Abstract. This study was conducted to find the relationships between motivation
factors and students’ English speaking performance. The survey design was used to
gather data from 286 respondents who are the first year students of Faculty of Law -
Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). All the data collected were processed
using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Six of
seven motivation factors were found affecting English speaking performance of the
students. Immigration Tendency, Determination to learn, Positive Attitude,
Instrumentality and Intrinsic Motivation had positive correlations with English
speaking performance and factor Immigration Tendency had the most positive
correlation. On the other hand, Second Language (L2) Speaking Anxiety had
significant negative correlations. Meanwhile, Social Appeal does not affect students’
English speaking performance. This paper provided helpful information as the
foundation in setting up plans so as to enhance motivation factors as well as
improving students' English speaking performance.
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HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2018-0174
Educational Sciences, 2018, Volume 63, Issue 9, pp. 103-112
This paper is available online at
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION FACTORS
AND ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY
OF THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF LAW
- VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
Pham Thuy Duong
Faculty of English, University of Languages and International Studies,
Abstract. This study was conducted to find the relationships between motivation
factors and students’ English speaking performance. The survey design was used to
gather data from 286 respondents who are the first year students of Faculty of Law -
Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). All the data collected were processed
using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Six of
seven motivation factors were found affecting English speaking performance of the
students. Immigration Tendency, Determination to learn, Positive Attitude,
Instrumentality and Intrinsic Motivation had positive correlations with English
speaking performance and factor Immigration Tendency had the most positive
correlation. On the other hand, Second Language (L2) Speaking Anxiety had
significant negative correlations. Meanwhile, Social Appeal does not affect students’
English speaking performance. This paper provided helpful information as the
foundation in setting up plans so as to enhance motivation factors as well as
improving students' English speaking performance.
Keywords: Students’ motivation, motivation factors, English speaking performance.
1. Introduction
Speaking involves interaction as students are given an opportunity to express their
own ideas and thoughts about a particular topic and speaking is a core aspect in language
education settings [1]. English speaking performance of students will convey the
competency of using this language for the ability of interacting. In teaching and learning
foreign languages; to improve the students’ speaking performance, it is necessary to
conduct a study on their motivation because motivation is one of the most important
factors that determine the rate and success of second language attainment [2].
At the faculty of Law - VNU, general English (GE) is their obligatory subject during
the first three terms: two terms in the first academic year and another one in the second
Received January 17, 2018. Revised May 2, 2018. Accepted September 9, 2018.
Contact Phạm Thuy Duong, e-mail address: thuyduong21087@gmail.com
Pham Thuy Duong
104
year. Because these students are non English - major ones and they passed the university
entrance exams from the results of literature, history and geography subjects so it can be
inferred that their level of both spoken and written English is not very high. As a result,
many of them find that English is a difficult subject for them at university and also have
real obstacles when referring to legal English documents in their study. In addition to this,
at high schools when learning English these students used to concentrate on grammar and
vocabulary proficiency for the priority of national exams. Consequently, they have not
paid much attention to English listening or speaking skills. From my own observations in
the classrooms as well as an open discussion in Vietnamese with my students, of four
language skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing; speaking is believed to be the
most difficult skill to them. They encounter difficulties in making speech in English due
to unfamiliarity with the pronunciation, stress, intonation and a lack of speaking skill and
so on. Added to this, the time to practice speaking in class is not enough because every
week my students have only two periods lasting 90 minutes to learn this skill.
Nevertheless, most of my students have to admit that English is crucial for them to get a
good future job because nowadays the number of international legal companies in
Vietnam is increasing rapidly. Currently, their main English text book is New English File
series by Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham-Koenig. All the activities in this book,
especially in the speaking lessons are designed to help students improve their grammatical
structures, especially communicative competence. However, the issue concerned is how
to motivate the students in speaking lessons when using this textbook to improve their
speaking ability as its authors’ expectation. Therefore, this study was conducted to find
out the relation between the above mentioned motivational factors and the speaking
performance of the first year students at the faculty of Law - VNU. From that, it is hoped
to make the speaking lessons more effective for both teachers and students because
teachers should inevitably focus on their learners’ needs [3].
