VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
----- -----

V TH TH

FACTORS DEMOTIVATING ELECTRONICS-MAJOR

STUDENTS TO LEARN ESP AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY
NGHIN CU CC YU T GY NN S MT HNG TH I
VI SINH VIN NGNH IN T TRONG GI HC TING ANH
CHUYN NGNH TRNG I HC SAO

M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60. 14. 10

Hanoi 2012
 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
----- -----

V TH TH

FACTORS DEMOTIVATING ELECTRONICS-MAJOR

STUDENTS TO LEARN ESP AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

NGHIN CU CC YU T GY NN S MT HNG TH I
VI SINH VIN NGNH IN T TRONG GI HC TING ANH
CHUYN NGNH TRNG I HC SAO

M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60. 14. 10
Supervisor: Dr. T Th Thu Hng

Hanoi 2012
 TABLE OF CONTENT
Declaration ................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................ii
Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iii
Table of content .......................................................................................................... iv
List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................vii
List of tables ............................................................................................................ viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale ................................................................................................................ 1
2. Aims of the study ................................................................................................... 1
3. Research questions .................................................................................................. 2
4. Significance of the study ......................................................................................... 2
5. Scope of the study ................................................................................................... 2
6. Method of the study ................................................................................................ 3
7. Organization of the study ........................................................................................ 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 4
1.1. Motivation ........................................................................................................... 4
1.1.1. Conceptions of motivation ................................................................................ 4
1.1.2. Classification of motivation in language teaching learning ........................... 4
1.2. Demotivation ....................................................................................................... 5
1.2.1. Conceptions of demotivation ............................................................................ 5
1.2.2. Student demotivating factors in foreign language teaching learning............. 6
1.2.2.1. Student-related factors .................................................................................. 7
1.2.2.2. Teacher-related factors ................................................................................... 9
1.2.2.3. Teaching and learning conditions ................................................................ 10
1.2.2.4. Course books ................................................................................................ 11
1.3. Related issues of ESP ....................................................................................... 11
1.3.1. Definitions of ESP........................................................................................... 11

iv
1.3.2. Classification of ESP....................................................................................... 12
1.3.3. ESP teachers .................................................................................................... 13
1.3.4. ESP learners .................................................................................................... 14
1.3.5. ESP materials ................................................................................................. 15
1.3.6. Assessment ...................................................................................................... 17
1.4. Overview of study on demotivation ................................................................ 17
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................ 20
2.0 Research questions and design ......................................................................... 20
2.1. Situation analysis .............................................................................................. 20
2.1.1. Setting of the study.......................................................................................... 20
2.1.2. Subjects ........................................................................................................... 23
2.2. Data collection .................................................................................................. 23
2.2.1. Questionnaire for students............................................................................... 23
2.2.2. Interview for students ...................................................................................... 24
2.2.3. Interview for teachers ...................................................................................... 24
2.3. Data analysis ..................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................................. 26
3.1. Results ............................................................................................................... 26
3.1.1. Data analysis of students survey questionnaire and interview for students .. 26
3.1.1.1. Personal information of the students taking part in the survey .................... 26
3.1.1.2. Student-related demotivating factors ........................................................... 26
3.1.1.3. Teacher-related demotivating factors........................................................... 29
3.1.1.4. Teaching and learning conditions ................................................................ 30
3.1.1.5. The course book ........................................................................................... 31
3.1.1.6. Solutions to help students overcome their demotivation ............................. 32
3.1. 2. Data analysis of the interview for teachers .................................................... 32
3.2. Discussions of findings on factors that demotivate students to study ESP at
SDU ........................................................................................................................... 36
3.2.1. Student-related factors .................................................................................... 36

v
3.2.2. Teacher-related factors .................................................................................... 37
3.2.3. The course book .............................................................................................. 38
3.2.4. The teachers perception of the demotivators in ESP classes ......................... 38
PART C: CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 40
1. Conclusion............................................................................................................. 40
2. Pedagogical implications ...................................................................................... 40
3. Limitations of the study ........................................................................................ 41
4. Directions for further research .............................................................................. 42
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 43
APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................................... IX
APPENDIX 2 ......................................................................................................... XII
APPENDIX 3 ......................................................................................................... XV
APPENDIX 4 ...................................................................................................... XVII

vi
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
EOP: English for Occupational Purposes
GE: General English
L2: Second Language
SDU: Sao Do University
TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table 1: Students profiles (Total number of students: 89) 26
Table 2: Student-related demotivating factors 27
Table 3: Teacher-related demotivating factors 29
Table 4: Teaching and learning conditions 30
Table 5: The course book 31

viii
 PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Motivation is one of the crucial learner factors affecting foreign language
teaching - learning and therefore has been abundantly explored in the field of
English as a Foreign Language teaching and learning. Many researchers have also
examined motivation and its negative side, demotivation in teaching and learning
general English in universities. However, few researchers have directed their
attention to demotivation students tend to carry in the course of learning English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) although English continues to dominate as the lingua
franca of business, technology, medicine, media, education and research. As a result,
the demand of ESP is growing rapidly in many countries including Vietnam which
has become a member of WTO and has witnessed unprecedented growth in
communications with other countries. In response to the great demand of English in
academic, vocational and professional contexts, more and more universities in
Vietnam are offering ESP courses to meet the global trend as well as to meet
students future career needs. Sao Do University is not an exception. All students at
Sao Do University must pass examinations in ESP to graduate, but many are failing
to study it successfully.
Based on my experience of teaching ESP, English for Electronics, for 3 years,
I have found that many Electronics-major students do not seem ever to have
developed any interest in learning ESP or if they have, they seem to have lost that
interest for some reasons, that is, they have become demotivated in ESP classes. In
both cases, their achievement in ESP classes has been negatively affected. For this
reason, I decided to study factors demotivating the Electronics-major students in
ESP classes at Sao Do University, so that effective solutions can be found to help
my students get better results in learning ESP.
2. Aims of the study
The study was carried out with an aim to help my students get better results in
learning ESP. It, therefore, was designed to meet the following objectives:

1
 - to identify factors that demotivate Electronics-major students in ESP classes
at Sao Do University.
- to give suggestions and recommendations to ESP teachers/students at Sao Do
University, on the basis of the findings, for even better ESP teaching - learning.
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the following research
questions were asked in the study:
Question 1: What are the factors that demotivate Electronics-major students in
ESP classes at Sao Do University?
Question 2: What should be done to minimize these factors and help students
overcome their demotivation?
4. Significance of the study
The study is the first investigation of demotivators in learning English for
Electronics at Sao Do University. The proposed study provides students, of English
for Electronics in particular, at Sao Do University with solutions to overcome their
demotivation in ESP classes. In addition, the proposed study will help ESP teachers
at Sao Do University to have a deeper understanding of their students in ESP
classes. Thus, they will be able to make suitable changes and adjustments in their
teaching English for Electronics to motivate their students for even better results.
The proposed study will benefit and help future researchers specializing in
ESP and motivation with meaningful insights from the findings.
5. Scope of the study
The study is limited in scope of finding out factors that demotivate the
Electronics-major students in ESP classes at Sao Do University. The subjects
chosen for this study were 89 Electronic-major students at Sao Do University who
have just finished ESP. Thus, it cannot be said that the results of this study are
generalized to the demotivation of other non-English-major students in ESP classes
at Sao Do University as well as in other universities in Vietnam.

2
6. Method of the study
The study used mixed methods for data collection and analysis. Survey
questionnaire for students and semi-structured interviews were used. The
questionnaire for students and semi- structured interviews were used to get students
opinions on their demotivation factors in learning ESP. Semi-structured interviews
for teachers were also used to find out their ideas about factors demotivating their
students in ESP classes.
7. Organization of the study
The study consists of three parts.
Part A, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, aim of the study,
significance of the study, scoG55
pe of the study, method of the study and organization of the study.
Part B, DEVELOPMENT, includes three main chapters:
Chapter 1, LITERATURE REVIEW, presents theoretical background on
motivation, and demotivation in language learning. The main issues related to ESP
are also presented in this chapter.
Chapter 2, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, presents the methodology used in
the study.
Chapter 3, RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS, gives a detailed presentation of
data and detailed description of data analysis. The implications of the study are also
given in this chapter.
Part C, CONCLUSION, is a review of the study. Furthermore, this part also
points out the limitations of the study and provides some directions for further
studies.

