Quy Nhon university undergraduate non-english majaor's perceptions of motivational factors in learning english as a foreign language = Nhận thức của sinh viên không chuyên ngữ trường Đại học Quy Nhơn về các nhân tố động lực trong việc học tiếng Anh

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

LE HOANG HA VY

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE

NON-ENGLISH MAJORS' PERCEPTIONS OF

MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS IN LEARNING ENGLISH

AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 8140111

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. NGUYEN THI THU HIEN

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

LÊ HOÀNG HẠ VỸ

NHẬN THỨC CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ

TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN VỀ CÁC NHÂN TỐ

ĐỘNG LỰC TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH

Ngành: Lý Luận và Phƣơng Pháp dạy học bộ môn Tiếng Anh

Mã số: 8140111

Ngƣời hƣớng dẫn: PGS.TS NGUYỄN THỊ THU HIỀN

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I totally assure that the thesis ―Quy Nhon University undergraduate non￾English majors' perceptions of motivational factors in learning English as a

foreign language‖ is my own work for the purpose of graduating the MA

course of English Linguistics.

The content of this thesis has not been published or written by any other

authors except for some references which are used in this thesis.

The thesis has not been submitted for any degree or diploma in any

university.

Binh Dinh, July, 2022

Lê Hoàng Hạ Vỹ

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The total completion of this scientific research project is the result of not

only my efforts but also the precious assistance of those to whom I would like

to express my sincere gratitude.

First of all, I would like to express the most special appreciation and the

deepest thanks to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, for

her useful advice, aspiring guidance, invaluably constructive criticisms, and

especially for her endless patience and warm encouragement during my whole

study.

Secondly, my deep indebtedness comes to Quy Nhon University, the

Department of Foreign Languages, the Natural Sciences Faculty, and the

Social Sciences & Humanities Faculty for permitting me to conduct this

research.

Thirdly, I am extremely thankful to 200 EFL students from the Natural

Sciences Faculty and the Social Sciences & Humanities Faculty at Quy Nhon

University who were willing to share their sympathy support with the

tremendous assistance and provide valuable information with the friendliest

cooperation for my research project.

Last but not least, I owe an unpaid debt to all the generous support, love,

and care from my beloved families and friends, which has given me more

strength, belief, and motivation to overcome all the troubles in the whole

process of this research.

v

ABSTRACT

This study drew on Gardner (1985)’s motivation theory as the main

theoretical framework to explore the perceptions of the Natural Sciences

Faculty and the Sciences & Humanities Faculty students about motivational

factors affecting their English learning process. This mixed-method study was

conducted to address two key objectives. To achieve the objectives, all

research participants completed a 20-item questionnaire reflecting their

instrumental and integrative motivations for studying English. SPSS version

26 was used to analyze the questionnaire data. Moreover, semi-structured

interviews were carried out to confirm the quantitative results. The findings of

this study showed that non-English majors possessed both instrumental and

integrative motivation for their English learning, and instrumental

motivational factors were more common among them. The findings also

revealed a slight difference in instrumental factors between non-English

majors from the two faculties. In contrast, they reported having the same

moderate integrative motivation for learning English as a foreign language.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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

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

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................. vi

ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................... x

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................... xi

LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................... xii

CHAPTER 1...................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1

1.1. Rationale ................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Aim and objectives.................................................................................. 3

1.2.1. Aim .................................................................................................... 3

1.2.2. Objectives.......................................................................................... 3

1.3. Research questions.................................................................................. 3

1.4. Scope of the study................................................................................... 4

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

1.6. Organization of the study........................................................................ 5

CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................... 7

LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................. 7

2.1. Definition of motivation ......................................................................... 7

2.2. Gardner’s motivation theory................................................................. 11

2.3. Dörnyei’s (1994) model of L2 motivation............................................ 14

2.4. The Self-determination theory .............................................................. 16

2.5. Main types of motivation...................................................................... 17

2.5.1. Orientation and Motivation ............................................................ 18

2.5.2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation.................................................. 18

