1. Rationale of the study

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1 1 An investigation of demotivators in English listening lessons of the 10th form non- English majors at Cao Bang Upper Secondary School for the Gifted. \ Nghiên cứu các yếu tố gây nên sự mất hứng thú trong các giờ học nghe tiếng Anh của học sinh một số lớp 10 không chuyên Anh tại trường THPT Chuyên Cao Bằng. M.A Thesis Linguistics: \ Hoàng Ngọc Linh ; Supervisor : M.A. Phạm Minh Hiền 1. Rationale of the study With Vietnam s entry into the WTO and opening its markets to the outside world, the demand for English speaking proficiency among people especially students is on the rise than ever before. In fact, large numbers of students are being required to learn it through compulsory programs in schools and universities. Therefore, the teaching and learning of English at all levels especially at high schools has been given a lot of special attention in recent years. Since the introduction of the new English textbook 10 which emphasizes the need for the development of students communicative competence through the four skills including speaking, listening, reading and writing, there has been shift from the traditional teaching methods to communicative language teaching. However, most English language classrooms continue to be places to memorize textbooks rather than practise communication and English is still to be treated as a school subject that needs to be mastered and tested rather than a tool for communication. The current teaching and learning English at CBUSSG has shown that in spite of the great efforts exerted to teach English, weakness in listening and speaking skills is a matter of great concerns because teachers tend to educate students in a manner which is directed to meet the requirements of the exams which mainly focus on extensive vocabulary and grammatical rules. Because the General Secondary Exam is not directed toward the speaking and listening skills, non- English major students find themselves uninterested in learning the skills which will not be examined. As a result of my experience in the teaching field, I found out that most students

2 2 have passive attitudes toward learning listening English due to the previous experiences that listening skill is hard to learn and they fail to take listenig input. That is the reason why many of them get bored and become demotivated when listening classes start. For these reasons, it is necessary to have a study on factors causing demotivation in listening lessons for students in general and for non- English majors at CBUSSG in particular. In literature so far, there have been so few studies on demotivation because it is considered a relatively new issue in the field of L2. However, most of the researchers have come to an agreement to a list of common demotivating factors facing students in learning English generally and learning listening particularly. These factors involve learning environment, teachers teaching methods and personality. 2. Aims of the study The main purpose of the study is: - to investigate the demotivators in listening lessons of the 10 th form non- English majors at CBUSSG. - to give some suggestions to eliminate demotivation factors in listening lessons in order to improve students listening skills. 3. Research questions To achieve the aims mentioned above, the following research questions were proposed: (1) What are demotivators in listening lessons of the 10 th non- English majors at CBUSSG? (2) What can teachers do to motivate students in their listening lessons? 4. Significance of the study This study points out factors causing demotivations in listening lessons of the 10 th form non- English majors at CBUSSG. More importantly, it can be used as additional evidence for demotivation factors that Vietnamese Upper Secondary School students have when listening in English. The findings and recommendations of this study will be of great use to the improvement of the teaching and learning of listening of Upper Secondary School students in general and of the 10 th form non- English majors at CBUSSG in particular. The study may guide teachers to help their students eliminate demotivators in listening lessons and better their listening skills. The results of the study may also be helpful for the students themselves and those who are interested in this field.

3 3 5. Scope of the study This study mainly focuses on the demotivation factors that the 10 th form non- English majors at CBUSSG have in their listening lessons. The study of demotivators in other skills would be beyond of the scope. It involves the participants of 6 teachers of English and 102 students in the 10 th form of non- English Section at CBUSSG. To go ahead, the thesis also offers some appropriate suggestions to better the current context. 6. Method of the study In order to achieve its aims, the research is carried out by both quantitative and qualitative methods: Firstly, the data were collected with the use of the survey questionnaire which was conducted with informants of 6 teachers of English and 102 students in the 10 th form of non- English Section at CBUSSG. Then, interviews were employed with students randomly selected from non- English Section for further information.

