MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CAN THO UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING EDUCATION THAI QUANG BUU

USING MULTIMEDIA
TO PROVIDE MOTIVATION IN
LEARNING ENGLISH FOR GRADE-9
STUDENTS AT
MY HUONG HIGH SCHOOL

GRADUATION PAPER Can Tho, 2014
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CAN THO UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING EDUCATION THAI QUANG BUU

USING MULTIMEDIA
TO PROVIDE MOTIVATION IN
LEARNING ENGLISH FOR GRADE-9

ABSTRACT 9
ABSTRACT (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 10
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 11
1.1. Rationale 11
1.2. Research aims 12
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14
2.1 Multimedia 14
2.3 Applications of multimedia and types of multimedia: 19
2.4 Summary 23
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24
3.1 Research questions 24
3.2 Research hypothesis 24
3.3 Research design 24
3.4 Participants 24
3.5 Research instrument 25
3.6 Data gathering procedure 25
CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION 27
4.1 Results of the study 27

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4.2 Discussion on the connection between frequency and motivation 30
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33
5.1. Summary of the study 33
5.2 Recommendations for English high school teachers and English learners 33
5.3 Limitation and suggestion for further researches 34
5.4 Conclusion 35
REFERENCE 36
APPENDIX 38



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like, first of all, to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs. Ngo Thi
Trang Thao for her enthusiastic guidance from the beginning to completion of this paper.
Without her valuable advice and critical comments, this research could not have taken
its shape. To what more, her consultancy and encouragement were an endless source of
support and an indispensable factor in the success story of this research.
Besides, I wish to take a chance to thank the principle of My Huong High School, Mr.
Thai Minh Dien, who accepted my request and allow me to do my research in his school.
Furthermore, I sincerely appreciate the cooperation of 102 high school students in grade
9 from My Huong High School in finishing the questionnaires, particularly for their
enthusiastic and serious participants.
Finally, I am grateful to my parents, my friends, teachers, classmates and my sister, Ms.
Thao, who have always been beside with me to encourage me and assist me during my
study. 9

ABSTRACT
In recent years, multimedia has gradually become the mean of teaching in most schools
all over the country. The reason for this trend is that educational multimedia can provide
students motivation in learning English. To take advantages of this opportunity, a
research is planned to proceed with two aims: (1) to find out which multimedia methods
teachers and students often use; (2), to understand what multimedia methods motivate
students in learning English. Based on the two aims and their hypothesis, two research
questions are built up to aid the questionnaire. Many researches have pointed out that if
students are motivated enough, that means if teachers or students themselves use
multimedia as a tool to enhance learners’ motivation, it will make a great impact to the
entire learning process, which will lead to both effective teaching and effective learning.

the research aims, (3) the significance of the research, and (4) the thesis organization.
1.1. Rationale
In the early preproduction stage of second language acquisition, students start to
communicate with each other by using simple sentences and teachers play the role of
scaffolding. According to Sawyer (2006), scaffolding is the support given during the
learning process which is tailored to the needs of the student with the intention of helping
the student achieve his/ her learning goals. However, many difficulties are met because
students are not able to understand what their teachers are talking about. The reason of
this issue is understandable because English is the subject that students have no control
on; students may comprehend the other subjects because they are taught using their
mother tongue. English, on the other hand, has to be taught using the different teaching
methods due to the significant nature of the subject.
According to Tran (2013), students in the age from 15 to 18 in general and grade-9
students in particular are in the pre-adult stage. In school, learning activities are still the
main activity; however, it requires positive and independent of students. To deeply
comprehend the course, students must have a level of conceptual thinking high enough,
that means students must be taught English using new methods, not just old and
traditional teaching styles. English with students in this stage is new and discoverable;
if students are provided enough motivation, students will find the subject interesting and
the next stages of second language acquisition would be simpler.
Researchers have studied for the aspiration of finding new methods that help teaching
become more effective and successful. Although the term “multimedia” is familiar for
teachers at that time, Malik & Agarwal (2012) state that multimedia facilitates mastering
basic skills of students by applying drill and practice. Nevertheless, the aim of encouraging students to learn English throughout multimedia is still not considered
carefully by teachers due to the lack of researches on the field of high-school context in
general and in Vietnamese high-school settings in particular.
In attempt to get deeper understanding of the issue, this study aims to explore the use of

