This document is a thesis submitted to Vietnam National University, Hanoi by Do Huu Truong in 2014. The thesis investigates methods to motivate first-year students at Haiphong Polytechnics College in speaking activities. It begins with an introduction that establishes the importance of English speaking skills and the need to motivate students. The thesis will analyze surveys of students and teachers to understand challenges in teaching and learning speaking. It will then propose recommendations to encourage student participation in speaking lessons. The goal is to improve English proficiency and prepare students for international careers that require strong communication abilities.

1. VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
***  ***
ĐỖ HỮU TRƯỜNG
HOW TO MOTIVATE THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT
HAIPHONG POLYTECHNICS COLLEGE IN
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
(Phương pháp khuyến khích sinh viên năm thứ nhất tại trường
Cao đẳng nghề Bách Nghệ Hải Phòng trong các hoạt động nói)
M.A. MINOR PROGAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.01.11
Hanoi – 2014

2. VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
***  ***
ĐỖ HỮU TRƯỜNG
HOW TO MOTIVATE THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT
HAIPHONG POLYTECHNICS COLLEGE IN
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
(Phương pháp khuyến khích sinh viên năm thứ nhất tại trường
cao đẳng nghề Bách Nghệ Hải Phòng trong các hoạt động nói)
M.A. MINOR PROGAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.01.11
Supervisor: Dr. Trần Thị Thu Hiền
Hanoi – 2014

3. i
DECLARATION
To the best of my knowledge and belief, this minor thesis contains no
material which has previously been submitted and accepted for any other degree in
any university. The thesis is my own work and based on my own research. It
involves no material previously published or written by any other person, except
where due reference is acknowledged in the paper.
Hanoi, 2014
Đỗ Hữu Trường

4. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I wish to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Tran Thi
Thu Hien for her valuable guidance, helpful suggestions and critical feedback
throughout the research.
I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all the lecturers in the Faculty of
Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU for
their useful lessons from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this
study.
I am greatly indebted to my students at marine engine and navigation
departments and my colleagues at HPC for their participation and assistance
without which this study could not have been successful.
Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my family and
my close friends who offered me their love, care, support and encouragement so
that I could accomplish my study.

5. iii
ABSTRACT
This minor thesis is carried out to investigate what kinds of speaking
activities are currently used in the speaking lessons for first-year students at HPC
and some suggestions are given to motivate students in these activities.
The study has collected data from two survey questionnaires to find out the
fact of the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill for and of the
first-year students at HPC. The results from these two survey questionnaires have
revealed some aspects of teaching and learning speaking skill at the college. From
these results, some suggestions have been proposed to teachers, students and
college rector in order to motivate students in leaning speaking and to improve the
quality of teaching and learning speaking skill.

6. iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
HPC: Haiphong Polytechnics College
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
L2: Second Language
LIST OF THE TABLES
Table 1: Types of motivation………………………………………………………….. 21
Table 2: Students’ main demotivating factors in a speaking lesson 22
Table 3: Teachers’ activities and students’ preferences ………………………... 23
Table 4: Students’ expectation on teachers’ teaching ………………………….. 24
Table 5: Teacher’s opinions on teaching English speaking and students’
motivation in speaking English……………………………………………… 25
Table 6: Teachers’ current teaching method …………………………………… 26
Table 7: Difficulties teachers often faced in teaching English speaking……… 27
Table 8: Techniques applied by teachers in motivating students……………… 28

7. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION………………………………………………………………. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………. ii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………. iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS …………………………………………………. iv
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………… vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………... vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………. 1
1. Rationale…………………………………………………………………….. 1
2. Aims of the study ……………………………………………………………. 2
3. Research questions………………………………………………………...... 2
4. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………… 2
5. Methods of the study ………………………………………………………... 3
6. Significance of the study…………………………………………………….. 3
7. Design of the study………………………………………………………..…. 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………….. 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………. 5
1.1. Motivation in foreign language learning………………………………... 5
1.1.1. Definitions of motivation………………………………………… 5
1.1.2. Types of motivation in foreign language learning……………….. 6
1.1.3. Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking……………
1.2. Demotivation in foreign language learning……………………………...
7
8
1.2.1. Definitions of demotivation………………………….................... 8
1.2.2. Demotivating factors in foreign language learning………………. 8
1.3. Teaching speaking skill in foreign language …………………………… 13
1.3.1. Definitions of speaking…………………………………………... 13
1.3.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking…………………………. 14
1.3.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking.. 15

