MOTIVATION IN LEARNING TO SPEAK ENGLISH AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN VIETNAM

Abstract

This study investigates students’ motivation in speaking English, factors affecting their motivation and activities to motivate them to speak English. A mixed-methods approach was adopted with the use of questionnaires and interviews with 325 10th graders randomly selected from three high schools in Binh Duong Province. The findings indicate that most students rarely utilized English in their daily conversations or in their English classes. The findings also show that students’ participation and success in speaking English are affected by both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, among which the extrinsic motivation is stronger. On that basis, this study offers some recommendations and strategies for teaching speaking skills to Vietnamese high school students.