3
 PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Motivation
1.1.1. Conceptions of motivation
It is strongly believed that motivation plays a critical role in academic learning
in general and in specific it is true of the sustained process of mastering an L2
(Dornyei, 2005, p.616).
Motivation, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary is the
reason why somebody does something or behaves in a particular way. Dornyei
(2001:613) defined motivation as a general ways of referring to the antecedents i.e.
the causes and the origins. He also stated that motivation explains why people
decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are
willing to sustain the activities (2001:7).
Motivation related to learning English, could be then defined as the purpose
for doing things that will lead to learning a foreign language. According to Gardner
(1985), to be motivated, the learner needs to have something to look forward to, a
purpose related to goal or objective. This objective would be learning a foreign
language. There must be something that the learner wishes to accomplish or gain,
being the target language the vehicle to attain it. The learners reasons for another
language could vary from achieving a sense of success, fulfill others expectations
or being able to buy a new car through getting a better job due to command of the
target language.
From the above, it can be deduced that motivation is the way learners set up
goals and spend effort to pursue them.
1.1.2. Classification of motivation in language teaching learning
In terms of motivation types, different researchers give out different reasons
why people learn a language, therefore, there different kinds of motivation for
language learning. However, motivation is often classified as intrinsic or extrinsic.
The first kind is when something external and independent of the activity is what

4
provides a sense fulfillment; the second one is when the activity per se is what gives
a sense of accomplishment. (Pintrich and Schunk, 2002). Deci and Ryan (1985)
consider these two types of motivation, although they do not consider them as
opposites, but as part of a continuum which goes from motivation to external
compliance to Self-commitment. They also proposed that intrinsic motivation
emerged from three psychological needs: need for competence (being able to do
things), need for autonomy (making his/her own choices) and need for relatedness
(connecting with others).
There are other ways to classify motivation; Gardner (1985) proposed that it is
necessary to understand the learners goal for learning a language in order to
understand what motivates them. He proposes two orientations for learning a
language: integrative and instrumental. The first one refers to having an interest not
only in the language, but also in the community who speaks the language, a desire
to assimilate the culture as well as the language. It involves being open and
respectful to other groups, lifestyles, ideas, etc., and the possibility of identification
with another culture (Dornyei, 2003). Instrumental motivation, on the other hand,
refers to the desire of learning the language to use it as a toll to obtain non
interpersonal purposes such as passing an exam, obtaining a job, etc.
1.2. Demotivation
1.2.1. Conceptions of demotivation
According to Dornyei (2001a), demotivation is defined as specific external
forces that reduce or diminish the motivational basis of a behavioral intention or an
ongoing action (p. 143). Thus demotivation could be regarded as the negative
counterpart of motivation. However, researchers do not all agree that demotivation
is solely external. Many researchers included not only external factors but also
internal factors such as lack of self-confidence and negative attitude within learners
themselves. Despite his definition of demotivation, even Dornyei listed reduced
self-confidence and negative attitude toward the foreign language as sources of
demotivation (Dornyei, 2001a). Therefore, Dornyeis original definition may need

5
to be expanded to cover both internal and external factors (i.e., demotivators) which
reduce or diminish the demotivation to study English.
Dornyei (2001) defines a demotivated learner as someone who was once
motivated but has lost his or her commitment/ interest for some reason (p.142).
Loss of interest can derive from various sources of demotivation. For examples, a
teacher who cannot control the class or a boring textbook can act as demotivating
factor for the learner. However, the notion of demotivation cannot be related to
every reluctant learner. Dornyei (2001) has pointed out at least three negative
factors cannot be referred as demotivators. The first is an attractive alternative
action that serves as a powerful distraction (e.g., playing game instead of doing
ones homework). Instead of reducing motivation, they distract learners by
presenting a more attractive alternative. Secondly, gradual loss of interest in a long-
lasting, on-going activity cannot be seen as a demotivator because demotivator is a
specific factor or incident that reduces motivation on a single event. Thirdly, the
sudden realization that the costs of pursuing a goal are too high is raised (e.g., when
someone recognizes that how demanding it is to attend a weekend course while
working on weekdays).
Furthermore, Dornyei (2001) makes a distinction between demotivation and
amotivation. Amotivation refers to a lack of motivation caused by the realization
that there is no point or its beyond me(Deci and Ryan, 1985). In other
words, a demotivating factor is some external force that reduces or decreases the
motivation that the learner already has; an amotivating factor is not so much an
external factor as something that is produced by the learner.
1.2.2. Student demotivating factors in foreign language teaching learning
According to Dornyei (2001), demotivating factors consist of nine categories:
1) the teacher; 2) inadequate school facilities; 3) reduced self-confidence; 4)
negative attitude towards the L2; 5) compulsory nature of L2 study; 6) interference
of another foreign language being studied; 7) negative attitude towards L2
community; 8) attitude of group members; 9) course book.

6
 Based on Dornyeis study, factors affecting students demotivation can be
classified into student-related factors, teacher-related factors, and teaching and
learning conditions and course books used in the class.
1.2.2.1. Student-related factors
a. Intelligence
The term of intelligence refers to performance on certain kinds of tests
(Lightbrown and Spada, 1999). These tests help teachers classify successful or
unsuccessful students in the class performance. While some studies have showed
that there is a link between intelligence measured by intelligence quotient tests and
second language learning, some students, in fact, whose academic performance is
weak, are successful in L2 learning.
b. Personality
Lightbown & Spada (1999) discussed a number of personality characteristics
such as extroversion, inhibition, self-esteem, empathy, dominance, talkativeness,
responsiveness. Although several studies on personality and second language
learning have been carried out with different and contradictory results, many
researchers believe that personality factors are important predictors of success in
second language learning. This relationship is a complex one, however, in that it is
probably not personality alone, but the way in which it combines with other factors,
that contributes to second language learning (Lightbown & Spada, 1999:56).
c. Aptitude
Foreign language aptitude may be broadly defined as "language learning
ability" (Drnyei 2005: 32). Factor analysis identified four components (Lightbown
& Spada):
(1) The ability to identify and memorize new sounds; (2) the
ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences; (3)
the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples, and (4)
memory for new words.

7
 These two authors also suggested that teachers should know the aptitude
profile of their students to choose appropriate activities for their particular groups of
students in their classes.
d. Learning strategies
Learning strategies are defined as thoughts or activities that assist in
enhancing learning and student performance (Weinstein & Mayer, 1986, as cited in
Chamot & O'Malley, 1994). Another definition of learning strategies is: Learning
strategies are the various operations that learners use in order to make sense of their
learning (Wenden, 1987a, p. 7-8).
From the definitions coined by researchers in the area of learning strategies,
it would be appropriate to state that learning strategies, in essence, are actions taken
by the learner to assist in learning more effectively. Different learning strategies
work best for different learners when learning a second/foreign language.
e. Learner beliefs
Beliefs are defined as psychologically held understandings, premises, or
propositions about the world that are felt to be true (Richardson, 1996, p. 102). In
the context of second or foreign language learning, beliefs held by students can
relate to the nature of the language under study, its relative difficulty, the usefulness
of various learning strategies, the length of time it takes to acquire a foreign
language, the existence of language aptitude, the effects of age and gender on
second/foreign language acquisition, among others. Students' beliefs about language
learning have an impact on their performance in class.
f. Confidence, anxiety
Learners motivation can vary tremendously according to their confidence
and anxiety they have toward the language they are learning and the environment
they are in. Not only is anxiety related to motivation, but it is also related to
proficiency and more so to communication proficiency, as suggested by Clement,
Dornyei and Noels (1994).

8
 g. Age of acquisition
Age is another characteristic of learners which affect learners success in
second language learning. It is often claimed that there is a critical period for second
language acquisition which ends around puberty or even earlier. However, the
Critical Period Hypothesis for second language acquisition has not been
conclusively proven by research, nor has it been completely disproved. Most
researches indicate that critical period hypothesis does not exist for all aspects of
second language acquisition, but there is powerful evidence of a critical period for
accent. (Brown 59) While there are many advantages to an early age for second
language acquisition, there is little evidence to support the idea that adults are
unable to successfully learn a second language.
1.2.2.2. Teacher-related factors
Based on Dornyei (2001), teachers' factors and appropriate teacher behaviors
are mentioned as follows: enthusiasm, commitment to and expectations for the
students' academic progress, good relationship with the students, acceptance, and
ability to listen and pay attention to students.
a. Enthusiasm
An American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1997) conducted a
survey into the question "Who have been your most influential teachers? He found
that it is teachers' love, dedication and passion together with commitment toward
the subject matter that instills in students a willingness to pursue knowledge. Also,
teachers should clearly identify their reasons for loving and being interested in the
subject matter or L2, and then share these reasons with their students (Good &
Brophy, 1994).
b. Commitment to the students' progress
Teachers should show commitment towards their students' learning and
progress, at the same time they should care for what their students have learnt and
succeeded (Dornyei, 2001). Furthermore, if teachers treat their students "as if they