4 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT 1.Findings As mentioned before, the aim of this study is to explore the demotivators in listening lessons of the 10 th form non- English majors at CBUSSG. One of the findings of the study that is consistent with the general results reported in previous studies is that the largest source of demotivator was related to teachers. Teachers were found to have a strong impact on students demotivation to learn listening English. Within the demotivation categories related to teachers, teaching method and teachers personality are the most dominant demotivating factors. As the teacher is the key of the teaching and learning process, his/her personality has great impact on the learners' like or dislike for learning the related subject. Krashen (1987:32) states that "the effective language teacher is some one who can provide input and help make it comprehensible in a low anxiety situation. In addition, the majority of the participants also admitted having suffered from some negative aspects of teaching methods such as too fast teaching rate, which raised the need to reconsider the teaching methods that have been used to teach English in order to understand possible mismatches between teaching methods and preferred student learning styles. However devoted the teacher is, teaching and learning may not be effective if teaching methods do not match student learning styles. Another important finding is that many students were demotivated because of their inadequate background knowledge of English. Language knowledge is the foundation of

5 5 learning English. If students knowledge of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary is insufficient, it is probable that their English listening comprehension will be negatively affected by lack of language knowledge. Therefore, the large number of students who lost their background knowledge are unconfident in themselves. In the listening classroom, teachers need students active participation but, having so many students who lack confidence and who feel nervous and anxious, makes the task of generating discussion and conversation particularly difficult. Students are reluctant to answer questions and will not risk being laughed at by their peers. When attending examinations, the stress of being shown as inadequate and being criticized by the teacher and parents is frequently more than students will tolerate. Thus, it is unsurprising that CBUSSG students who are under pressure for a considerable period of time are often stressed and depressed, which led them to be demotivated and they lost their interests in the subject. One more demotivator found in this study is learning environment. Many students agreed that learning environment and lack of modern facilities at school have strong impact on their interests in the subject. As we live in the age of science and technology, it is unsurprising to find out that students like some technological devices (TV, video, computer and so on) to be utilized in their listening lessons. This study revealed that 35% of the respondents feel demotivated toward learning listening English because their teachers rarely use technology in presenting the English listening lessons. In addition, lack of encouragement from friends, parents as well as oppurtunities to contact to foreigners in class are also a source of demotivation for students. Another demotivator found in the study is students little intrinsic motivation. Athough they are aware of the importance of learning to listen English, few of them show their interests in learning to listen. Perhaps the students tend to be more interested in other scientific subjects than languages. Contrary to the result drawn from the study by Sakai and Kikuchi (2009), factors related to learning contents and materials were not found to have very strong demotivating influence compared to teacher-related factors and learning environment and facilities. 2. Recommendations

6 6 The findings of this study have suggested some implications which are of significance to teachers and students. (1) Have appropriate teacher behaviours One of the most important pedagogical implications derived from the findings is the teacher's behavior and personality in shaping the learner's motivation and attitudes toward learning L2. It is the teachers helpfulness and enthusiasm that make students feel like learning. When the learner comes to the classroom with low intrinsic motivation, he could be motivated extrinsically by the motivational teacher's choice of personal styles. Finocchario (1981) states that: "Motivation is the feeling nurtured primarily by the classroom teacher in the learning situation. The enhancement of motivation occurs when the teacher closes the classroom door, greets his students with a warm welcoming smile and proceeds to interact with various individuals by making comments or asking questions which indicate personal concerns." In addition, appropriate teacher classroom behavior also needs attention because negative behaviors usually hurt students, leaving them with negative feelings toward English that are difficult to overcome. (2) Apply and adapt suitable teaching methods As indicated in the findings, the teacher s way of organizing listening activities plays an important role in motivating students to learn. If the students find the teacher s teaching style suitable, they will feel more interested in learning. Therefore, it is neccessary and beneficial for students if various techniques for different listening tasks are employed so that demotivation can be avoided. Obviously, there is no certain recipe for which techniques can work best for which task, but the important principle is the use of a variety of techniques to suit different students learning styles. From the findings, it is noticeable that there is always a big gap between the frequency of teachers using listening activities and the students preference for these activities. Using games or modern technology is rarely adopted by teachers but is favoured by most of the students because they will feel more interested in their listening lessons. In addition, teachers need to select a wide range of materials to increase listening content besides using textbooks. Students need to listen to different levels of English in order to be exposed to natural, lively, rich