8. vi
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………… 17
2.1. Context of the study……………………………………………………… 17
2.2. The research approach…………………………………………………... 18
1. Questionnaire for the students……………………………………….. 18
2. Questionnaire for the teachers………………………………………. 18
3. Observation…………………………………………………………... 19
2.3. Participants……………………………………………………………….. 19
2.4. Data collection procedures………………………………………………. 20
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS………………… 21
3.1. Results from students’ questionnaire…………………………………… 21
3.1.1. Students‟ personal information………………………………….. 21
3.1.2. Types of motivation……………………………………………… 21
3.1.3. Demotivating factors in a speaking lesson………………………. 22
3.1.4. Activities used by teachers and students‟ preferences…………… 23
3.1.5. Students‟ expectation on teachers‟ teaching……………………... 24
3.2. Results from teachers’ questionnaire…………………………………… 25
3.2.1. Teachers‟ personal information…………………………………. 25
3.2.2. Teacher‟s opinions towards teaching English speaking and
students‟ motivation in speaking English………………………………. 25
3.2.3. Current teaching method ………………………………………… 26
3.2.4. Difficulties in teaching English speaking……………………….. 27
3.2.5. Techniques and activities applied by teachers…………………… 28
3.3. Findings and discussions…………………………………………………. 29
3.3.1. The current situation of learning speaking of first-year
students at Haiphong Polytechnics College……………………………..
3.3.2. The current situation of teaching speaking for first-year
students at Haiphong Polytechnics College……………………………..
29
31

9. vii
3.4. Suggested techniques for motivating students in speaking activities…. 33
3.4.1. Suggestions for the teachers……………………………………… 33
3.4.2. Suggestions for the students……………………………………… 35
3.4.3. Suggestions for the college rector and academic department…… 36
PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….. 37
1. Conclusions………………………………………………….......................... 37
2. Limitations of the study……………………………………………………... 38
3. Suggestions for further study………………………………………………... 38
REFERENCES 40
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………… I
APPENDIX 1…………………………………………………………………... I
APPENDIX 2…………………………………………………………………... IV
APPENDIX 3…………………………………………………………………... VII

10. 1
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
It can not be denied that English is very important nowadays. It is considered
to be a very significant and necessary tool used in many fields such as science,
technology, diplomacy and so on. It is seen as a means to bridge the gap and
promote mutual understanding and cooperation among countries in the world.
In Vietnam, at present, the role of English has been more and more
increasingly crucial because of the fact that Vietnam has succeeded in becoming an
official member of WTO since 2006.
Being aware of the great significance of English, more and more people
desire to master it in hope of making English an useful means to serve their own
purposes. However, how to teach and learn English in general and English speaking
skill in particular effectively is a matter of controversy. Speaking skill should be
kept in mind to be the most popular and effective way of communication.
At Haiphong Polytechnics College (HPC), English is considered to be an
important factor for students‟ success in future career. Therefore, learning English,
especially learning speaking is necessary for students when they finish their study
and work on international ships. However, there is a fact that during speaking
lessons, students are often inactive and passive in participating speaking activities.
The interaction between teachers and students is ineffective and restricted. As a
result, after the English course, students‟ competence of English is not much
improved for working on board ships.
For this reason, I would like to make a study on “How to motivate the first-year
students at Haiphong Polytechnics College in speaking activities”. Hopefully, this
minor thesis will help motivate first-years students in English speaking lessons at

11. 2
HPC in particular and enhance other students‟ oral and communicative practice in
general.
2. Aims of the study
This study is an attempt to:
1. Investigate the current situation of teaching speaking skill to first-year
students at HPC.
2. Identify these students‟ demotivating factors in learning speaking skill.
3. Propose some suggestions to motivate first-year students in learning
speaking skill.
3. Research Questions
1. What is the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skill to
and of the first-year students at HPC?
2. What are possible methods to motivate students in speaking activities?
4. Scope of the study
This study only investigates methods of motivating first-year students at HPC in
learning speaking skill. Because of the limited time and within an M.A. minor
thesis, the researcher intends to make a brief view of the current situation of
teaching and learning English speaking skill for and of first-year students at HPC;
identifies factors affecting their speaking stimulation; examines techniques and
activities used by teachers and students‟ preferences and demands; suggests some
recommendations for teachers to encourage students to speak English and overcome
difficulties in teaching speaking.
5. Methods of the study
Quantitative and qualitative methods are used in the study. The data
collected for the study is from the students at beginning level and the teachers
teaching English at HPC.

12. 3
Survey questionnaires are used as the main instrument to collect data and
evidence for the study.
Besides, to help the researcher gain a deeper and better view of the
participants, learning conditions related to the study, the researcher‟s observation
for three classes has been made used of as another instrument in collecting data.
6. Significance of the study
The results from the study are believed to be useful for both teachers and
students in teaching and learning speaking skill.
In theory, the study can be considered as one of helpful teaching material
recourses in teaching speaking skill to non-major students at vocational colleges in
general and at HPC in particular.
In practice, from the results of the study, teachers can take use of suggested
methods in motivating students when teaching speaking skill and students can find
the ways to motivate themselves in learning speaking skill.
7. Design of the study
This minor thesis consists of three parts:
Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale, aims, research questions and scope of
the study. The methods, significance and design of the study are also included in
this part.
Part B, Development, includes three following chapters:
Chapter 1 presents background of motivation and teaching speaking. In the
chapter, the main approaches to motivation and de-motivation in foreign language
teaching are discussed.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of the study context, the research approach
and information of participants and main instruments applied in the study.