9
already are eager learners, they are likely to become eager learners" (Brophy, 1998:
170).
c. Teachers' expectations
In an experiment in educational psychology, an intelligence test to primary
school children, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) came to a conclusion that if
teachers had high expectations about how well students could study, their students
would probably be able to reach high level of achievement. Particularly, when the
teacher sets high expectations, they are likely to perform better at the subject matter
and even feel more competent (Good & Brophy, 1987).
d. Good relationship with the students
- Acceptance: three linchpins of the humanistic psychology; namely;
acceptance, empathy and congruence, are of great influence in the development of
student-centered teaching.
- Ability to listen and pay attention to students: listening to a person is the
single most powerful transaction that occurs between ourselves and another person
(Wlodkowski, 1986: 28).
It appears that these two attributes of a teacher, mentioned above, bring about
good relationships with his/her students.
1.2.2.3. Teaching and learning conditions
a. Physical conditions
Physical conditions of a classroom refer to the classroom size, chairs, desks,
tables, boards and even bulletin boards. Jeremy Harmer (1992) confirmed that such
physical conditions had great impact on students' learning as well as their attitude
towards the subject matter either positively or negatively.
L2 teachers should be reminded that the classroom is not only a psychological
but also physical environment. The decoration: posters, flowers, funny objects
influence strongly the atmosphere. More importantly, teachers should create the
ownership of the class among students. He stated "Personalizing the classroom can

10
be seen as students exercising increasing control over their environment" (Dornyei,
2001: 42).
b. A pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom
Language learning is considered one of the most face-threatening school
subjects. Language anxiety has been found to be a powerful factor that hinders L2
learning achievement (Maclntyre, Young, 1999). Thus, it is the teacher's task to
create a pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere. A number of various
components contribute to make up the ideal classroom climate such as the teacher's
rapport with the students, the students' relationship with each other and the norm of
tolerance. It is very important to make students understand that mistakes are a
natural part of learning, and to ensure that they will not be criticized if they make
mistakes.
Moreover, humor is a very potent factor to improve the classroom atmosphere.
The use of humor helps students feel at ease without tension in the air.
1.2.2.4. Course books
A common element in the teaching of English as a second or foreign language
is the course book. Indeed, it has been argued that the course book is an almost
universal element of ELT teaching (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994) and the course
book may contribute greatly to the motivation to teach learn the language.
1.3. Related issues of ESP
1.3.1. Definitions of ESP
Differences exist in how people interpret the meaning of ESP. Some described
ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be specified.
Others, however, were more precise describing it as the teaching of English used in
academic studies, or the teaching of English for vocational or professional purposes.
Strevens (1988) described it as English language teaching which is designed to
meet specified needs of the learner. Tony Dudley-Evans (1997), who is well aware
of the current confusion amongst the ESP community, gave an extended definition
in terms of 'absolute' and 'variable' characteristics:

11
 Absolute Characteristics
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners
2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it
serves
3. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of
grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable Characteristics
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that
of General English
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution
or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary
school level
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students.
5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems
The definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens
(1988), although he has improved it substantially by removing the absolute
characteristic that ESP is "in contrast with General English" (Johns et al., 1991:
298), and has revised and increased the number of variable characteristics. The
division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very
helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP. From the definition,
we can see that ESP can but is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline,
nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range. ESP should be
seen simple as an approach to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans describes as an
attitude of mind. Such a view echoes that of Hutchinson et al. (1987:19) who state,
ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and
method are based on the learner's reason for learning.
1.3.2. Classification of ESP
According to Carter (1983), there are three types of ESP:

12
 1. English as a restricted language: The language used by air traffic controllers
or by waiters are examples of English as a restricted language.
2. English for academic and occupational purposes: English for science and
technology, English for Business and Economics, English for social studies, English
for academic purposes, and English for occupational purposes (EOP).
3. English with specific topics: This type concerned with anticipated future
English needs of, for example scientists requiring English for postgraduate reading
studies, attending conferences or working in foreign institutions.
1.3.3. ESP teachers
An issue frequently raised with regard to ESP teachers is whether they need to
be experts in the subject area in question. The general assumption is that they are
primarily language teachers engaged in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
(TEFL) and should, above all, be experts in the language and language teaching,
and are not required to have specialized subject knowledge. Nevertheless, they do
need to have some understanding of the subject area, which is ideally accompanied
by a positive attitude towards it. ESP teachers should also have the ability to
actively integrate student knowledge about the subject matter or, as Ellis and
Johnson (1994: 26) put it: It is the learners who have the specific content
knowledge and who are able to bring that knowledge to the classroom. Good ESP
teachers will thus above all be experts in presenting and explaining the language,
who also have the ability to ask the right questions and make good use of the
answers (Ellis and Johnson, 1994: 26). Other valuable sources of information for
ESP teachers are subject teachers and subject-matter textbooks.
To sum up, to make best use of the resources mentioned above when
designing a syllabus, selecting, and/or writing materials, as well as teaching the
course, ESP teachers should have at least some basic knowledge about the subject
matter in question, which is ideally supported by a genuine interest in it. It is even
more important that they act as facilitators and encourage pupils to share their own
knowledge about the subject matter with the class and to actively participate in the

13
learning process. This characteristic of effective teachers is beautifully articulated in
Kahlil Gibran's novel The Prophet: If the teacher is indeed wise, he does not bid
you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own
mind (as cited in Harmer, 2007: 107).
1.3.4. ESP learners
Another important aspect in which ESP differs from GE is the target audience
and their goals, as well as their motivation to learn the language. When teaching
ESP at the university or higher education level, ESP teachers will most often teach
both pre-experience learners and job-experienced learners. Pre-experience learners
most often have just finished secondary school and rely mostly on their theoretical
knowledge, while job-experienced learners, in addition to having theoretical
knowledge, also have some practical experience of using a foreign language in
business life. Consequently, as Ellis and Johnson (1994: 5) point out, pre-
experience learner expectations of language learning are to a great extent based on
their former educational experience, while job-experienced learners will above all
focus on their own shortcomings in terms of fluency, getting the message across,
and being able to understand the people from other countries that they have to deal
with. Regardless of these differences between pre-experience and job-experienced
learners, the emphasis of ESP teaching/learning for both categories of learners
should be on performance or, as emphasized by Ellis and Johnson (1994: 35), they
should become operationally effective.
Motivation is of key importance for both pre-experience and job-experienced
learners. In the first situation, considering that most students have no or almost no
work experience, ESP teachers have to rely primarily on materials and activities
they have prepared for their learners. For this reason, materials used in the language
course should preferably relate to knowledge gained in other courses and learners'
future jobs. When teaching job-experienced learners, on the other hand, ESP
teachers can also focus on what learners do in their jobs and at least to some extent
relate the teaching/learning materials and course activities to that. The direct use of

14
the learner's experience in the ESP teaching/learning process is thus important for
the motivation of both pre-experience and job-experienced learners, the most
important distinction being whether ESP teachers predominantly refer to knowledge
gained in other professional courses or the learner's practical experience gained on-
the-job.

1.3.5. ESP materials

Materials selection, adaptation, or writing is an important area in ESP
teaching, representing a practical result of effective course development and
providing students with materials that will equip them with the knowledge they will
need in their future business life.
One of the most important issues regarding ESP materials selection and/or
writing is whether the materials selected should be solely or primarily subject
specific and what the most appropriate ratio of general materials to subject-specific
materials is. General materials focus on one's general ability to communicate more
effectively, while subject-specific materials focus on a particular job or industry
(Ellis and Johnson, 1994). When carefully selected, both general and subject-
specific materials will equip the students with the necessary skills and knowledge,
but subject-specific materials nevertheless better cater for ESP learners' specific
needs. Consequently, ESP learners will very often feel more affinity for materials
that they find relevant to their area of specialism. The use of subject-specific
textbooks is also more in line with the realization that students are individuals with
different needs, styles, and interests and with some central traits of cognitive theory.
There are two kinds of materials, namely: readily available textbooks and
tailor-made materials. The decision on whether to use readily available textbooks or
tailor-made materials is primarily based on the learners' subject area.
As Ellis and Johnson (1994: 115) emphasize, the choice of materials has a
major impact on what happens in the course. This impact is demonstrated on the
following three levels:
- It determines what kind of language the learners will be exposed to and, as a

15
consequence, the substance of what they will learn in terms of vocabulary,
structures, and functions;
- It has implications for the methods and techniques by which the learners will
learn;
- Last but not least, the subject of or content of the materials is an essential
component of the package from the point of view of relevance and motivation.
The selection of ESP materials should thus above all depend on the needs of
the learners in relation to their future or present jobs: that is, materials should focus
on the appropriate topics and include tasks and activities that practise the target
skills areas (Ellis and Johnson, 1994: 115). Another important criterion that should
be taken into account when selecting materials is the level of language knowledge
students have already acquired and the target level they will need to communicate
successfully in their jobs.
ESP is predominantly student-centered, and consequently students
considerations should be at the top of the list of selection criteria. According to
Lewis and Hill, students considerations include the following:
- Will the materials be useful to the students?
- Do they stimulate students curiosity?
- Are the materials relevant to the students and their needs?
- Are they fun to do?
- Will the students find the tasks and activities worth doing?
(Adapted from Lewis and Hill, 1993: 52-53)
To sum up, after analyzing learner needs and setting objectives for the course,
the ESP teacher has to select materials that will help the students achieve the course
objectives (Ellis and Johnson, 1994). These materials should also relate closely to
the learners specific skills and content needs, which is an important precondition
for full exploitation of the materials as well as the learners motivation.