Chapter 4, Result and Discussion, reports and represents the findings of the research
Chapter 5, Implications, Limitations, Recommendations and Conclusion,
summarizes what is addressed in the study. Next, limitations and some pedagogical
implications from this research will be discussed. Finally, directions for further research
will be provided.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Multimedia
2.1.1 Definition of multimedia
Humans receive data through multiple channels, i.e., media, including audio and visual
channels (Paivio, 1969) as well as touch, taste and smell. Multimedia is most commonly
defined as the use of at least two of these elements: sound (audio), and text, still graphics,
and motion graphics (visual) (Tannenbaum, 1998). The importance of multiple channels
for delivery of educational content can be found in the theory of multi-channel
communication which confirms that when information is presented by more than one
channel, there will be additional reinforcement, resulting in greater retention and
improved learning which is also known as multimedia (Bagui, 1998; Daniels, 1994; Ellis,
2004).
Schwartz & Beichner (1999) argue that multimedia is in essence a presentation of
information that incorporates multiple media such as text, audio, graphics, and animation.
Multimedia need not be computerized, but computers offer some of the most seamless
multimedia presentations.
2.1.2 Multimedia in education
2.1.2.1 What is educational multimedia?
As it has been clearly defined earlier, multimedia is a judicious mix of various mass
media elements such as text, audio, images, animation or video. However, in educational
circumstances, Neo M. and Neo T.K. (2009) argue that multimedia provides a

For instance, text alone simply does not allow students to get a feel of any of
Shakespeare's plays. In teaching biology, an instructor cannot make a killer whale come
alive in a classroom. Multimedia enables us to provide a way by which learners can
experience their subject in a creative way. The appeal of multimedia learning is best
illustrated by the popularity of the applications currently available in the internet applications market. These are multimedia programs combining text, audio, video, and
animated graphics in an easy-to-use way.
Multimedia has permeated every part of our society. No tools or teaching methods have
had greater impact than multimedia. As a teacher, we have an opportunity to engage our
students like never before through interactive games, video, presentations and so on. We
now can meet our students’ needs in a more interactive and entertainment way.
Integration of multimedia into instruction can help to reduce curriculum barriers and
improve learning for all students. This following part provides a basic introduction to
multimedia and describes how it can be used to support student learning.
Improves Learning: Numerous studies over the years have shown that interactive
multimedia learning takes less time, is enjoyed more and increases learning (Hick, 1997.)
Interactive: Interactivity is mutual action between the learner, the learning system, and
the learning material. Numerous studies have found that interactivity has a strong
positive effect on learning (Hick, 1997.)
Practical: It is capable of presenting true-to-life situations that learners face every day.
Students can be trained to be a practical learners - they learn best when faced with real
problems that have real consequences. Decision tree simulation, video simulations or
simple animations allow students to learn-by-viewing, learn-by-doing or learn-by-
coaching (Hick, 1997.) All are effective methods for developing motivation and
increasing information retention.
Engaging: Interactive learning with live-action video, audio, graphics, feedback, expert
advice, and questions and answers keep learners interested and reinforces skills. Because
it is exciting, challenging, and fun to use, it encourages learners to return to the program

listening to the lesson but they can see, hear, imagine what things feel like as multimedia
is used to bring objects to life. The more creative and dynamic a teacher is, the better
his/her students are. Multimedia enables us to provide a way by which learners can experience tasks in a
whole new manner. The key to provide this experience is having simultaneous graphic,
text, video and audio rather than in a sequential manner. For example, in learning
listening skills, students are now able to find interaction with the tasks instead of just
sitting steady and listening to a conversation that is broadcasted through a tape.
The pedagogical strength of multimedia is that it uses the natural information processing
abilities that we already possess as human. Our eyes and ears, in conjunction with our
brain, form a formidable system for transforming meaningless sense data into
information (Meskill, 1996.) The old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words”
often understates the case especially with regard to moving images, as our eyes are
highly adapted by evolution to detect and interpret moving objects. Including images or
videos into listening tasks can help approaching students in many ways that we cannot
possibly imagine. The mind of a high school student is still young and it seeks for
satisfaction not boring-wall-of-text. For example, when teaching vocabulary, a video of
a song playing on a colorful background would be more valuable to the students, in this
respect, using text only, even in a creative way, has obvious limitations as compared to
the use of both text and moving images.
2.2 Using multimedia as motivation
Abrahamson (1998) may represent the majority of multimedia advocates when he states
that “a primary function of the use of television, computers, and telecommunications in
distance learning is to motivate students rather than just to provide information to them”.
However, evidence for the motivational qualities of multimedia instruction has been
elusive at best. The best conclusion at this point is that overall, multimedia courses may
be more attractive to students and so they tend to choose them when offered options.
What is motivation in particular?