2. Content
2.1. Literature Review
2.1.1. Motivation Factors
There have been a lot of different views about the word “motivation”. Therefore, it is
not easy for experts or theorists to give an exact definition of “motivation”. In general,
motivation can be considered as a psychological factor which is very important to
generate or take action. It cannot be denied that motivation is a very familiar term which
directs students in learning. Bomia et al (1997) describes that students’ motivation refers
to their willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in and students’
motivation can be a successful factor in their learning process [4]. Skinner and Belmont
(1991) develop the definition further noting that students who are motivated to engage in
school when “they show generally positive emotions during ongoing action, including
enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity, and interest” [5]. Positive correlations were constantly
found between individual development motivation and positive self-confidence identity
change, between going-abroad motivation and subtractive identity change, and between
immediate achievement motivation and learning situation motivation [6].
Relationship between students’ motivation factors and english speaking performance: a case
105
Besides, Crookes and Schmitd (1991) share that “motivation is interest in and
enthusiasm, persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels of attention or action
for extended duration; and level of concentration and enjoyment” [7]. Students’
motivation in this study refers to their interest, enthusiastic participation, learning
persistence, high concentration and enjoyment in class activities. This definition is chosen
for this study because it covers all aspects of motivation in classroom and is very useful
for this kind of research, a study into classroom motivation. There are different views
given by many experts. Each person shares his or her own list of factors which affect
student’s motivation. Students’ motivation depends on a variety of factors such as
teaching methodology, the target language environment and the learners’ demotivation [8].
Such a model for integrating motivation into instruction, with four categories of
Attention, Relevance, Confidence & Satisfaction was effective for second language
learning [9].
Moriam Quadir (2014) [10] carried out a study to investigate the relationships
between learner’s motivation factors and speaking strategy factors to learn oral
communication in English. To measure students’ degree of motivation, the researcher
administered a modified version of the questionnaire used by Schmidt et al. [11]. Seven
motivation factors were extracted: (a) Positive attitude, (b) L2 speaking anxiety, (c)
Determination to learn, (d) Instrumentality, (e) Intrinsic motivation, (f) Social appeal, (g)
Immigration tendency. In this study, reviewing the factors affecting motivation is very
important for the researcher to know the main causes for students’ low motivation in
speaking lessons to search for the most effective solutions to improve the problem. By
discovering the literature on learner’s motivation factors, the author has found out that the
theoritical framework of Moriam Quadia is suitable in this study when using them to
consider with the English speaking performance of students. Therefore, the author will
explain each factor more clearly in the above mentioned model.
Firstly, the positive attitude reflects learners’ positive feeling for native English-
speaking community and culture. Schmidt et al. (1996) in his study on Egyptian adult
EFL learners named the factor Attitude to culture and Dörnyei (1990) in his investigation
of motivation components in Hungary found a parallel factor and labeled it Interest in
foreign languages and cultures [12]. Learners’ interest in target language culture can be
exploited in material preparation for oral communication classrooms. Secondly, L2
speaking anxiety suggests learners’ hesitation to deal with the productive skill of speaking.
Nakata (2006) stated in his study of Japanese university students that anxiety occurs in L2
speaking owing to lack of confidence [13]. He also reflected on the cultural aspect of
anxiety in Japanese EFL context where ‘making mistakes’ is shameful. Similarly, for
Bangladeshi learners losing face in public is a humiliating experience and learners with
low confidence would probably try to avoid anxiety provoking tasks like speaking. Aida
(1994) emphasizes the importance of teachers’ role in alleviating classroom tension by
creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere that can help to reduce students’ tension of
embarrassment in front of their peers [14]. An interactive and enjoyable teaching
approach is recommended to help learners to reduce anxiety in speaking English. Thirdly,
the factor “determination to learn” means learners’ dedication, intention to spend time and
money and perseverance to continue learning; thus, it indicates learners’ commitment to
Pham Thuy Duong
106
enhance English speaking skill. Schmidt et al. (1996) named a factor Determination, and
Schmidt & Watanabe (2002) in a comparative study among different target language
learners named a factor Motivational strength [15]. This learner characteristic can be
utilized by language instructors to encourage students for extensive practice outside of the
classroom and to develop autonomous learning.