16
1.3.6. Assessment
Tony Dudley-Evans (1998) stated that the reasons for assessment can be
grouped under two main headings: for feedback to aid learning and for a
comparable measure of competence. Classroom assessment and formal testing are
both methods of assessment but the circumstances in which they take place are
often very different. Classroom assessment may be carried out by the teacher or the
learners (self-or peer assessment) and can be great source of feedback to aid
learning.
1.4. Overview of study of demotivation
Over the last twenty years, research on motivation for foreign language
learning has evolved considerably from focusing on describing what composes
student motivation to a detailed and elaborated list of suggestions that help teachers
initiate, and further promote student motivation. However, because of the novelty of
the term demotivation, not much research has been conducted on the subject. To put
it another way, despite the probable importance of demotivation in learning in
general, and L2 and FL learning in particular, to date few studies have focused on
student demotivation. This section deals with the previous studies on motivation
and demotivation.
Falouta, Elwoodband and Hood (2009) conducted a study on 900 university
EFL learners to investigate demotivating factors in learning EFL in Japan, and the
relationship between past demotivating experiences and present proficiencies. In
their study, demotivating factors were grouped into three categories: external
conditions of the learning environment, internal conditions of the learner, and
reactive behaviors to demotivating experiences. Internal and reactive factors were
shown to correlate with long-term EFL learning outcomes.
Trang and Baldauf (2007) did an investigation on demotivation involving
Vietnamese students from a university of economics, with three main foci: (i) the
reasons (i.e. the demotives) underlying demotivation, (ii) the degree of influence of
different motives and (iii) student's experiences in overcoming demotivation.

17
 Dorniyei (2001) conducted a research on 50 secondary school pupils in
Budapest who were studying either English or German as their second language.
The data were collected through structured interview. He identified the teacher, lack
of self-confidence, negative attitudes toward L2, compulsory nature of L2 study,
interference of other languages, negative attitudes towards L2 community, attitudes
of group members, course book and inadequate school facilities as nine
demotivating factors.
Oxford (1998) took into account the time factor. She recognized that some of
demotivating factors include: the teacher, the textbook, negative classroom
activities, defective equipment, and inappropriate tasks.
Sun Yun-Fang (2008) in the PhD thesis at Indiana University titled
Motivation to speak: Perception and attitude of non-English major students in
Taiwan conducted a study on Taiwanese students motivation to speak English at a
university in northern Taiwan. Questionnaires on motivation and anxiety were used
to ask 115 non-English majors in two English conversation classes to give their
perceptions and attitudes toward English conversation class. Then follow-up
interviews were conducted with six volunteer students for deeper analysis of their
willingness to use English to communicate in the class, and what activities they
prefer in English conversation class. 56% of the surveyed students stated that
teachers have strong impact on their willingness to use English to participate in
class activities. They most preferred a class size of between 15-20 students. 81% of
the surveyed students preferred more interactive activities such as group discussion
on practical and interesting topics and a more relaxing learning environment. The
results implied that teachers need to be more flexible to meet students' needs such as
daily conversation skills, pragmatics, business communication skills and public
speaking skills.
Zhao Lei (2012), using questionnaires, studied learning motivation types and
the factors that influence sustaining motivation in learning English in the Chinese
context. The study investigated Chinese non-English majors' motivation in English

18
learning to facilitate teachers' understanding of ways to increase it. 124 students
from year 1 and 2 were randomly selected and participated in the study together
with 10 teachers. Both students' and teachers' questionnaires show that intrinsic-
extrinsic motivation co-exist with integrative-instrumental motivation to make
college non-English majors learn English. The results emphasize that teachers are
often unaware of their students' specific motivations for L2 language learning, and
their lack of knowledge about students' real reasons for learning a language would
impede their full understanding of students' motivation. Students are driven to learn
English by different reasons but tend to be more extrinsic and instrumental
Lakawa (2007) carried out an action research on Revisiting motivation in
ESP mass education at Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia. The author
recognized that the content of the new materials proved to be a motivating factor.
Whats more, while students were found to be instrumentally motivated, validating
the intended purpose of ESP courses, their increased effort in the classroom also
coincided with increased effort in their self-initiated informal learning activities
outside the classroom, behavior associated with integrative motivation.
(http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:158800)

To the best knowledge of the author, no study regarding demotivation in

learning and teaching ESP has been done. Therefore, the writer decided to study on
Electronics-major students demotivation in learning ESP at Sao Do University.
Summary
In summary, the chapter has reviewed different viewpoints on motivation in
general and particularly focused on foreign language learning motivation. The
chapter has also reviewed the main de-motivating factors affecting students
motivation in learning English. Besides, the conceptions of ESP, classifications of
ESP and main issues in learning and teaching ESP are also presented.
The following chapter presents the methodology of the study on Electronics-
major students demotivation in learning ESP at Sao Do University.

19
 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.0 Research questions and design
The study seeks answers to the two following questions:
Question 1: What are the factors that demotivate Electronics-major students in
ESP classes at Sao Do University?
Question 2: What should be done to minimize these factors and help students
overcome their demotivation?
The research design is survey with mixed methods for data collection.
2.1. Situation analysis
2.1.1. Setting of the study
Teaching staff
There are 21 teachers of English aged from 25 to 45 in Tourism and Foreign
Language Faculty of Sao Do University now. Nine of them have finished MA
course at University of Language and International Studies- Vietnam National
University, Hanoi.
Two teachers are working toward an M.A degree and the rest hold a bachelor
degree in English language teaching. The number of teachers is limited and there
are no teachers who are in charge of ESP teaching separately. Among them, 4 are
engaged in teaching English for Electronics in which one teacher has seven-year
experience and two teachers have four-year experience and the other have three-
year experience. All of them are female. They are energetic and willing to devote
their time and energy to teaching. However, they find it difficult to deal with
unfamiliar and unaccustomed subject matter. They, therefore, have to face with
many difficulties and they themselves have found that their ESP classes are not
really interesting.
English for Electronics
English for Electronics is in the undergraduate training program of electronic
engineers. It is a compulsory subject and occupies 3 credits. Students study English

20
for Electronics in 3rd semester after finishing Basic English 1, 2 in the two first
semesters.
Objectives of English for Electronics: After studying ESP, students will be able to:
+ Pronounce and use correctly vocabulary related to some electronic topics such
as electronic devices in the home, computers, fax machines, telephone systems and
so on.
+ Understand grammar points such as passive voice, linking facts and ideas,
conditional sentences, relative pronounce.
+ Describe operation of electronics devices such as TV, refrigerators, batteries,
telephones
+ Read and comprehend paragraphs (about 200-300 words) about electronics
devices which are given in the course book.
+ Write paragraphs (about 100-120 words) describing the operations of
electronic devices.
According to Carters classification, English for Electronics taught in SDU
belongs to EOP.
Students and their background
Normally, each course is divided into two classes of electronics, which are
made up about 100 students. The age of the students varies from 18 to 25. They
come from different provinces in the country. Some of them are from the rural or
remote areas, where there are no good opportunities for studying English, these
students commonly did not spend much time learning English at high school before.
The others come from cities. Theoretically, they have all finished three years or
seven years of learning English at secondary schools before entering Sao Do
University. Most of them are male students (about 70%). To some extent, there are
some students whose English is very good, but generally the target students' English
proficiency is still low level. Most of them learn English to read specialized
documents rather than speak English to foreigners. Some have strong pressure to
pass exams with high marks; the others would prefer ESP enhance their specialized

21
knowledge, which is required in their future jobs. The others are afraid of studying
general English as well as English for Electronics.
The course book
The books "Knowhow 1, 2 (A1, A2 Level Common European Framework
of Reference for Languages) has been used recently for General English (GE). In
addition, the book "English for Electronics" are subjectively selected by the
teachers are held to evaluate students' language knowledge.
The course book "English for Electronics" are subjectively selected by the
teachers and then compiled into the material to teach students of Electronics at SDU
in 45 periods (three credits), and with the following features:
- "English for Electronics" consists of fifteen units designed in combination
with electronic topics to enable students to develop both their language skills
(reading and writing) and vocabulary relating to electronics.
- Each unit is often divided into three parts, namely: Reading, Language study
and Technical reading or Writing. In the reading parts includes reading texts related
to electronics and tasks designed to help students deeply understand the texts. In the
second part, language study, the main grammar phenomenon which appeared in the
texts is introduced such as reduced-time clause, if-sentences, passive voice, linking
words etc. The last part is writing or technical reading. In the part of writing,
students are taught how to link facts and ideas, describe transmission processes,
describe diagrams and request information in a formal letter. In some units, writing
is replaced by technical reading, in which students are instructed to read technical
information on electronic devices such as: remote control system, alarm systems
and transmission lines.
Teaching facilities
Teaching facilities also play an important part in teaching English and may
affect the teaching process positively or negatively. All teachers are supplied with
speakers and laptops to use for their class contact when necessary. In all classes of
SDU are equipped with projectors. It is very convenient for teachers in teaching.

