in language acquisition 13
1.1.5 Factors that influence students’ motivation in English acquisition 14
v

1.1.5.1 Teacher-related factors 14
1.1.5.1.1 Professional competence 14
1.1.5.1.2 Teaching style 15
1.1.5.1.3 Commitment to teaching 15
1.1.5.2 Learner-related factors 15
1.1.5.2.1 Intelligence 15
1.1.5.2.2 Aptitude 16
1.1.5.2.3 Personality 16
1.1.5.2.4 Learning strategies 17
1.1.5.2.5 Learners’ belief 17
1.1.5.2.6 Age of acquisition 18
1.1.5.2.7 Anxiety 18
1.1.5.3 Learning condition-related factors 18

1. Conclusions of the study 39
2. Limitations of the study 40
3. Suggestions for further study 40
REFERENCES 41
APPENDICES I
APPENDIX 1 I
APPENDIX 2 IV

vii

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Motivation: the psychological feature that orientate an action toward a desired
goal.
Acquisition: cognitive process of acquire skill or knowledge.
Intrinsic motivation: situated within or belonging solely to nature of something.
Extrinsic motivation: one kind of motivation coming from outside factors.
Integrative motivation: one kind of motivation related to be assimilated to target
language -spoken countries.
Instrumental motivation: one kind of motivation related to use the language as
an instrument to get something.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language
TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
ESL: English as a Second Language
SLA: Second Language Acquisition
TDN: Tran Dai Nghia
L2: Second language

students for their own purposes during the process or just being considered as a
normal required subject to complete a studying curriculum. This is really a big
reason that motivates or even though de-motivates students in the language
acquisition.
College of Military Technology Officer is also called Tran Dai Nghia
University, Ho Chi Minh city. As a teacher at Department of Basic Science,; from
my personal observation and my own teaching experience in two years, I see that
during all the English lessons with a variety of activities, only some students get
involved in the tasks whereas the others keep silent or do unrelated things.
Therefore, it is hard to find effectiveness and enthusiasm for English as foreign
language learning in students’ learning
In order to find the suggestible solutions to the problem, it is essential to
carry out an investigation on students’ motivation in English learning for general
purpose. In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), many researchers and
linguists have believed that motivation plays the initial role in the percentage of
success in English acquisition. Whether linguistic processes can be effective
despite a certain individual is really the subject-talented receptor without any
motivation.
2

For the mentioned reasons, I would like to conduct a study on ‘The Impact
of Learners’ Motivation in English Acquisition: A Case of Non-English Major
Students at Tran Đai Nghia University.’ The study is to have an investigation in
how subjective and objective factors can motivate and de-motivate students’
attitude in English learning. From that point, I also recommend some suggestions
to encourage non-English major students who are first year students at Tran Dai
Nghia University in the language learning.
2. Aims of the Study
In order to carry out the study, it begins with the aims of investigating the
motivation in English acquisition for general purposes among the first year non-

evidence to study a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context’
(Bonoma et al) cited in Kaplan et al (1988, 576), is taken into account. By using a
variety of data sources, the study employs the qualitative and quantitative case
study approach to explore the students’ perception and attitude toward English
learning through activities inside the class. With the following characteristics, the
qualitative research is suitable for further adaption, including seeking answers to a
question, systematically using a predefined set of procedures to answer the
questions, collecting evidence, producing findings that were not determined in
advanced, producing findings that are applicable beyond the intermediate
boundaries of the study. In this thesis, qualitative methods include open-ended
interviewing to the students dealing with students’ attitude toward language tasks
in periods, and analysis of responses to open-ended items on a survey
questionnaire. According to Mackey & Gass (2005,2), ‘quantitative research
generally starts with an experimental design in which a hypothesis is followed
by the quantification of data and some sort of numerical analysis is carried
out’. Quantitative methods are employed to collect and analyze data from survey
questionnaires. After that the insights and implications of the study is gained by
analyzing the collected data.
4

5. Design of the Study
The study consists of three parts organized as follows:
Part I entitles ‘INTRODUCTION’ outlining the background of the study
in which a brief account of relevant information such as the rationale, aims, scope,
methods and design of the study are provided.
Part II, the ‘DEVELOPMENT’, is subdivided into three chapters.
 Chapter 1 discusses the ‘LITERATURE REVIEW’, which provides
necessary and relevant theoretical concepts for the main contents of
the study; they are main approaches to motivation and de-motivation
in foreign language learning.

In his former research, he chose to define motivation through specifying
four aspects of motivation:
- a goal
- effortful behaviour to reach the goal
- a desire to attain the goal
- positive attitudes toward the goal (Gardner, 1985)
In addition, the term ‘motivation’ has been treated differently by various
thoughts, Brown (2000), stated that motivation in behavior perspective is defined
as someone’s feeling of expectation of the last recompense, for examples.
Besides that, in their own field, cognitivists analyze the role of motivation
which is related to the learner’s decisions, that can be seen by Gardner (2007, 11)
6

in his saying, ‘the choices people make as to what experiences or goals, they will
approach or avoid, and the degree or effort they exert in that respect’.
Drnyei (1998,117) pointed out that ‘Motivation is no longer seen as a
reflection of certain inner forces such as instincts, volition, will, and psychical
energy; neither is tie viewed in strictly behavioral term as a function of stimuli and
reinforcement.’
Wlodwoski (1985) explained motivation as the processes that can arouse
and instigate behaviour, give direction or purpose to behaviour, continue to allow
behaviour to persist, and lead to choosing or preferring a particular behaviour.
In case of a cognitive perspective, Burden (1197) assumed that motivation
relates to such issues as reasons why people manage to behave in certain ways,
what factors influence the option they choose, and it involves what students decide
as the reasons for attempting to achieve something.
Motivation, from the above perceptions, can be understood as a
psychological condition among the variety of aspects, which leads people to
achieve a goal in a particular situation. It is defined from making decision, forceful
aspects in conducting their mission, and wondering for the last reward.

