Gender differences in English learning motivation of non-English majors - The case of Thu Duc College of technology

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ENGLISH LEARNING

MOTIVATION OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS: THE CASE

OF THU DUC COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in TESOL Studies

Submitted by: TÔ THỊ KIM HỒNG

Supervisor: Dr. LÊ THỊ THÙY NHUNG

Ho Chi Minh City, April, 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ENGLISH LEARNING

MOTIVATION OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS: THE CASE

OF THU DUC COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in TESOL Studies

Submitted by: TÔ THỊ KIM HỒNG

Supervisor: Dr. LÊ THỊ THÙY NHUNG

Ho Chi Minh City, April, 2019

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “Gender differences in English learning motivation

of non-English majors: The case of Thu Duc College of Technology” is my own

work.

Except for the reference which is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not

contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis

by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main

text of this thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institution.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Le

Thi Thuy Nhung, for her generous assistance and great devotion to guiding me

through the preparation and completion of this thesis. Without her great help, I

would have never been able to finish this thesis.

Secondly, I am sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the TESOL program at Ho Chi

Minh City Open University for their helpful instruction and dedication from 2016 to

2018.

Thirdly, I want to express my thanks to all the students and English teachers at Thu

Duc College of Technology for their participation in this study.

Finally, I am deeply indebted to my beloved family and my friends for their support

and encouragement so that I could have motivation to complete this thesis.

Name: To Thi Kim Hong

Signature: .....................................................................................................................

Date:

iii

ABSTRACT

Motivation and gender are important factors in the success of learning a

foreign language. This study investigated non English majors’ motivation based on

the Socio-Psychological Model of Gardner and Lambert (1972) and examined if

there were any gender differences towards learning English among technical

students at Thu Duc College of Technology (TDC). The participants included a total

of 355 students of different year groups undertaking different majors at TDC. The

students were invited to complete survey questionnaires and participate in focus

group interviews. The findings show that the technical majors at TDC had both

instrumental and integrative motivation for learning English and their instrumental

motivation was more dominant than integrative motivation. There were no

statistically significant differences in students’ motivations with regard to gender.

Based on the findings, a set of recommendations are made to improve the quality of

EFL training at TDC.

Key words: motivation, gender, gender differences, statistically significant

differences, instrumental motivation, integrative motivation, EFL

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ..............................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................1

1.1. Background of the study.......................................................................................1

1.2. Statement of the problem .....................................................................................2

1.3. Purposes of the study............................................................................................4

1.4. Research questions ...............................................................................................4

1.5. Significance of the study ......................................................................................4

1.6. The structure of the thesis ....................................................................................5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................6

2.1. Motivation in learning L2....................................................................................6

2.1.1. Definition of motivation ...................................................................................6

2.1.2. Types of motivation..........................................................................................7

2.1.2.1. Instrumental motivation and Integrative motivation .....................................7

2.1.2.2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation ...............................................................10

2.2. Previous research on learners’ motivation for learning a second and foreign

language ....................................................................................................................12

2.3. Gender ................................................................................................................15

v

2.4. Previous research on gender differences in motivation for language learning ..16

2.5. Research gap.......................................................................................................21

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ...........................22

3.1 Research design ...................................................................................................22

3.2. Research setting:.................................................................................................26

3.3. Participants: ........................................................................................................27

3.4. Research instruments:.........................................................................................30

3.4.1. Questionnaires..................................................................................................30

3.4.2. Group interviews.............................................................................................32

3.5. Data collection procedures.................................................................................33

3.6. Data analysis procedures....................................................................................34

3.7. Validity and Reliability .....................................................................................36

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.....................................................40

4.1. Findings ............................................................................................................40

4.1.1. Findings from the questionnaire survey .........................................................40

4.1.1.1. Types of motivation for learning English....................................................40

4.1.1.2. Gender differences in motivation for learning English .............................46

4.1.2. Findings from the interviews..........................................................................56

4.2. Discussions.........................................................................................................59

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .......................................62

5.1. Summary of the major findings..........................................................................62

5.2. Implications........................................................................................................62

5.3. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research ...........................64

5.3.1. Limitations of the study ..................................................................................64

vi

5.3.2. Suggestions for further research .....................................................................65

REFERENCES............................................................................................................66

Appendices...................................................................................................................75

Appendix 1 ...................................................................................................................75

Appendix 2 ...................................................................................................................83

Appendix 3 ...................................................................................................................84

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Outline of the current mixed methods research design ..............................24

Table 2. Students’ background information .............................................................29

Table 3. Distribution of questionnaire items ............................................................32

Table 4. Interpretation of Mean Score of Motivation Level .....................................35

Table 5. Students’ instrumental and integrative motivations....................................40

Table 6. Students’ instrumental motivation for learning English .............................42

Table 7. Students’ integrative motivation for learning English ...............................45

Table 8. Comparisons of Motivation Based on Gender............................................47

Table 9. Comparisons between Instrumental motivation and Integrative

motivation among male and female students ...........................................................48

Table 10. Instrumental Motivation for learning English by gender..........................50

Table 11. Integrative Motivation for learning English by gender.............................53

Table 12. Students’ reports on reasons for learning English.....................................59

viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

TDC: Thu Duc College of Technology

L2: Second Language

EFL: English as Foreign Language

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

TOEIC: Tests of English for International Communication