13. 4
Chapter 3 presents the documentation and data analysis. The analysis and
discussion on the data are based on the survey questionnaire and classroom
observation. The recommendations and suggestions for speaking teaching
improvements are also discussed in this chapter.
Part C, Conclusion, summarizes major findings; limitations and directions for
future research are also provided in this part.

14. 5
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is concerned with the definitions of motivation, demotivation in
foreign language learning, and the theoretical backgrounds of teaching speaking
skill.
1.1. Motivation in foreign language learning
1.1.1. Definitions of motivation
There have been many researches in motivation and the research literature
regarding the definition of motivation is various. In general, all the motivation
theories want to explain the fundamental question of why humans behave as they
do, and therefore the answer is not simple and straightforward.
Firstly, motivation is described as the impetus to create and sustain intentions
and goal seeking acts (Ames & Ames, 1989).
Burden (1997:119) assumed that “from a cognitive perspective, motivation is
concerned with such issues as why people decide to act in certain ways and what
factors influence the choice they make. It also involves decisions as to the amount of
effect people are prepared to expand in attempting to achieve their goals. The role
of the teacher thus becomes one of helping and enabling learners to make suitable
decisions”.
Dornyei (2001:613) defined motivation as “a general way of referring to the
antecedents i.e. the causes and the origins”. He also stated that “motivation explains
why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how
long they are willing to sustain the activities” (2001:7). The author pointed out two
dimensions of human behavior: direction and magnitude (intensity) which
motivation concerns.

15. 6
According to Pintrich and Schunk (2002), motivation is “the process
whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained”
From the above, it can be deduced that motivation is a psychological trait
which leads people to achieve a goal. Motivation is what drives people to “behave”
in a certain way or to take a particular action. Simply, it can be understood that
motivation is your “WHY”.
1.1.2. Types of motivation in foreign language learning
Motivation can be classified in different ways. Garder and Lambert (1985)
introduced four major types of motivation: Instrumental motivation and Integrative
motivation, Resultative motivation and Intrinsic motivation.
 Instrumental motivation: When learners need English as an instrument to
reach a particular goal such as passing oral test, getting a good job with high
salary and so on. In this case, motivation is the reflection of an external need.
 Integrative motivation: When learners internally want to integrate themselves
into the culture of the target language (English)
 Resultative motivation: is known as the cause of achievement. The fact
shows that learners who experience success in learning may become more
motivated to learn. In some cases, motivation is the result of learning.
Hermann (1980) stated that “it is success that contributes to motivation
rather than vice- versa”. Ellis (1997) also concluded that “the relationship
between motivation and achievement is an interactive one.”.
 Intrinsic motivation: plays an important role in most learners‟ success or
failure. For them, what happens in the classroom will be of great importance
in determining their attitudes to language and in supplying motivation.
Intrinsic motivation, generally, refers to the fact of doing an activity for
itself, pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation (Deci and Ryan,
1985).

16. 7
Contrary to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide
variety of behaviors that are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own
sake (Deci and Ryan, 1985). Schulz (1991:18) said that the concept of extrinsic
motivation referred to the extent to which the learning environment (i.e. the teacher,
materials, curriculum, learning tasks etc.) contributed to or detracted from intrinsic
motivation of the learner to acquire a language.
According to Bo (2009), no matter how motivation has been classified, all
kinds of motivation work in the second language learning context, and each kind
contributes to the learners‟ progress in different ways and to different degree. It is
hard to say which is the most effective since they are sometimes overlapping with
one another.
1.1.3. Some conditions for effective motivation in speaking
In his research, Nunan (1999: 235) pointed out some preconditions for
effective motivation:
 Supportive environment: including orderly classroom, skilful teacher is
skilled in classroom management; students are nonanxious and feel
comfortable taking risks, feedback is positive
 Appropriate level of difficulty: tasks are neither too easy nor too difficult;
students know what they have to do, criteria for success are clear.
 Meaningful learning: students know what and why they learn; activities are
meaningful; the relationship between activities and objective is clear; tasks
are sequenced so that new tasks build on and extend ones that come before;
students are given a reason to be in class.
 Strategies: motivational strategy is matched to instructional need; particular
strategies are not overused; teacher uses a range of strategies; there is a
learning- how- to- learn dimension to instruction.
 Content: students can relate content to their own experience; topics are
interesting