22
Moreover, there is one library with some sorts of materials for reference like
English books, magazines, newspapers but it mainly provides book of electronics in
Vietnamese, not English books, especially ESP books.
Testing and evaluation
Testing and evaluation is very important in teaching and learning. At SDU,
ESP students will be evaluated with teachers assessment, 3 regular classroom tests
and a final examination. However, in fact, because of the test-oriented symptom,
almost teachers have been forced to enhance the students scores. To some extent,
thus, test scores have not reflected quality of teaching and learning English for
Electronics as well as other subjects at my school. Thats the reason why I will not
mention students final scores in my study.
2.1.2. Subjects
In order to achieve the aims of the thesis and answer the above research
questions, the main subjects of the study include a group of 3 female teachers of
English for Electronics currently teaching at SDU and 89 second-year students of
electronics. At the time the study was being carried out, there were two classes with
89 students of electronics at SDU who had recently finished their ESP course.
These two classes comprised thirteen females and seventy-six males.
2.2. Data collection
There are a number ways in which information about the needs can be
gathered such as questionnaires, interviews, observation, etc. The researcher of this
study decided to choose questionnaires and semi-structured interviews as main
tools for collecting information.
2.2.1. Questionnaire for students
The demotivation questionnaire (Appendices 1 and 2) for students consisted
of 28 questions, including 27 five-point Likert type questions and one open
question. These 28 questions designed to measure four factors derived from
previous studies: student-related factors (statements 1, 2, 3, 4, 7,8 ,9 ,10, 27 ),
teacher-related factors (statements 5, 6, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26), and teaching

23
and learning conditions (statements 11, 12, 13) and the course book used in ESP
classes (statements 15,16, 22, 23, 24). For questions 1-27, participants were
required to tick the column that represented their best answer: Strongly Disagree/
Disagree/ Undecided/ Agree/ Strongly Agree. Whats more, for the question 27 had
space for students to write their expectations in the ESP course.
The questionnaire also included one open-ended question for students to write
their solutions that help students overcome their demotivation.
2.2.2. Interview for students
The interviews were carried out in Vietnamese in the form of informal
conversations between the researcher and 10 students randomly chosen from the 2
classes after they had done the survey questionnaire. The 20-minute interview was
semi-structured with 3 main questions (Appendix 3). The questions were based on
those questions in the questionnaire, but were extended to get more thorough
understanding of the matter. The data were recorded, transcribed for the analysis
purpose, and then translated into English for writing up by the researcher then
checked for correctness by an experienced translator.
2.2.3. Interview for teachers
The interview was carried out in English in the form of an informal
conversation between the researcher and 3 teachers of English for Electronics
(there were only three teachers because at the time the study was carried out there
were 4 teachers at SDU taking part in teaching English for Electronics, including
the researcher). The semi-structured interviews were organized with 5 main
questions (Appendix 4) and lasted 30 minutes. The questions were used to identify:
Teachers ideas about factors demotivating their students in ESP classes
What they often do in ESP classes
The process in which they designed the course book of English for
Electronics
Whether they analyzed students need before, while and after teaching ESP

24
 Their suggestions to help students overcome their demotivation in learning
ESP.
The data were recorded, transcribed for analysis.
2.3. Data analysis
Data from questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively for descriptive
statistics such as frequency, mean, standard deviation. Data from interviews were
transcribed and analyzed interpretively around the 5 topics represented in the 5
interview questions (Appendix 4).
Summary
The chapter has presented the setting, subjects, and methodology of the
study. The next chapter presents a description of data analysis and discussions of
the findings.

25
 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1. Results
3.1.1. Data analysis of students survey questionnaire and interviews
3.1.1.1. Personal information of the students taking part in the survey
Number and percentage of
Information
students
19-20 82 92 %
Age
20-24 17 8%

Male 76 85 %
Gender
Female 13 15 %
Years of < 7 years 0 0%
learning English 7 years 89 100 %
Table 1: Students profiles (Total number of students: 89)
The total number of the students in the study was 89 students of which 82
students were aged from 19 to 20 and 17 were aged from 20 to 24. All of them had
been learning English for at least 7 years or even more than 7 years. 13 students
were female and 76 were male students. It is clear that most of Electronics-major
students are male.
3.1.1.2. Student-related demotivating factors
Statements 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 27 in the questionnaire asked about the
student-related factors demotivating them in English for Electronics classes.

26
 Statements Frequency Mean SD
1 I had no need to study ESP. 89 1.87 1.06
2 My English ability was not good enough to handle
ESP course requirements. 89 3.63 1.28
3 I did not have enough specialized background
knowledge when I studied ESP. 88 3.44 1.27
4 I had difficulty in memorizing specialized words and
phrases. 86 3.43 1.21
7 I got lost in how to self-study for ESP lessons. 89 4.35 0.79
8 I got low marks despite having studied seriously. 89 2.16 1.12
9 I was not confident in ESP classes and often felt left
85
behind my classmates. 3.08 1.38
10 I failed to answer the teachers questions. 88 2.65 1.24
27 ESP course did not come up to my expectations. 88 3.25 1.25
Table 2: Student-related demotivating factors
Table 2 indicates that most of the students in the survey thought that they got
lost in how to self-study for ESP lessons (M=4.35). Among student-related
demotivating factors, this is the most important demotivator. 8 out 10 interviewed
students said that: I really got lost in how to self-study for ESP lessons. I did not
know how to study ESP at home by myself. I tried to remember new words and
translate the reading texts into Vietnamese but I forgot them not long after.
Most of them admitted that they found that their English ability was good
enough to study ESP well. I think my general English is not good enough to study
ESP, in fact I really want to study general English as well as English for
Electronics because it is very helpful for my future career, but its very difficult for
me to study both of them well.
Around two-thirds of them (M= 3.63) stated that they felt demotivated in
learning English for Electronics because their English ability was not good enough
to handle ESP course requirements. More than half of them (M= 3.44) agreed that

27
their not having enough specialized background knowledge when they studied ESP
affected their motivation in ESP classes. Almost the same number of the students in
the study (M=3.43) stated that they were demotivated in learning ESP as they had
difficulty in memorizing specialized words and phrases. 6 interviewed students
agreed about that. I have to say that learning new words by heart is my nightmare.
I am afraid of it. I try my best to remember them but I will forget a lot of them soon.
In the course book included lot of specialized knowledge for me to understand .It
makes me feel confused and demotivated, one said.
About half of them supposed that factors demotivating them in learning ESP
are: they were left behind the classmate (M= 3.08) and ESP course did not come up
to my expectations (M = 3.25). In addition, one student in the interview answered:
ESP course did not happen as I had expected. I hoped that specialized
reading texts in the course book were closer to my basic specialist knowledge, not
only about operation of several machines mentioned in the course books. Whats
more, I wanted that after studying the ESP course, I would know how to
communicate or discuss my specialty with others in the future career. I mean that
ESP course need to focus on speaking skills and communicating skills for students,
not only reading and writing skills. I also hoped that the teacher would introduce us
more valuable materials in English for me to read. Lastly, I expected that ESP
classes would be more interesting, less stressful, the teacher would organize games,
other activities for students.
Only one-third of them (M = 2.65) agreed that they felt demotivated because
they failed to answer the teachers questions. Almost the same number (M= 2.16)
stated that they got low marks despite having studied seriously demotivated them in
ESP classes. Most of the students in the study said that they had need to study ESP
(M =1.87).

28
3.1.1.3. Teacher-related demotivating factors
Statements 5, 6, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26 were designed to ask about
demotivating factors in learning English for Electronics which related to teachers.
The statements 6, 14, 18, 21 focused on teachers teaching method, statements 5 and
17 emphasized on teachers pronunciation of English and specialized knowledge,
and the rest were designed to investigate teachers behaviors in ESP classes.
Statements Frequency Mean SD
5 Teachers pronunciation of English was poor. 88 1.9 0.83
6 Speed of teaching was too fast. 89 3.56 1.11
14 Teachers explanations were not easy to understand. 86 3.17 1.42
17 Teachers did not have enough specialized knowledge. 87 3.51 1.26
18 Teachers used translation method too often. 89 2.1 1.1
19 Teachers shouted or got angry when students kept
making mistakes. 89 2.75 1.12
20 Teachers were lack of care and enthusiasm. 87 2.57 1.27
21 Teachers only focused on teaching specific lexicon
and explaining specialized knowledge. 85 3.61 1.19
25 Teachers were strict and inflexible. 89 2.35 1.18
26 Teachers demonstrated favoritism. 85 2.41 1.24
Table 3: Teacher-related demotivating factors
As shown in Table 3, two-thirds of the students (M= 3.61) thought that they
felt demotivated in ESP classes since their teachers only focused on teaching
specific lexicon and explaining specialized knowledge. Almost the same number of
students (M = 3.56) believed that their teachers fast teaching speed demotivated
them. One of 6 participants in the interview who agreed with this factor said: For
many times, my teacher only focused on teaching specific lexicon and explaining
specialized knowledge while the content of the lessons was long, as the result, she
increased teaching speed of the rest parts of the lessons. At that time I felt