his conceptualization of a general framework of L2 motivation:
 The Language level is described in two broad motivational subsystems:
integrative motivational subsystem and instrumental motivational
subsystem
 The learner level includes two components: need for achievement; self-
confidence which is about language use anxiety, perceived L2
competence, casual attributions and self-efficacy
 Learning situation level is constructed from
 Course specific motivational components consists of four elements:
interest (in the course), relevant (of the course to one’s needs),
expectancy (of success), satisfaction (one has in the outcome)
8

 Teacher specific motivational components relates to afflictive
motive; authority type; direct socialization of student motivation
which are modeling, task presentation and feedback.
 Group specific motivational components is concerned with goal-
orientedness, norm and reward system, group cohesion, classroom
goal structure
Crookes and Schmidt (1991) classify L2 learning motivation into four
areas:
 The micro level: involves the cognitive processing of L2 input. At the
micro level learner motivation is evidenced by the amount of attention
given to the input.
 The classroom level: tenets of expectancy-value and self-deterministic
theories are applied to the level stating that the expectancy of success
and amount of control over activities contributes to learner motivation.
 The syllabus level: refers to the choice of content presented and can
influence motivation by the level of curiosity and interest aroused in the
students.

Sense of agency
- locus of causality
- locus of control RE process and
outcomes
- ability to set appropriate goals
The learning environment
- comfort
- resources
- time of the day, week, year
- size of class, school
- class and school ethos
Mastery
- feelings of competence
- awareness of developing skills and
mastery in a chosen area
- self efficacy
The broader context
- wider family networks
- the local education system
- conflicting interests
- cultural norms
- societal expectations and attitudes
Self-concept
- realistic awareness of personal
strengths and weaknesses in skills
required
- personal definitions and judgments
of success and failure
- self-worth concern
-learned helplessness

needs and it is ruled over by internal and external aspects.
1.1.3 Classification of motivation
Each linguist and psychologist suggests his/her own points when discussing
the different concepts of motivation, , The Social Psychological period was
marked by the early work of Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert (1959) in
Clement et al., 1994), who asserted a broad classification of motivational aspects
11

into two main categories, integrative motivation and instrumental motivation. In
the late 1980s and early 1990s two new concepts were introduced and explored,
Deci and Ryan’s Self- Determination Approach (1985, in Ryan & Deci, 2000),
which is based on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The following parts will be
taken into accounts by investigating them through their perceptions.
1.1.3.1 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
1.1.3.1.1 Intrinsic motivation
Some linguists have defined the origin of intrinsic motivation; it comes
from the satisfaction about the enjoyment of the process of increasing one’s
competency about particular academic tasks individually (Deci & Ryan 2000;
Walker, Greene, & Mansell, 2006).
Wu describes ‘the characteristics as an individual being motivated to act on
an activity for the pure joy that accompanies such activity without any external
factors or motives’ (2003,502). For example, a student takes part in a language
course and is enthusiastic in completing given tasks because of his or her own
enjoyment without pressure even though positive and negative force from outside
agents could be considered to have intrinsic motivation. Learners learning a
language with intrinsic motivation are motivated for the reason of their enjoyment
of gaining competence and the pleasure that the activities can have producing new
language
Furthermore, the intrinsic motivation is also subdivided into three types
according to Junko (2005:45):

with more instrument for further study in the future.
1.1.3.2.1 Integrative motivation
The Gardnerian theory of L2 learning motivation cited in Liuolienė et al
(2006, 94) proposes that ‘integrative orientation refers to a learner’s desire to learn
more about the cultural community of the target language or to assimilate to some
degree in the target community’.
13

In other words, it reflects the learner’s willingness or desire to be like a
representative member of the other language community (Gardner & Lambert,
1972). To get familiar with the target language in the culture and to fall in line
with native-citizen are their reasons to understand the language. They are all
considered as integrative motivation.
According to the process of teaching military students at the school,
soldiers show their integrative motivation in the language learning through trying
their best to get high score in every test
1.1.3.2.2 Instrumental motivation
Contrary to Gardner’s focus on integrativeness, Drnyei (1994) asserted
that in a FL setting instrumental orientation would have a greater influence on
language learners
Along with Do
̈
rnyei , Oxford calls for research regarding FL settings:
‘perhaps instrumental motivation or orientation should have a greater prominence
in theory and research, at least in certain settings, most notably FL environments’
(1996b, 4)
Gardner (1985, 94) mentions in his research, instrumental orientation, is a
more utilitarian orientation; it refers to learners ‘desires to learn the language in
order to accomplish some non-interpersonal purpose such as to pass an exam or to
advance a career.

pedagogical procedures, etc.; this is also the scope of interest of theorists who
concern the correlation between subjective and objective factors affecting
learners’ motivation in language acquisition. The following parts will show more
detail about it.
1.1.5.1 Teacher-related factors
Being rated as one of the factors that directly affect the learning motivation
of students, the teacher with their professional competence, teaching style,
commitment to teaching.
1.1.5.1.1 Professional competence