Fourthly, the factor “instrumentality” is related to professional utility of learning
English: such as getting a desirable job, receiving financial benefits, enjoying status and
luxury. Dörnyei (1990) labeled a factor Instrumental orientation, which reflects similar
social features. Therefore, it is recommended to incorporate language for professional
purposes in pedagogical preparation to address learners’ interest. Fifthly, the factor
“intrinsic motivation” suggests Vietnamese high school students’ interest to learn spoken
English without any expectation of external awards or benefits. This motivation factor has
found a match with many other factors yielded in different EFL contexts. Schmidt et al.
(1996) labeled a factor with the same name and Dörnyei (1990)
named a factor Desire for knowledge and values associate with English which came
up with almost the same language learning aspects. The sixth factor concerns impressions
to parents and other people, and this factor is named Social appeal. This factor indicates
that learners learn spoken English not only to improve personal quality but also to impress
people in society. In the study of Schmidt et al. (1996) a corresponding factor was found
with the name Sociability. Factor 7 suggests learners’ intention to stay abroad and to
develop friendship with foreigners. This factor is named Immigration tendency. This
factor reflects a typical motive of many Vietnamese learners who learn English speaking
skill with the purpose of immigration and establishment in developed countries. Dörney
(1990) named a factor Spend time abroad, and Schmidt et al. (1996) named a factor
Foreign residence, which are comparable to the factor labeled Immigration tendency of
the present study. The items of the used scales will be mentioned in details in the content
of Insttruments part.
2.1.2. Speaking Performance
According to Brown (2007), there are several definitions of speaking in relation to
language teaching and learning in the literature [16]. However, this study draws on the
definition of speaking proposed by Johnson (1996) who describes speaking as a
“combinatorial skill” that entails “doing various things at the same time” [17]. This
perspective involves communication discourse that enables learners to enhance their
speaking competence. On the other hand, Koizumi (2005) states that speaking can be
manifested through two categories-speaking performance and speaking ability [18].
Koizumi also notes that speaking performance involves a case of oral production in real
time or production of spoken language in an authentic context. On the contrary, speaking
ability is viewed as a more complex aspect which is assessed and observed through
learners’ performance either in written or oral forms. Many researchers indicate that
speaking performance, by nature, is a multi-faceted construct; and specifically, Ellis and
Barkhuizen (2005) points out that four main aspects of speaking include syntactic
complexity, accuracy, fluency, and lexicon [19]. These authors further stress that these
four aspects are subsumed into the concepts of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. While
complexity and fluency underlying speaking activities are likely to provide learners with
Relationship between students’ motivation factors and english speaking performance: a case
107
opportunities to communicate effectively, accuracy may hinder these learners from
speaking well in a variety of learning contexts where the target language is used. Besides,
Goh and Burns (2012) note three aspects of speaking competence [20]. They are core
speaking skills, knowledge of language and discourse, and communication strategies.
In this study, the four elements of Speaking Performance include precise and various
usage of grammar in the speaking activities; students’ relative enough vocabulary to
fulfill class speaking tasks; clear & understandable pronunciation and coherency &
fluency. This is suitable for assessing the students’ competency at VNU as well as
collecting the data from the students to serve for research purposes.
2.2. Methodology
2.2.1. Participants
The respondents of the study are the first year students of Faculty of Law - VNU. All
students were chosen randomly in all eleven classes. The number of students of each class
participating in the survey was identified basing on the number of students of each class.
