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Motivation to English Speaking Proficiency
Klanrit, Lerdpreedagorn, Sroinam
Udon Thani Rajabhat University, 64 Thahan Road, Udon Thani, Thailand
Udon Thani Rajabhat University, 64 Thahan Road, Udon Thani, Thailand
Udon Thani Rajabhat University, 64 Thahan Road, Udon Thani, Thailand
pklanrit@hotmail.com; napasupl@gmail.com; sroinam1@yahoo.com
Abstract
Theobjectives of this research were: 1) to examine the students’ motivation to English speaking, 2) to
investigate and compare the students’ English speaking proficiency before and after using communicative
activities using two-way information-gap, role-play, problem-solving, and discussion, and 3) to examine the
students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking using the communicative activities.The sample group was
38 third-year B.Ed students at UdonThaniRajabhat University, in UdonThani, in the first semester of the
academic year 2013 using voluntarily technique in recruiting the sample. The design of this research is a one
group pretest-posttest design. The research instruments were: Motivation questionnaire to English speaking,
lesson plans, an English speaking test, and an attitude questionnaire. The experiment lasted six weeks, 3 hours a
week, totally 18 hours. Percentage, mean, standard deviation and t-test for Dependent Samples were employed
to analyze the quantitative data. The findings were as follows: 1) the students’ motivation to English speaking
after the teaching programme was higher than that of the prior, 2) the students’ English speaking proficiency
posttest mean score was higher than that of the pretest, and 3) the students’ attitude towards teaching English
speaking using communicative activities was at a good level.
Introduction
Since English has been taught as a foreign language (EFL) in Thai context, students have less
opportunity to use English outside the classroom. They, therefore, confront problems to use English to
communicate effectively, especially in speaking.
There are some limitations for EFL students to expose to authentic situations to enhance their
opportunities to practice speaking; specific activities are needed to prepare to meet the requirement. Thai
students who have passed the entrance examination to study at the Faculty of Education, majoring in English,
usually confront difficulty in speaking English though they have taken several courses of the program to be
English teachers when they graduate. They are always shy to produce the language, afraid of making mistakes in
pronunciation and grammar, and run out of words when participating in conversation. As many studies
presented [1]; [2], EFL learners are reluctant to speak English since they lack confidence in dealing with native
speakers or other people who are not native Thai. Another reason why EFL students avoid speaking English
might be that their native teachers are speaking English to them in spite of the fact that they speak the same
language. The B.Ed. program in English has trained students to be English teachers at schools. Therefore it is
essential for these students to be fluent and effective in speaking English.
Motivation is defined as the extent ones strive to acquire the language because of the desire to do so
and the satisfaction derived from it [3]. It is considered significant in its role in language learning success. [4]
note that motivation in second language learning is quite complicate to study, which can be explained in terms
of two factors: learner’s communicative needs and attitudes towards the second language community. In
addition,
[5] define motivation as an important component or factor in the learning process. Besides [5] views
motivation as the process aroused by stimulus to achieve desired purposes, behaviors or conditions. In teaching
English as a foreign language in Thai context, motivation is needed in order to encourage students to learn
English. For speaking skill, teachers should find interesting activities to motivate their students to speak English.
Therefore, communicative activities might help EFL learners in encouraging students’ English speaking ability.
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In using communicative activities to encourage L2 speaking, [1] suggests various characteristics of real-life
speaking as spontaneity, repetition, hesitation, false starts, self-correction and interaction. [6], for example,
investigated EFL students’ speaking proficiency using two communicative activities: information-gap and roleplay, and the results showed great impact of the two communicative activities on developing English speaking
proficiency. In addition, [7] conducted the study using qualitative and quantitative method using three
communicative activities in developing high school students’ speaking abilities: information-gap, problemsolving, and discussion. The results indicated these three activities affirmed the effectiveness of the activities
that help EFL students to improve their speaking abilities. From the qualitative views, students felt that they
were secured when speaking without feeling shy or reluctant to speak. They also said that they observed their
fluency when speaking through these activities. From the previous studies, communicative activities could
improve high school students’ speaking ability as well as their confidence to speak English. Therefore, they
might also be valuable to tertiary students at Udon Thani Rajabhat University. When employing the four types
of communicative activities into the project, the following research questions arise. 1) What was the students’
motivation to English speaking? 2) Was the English speaking proficiency posttest mean score higher than that of
the pretest one? 3) What was the students’ attitude towards the communicative activities?
Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study were : 1) To examine the students’ motivation to English speaking, 2) To
investigate and compare the students’ English speaking proficiency before and after using communicative
activities: two-way information-gap, role-play, problem-solving, and discussion, and 3) To examine the
students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking using the communicative activities.