29
demotivated. However, lessons in the course book were too long, my teacher had to
teach fast to cover all the content of the lessons.
Around half of them (M=3.51) stated that the reason for demotivating them
was their teachers lack of specialized knowledge. About half of them (M= 3.17)
thought that they were demotivated in learning English for Electronics because
teachers explanations were not easy to understand. Like 5 other students, one
complained that Sometimes my ESP teacher lack of specialized knowledge, it takes
her a lot of time, about 5 minutes to explain terminologies or specialized texts but I
am still not clear about that. She makes me feel confused and demotivated.
It can be seen from the table 3, only one-fourth of them thought that they felt
demotivated since teachers shouted or got angry when students kept making
mistakes (M = 2.75) and teachers were lack of care and enthusiasm (M= 2.57).
When most of participants in the interview were asked about their teachers
behaviors in the classes, they felt content. They said that their teachers took care of
them, were enthusiastic, flexible and did not demonstrate favoritism. Minority of
the participants believed the reason why they were demotivated in ESP classes was
that their teachers were strict and inflexible (M= 2.35) and their teachers
demonstrated favoritism (M=2.41).
3.1.1.4. Teaching and learning conditions
Statements 11, 12, 13 in the questionnaire were designed to ask about which
factors related to teaching and learning conditions demotivated Electronics-major
students in ESP classes.
Statements Frequency Mean SD
11 Teaching and learning facilities were insufficient. 87 2.49 1.31
12 My friends did not like ESP. 89 1.66 .65
13 The number of the students in the classes was too
large. 88 1.87 .80
Table 4: Teaching and learning conditions

30
 According to Table 4, less than one-third of the students agreed that
insufficient teaching and learning facilities (M=2.49) was the reason for their
demotivation in learning ESP. A small minority of them stated that they felt
demotivated in learning English for Electronics because their friends did not like
ESP (M=1.66) and the number of the students in the classes was two large
(M=1.87). Most of interviewees said that teaching and learning facilities were good.
7 of them said that In my class, there are more than forty students. I dont think
that such number of students in an ESP class is too big. It doesnt make me felt
demotivated.
3.1.1.5. The course book
Statements 15, 16, 22, 23, 24 in the questionnaire asked about Electronics-
major students opinions about the course book used in ESP classes.
Statements Frequency Mean SD
15 Specialized reading texts in the course book were
boring. 89 2.83 1.3
16 Specialized reading texts in the course book were too
long. 89 3.71 1.86
22 There were too many new words in the lessons. 89 4 .87
23 It was difficult to understand the content of specialized
reading texts in the course book. 89 3.19 1.37
24 Grammar points in the course book were difficult. 87 2.7 1.22
Table 5: The course book
As shown in Table 5, a large majority of the students in the study stated that
they demotivated in learning ESP for there were too many new words in the lessons
(M=4). 8 students in the interviews said that some lessons included so many new
words and some reading texts which were difficult for them to understand. About
two-thirds of them agreed that too long specialized reading texts in the course book
made them demotivated in ESP classes (M=3.71). Half of them said that they felt
demotivated because it was difficult to understand the content of specialized texts in

31
the course book. Only one-third of them proved that specialized reading text in the
course book were boring (M = 2.83). Almost the same number thought that
grammar points in the course book were difficult was one of their demotivating
factors (M= 2.7).
3.1.1.6. Solutions to help students overcome their demotivation
In the questionnaire, the last question was open-ended for students to write
their solutions that help them overcome their demotivation in learning ESP. Only 31
students wrote in the blanks. All solutions in the survey and in the interviews
focused on suggestions as follows:
- Teachers should instruct students how to learn vocabulary effectively,
teachers should tell them the different ways to learn vocabulary.
- Teachers should give clearer instructions for students to do their housework.
- Teachers are suggested to teach and consolidate general English for students
while teaching ESP.
- Teachers should spend suitable time on teaching each part of lessons.
Teachers focused much on explaining specialized knowledge and teaching
terminologies.
- Teachers are advised to organize games to motivate students.
- Teachers should use group-work in teaching ESP.
- The contents of some lessons in the course book should be shortened.
- There should be Grammar bank and Vocabulary bank at the end of the
course book for students to revise easily.
- The course book should focus on speaking and listening skills, not only
reading and writing skills.
3.1. 2. Data analysis of teacher interviews
1. In your opinion, what demotivated your students to learn ESP?
All 3 teachers in the interview said that one of the most important
demotivating factors was the students English ability. Ms. C., one teacher of
English for Electronics said I think students biggest problem of students when they

32
study ESP is their English ability, its not good enough. In general, to learn English
is not easy for many students, to learn ESP, including a lot of specialized knowledge,
specialized terms, is very difficult for them. A lot of my students told me that they
were afraid of learning ESP.
All teachers thought that their students had difficulty in memorizing the
specialized words and phrases made them demotivated in learning ESP. Ms. A., one
of the teachers says, In ESP reading, there are terms and a lot of vocabulary
including the knowledge completely specialized that make students unable to
comprehend, or one passage may contain too many terms and difficult sentences
that make them unable to interpret. It often takes me a lot of time to explain. Most
teachers said that their students often complained about memorizing specialized
words and phrases and understanding the content of the reading texts.
2 of them agreed that their students, in fact, did not want to study English for
Electronics; they were not interested in ESP. They studied simply because it was a
compulsory subject. This made them feel demotivated in ESP classes.
They believed that many students were too lazy; they often did not do their
homework or prepare for the next lessons although teachers gave a lot of
punishments. I think it is students laziness that demotivates them. Many students
dont do homework or prepare for the new lessons. So, how can they memorize new
words and understand the reading texts easily, Ms. B. said. She also added I
dont think that reading texts and grammar points are too difficult for them to
understand and memorize. The problem is that they dont spend time enough for
this subject.
2 of 3 teachers disagreed that there were problems with the course book. Only
one teacher, Ms. C., thought that the course book needed improving. She added that
using traditional teaching method, translation method, too often made students
demotivated in learning ESP. The others supposed that traditional teaching method
was still the most useful and it was essential for them to use it in ESP classes.

33
 Ms. A. and Ms. B supposed that it was not easy for them to encourage students
because their students were too lazy in their opinions. In contrast, Ms. C agreed that
ESP teachers did not try their best to encourage students. According to her, students
were lazy, partly because teachers did not know how to motivate them.
2. What do you often do in ESP periods?
All teachers said that they followed what were designed in the course book in
most ESP classes. The contents of lessons were often long, so I often follow the
course book, I dont have time to organize other activities for students. I organized
games for students for several times but it was really time-consuming, Ms. B said.
Two of them had small children, they were busy with taking care of their babies,
and in fact, they admitted that they did not spend enough time on teaching ESP,
which was not easy for them at all. When being asked about team-teaching in ESP,
they all said that they never taught ESP with teachers of Electronics.
3. Can you tell a little bit about the process in which you designed the
English for Electronics course book?
Ms. A. and Ms. C. who were in charge of designing English for Electronics
course book, answered that firstly, they chose materials based on objectives of
English for Electronics; however, she had a lot of difficulty in collecting materials
because there were few textbooks of English for Electronics. Ms. A added that she
just found only two textbooks, namely, Oxford English for Electronics by Eric H.
Glenginning John Mc Ewan, Oxford University Press and the course book of
Institute of Posts and Telecommunication Technology, English for
Telecommunication Electronics. In their opinions, lessons in Oxford English for
Electronics were too difficult for her students because it included a lot of difficult
terminologies and specialized knowledge. Therefore, they chose some of lessons in
that textbook and of course she designed task again to make them easier. In the
second course book, English for Telecommunication Electronics, I found that 4-5
lessons were suitable, others mentions knowledge of telecommunications, not
suitable for my students Ms. A. said. They searched reading texts on the Internet

34
and then designed them for the rest lessons. They read a lot and refined several
reading texts of electronics that according to her were suitable for requirements of
the ESP course, and designed other tasks based on the reading texts. Both of them
agreed that because of limitations in finding materials and their electronic
knowledge, they had difficulties in designing the course book of English for
Electronics.
4. Do you analyze your students needs when you designed the course
book, while you taught and after finishing each ESP course?
Ms. A. and Ms. C. answered that they did not pay much attention to analyzing
students needs when they designed the course book, because it was difficult for
them to find materials and understand Electronic knowledge. All of them admitted
that they did not analyze their students needs while they taught and when they
finished each ESP classes. They just tried to teach content of the course book
effectively. I always try to teach ESP lessons well, I dont ask myself whether my
students need and want to learn or not. Ms. B said. Ms. C. added that in fact she
found that the university did not require them to analyze students need before,
while and after teaching each ESP course, so she did not do. They said that they
only had 3-4 months to design the course book, whats more, all money they
received for designing the course book was one million five hundred thousand
Vietnam Dong.
5. In your opinion, what solutions can help your students to overcome
their de-motivation?
All of them suggested that the disease of test-oriented teaching - learning
needed to disappear. When teachers are not forced to enhance final scores for
students, a lot of students will be soon afraid of failing the examination, and of
course, they will be more hard-working, Ms. A. According to Ms. C., to help
students overcome their demotivation in learning ESP, teachers should spend more
time on understand specialized background knowledge and give more cares to
students.