within the classroom. Students spend copious amounts of their free time socializing,
shopping, and even studying on the Internet, where they are flooded with text, images, video, animation, and sound in what is a complex multimedia environment. Schwartz &
Beichner’s study (1999) pointed out that the younger generation is intimately familiar
with multimedia, accustomed to receiving and sharing information in a range of formats.
In contrast, students spend most of their time in the classroom viewing printed text and
listening to a teacher. This disconnect is troublesome. While students are accustomed to
having a range of means to communicate and process information outside of school, they
must conform to a more restrictive media environment within school. Printed text is one-
size-fits-all, but students' learning strengths, needs, and interests are all over the map.
Thus, the traditional print-driven curriculum raises a number of barriers to access and
learning.
Integration of multimedia into instruction can help to reduce curriculum barriers and
improve learning for all students. The following part provides a basic introduction to
multimedia and describes how it can be used to support student learning listening.
2.3.2 Types of learning and teaching multimedia applications
There are numerous types of multimedia. Below we review a selection of different
multimedia forms, focusing on their potential for supporting diverse learners.
Speech simulator
Digital texts can be read aloud using recorded human voice or a text-to-speech programs.
Read-aloud is an intrinsic feature called talking books, but with text-to-speech software,
virtually any digital content, including web-based texts can be read aloud. Read-aloud
offers potential benefits to many students, including students with poor visual ability,
students with decoding problems and students with anxiety in reading (Borgh & Dickson,
1992.)
It may be easier for students to recognize errors when listening versus reading a material.
By listening to a passage that they have just written, students may be able to revise more


with text and audio, or illustrated timeline. Listening tasks might be presented as pictures
attached to vocabulary that helps students easy to recognize as well as remember.
Computer games
Turgut & Irgin (2009) have noted how young learners’ playing online games promotes
language learning and especially vocabulary skills. They would be best advised to try to
play online games that are useful resources for language learning. By far the most
commercially successful multimedia works are computer games, whose short but rich
history is linked with the development of multimedia technologies. Games like Myst
introduced consumers of all ages to the effective use of images, animations, and
environmental sound to create a fictional world characterized by navigation and puzzle-
solving. Games can be installed by using CD-ROM, DVD or collected from the internet.
Multimedia encyclopedia
A common form of educational and reference multimedia is the multimedia
encyclopedia. Encyclopedia contains information on people, place, events and things
(Encyclopedia Britannica Interactive multimedia, 1999.) Multimedia encyclopedias are
the logical extension of the print genre, taking advantage of the world – wide – web
where people from all over the world can access and make edition on English teaching
and learning materials just by using a simple set of computer with internet.
Computer Software
Computer software also known as computer programs which is written to benefit
computer’s users in many different ways depend on the user’s intention. In curriculum
situations, the capacity of computer software is broad and inclusive (Wordreference.com,
2007.) It even permits us to provide presentations by human instructors that have been
“record” on video and presented on a computer screen as well as all instructional
methods, include interactivity between instruction and learners. Computer software can

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transfer multimedia materials into pedagogical information such as songs, videos, long/
short films, etc.

students’ motivation in learning English at My Huong High School.
3.4 Participants
The participants of this research are 75 students in grade 9 from My Huong High School.
They gave the answers for the questionnaire. These students have some common points.

25

Firstly, they have learnt English for four years. Secondly, these students are voluntary to
take part in the research and show commitment in providing reliable as well as detailed
information about the target issues to the researcher. Finally, this research is proceeded
on a country-side high school where technology is not regularly used in daily life,
teachers and students may meet some inconveniences in term of technology during daily
lessons.
3.5 Research instrument
The questionnaire for the research are gathered through structured questions using five-
point Likert-scale. There are two parts in the questionnaire (see Appendix.)
The first part is the frequency of use of the seven multimedia methods. Thus, this part
uses the frequency scale (1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = very often, 5 =
always.)
The second part of the questionnaire has fourteen statements which are grouped into
seven groups represents seven-types of multimedia methods. The content in the second
part of the questionnaire is how the seven-types of multimedia methods provide
motivation in learning English for grade-9 students at My Huong High School. The
agreement scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree, 5 =
strongly agree) is used in this part. The second part is built up by using the theory of the
seven-types of multimedia methods in the literature review.
The questionnaire is translated into Vietnamese to make sure that all of the students can
understand and complete the questions correctly and it is initially piloted with twenty-
seven grade-9 students at My Huong High School and conducted the alpha number of
0.93 implying high reliability.