3. Methodology
A. Scope of the study
1) The samples
The samples were 38 third-year B.Ed. students majoring in English at UdonThaniRajabhat
University using voluntarily technique.
2) Variables
Dependent variable was teaching English speaking using communicative
activities (two-way information-gap, role-play, problem-solving, and discussion)
Independent variables were students’ English speaking proficiency, and students’ attitude
towards teaching English speaking using communicative activities.
B. Instruments
The research instruments consisted of: Motivation questionnaire to English speaking, eight
lesson plans using four communicative activities, the English Speaking Test as Pretest and Posttest, and the
students’ attitude questionnaire.
C. Data collection
Data was collected and the study was administered in the classroom. A Motivation
questionnaire to English Speaking was used. Then a speaking test was employed as the pretest. Eight lesson
plans using four types of communicative activities: two-way information-gap, role-play, problem-solving, and
discussion) were employed with 38 students. After that the speaking test was also employed as the posttest, and
the students’ attitude questionnaire was used.
D. Data analysis
The data were analyzed quantitatively from the Motivation to speaking English, the speaking
test, and the attitude questionnaire. Statistics employed were percentage, Mean, Standard deviation, and t-test
for Dependent Samples.
4. Research findings
Since Phase 1 of the project was the starter, the Motivation Questionnaire to English speaking was
employed, and the Speaking Test was conducted before the experiment began, the results could be shown as the
fundamental steps in doing this project. In Phase 2, the research procedures were conducted in the authentic
classroom with 38 participants who were voluntarily participated in this project. Four communicative activities:
Two-way Information-gap, Role-play, Discussion, and Problem-solving were employed in developing students’
English speaking ability. In Phase 3, the Motivation Questionnaire to speaking English and the Speaking Test
were employed again. The Students’ Attitude Questionnaire towards teaching English speaking was also
employed after the posttest.
The research results can be illustrated as follows.
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1.
2.
3.
The students’ motivation to English speaking after the teaching program was higher than that of
the prior.
The students’ English speaking proficiency posttest mean score was higher than that of the pretest.
The students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking using communicative activities was at a
good level.
5. Discussion
This study was an experimental research with a one group pretest – posttest design. The purposes were
to examine students’ motivation to English speaking, to investigate students’ English speaking proficiency
before and after the teaching program, and to examine students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking
using communicative activities. The research findings can be discussed as follows:
1. From the investigation of students’ motivation to English speaking, it was found that motivation to
English speaking before using the communicative activities was 3.33 and after the teaching programme was
3.67 from a five-pointed Likert’s rating scale. The result showed that students had higher motivation after the
teaching program. This may cause from the activities used in teaching speaking which were suitable for the
students and they could encourage them to engage in the activities, especially in the speaking class. Students
had opportunities to speak English to their friends in pairs or in small groups without confronting the lecturers
face-to-face. They were also provided several interesting activities in the classroom. Therefore, these four
communicative activities could affect students’ motivation to speak English. This finding confirmed the idea
proposed by [9] in that the method of teaching or activities must affect students’ motivation. Whenever students
feel bored at the teacher’s method/activities, their motivation would likely be lost or gradually decreased.
Therefore, it could be stated that the four communicative activities used in this research: Two-way Informationgap, Role-play, Problem-solving, and Discussion, could help increase students’ motivation to English speaking.
2. From the investigation of students’ English speaking proficiency before and after the teaching
program, it was found that the students’ pretest and posttest scores on English speaking were 27.10 or 45.16
percent and 46.90 or 78.17 percent, respectively. These findings were in accordance with the research
hypothesis that students’ English speaking posttest mean score after being taught using communicative activities
was higher than the pretest one. The findings indicated that the students’ pretest score on English speaking was
at a low level. The reasons might be from the lack of linguistic knowledge: vocabulary, structure and discourse
pattern; and also speaking skills. In addition, they have limited opportunities to speak English outside the
classroom [10] and also limited exposure to English speakers or members of the international community. They
might be shy to speak English or afraid of making mistakes while speaking. [11] asserted that building up the
learners’ confidence to eliminate their fears of making errors was a priority that a teacher should consider in
order to make learners feel comfortable with their language use. Confidence and competence in speaking could
be developed from appropriate syllabus design, methods of teaching, and adequate tasks and materials [12] .