17. 8
1.2. Demotivation in foreign language learning
1.2.1 Definitions of de-motivation
Dornyei (1998: 143) defined de-motivation as “specific external forces that
reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an ongoing
action”.
Deci and Ryan (1985) used a term “a-motivation”, which means “the relative
absence of motivation that is not caused by a lack of initial interest but rather by the
individual’s experiencing feelings of incompetence and helplessness when faced
with the activity.”
Dornyei (1998) pointed out that “demotivation does not mean that all the
positive influences that originally made up the motivational basis of a behavior have
been got rid of. It only means that a strong negative factor restrains the present
motivation with some other positive motives still remain ready to be activated.”
1.2.2. De-motivating factors in foreign language learning
According to Dornyei (1998), factors demotivating students‟ learning are as
follows:
 The teacher (personality, commitment, competence, teaching method);
 Inadequate school facilities (group is too big or not the right level, frequent
change of teachers);
 Reduced self-confidence (experience of failure or lack of success);
 Negative attitude towards the L2;
 Compulsory nature of L2 study;
 Interference of another foreign language being studied;
 Negative attitude towards L2 community;
 Attitudes of group members;
 Course-book

18. 9
Basing on Dornyei‟s study (1998), factors affecting students‟ motivation can
be classified into student‟s factors, teacher‟s factors, and teaching and learning
conditions.
 Students’ factors
The first factors are students‟ intelligence and aptitude. Intelligence, according
to Lightbown and Spada (1999: 52), referred to “performance on certain kinds of
test” and aptitude is something which “involves both underlying language learning
capacity and a capacity to handle decontextualized language” (Ellis, 1997: 522).
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 53) also pointed out that language aptitude was
usually described as a combination of four factors: (1) the ability to identify and
memorize new sounds, (2) the ability to understand the function of particular words
in sentences, (3) the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples
and (4) the ability to memorize new words.
The second is students‟ personality. In the eyes of many language teachers, the
students‟ personality constitutes a major factor contributing to success or failure in
language learning. Ellis (1997:523) has proved that extroverted learners are
advantageous in the development of the kind of language associated with basis
interpersonal communication skills and that extroverted learners may also be more
likely to participate actively in oral communication. Shared the same view with
Ellis, Lightbown and Spada (1999:54-55) listed a number of personality
characteristics that have a great influence on the success of second language
learners: extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness
and responsiveness.
The third factor is learners‟ age. Children are believed to be better than adults
in acquiring an L2 in general and in speaking a new language with native - like
fluency in particular. Some researchers argued that late starters may be able to learn
the syntax and the vocabulary of a second language, but that attaining a native-like
pronunciation is impossible for them. Also, they concluded that younger learners

19. 10
have a greater chance of attaining native-like proficiency in the L2, older learners
may show faster progress at the beginning, but are probably surpassed by the young
ones in the end.
The fourth factor is learning style. The term “learning style” refers to the
characteristic ways in which individuals orientates to problem-solving. Keefe
(1979) defined learning style as “the characteristic cognitive, affective and
physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners
perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment… Learning style
is a consistent way of functioning that reflects underlying causes of behavior”.
The last factor is learners‟ belief. Most learners have strong beliefs about
how languages are learnt, how their instruction should be delivered. Little,
Singleton and Silvius (1984) found out “past experience, both of education in
general and of language learning in particular, played a major role in shaping
attitudes to language learning”.
 Teacher’s factors
Teacher plays an important role in students‟ learning motivation. As a matter of
fact, some teacher‟s factors and appropriate teacher behaviors will increase
students‟ motivation in learning.
Dornyei (2001) pointed out some teacher‟s factors affecting students‟
motivation: teacher‟s appropriate behavior, teacher‟s enthusiasm, a good
relationship with the students and teacher‟s commitment to the students‟ academic
progress.
Firstly, teacher‟s suitable behavior in classroom is very important. It is
regarded as an effective “motivational tool”. Alison (1993) confirmed that teacher‟s
behavior could “persuade” or “attract” students to engage in on-task behaviors.
“The teacher should be a patient, encouraging person who supports students’

20. 11
learning efforts. Students should feel comfortable taking intellectual risks because
they know that they will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake.”
Good and Brophy (1994)
Secondly, teacher‟s good relationship with the student is also a key factor of
motivation in student learning. The teacher should create the relationship of mutual
trust and respect with students. This relationship also involves finding opportunities
to talk with them on a personal level and letting them know that teachers have
thought about them and that their individual effort is recognized. (Dornyei, 2001:
120).
The third factor is teacher‟s enthusiasm. Csikzentmihalyi (1997) said that
teachers needed to be “enthused and involved in the teaching process and in the
material they are teaching”. Csikzentmihalyi also pointed out that enthusiastic
teachers were the ones who loved what they were doing, who showed by their
dedication and their passion that make students willing to pursue knowledge.
The last factor is teacher‟s dedication to the students‟ academic progress.
Teachers should take care of what their students have learnt and succeeded
(Dornyei, 2001). They should also offer tangible assistant, responding immediately
when help is requested, correcting tests, arranging extra- assignments and so on.
Dornyei (2001) said that “teachers are the designated leaders of the class
group” and therefore, they cannot lack their responsibility for maintaining their own
commitment to the teaching process because the lack of this responsibility will
cause “psychological absence” from teaching process, which is the fastest way to
undermine the motivational base of the learners.
Lightbown and Spada (1999: 57-58) stated that if the teacher could make
classrooms places where students enjoy coming because the content was interesting
and relevant to their age and level of ability, where the learning goals was
challenging yet manageable and clear, and where the atmosphere was supportive