35
3.2. Discussions of findings on factors that demotivate students to study ESP at
SDU
The original research question asked what factors demotivating the
Electronics-major students in ESP classes at Sao Do University were. In this study,
factors demotivating the students in ESP classes were divided into 3 categories:
student-related factors, teacher-related factors and the English for Electronic course
book.
3.2.1. Student-related factors
In the study, five factors related to student were found as follows:
1. Students experiences of failure
2. Students English ability
3. Students lack of specialized background knowledge
4. Students lack of self-confidence
5. Students expectations
Among student-related factors, students experiences of failure is the biggest
source of students demotivation in ESP classes. To be clear, many students
recognized that they needed to study ESP. In other words, they were aware of the
importance of learning ESP. However, most of them said that they got lost in how
to self-study ESP and they had difficulty in memorizing specialized words and
phrases. The results of the study suggest that teachers need to help their students in
self-studying at home, preparing new lessons, and finding out their suitable learning
strategies. Teachers need to pay much more attention to guide them how to study
ESP effectively.
Another demotivator related to students found in this study is students
English ability. Most of them thought that their general English knowledge was not
good enough for them to study ESP well. It discouraged them in learning English
for Electronics. It is possible that because of the disease of test-oriented teaching -
learning at Sao Do University as the writer mentioned above, almost all teachers
had been forced to enhance the students scores so that most of students could pass

36
GE final examination without satisfying GE requirements. This may be the reason
why many students English ability was not good at Sao Do University. Then, in
fact, there exists an assumption that if students pass GE final exams by themselves,
of course their English ability will be good enough to handle ESP course
requirements. However, to eliminate the disease of test-oriented teaching - learning
is not easy at all.
One more demotivating factors found in the study is Students lack of
specialized background knowledge. English for Electronics was taught in the third
semester. According the training curriculum, in the first and second semesters,
Electronics-major students study general subjects. When they studied English for
Electronics they did have enough specialized background knowledge. Therefore, it
is necessary to consider when English for Electronics should be taught.
Another finding of the study that is consistent with general results reported in
previous studies is that lack of self-confidence demotivated Electronics-major
students. Many students in the interview said that they were afraid of losing face in
ESP classes, they were nervous when being asked by the teachers, and they often
felt left behind classes. In addition, this fact was also rooted from their lack of
specialized background knowledge and their English ability.
The last demotivating factor related to students is that ESP course did not
come up to their expectations. The results suggest that students expected a more
suitable, better designed course book. They also hoped that their ESP teachers had
better teaching methods as well as better specialized background knowledge.
3.2.2. Teacher-related factors
To be consistent with the general results reported in previous studies, a large
source of demotivates was still related to teachers. However, teachers of English at
SDU have taken care of their pronunciation, so teachers pronunciation is not a
demotivating factor. According to data analysis above, their behaviors did not make
their students feel demotivated in ESP classes. The study has shown that there are
three demotivating factors related to teachers.

37
 The first one is teachers teaching methods, which provided the largest source
of demotives. Many students complained that their teachers teaching speed was too
fast, and they focused so much on teaching specific lexicon and explaining
specialized knowledge, forgot other parts in lessons. Moreover, they thought that
their teachers organized quite few activities. It can be suggested that ESP teachers
should spend suitable periods of time teaching all parts in lessons and distinguish
between carrier content and real content in lessons.
Another is teachers lack of specialized background knowledge. According to
many interviewed students, that was partly the reason why their ESP teachers spent
much time and had difficulty in explaining specific lexicon and specialized
knowledge. As a result, students felt demotivated in ESP classes.
Lastly, teachers lack care of learners need analysis was found to be a strong
cause of demotivation. Need analysis is a very important thing in ESP as mentioned
in literature review. However, teachers ignored it, that was the main reason why
there was the mismatch between teachers teaching methods and students
preference, why the ESP course book was not suitable for students; and why ESP
course did not come up to students expectations.
3.2.3. The course book
In students opinions, the course book of English for Electronics was not
good enough for some reasons, which demotivated them in learning ESP. Firstly, it
contained many long and difficult specialized reading texts. Secondly, there were
lots of new words and difficult terms; it should include a vocabulary bank for
students to follow easily. Last but not least, ESP course book only focused on
reading and writing skills, ignored speaking and listening skills which students were
supposed to need for their future careers.
3.2.4. The teachers perception of the demotivators in ESP classes
An interesting and surprising finding was that teachers perceived very little
about their roles as a demotivator in ESP lessons. There was a considerable
difference between teachers and students perceptions of demotivation in learning

38
ESP although both agreed that students English ability played an important role in
demotivating students. While most students blamed teachers and the course book
for their demotivation in learning ESP, teachers tended to blame their students for
their laziness and bad English ability. Only one teacher thought that teachers played
an important role in demotivating students in learning ESP.

39
 PART C: CONCLUSION
1. Conclusion
This study showed three categories of factors demotivating Electronics-major
students in ESP classes at SDU. The first one was student-related factors which
related to five issues, namely students experiences of failure, students English
ability, students lack of specialized background knowledge, students lack of self-
confidence and students expectations. Among five ones, students experiences of
failure were perceived as students strong demotivating factor. Secondly, teacher-
related factors were strongly demotivating factors such as teachers teaching
methods, teachers lack of specialized background knowledge and especially their
lack care of learners need analysis. The study also found that the course book used
in teaching English for Electronics considerably demotivated students in learning
ESP.
2. Pedagogical implications
The limited numbers of participants involved in this study means that the
findings cannot be generalized to all ESP teachers, all ESP students at Sao Do
University as well as in other universities in Vietnam. However, based on the
findings of the study, the following should be considered in order to avoid students
demotivation in learning ESP.
- ESP teachers, educators and syllabus designers need to be aware of what
their students really need and expect in ESP courses. Based on learners need
analysis, they could design a suitable and interesting ESP course book to motivate
students.
- To design a good ESP course book, it is necessary for ESP course book
designers to be given enough time and be paid appropriately.
- To improve students general English ability to help them be ready to study
ESP, it is essential for the disease of test-oriented teaching - learning to come to an
end.

40
 - ESP course book should include Grammar Bank and Vocabulary Bank so
that it is easy for students to look up or revise.
- ESP teachers may tend to exaggerate the importance of the carrier content
versus real content in ESP teaching. ESP teachers may tend to evaluate carrier
content in the same way that they evaluate real content. They seem to forget that
they are only language teachers and it is not their job to evaluate the professional
competence of the students. Therefore, teachers need to draw a distinction between
the carrier content and the real content in teaching ESP.
- ESP teachers should spend much more time on taking care of their students,
giving them help if necessary, enriching their specialized background knowledge,
finding other methods considered being effective in teaching ESP such as team-
teaching and so on.
3. Limitations of the study
Although the study was carefully designed and based on reliable data, it still
had the following major limitations.
Firstly, the study only carried out an investigation of demotivating factors of
Electronics-major students in ESP classes at Sao Do University, so to some extent,
the findings may not be generalized to all ESP students at SDU as well as in other
universities in Vietnam.
Secondly, there were many factors demotivating Electronics-major students in
learning ESP, but the number of factors taken into account in the study was still
limited.
Thirdly, the study did not show that how demotivating factor categories were
different in terms of levels.
In addition, the study did not find the differences between male and female
students in their demotivation in learning ESP.
Finally, suggestions given in the study were not enough to help students to
overcome their demotivation in learning ESP.

41
4. Directions for future research
Based on the findings, and taking into account the limitations of this study,
some recommendations can be made for future research. Further studies should
have an insight look into other types of English for specific purposes, other aspects
of demotivation in ESP such as impact of demotivation, how demotivators are
different in terms of levels of impact. Secondly, as this study failed to address the
differences between male and female students in their demotivation in learning ESP,
future research may investigate whether male and female students differ in their
demotivation in ESP classes. Furthermore, future researchers may specifically
evaluate ESP course books in Vietnamese universities because their quality may
possibly be not good enough leading to students demotivation to learn.

42
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Dudley-Evans, T., & St John, M. (1998), Developments in ESP: A multi-
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45
 APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS
This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into Factors
demotivating the Electronics-major students to learn ESP at Sao Do University. It
is highly appreciated if you could spend a little time completing truthfully the
questionnaire. All your own information is only used for the thesis purpose and you
can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data.
Please write in the space provided, tick a box and/or the column of your
choice.
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
Today's date: Name: .
Age: Gender: Female Male
How long have you learnt English? - .. years.
Please indicate your opinion about each statement by putting a tick () in
the appropriate column. (SD= Strongly Disagree; D= Disagree; U= Undecided;
A= Agree; SA= Strongly Agree)

I felt demotivated in learning ESP because

Statements SD D U A SA
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
1 I had no need to study ESP.
2 My English ability was not good enough to handle ESP
course requirements.
3 I did not have enough specialized background knowledge
when I studied ESP.
4 I had difficulty in memorizing specialized words and
phrases.
5 Teachers pronunciation of English was poor.
6 Speed of teaching was too fast.
7 I got lost in how to self-study for ESP lessons.