After finishing the survey instrument, the author of this study conducted the survey to all
students. The researcher also asked for the agreement from the students at Faculty of Law
to voluntarily take part in the process of data collection. To ensure easy understanding of
the questions, the instrument was presented in Vietnamese. The survey questionnaires
were then distributed directly to respondents. Then, the respondents sent their completed
questionnaires back to the author. It was worth noting that students at Faculty of Law may
include a foreigner. However, respondents who were from other countries were not
included in this study. Therefore, this study was based on a sampled data set that only
contained Vietnamese respondents. After collecting and checking the filled up
instruments, 286 filled instruments which meet the requirements were included in the
final processing and analysis. Of them 133 were males (46.5%) and 153 were (53.5%)
females. In terms of their living places, 32.2% of them were living in urban areas, about
two third (67.8%) were living in rural areas.
2.2.2. Instruments
To collect the necessary data for this study, a two-part survey instrument about
motivational factors, English speaking performance and general information of
respondents was developed and used. The first part of the instrument included questions
about the students’ demographic characteristics such as gender, hometown, grade of
student and their majors. In the second part, the survey participants were asked to respond
to the different items on motivation factors using a five-point Likert scale, ie.: (1) =
Strongly disagree, (2) = Disagree, (3) = Neutral, (4) = Agree, (5) = Strongly agree. In this
study the subscales of motivation were Positive Attitude, Second Language Speaking
Anxiety, Determination to Learn, Instrumentality, Intrinsic Motivation, Social Appeal and
Immigration Tendency. There were 30 questions in which the respondents expressed their
perceptions. 28 items (with seven scales) were taken from Schmidt’s study (1996),
adapted by Moriam Quadir (2014). The author added two items that is English speaking
skill will support me with my current further study in the Scale Instrumentality and
English speaking performance is important to me because it can broaden my social
knowledge in the Scale Social Appeal. This item can be suitable when considering the
Pham Thuy Duong
108
students’ motivation when they are studying at university. At university study and higher
study level in Vietnam, English is chosen to be the main foreign language, mentioning
that many students will use English as a language to abroad. It also included the questions
on English speaking performance of students which are also answerable using a five-point
Likert scale. There were 4 questions in which the respondents expressed their perception.
2.2.3. Data Analysis
This research was carried out quantitatively and it involved some quantitative
analyses with the use of statistical tools. There are several software packages for the
analysis of the quantitative data; some of which are broader in scope and user friendly like
SPSS. SPSS may obviously not be the best one but its user friendly and the mastery the
author has of SPSS automatically makes it better for him. There may be spread sheet
packages that are better than the SPSS but SPSS is widely in use now. Therefore, it has
been decided that the collected data were processed and analyzed using the SPSS 20
software. In Reliability Test of Scales, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was calculated to see
how the items explain the research concepts. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is a statistical
test to see whether items in a scale are inter-correlated. The acceptable level of
Cronbach’s Alpha ranges from 0.6 to 1 [21]. In each scale, corrected item - total
correlation would show how one item is inter-correlated with all other items. Therefore,
the higher this value is, the closer the relationship between the item and others in the scale.
According to Nunnally and Burnstein [22], if the corrected item - total correlation is lower
than 0.3, the item should be removed from the scale. In order to identify the relationships
between motivation factors and English speaking performance of the first year students at
Faculty of Law, regression method factor scores were generated from the two sets of
factors and afterwards Pearson correlations (2-Tailed) were examined to understand the
relationships between second language motivation and speaking performance.
2.3. Results and Discussion
Table 1. Results of Reliability Test of Scales
Factors Cronbach’s Alpha Number of Items
Positive Attitude 0.642 5
Second Language Speaking Anxiety 0.655 5
Determination to Learn 0.805 5
Instrumentality 0.717 5
Intrinsic Motivation 0.759 4
Social Appeal 0.679 3
Immigration Tendency 0.743 3
English Speaking Per