21. 12
and non-threatening, teachers could make a positive contribution to students‟
motivation to learn. Two researchers replicated findings from studies by Graham
and Richard (1991) and pointed out some pedagogical practices for teachers to
motivate students in classroom setting:
 Motivating students in the lesson: At the opening stages of lessons, the
remark teachers make about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels
of interest on the part of the students.
 Varying activities, tasks and materials: Lessons which always consist of the
same routines, patterns and format often lead to a decrease in attention and
an increase in boredom. Varying the activities, tasks, and materials can help
to avoid this and increase students‟ interest levels.
 Using co-operative rather than competitive goals: Co-operative learning
activities are those in which students must work together in order to
complete a task or solve problem. These techniques will increase the self-
confidence of students, including weaker ones.
 Teaching and learning condition
Teaching and learning condition involves classroom atmosphere and physical
condition. A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere will create motivation;
it encourages students to express their opinions and thinking. MacIntyre (1999) and
Young (1999) pointed out that students‟ anxiety created by a tense classroom
climate was one of the most potent factors that undermined learning effectiveness
and L2 motivation.
Physical conditions are important, too. Physical conditions refer to something
in classroom such as classroom‟s size, classroom‟s facilities (chairs, desks, tables,
electric facilities…). Hammer (1992) affirmed that physical conditions had great
impact on students‟ learning as well as their attitude towards the subject matter.
Physical condition affects both teacher and students‟ motivation. The large class,

22. 13
the poor facilities will reduce the relationship between teacher and students, and as
a result, will reduce motivation.
Other researchers also pointed out other factors affecting students‟
motivation in learning speaking. Tsui (1996) found out five principal factors
affecting the reluctance of the student to speak up in class:
 students‟ perceived low proficiency in English
 students‟ fear of mistakes and derision
 teachers‟ intolerance of silence
 uneven allocation of turns
 incomprehensible input
In his investigation, Oxford (1998) listed some demotivating factors in
classroom:
 The teacher‟s personal relationship with the students, including a lack of
caring, general belligerence, hypercriticism and patronage
 The teacher‟s attitude towards the course or the material, including lack of
enthusiasm, sloppy management and close-mindedness
 Style conflicts between teachers and students, including multiple style
conflicts, conflicts about the amount of structure and conflicts about the
amount the degree of closure or „seriousness‟ of the class
 The nature of the classroom activities, including irrelevance, overload and
repetitiveness
1.3. Teaching speaking skill in foreign language
1.3.1. Definitions of speaking
Florez (1999) defined speaking was “an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information”. It is
“often spontaneous, open- ended and evolving”, but it is not completely

23. 14
unpredictable. In other words, “speaking consists of producing systematic verbal
utterances to convey meaning”. (Balley, 2005:2).
Bygate (1997) stated that speaking was a skill which deserved attention
every bit as much as literacy skill. It is often thought of as a “popular” form of
expression that uses the unprestigious “colloquial” register. Speaking is in many
ways an undervalued skill. Perhaps this is because we can almost all speak, and so
take the skill too much for granted. In his own view, Mackey (1965) showed that
“oral expression involves not only the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of
rhythm and intonation, but also a choice of words and inflections in the right order
to convey the right meaning”. According to Mackey, for the student who wants to
be good at speaking, he/she has to choose the right forms, put them in correct order,
sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings.
1.3.2. Approaches to the teaching of speaking
 The grammar- translation method
In the Grammar- translation method, students are taught to analyze grammar
and to translate from one language to another. The Grammar translation method,
therefore, does not really prepare students to speak English, and it is not entirely
appropriate for students who want to improve their speaking skills. This method is
not consistent with the goals of increasing English learners‟ fluency, oral
production, or communicative competence. In grammar-translation lessons,
speaking consists largely of reading translations aloud or doing grammar exercises
orally. There are few opportunities for expressing original thoughts or personal
needs and feeling in English. (Bailey, 2005: 16)
 The direct method and audiolingualism
The direct method focused on “everyday vocabulary and sentences”
(Richards and Rodgers, 1986) and lessons were conducted entirely in the target
language. The Direct Method emphasized speaking in that “new teaching points
were introduced orally” rather in writing. Also, lessons emphasized speaking and