I
8 I got low marks despite having studied seriously.
9 I was not confident in ESP classes and often felt left
behind my classmates.
10 I failed to answer the teachers questions.
11 Teaching and learning facilities were insufficient.
12 My friends did not like ESP.
13 The number of the students in the classes was too large.
14 Teachers explanations were not easy to understand.
15 Specialized reading texts in the course book were boring.
16 Specialized reading texts in the course book were too
long.
17 Teachers did not have enough specialized knowledge.
18 Teachers used translation method too often.
19 Teachers shouted or got angry when students kept making
mistakes.
20 Teachers were lack of care and enthusiasm.
21 Teachers only focused on teaching specific lexicon and
explaining specialized knowledge.
22 There were too many new words in the lessons.
23 It was difficult to understand the content of specialized
reading texts in the course book.
24 Grammar points in the course book were difficult.
25 Teachers were strict and inflexible.
26 Teachers demonstrated favoritism.
27 ESP course did not come up to my expectations.
If not, please explain why so that we can further improve
the course.

II


28. In your opinion, what solutions can help you to overcome your demotivation?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Thank you for your co-operation!

III
 APPENDIX 2
PHIU IU TRA CHO SINH VIN
Phiu iu tra ny c thit k cho nghin cu ca ti Nghin cu cc yu
t gy nn s mt hng th i vi sinh vin ngnh in t trong gi hc ting Anh
chuyn ngnh Trng i hc Sao . Rt mong cc bn c th dnh thi gian
tr li cu hi mt cch trung thc. Tt c thng tin ca cc bn duy nht ch
c s dng cho mc ch nghin cu v cc bn c th tin chc rng tn ca cc
bn s khng c cp n trong nghin cu.
Cc bn hy vit vo khong trng, v tch () vo mt trng hoc ct m
cc bn chn.
Xin chn thnh cm n s hp tc ca cc bn!
Ngy: H v tn:
Tui:. Gii tnh: N Nam
Bn hc ting Anh c bao lu? nm.
Hy cho bit inauqm ca cc bn v nhng li pht biu di y bng
cch tch () vo ct tng ng. (SD= rt khng ng ; D= khng ng ;U=
khng c kin; A= ng ; SA= rt ng )
Ti cm thy mt hng th trong vic hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh bi v
Li pht biu SD D U A SA
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
1 Ti khng c nhu cu hc mn ting Anh chuyn
ngnh.
2 Kh nng ting Anh ca ti khng tt c th p
ng c yu cu ca kha hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh.
3 Ti khng c kin thc chuyn ngnh khi ti hc
mn ting Anh chuyn ngnh.
4 Ti gp kh khn trong vic nh t v cm t chuyn
ngnh.
5 Gio vin ca ti pht m km.

IV
6 Tc ging ca gio vin qu nhanh.
7 Ti b mt phng hng trong vic t hc ting Anh
chuyn ngnh.
8 Ti b im thp mc d ti hc hnh nghim tc.
9 Ti khng t tin trong gi ting Anh chuyn ngnh v
thng cm thy b b li ng sau cc bn trong lp.
10 Ti khng tr li c cu hi ca gio vin.
11 Trang thit b dy hc cha .
12 Cc bn ca ti khng thch hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh.
13 S lng sinh vin trong lp hc qu ng.
14 Gio vin gii thch khng d hiu.
15 Nhng bi c hiu trong gio trnh nhm chn.
16 Nhng bi c hiu trong gio trnh qu di.
17 Gio vin khng c kin thc chuyn ngnh.
18 Gio vin s dng phng php dch qu thng
xuyn.
19 Gio vin tc gin v qut tho khi sinh vin lin tc
mc li.
20 Gio vin thiu s quan tm v nhit tnh.
21 Gio vin ch tp trung vo vic dy thut ng chuyn
ngnh v gii thch kin thc chuyn ngnh.
22 C qu nhiu t mi trong cc bi hc.
23 Ni dung ca bi c hiu v chuyn ngnh kh hiu.
24 Kin thc ng php trong gio trnh kh.
25 Gio vin nghim khc v cng nhc.
26 Gio vin thin v.
27 Kha hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh khng din ra nh
ti mong i.
Nu khng, bn hy gii thch ti sao chng ti c th

V
 hon thin kha hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh.







28. Theo bn, nhng gii php no c th gip bn vt qua s mt hng th ca
mnh trong vic hc ting Anh chuyn ngnh?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. ..

Xin chn thnh cm n s hp tc ca cc bn!

VI
 APPENDIX 3
QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWING STUDENTS
I. Lead-in
- Whats your name? In which class are you in? How old are you?...
- In your opinion, is English for Electronics important? Why or why not?...
- What do you think about learning English for Electronics? Is it difficult or easy?...
II. Testing and exploring ideas
Main questions Possibly additional questions Clarifying questions
1. Have you ever been - If yes, when?
demotivated in learning
English for Electronics?
- How do you think about your
aptitude of memorizing
2. In your opinions, what specialized vocabulary?
makes you feel - Have you ever been not able to
demotivated in learning complete ESP exercises?
English for Electronics? - What do you think about the text
Or book? (difficult, easy, long or
Can you tell me about boring)
demotivating factors - Have you ever been not able to - Can you expand a
affecting you in ESP understand your teachers little on this?
classes? instructions? - Can you tell me
- Do you think that you have anything else?
enough specialized knowledge in - Can you give me
Vietnamese to understand some examples?
specialized text in the textbook?
- Do you have any comments
about your ESP teachers teaching
method?

VII
 - Do you think that what you
learnt in ESP course will be
helpful for your future career?
3. In your opinion, what
are solutions to help you
overcome demotivation
in learning English for
Electronics?
Or
According to you, what
needs doing to motivate
you in ESP classes?
III. Conclusion
- Are there any other demotivating factors that we have not discussed?
- Thank you very much for your all ideas. So, I can summarize your all opinions as
follows Is it true?

VIII
 APPENDIX 4
QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWING TEACHERS
I. Lead-in
Hello. As I told you on the phone yesterday, as part of my study about
demotivating factors demotivating Electronics-major students in ESP classes, today
Id like to ask you some questions. It will probably take about 20-25 minutes, is that
OK? Thank you.
How long have you been teaching English for Electronics?
II. Testing and exploring ideas
Main questions Possibly additional questions Clarifying questions
- Do you think that your students have
1. In your opinion, demand to study ESP?
what demotivated - In your opinion, does that students English
your students to ability is not good affect students
learn ESP? demotivation in learning ESP?
- Do you think that specialized texts in ESP - Can you expand a
course book are long or boring or too little on this?
difficult for your students to understand or - Can you tell me
include many new words? anything else?
- In your point of view, are teaching and - Can you give me
learning facilities sufficient? Do they some examples?
motivate your students in ESP classes? - Does this factor
- Do you think that grammar points in ESP affect your students
course book are not too difficult for your in ESP classes?
students to understand? - Do you think this
- Do you often encourage your students? If demotivates your
yes, how? students in learning
2. What do you - How do you warm up your students? ESP?
often do in ESP - How do you often teach specialized texts?

IX
periods? - Do you often give your students other
materials, not in the course book, such as
videos, pictures?
- Have you ever team-taught with subject
teachers?
- How tolerant are you when students keep - Can you expand a
making mistakes? (Silent until they finish little on this?
their task, smile and help them realized - Can you tell me
correct mistakes/ silent but not willing to anything else?
smile and supportive/ get angry)/ How do - Can you give me
you feel when students keep making some examples?
mistakes? And what do you often do in that - Does this factor
case? affect your students
- have you ever had difficulty in explaining in ESP classes?
the content of the specialized texts in the - Do you think this
textbook? How often? demotivates your
- How often do you increase speed of students in learning
teaching in order to cover all parts of units? ESP?
- Do you think that translation method is a
good one in teaching ESP? How often do
you use translation method?
- In your opinion, do students have to learn
by heart new words? How often do you ask
your students to learn by heart new words?

3. Can you tell a - Where did you collect the data to design the
little bit about the course book? Or you wrote them by
process in which yourself?
you designed the - What did you base on to choose/ write

X
English for specialized texts?
Electronics course - How long were you given to design the
book? course book?
- How much were you paid?
4. Do you analyze
your students
needs when you
designed the
course book, while
you taught and
after finishing each
ESP course?
5. In your opinion,
what solutions can
help your students
to overcome their
de-motivation?
III. Conclusion
- Do you want to add any demotivating factors?
- Thank you very much for your all ideas. So, I can summarize your all opinions as
follows Is it true?

XI