7 7 language, such as listening to English songs, seeing films with English text. In these ways, it is possible to raise students enthusiasm, cultivate their listening interests, and achieve the goals of learning English. (3) Give students clear instructions and corrective feedback Giving feedback is necessary for the students because they are informed how well or badly they have performed. By providing corrective feedback, the teacher can help students evaluate their success and progress. As discussed above, the majority of students in the interview found it difficult to understand and follow the listening text due to their lack of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar structures. Thus, teachers should encourage students to practise pronouncing words more and try to memorize as many words as possible. Another thing is that, teachers should guide students how to do with different kids of tasks. One of the findings shows that students feel demotivated with activities in the classroom because they did not know how to do with the listening without clear instructions from their teachers. (4) Create a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere in the classroom As suggested by the respondents, teachers should create a relaxing atmostphere within the classroom while taking into account students demotivation. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for teachers to establish relationships of mutual trust and respect with the students. This 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. Besides, teachers ought to develop positive personality types such as patience or sense of humour to make students more comfortable. In addition, teachers can create relaxing atmostphere by using some techniques such as using games, visual aids, exploiting songs and music in listening lessons. (5) Increase students self confidence Self-confidence is generally seen as a key factor in learning a language but the important question is how to maintain and increase students self-confidence and in a language classroom. Teachers should encourage students to set realistic goals for themselves and improve their listening English. If their language proficiency is improved, they are likely to overcome the difficulties such as speech rate, native speakers pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar structures.

8 8 (6) Raise students awareness of the importance of learning listening English Students awareness of the importance of English was the most frequent motive that helped them to overcome demotivation and recover their interest in learning. Nevertheless, an awareness of the importance of English alone was not enough to help students to overcome demotivation absolutely. Students were more likely to completely overcome demotivation if their awareness of the importance of English triggered their self-determination to learn English, making them more autonomous and independent of affective factors. In this respect, teachers need to support this effective internal strategy in order to help students set up and maintain their self-determination by making clear the practical benefits of learning English. (7) Make better use of advanced teaching facilities and learning conditions In order to utilize technology effectively in teaching English, schools should be equipped with adequate numbers of technological devices (language labs, projectors etc.). Additionally, teachers should be trained intensively on utilizing technology in teaching English. It should be noted that teachers cannot be expected to learn how to use educational technology in their teaching after a one-time workshop. Teachers need in-depth, sustained assistance not only in the use of the technology but in their efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum (Kanaya & Light, 2005).

9 9 PART C: CONCLUSION This study aims at answering the two research questions raised from the current situation of teaching and learning listening skill at CBUSSG. The questions are: (1) What are demotivators in listening lessons of the 10 th non- English majors at CBUSSG? (2) What can teachers do to help students motivate in their listening lessons? In order to achieve the aims of the study, first of all, a review of relevant literature on demotivation, listening conprehension is presented so that the theoretical and conceptual background can be formed for the study. The next chapter reveals the setting and the research methods of the study including research questions, the participants, data collection instruments. Finally, data analysis and discussion of main findings as well as a number of recommendations are presented in chapter 3. As a teacher of English of CBUSSG, I can see that listening is a matter of great concerns for both teachers of English in general and for the 10 th non- English majors in particular. Through the analysis of the data collected from the participants, the four demotivating factors were found, in which teachers personality and teaching methods were demonstrated as the most demotivating one. Interestingly, the teachers perceptions of the demotivators were different from the students ones. Meanwhile, they pointed out that students demotivation in learning listening rooted from the students problems without anything related to them, students attribute the issue to teacher- related factors. 1. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

10 10 Like any other research paper, it is apparent that certain limitations in the study are unavoidable. Firstly, the study only uses survey questionaire for the investigation into demotivators in listening lessons of the 10 th non- English majors at CBUSG, the number of participants employed in questionaires and interview may not be enough for the researcher to have proper judgement. Secondly, the study only investigates demotivation in listening skills, the results may not true to other skills. Thirdly, there are still many other factors related to students demotivation in listening English which have not been discussed in this study. This study suggests that student demotivation - the loss of motivation due to particular circumstances - is a major problem in foreign language learning settings. While motivation strategies may help to overcome demotivation, there are other causes of demotivation, particularly extrinsic ones related to students, teachers and the curriculum, that also need to be more explicitly addressed. In conclusion, this study is expected to make a contribution to the alleviation of demotivation for students in learning listening English. It is hoped that the study will be of great benefits to both teachers and students who are interested in this field.