24. 15
listening, which were practiced “in a carefully graded progression organized
around question and answer exchanges between teachers and students”
The direct method strongly influenced the development of the Audiolingual
Method. Nunan (2003) pointed out that in Audiolingualism, speaking was taught
by having students repeat sentences and recite memorized dialogues from the
textbook. Repetition drills- a hallmark of the Audiolingual Method- are designed to
familiarize students with the sounds and structural patterns of the language. Lessons
followed the sequence of presentation, practice, and production.
 Communicative Language Teaching
Because the Grammar translation method, the Direct method and
Audiolingualism “did not lead to fluent and effective communication in real-life
situations” (Ellis, 1990:29), the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
evoked. The goal of language teaching in the light of CLT is to develop
communicative competence. In CLT classroom, learners are encouraged to
contribute as much as they gain, and learn in an independent way. CLT favors
interaction among small numbers of learners with a purpose to maximize the time
each learner learns and uses languages, shares information and negotiates meaning.
Though interaction learners‟ experience can be modified, many kinds of learning
strategies made aware and applied, and especially classrooms move away from
teacher-centeredness to learner-centeredness, which is an essential element to raise
learners‟ motivation in language learning. CLT features more interaction-based
activities, such as role-plays and information gap tasks. Pair work and group work
are typical organizational features of interaction-based lessons in CLT.
1.3.3. The roles of the teacher in different stages of teaching speaking
Byrne, D (1986) stated three stages of teaching speaking: the presentation
stage, the practice stage and the production one. In each stage, the role of the
teacher is different.

25. 16
At the presentation stage, the teacher is considered an informant role. The
teacher introduces something new to be learned and present it in such a way that the
meaning of the new language is as clear and memorable as possible. The students
listen and try to understand. At this point of the lesson, the teacher is at the centre of
the stage. Therefore, teacher‟s time spending should be sensible so that the students
get enough time to practise themselves
At the practice stage, it is the students‟ turn to do most of the talking while
teacher‟s main task is to devise and provide the maximum amount of practice,
which must the same time be both meaningful and memorable. The teacher‟s role,
then, is completely different from that at the presentation one. The teacher is like
the skilful conductor of an orchestra, giving each of the performers a chance to
participate and monitoring their performance to see that it is satisfactory.
At the final stage, the production one, the teacher takes on the role of
manager and guide. Students are given opportunities to use language freely.
Sometimes students can make mistakes at this stage, but mistakes are unimportant.
The more important is that students have chance to use language as they wish, to try
to express their own ideas. Moreover, they become aware that they have learnt
something useful to them personally, and are encouraged to go on learning.
However, students will probably seem to the teacher to lurch backwards and
forwards rather than make steady progress. It will not be so easy for the teacher to
measure students‟ performance as it was at the practice stage, nor is there any easy
recipe for success. Therefore, what is needed is flexibility, tolerance, patience on
teacher‟s part-and, above all, an understanding of the learners‟ difficulties.
In conclusion, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background
knowledge related to the topic of the study. It has discussed some concepts and
ideas concerning to the issue of motivation and demotivation. Besides, some
different aspects related to speaking were also discussed, especially some aspects
related to factors affecting students‟ speaking motivation. The following chapters
will display the detailed description of the methodology, the procedures and the
results of the study under the light of the above discussed theories.

26. 17
CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY
2.1. Context of the study
HPC was founded in 2001 as a private vocational school. At this time the scale
of the school was quite small with two hundred students in two majors: ship
navigation and marine engine operation. After nearly 15 years of development, HPC
has been a big vocational college in Haiphong with 21 majors and 6000 students
from 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam. However, ship navigation and marine
engine operation are still two key majors in the training curriculum. Up to now, the
college has trained and provided thousands qualified sailors to the shipping market.
English is a compulsory subject in the training curriculum of the college.
Especially, for these two majors mentioned above, English is very important and
necessary as students in these two majors will work on international ships after
graduating. The English program at the college is comprised of General English
(120 class hours for first-year students) and ESP (240 class hours for second and
third-year students). This thesis works with freshmen‟s studying of English for
communicative purposes. In the first year at the college, the students are equipped
with basic knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in everyday life and four
language skills through the main course book “Language in Use” (Beginner).
The researcher and other teachers are full-time teachers of English at the college.
Most of them teach general English and have at least five years of teaching
experience.
Students at HPC are from 26 provinces and cities in Vietnam. Most of them are
from the rural areas of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, especially
students at Navigation and Marine Engine Operation Department. Some have been
learning English for seven years while some others have no knowledge of English
as they studied French or Russian at high schools. Generally, students‟ English

27. 18
proficiency is at beginning level with basic knowledge of grammar and their
language skills are very bad.
2.2. Research approach
To find answers to the research questions, the study collects data from survey
questionnaires and classroom observation.
Questionnaire is one of the most popular instruments in obtaining broad and
rich information. It is easy to prepare and helpful to the researcher to get great
amount of information within a short period of time.
Along with questionnaire, observation is applied to help the researcher clarify
information which cannot be provided in the questionnaire.
1. Questionnaire for the students
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions.
Part 1 is to get students‟ information about their age, place of birth, the
duration they have learnt English.
Part 2 is designed to collect information on students‟ current situation of
English speaking learning at HPC and factors affecting their motivation in speaking
lessons.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to obtain a snapshot of students‟ motivation
in learning English speaking, their problems, preference, and their expectations on
teachers.
2. Questionnaire for the teachers
The questionnaire is designed with two main parts and includes four questions.
The first part is to get personal information about the teachers (gender, age,
teaching experience)

