Motivation in Learning English Language: a case Study at Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Abstract

In recent times, English has become the global language and plays an important role in order for people to communicate and fit into the real world. Learning and using English has become a necessary need of many people, particularly the young generation. Motivation is considered as one of the fundamental factors in successfully learning a language. This paper focuses on investigating the type and level of motivation in English language learning. The instrument of the study was adopted from Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). The participants in this study includes 371 first and second-year students of Vietnam National University, Hanoi – University of Engineering and Technology (VNU-UET). The collected data were summarized and analyzed by using SPSS software. The findings show that the students that participated in the study were highly motivated in English learning, and more instrumentally motivated. The study also examined some factors that influence motivation such as students’ gender, the school year, the time students have spent in learning English, and parental ability in speaking English. The study shows that the school year and parental English ability had a significant influence on students' motivation in English language learning. The problems that the students face during the learning process was also discussed. Some recommendations were given to improve the students' motivation in English learning.