2.5.2.1. Intrinsic motivation................................................................... 18

vii

2.5.2.2. Extrinsic motivation.................................................................. 19

2.5.2. Instrumental and Integrative Motivation........................................ 21

2.5.2.1. Integrative motivation............................................................... 21

2.5.2.2. Instrumental motivation............................................................ 22

2.6. Motivation in English learning ............................................................. 23

CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................... 29

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................... 29

3.1. Research design..................................................................................... 29

3.2. Research setting .................................................................................... 30

3.3. Research participants............................................................................ 31

3.4. Research instruments............................................................................ 32

3.4.1. Questionnaire.................................................................................. 33

3.4.2. Semi-structured interviews ............................................................. 35

3.5. Research procedure ............................................................................... 36

3.6. Data analysis......................................................................................... 37

3.7. Research reliability and validity ........................................................... 38

3.8. Legal and ethical considerations........................................................... 39

CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................... 41

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.................................................................... 41

4.1. Motivational factors among students of the Natural Sciences Faculty

(NSF) and the Social Sciences & Humanities Faculty (SSF) from their

perspectives.................................................................................................. 41

4.1.1. Instrumental motivation.................................................................. 42

4.1.1.1. English is an instrument to pass exams and graduate ................ 44

4.1.1.2. English is a significant instrument in students’ majors and in

professional development ......................................................................... 45

4.1.1.3. English is a useful instrument to get well-paid jobs and high

promotion in the future careers................................................................ 46

viii

4.1.1.4. English is an instrument to get respect from peers and other

people........................................................................................................ 49

4.1.2. Integrative motivation..................................................................... 50

4.1.2.1. Learning English to read English materials or to understand

English films.............................................................................................. 52

4.1.2.2. Learning English to communicate and make friends with English￾speaking people......................................................................................... 53

4.1.2.3. Learning English to understand English-speaking communities’

cultures, arts and life styles ...................................................................... 55

4.1.2.4. Learning English to travel globally............................................. 56

4.1.2.5. Learning English to satisfy the enjoyment of this language........ 57

4.2. A comparison of motivational factors among students from the Natural

Sciences Faculty (NSF) and those from the Social Sciences & Humanities

Faculty (SSF) ............................................................................................... 60

4.2.1. A comparison of instrumental motivation among students from NSF

and those from SSF................................................................................... 60

4.2.2. A comparison of integrative motivation among students from NSF

and those from SSF................................................................................... 62

CHAPTER 5.................................................................................................... 66

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS........................................................ 66

5.1. A summary of the study........................................................................ 66

5.2. Implications of the study....................................................................... 68

5.2.1. Theoretical Implications................................................................. 68

5.2.2. Pedagogical Implications............................................................... 69

5.3. Limitations of the study ........................................................................ 70

5.4. Suggestions for future studies............................................................... 71

REFERENCE.................................................................................................. 73

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................. 81

ix

APPENDIX B ................................................................................................. 87

APPENDIX C ................................................................................................. 88

x

ABBREVIATIONS

- L2: the second language

- FL: foreign language

- EFL: English as a Foreign Language

- p: page

- SLA: Second Language Acquisition

- No.: number

- ELT: English language teaching

- AMTB: Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery

- NSF: The Natural Sciences Faculty

- SSF: The Social Sciences & Humanities Faculty

- vs: Versus

- &: And

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1. Number of students by faculty and gender.................................... 32

Table 3.2. Process of Conducting the Survey ................................................. 35

Table 3.3. Mean Range for Motivation Level................................................. 38

Table 3.4. Reliability Statistics....................................................................... 39

Table 4.1. Students’ instrumental motivation for learning English................ 42

Table 4.2. Students’ integrative motivation for learning English................... 50

Table 4.3. Instrumental motivation of students from NSF and those

from SSF ....................................................................................... 61

Table 4.4. Independent Sample T-Test ........................................................... 61

Table 4.5. Integrative motivation of students from NSF and those

from SSF...............................................................................................63

Table 4.6. Independent Sample T-test ............................................................ 63