28. 19
The second part has four questions, the purpose of which is to find out
teachers‟ current teaching method, their difficulties in teaching speaking to first-
year students, which the researcher will base on the current context or situation to
make some suggestions to help teachers improve their teaching method in order to
motivate students in speaking lessons.
3. Observation
Observation will be also carried out by the researcher at HPC to make the
study more reliable. The observation was carried out in the second semester of the
school year 2013-2014, the class performance was observed in three classes in
Marine Engine Department. Each class performance lasted three class hours (total
135 minutes). Teachers have taken notes on the activities of the class.
2.3. Participants
Sixty first-year students were selected from five classes to take part in the
research. All of them are male students because they learn at Navigation and Marine
engine departments. Almost of them come from the northern provinces of Vietnam
and live mainly in the rural areas of these provinces. As I mentioned above, before
entering the college, most of them had learn English for three years or seven years
at high schools but the placement test results show that their level of English
obtained is still very low and only a few of them are at elementary level.
Ten of fourteen teachers selected from English department have taught
English for at least five years. They have taught both general English and ESP.
Their average age is thirty two and at the time the research is carried out they are
teaching general English for Marine engine and Navigation classes in the second
semester of the school year 2013-2014. These teachers have graduated from
different universities in Vietnam including University of Language and
International Studies, Hai Phong Private University and Hai Phong University.
Although they come from different backgrounds, they have many things in

29. 20
common: enthusiasm of teaching, eagerness of learning experiences from
experienced teachers and are taking part in intensive and higher training courses. Up
to now, five teachers have successfully gained Master degree, and one is preparing
for his MA Graduation Thesis.
2.4. Data collection procedures
The time for data collection lasted for six weeks from the third month of the
second semester of the school year 2013-2014. This was the time when students
completed two-third of the term. Students may have an overview on the difficulties
of English speaking learning in the first year at the HPC.
During the first two weeks, the questionnaires were delivered to sixty first-
year students in five classes at Marine Engine and Navigation department. The
students had 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The purpose and importance
of the study were explained. The researcher also helped students clear with the
contents of the questions and how to answer them. All questions from students were
clarified by the researcher during the completion of questionnaire.
In the next week, the survey to the teachers was delivered to ten teachers
teaching English speaking skills for the first-year students in the Marine engine and
Navigation department, the time for them to complete it was for ten days.
In the last three weeks, the classroom performance was observed. The
detailed notes were kept and interpreted, and then the results were drawn out.

30. 21
CHAPTER 3 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter will present the data analysis and the discussion of the findings
from the survey questionnaires conducted from sixty students and ten teachers of
English of HPC. Along with the information via survey questionnaires, information
obtained through class observations was also added to this part to assist the results.
Recommendations and suggestions for teaching are also included in this chapter.
3.1. Results from students’ questionnaire
3.1.1. Students’ personal information
The first part includes the questions to gather the participants‟ information of
age, hometown and the duration of learning English. Of 60 students, 75% come
from the rural areas and only 25% from urban areas. Their average age is 20.95,
which is 3 years older than the average age of first-year students.
For English learning duration, 75% students had been learning English for 7
years, 15% for 3 years and 10% for nearly one year.
3.1.2. Types of motivation
Question 1: What is/are your purpose(s) of learning English?
Table 1: Types of motivations
Purpose(s) Students Rate
a. To communicate to foreigners 36 60%
b. To know about English-speaking countries. 18 30%
c. To prepare for survival in English speaking countries 30 50%
d. To entertain 27 45%
e. To fulfill the college requirements 9 15%
f. To get good results at the exams 15 25%
g. To prepare for the future job 58 96%