[13]. However, after the students attended the English speaking class using the four communicative
activities: Two-way Information-gap, Role-play, Problem-solving, and Discussion, they could improve their
English speaking skills. The findings showed that, students’ posttest score on English speaking was significantly
higher than that of the pretest at the .01 level after studying English speaking using the communicative
activities: Two-way Information-gap, Role-play, Problem-solving, and Discussion. Therefore, it can be stated
that the four communicative activities influenced students’ English speaking.
From the results mentioned, the reason might be that the four communicative activities: Two-way
Information-gap, Role-play, Problem-solving, and Discussion could enhance students’ English speaking because
the activities were carefully designed to encourage students to speak with their friends in pairs or small groups.
The students had opportunities to work with their friends to find information, talk about self, solve problems and
discuss any topics through these dynamic communicative activities. They, therefore, could improve their
speaking skills using these communicative activities. The findings were supported by [14], who stated that more
learning takes place when students are engaged in relevant activities within a dynamic learning environment
rather than in traditional teacher-led classes. Another reason that students could enhance speaking skills using
these communicative activities because they had to complete any activity/task through speaking: asking,
informing, and expressing ideas/opinions. If they did not speak, they could not complete the tasks/activities.
The results confirmed [15], the communicative activities encouraged real communication, led to enjoyable
communicative language, increase motivation, and widen perspective in speaking activities. Moreover, when
students showed high motivation on English speaking, they would participate in the communicative activities
actively. The results were supported by [16] in that high motivation could assist students to learn more quickly
than students who had low motivation. In learning situation, students who are less motivated are likely to lose
their attention, misbehave and cause discipline problems. On the contrary, students who are more highly
motivated will participate in the activities actively and pay more attention to a certain learning task or activity.
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The findings were consistent with the study of [7] who investigated the effectiveness of the two
communicative activities: information-gap and role-play in developing undergraduate students’ speaking
proficiency in EFL classroom. Using a mixed-method design both quantitative and qualitative study, the results
revealed that using the two communicative activities had a significant impact on improving EFL students’
speaking proficiency. In addition, the students felt secured in studying in this dynamic classroom environment,
and they had a lot of enjoyment while engaging in the activities. These findings confirm that the communicative
activities could assist students to gain higher score on English speaking. Moreover, some studies in Thailand
which investigated the influence of the communicative activities on EFL students’ English speaking. The results
were in line with the studies of [16], [17] and [8] who investigated the effectiveness of communicative
activities/tasks in secondary schools. The results of these studies indicated that communicative activities help
EFL students to improve their speaking abilities. Moreover, the results were also supported by [18] who stated
that practice and exposure to both listening and speaking activities in real-world situations appeared to be a
practical method to promote speaking confidence.
3. From an investigation of students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking using
communicative activities, the findings indicated that the students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking
using communicative activities was at a good level. The reasons might be that the four communicative activities:
Two-way Information-gap, Role-play, Problem-solving, and Discussion, provided students’ pleasure and have a
lot of fun in speaking English. Using the communicative activities could increase students’ interests in speaking.
The students had fun and enjoyed speaking using communicative activities. These communicative activities
could enhance students to gain more opportunities to speak with their friends and could motivate them to speak.
It could be stated that when students had a positive attitude or good attitude towards teaching English speaking
using communicative activities, they could improve their speaking skills. This confirmed the ideas proposed by
[19] in that an attitude plays an important role in language learning because it can facilitate or hinder the
learner’s learning. [20] also agreed that attitude and feeling were the main factors to help learners succeed in
second language learning. The results were also in line with the idea of [21] who stated that a learner’s attitude
had an influence on the level of second language proficiency.
In conclusion, students’ motivation and attitude towards teaching English speaking was very important
factors. They had an impact on the level of students’ readiness in taking the responsibilities for their own
learning and also had an influence on their English speaking.
Recommendations
According to the results discussed earlier, some suggestions are proposed for further studies.
1. The teacher’s role should be developed in order to facilitate the classroom
environment, especially speaking classes where the teacher must concentrate on speaking English and provide
the opportunity for students to speak English as much as possible.
2. Teaching materials should be carefully designed and constructed
appropriately in accordance with recent second language teaching theory and research findings because they are
found to be the major factors to motivate and encourage students to engage in speaking activities.
3. Group interaction should be promoted in English language classrooms
since mixed-ability students can help one another do the activities. All members of the group have been an equal
part of success.
4. Interactive program should be recommended in assisting with the practice
of speaking English. Students should be encountered to involve themselves more interaction with the target
language.
References
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to express our sincere thanks to TEMASEK Foundation, National University of
Singapore, and Udon Thani Rajabhat University for the grants they have supported this project. Special
gratitudes are for Dr. Nattitep Pitaksanurat, the President, who has kindly assisted in the process of conducting
this research.