31. 22
The above table revealed that to prepare for the future job was the main
purpose of English speaking learning. In addition to this, 60% of the students
wanted to learn English for the purpose of communicating with foreigners. 45%
students learn English to entertain while only 15% students learn English to fulfill
the college requirement and 25% to get good results at the exams. In the table
above, 50% of the students who completed the questionnaire was reported to
prepare for survival in English speaking countries and 30% for knowing about
English-speaking countries. These are remarkable rates. It can be said that the main
types of motivation the students had in English speaking learning are integrative
and instrumental motivation and the reasons for learning English are various.
3.1.3. Demotivating factors in a speaking lesson
Question 2: What are your main demotivating factors in a speaking
lesson?
Table 2: Students’ main demotivating factors in a speaking lesson
Factors Students Rate
a. Low language proficiency 54 90%
b. Lack of confidence 42 70%
c. Mother-tongued inference 20 33%
d. Attitudes of group members 18 30%
e. Unthusiastic teachers 0 0%
f. Teacher‟s inference in your speaking 17 28%
g. Unsuitable speaking topics 5 15%
h. Unsuitable textbook content 24 40%
i. Boring speaking actitivities 32 52%
j. Stressful classroom atmosphere 33 55%
k. Crowded class 15 25%
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32. 23
As clearly stated from Table 2, with 90%, low language proficiency is the
first reason for students‟ demotivation in a speaking lesson. The second factor
affecting students in speaking is lack of confidence with the rate of 70%. Stressful
classroom atmosphere is the third factor accounting for 55% while boring speaking
activities also makes up 52%. It can be said that low language proficiency, lack of
confidence and stressful classroom atmosphere are three main reasons for students‟
demotivation in a speaking lesson. Students also find that unsutable book contents
and mother-tounge inference affect their interst in a speaking lesson with the rate of
40% and 33% alternatively. The rest factors are crowded class, teacher‟s inference
in speaking, attitudes of group members and unsuitable speaking topics. In general,
students‟ main demotivating factors in a speaking lessons mostly come from student
themselves and learning condition.
3.1.4. Activities used by teachers and students’ preferences
Question 3: What activites below does your teacher use to motivate you
in a speaking lesson? What activities do you like?
Table 3: Teachers’ activities and students’ preferences
Speaking activities
Teachers’
activities
Students’
preferences
Students Rate Students Rate
a. Games 51 85% 53 88%
b. Teaching aid application: projectors, video
players…
30 50% 57 95%
c. Providing useful language for the speaking tasks 39 65% 54 90%
d. Role play 18 30% 39 65%
e. Authentic situations 39 65% 56 93%
f. Discussion (in pair, in group…) 30 50% 50 83%
g. English and Vietnames speaking alternatively 48 80% 42 70%
h. Compliment 39 65% 48 80%
i. Post activities (questionning, interviewing,
practicing...)
18 30% 48 80%
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33. 24
As can be seen from table 3, the activities preferred by most students were
those whose modern teaching aid is applied (95%), authentic situations (93%),
providing useful language for the speaking tasks (90%) and games (88%).
Discussion (83%), compliment (80%) and post activities (80%) are also in favor of
some students. English and Vietnames speaking alternatively by teachers and role
play are also attractive activities 70% and 65% alternatively. In contrast, the rate of
activities applied by teachers is not equal to those preferred by students. From the
above data, it can be seen that most of students prefer Communicative Language
Teaching method which maximizes their involvement in the lessons and develop
their communicative competence. In general, there is still a gap between the
teachers‟ activities and students preferred ones. Teachers should realize this for
their speaking teaching improvement.
3.1.5. Students’ expectation on teachers’ teaching
Question 4: What do you expect your teachers to do to motivate you to
speak in English speaking lessons?
Table 4: Students’ expectation on teachers’ teaching
Students Rate
a. Let you choose topics to discuss 51 85%
b. Give you more time to work in pair or in group 45 75%
c. Let you choose partners who share the same opinion with you 20 33%
d. Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability 54 90%
e. Vary speaking activities flexibly 48 80%
f. Others 6 10%
The data from Table 4 clearly shows that 90% of students expect teachers to
give them speaking tasks suitable to their ability. 85% of students agree that letting
them choose topics to discuss can help them speak more in speaking lesson while
80% students think that varying speaking activities flexibility will increase their
motivation in speaking. The students also believe that if teachers give them more
time to work in pair or in group they will speak more. Only 33% of students think

34. 25
that if they can choose partners who share the same opinion with them they will be
more ready to speak.
It can be said that giving students speaking tasks suitable to their ability and
letting students choose topics to discuss can help them a lot in expressing their
ideas freely and creatively. Besides, it is necessary for teachers to invest more time
in varying speaking activities flexibly, designing speaking tasks suitable to
students‟ ability and give students more time to work in pair or in group to help
them take part in speaking lessons.
3.2. Results from teachers’ questionnaire
3.2.1. Teachers’ personal information
All 10 teachers in the survey are female and their average age is 32.3. Their
experience of teaching English varied from 3 to 17 years and their average time of
teaching speaking is 9.1 years. The textbook “Language in Use” - Beginner- has
been used as the textbook since 2010; therefore, they have taught this textbook for
four years.
3.2.2. Teacher’s opinions towards teaching English speaking and students’
motivation in speaking English
Question 1. Which stage of a speaking lesson do you think necessary to
motivate students?
Table 5: Teacher’s opinions on teaching English speaking and students’ motivation
in speaking English
Stages Teachers Rate
a. The warm-up stage 1 10%
b. Pre-speaking stage 0 0%
c. While-speaking stage 0 0%
d. Post-speaking stage 0 0%
e. All above mentioned stages 9 90%
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