A STUDY ON MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDE IN SECOND LANGUAGE

LEARNING (ENGLISH) AMONG FORM 4 STUDENTS OF SEKOLAH

MENENGAH KEBANGSAAN SRI RAHMAT JOHOR BAHRU

SITI NOOR DIANA SYED RAMLI

Laporan projek ini dikemukakan

sebagai memenuhi sebahagian daripada syarat

penganugerahan ijazah Sarjana Muda Sains Serta Pendidikan (TESL)

Fakulti Pendidikan

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

October, 2003

For those who know me.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author wishes to take this opportunity to extend her warmest gratitude to

the supervisor, Dr. Zubaidah Awang for her invaluable guidance. Her encouragement

and valued constructive criticisms are very much appreciated. The author is also

indebted to the supervisor for spending her precious time reading the thesis draft and

offering suggestions for improvement.

Sincere gratitude also goes to family, friends (Atiqah, Yani, Azura, Cecah,

Mas, Zam, Farah, housemate (Melawis), and coursemate) for their endless support

and encouragement. Not forgotten to Puan Tina, thank you for your advice and time.

This appreciation also goes to the Principal, teachers and students of Sekolah

Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Rahmat for their cooperation in helping me to complete

this study.

Finally, I would like to thank the Faculty of Education, University

Technology of Malaysia for enabling and aiding me carrying out this thesis.

ABSTRACT

Motivation and attitude are two important aspects in second language

learning. Many researches have been conducted in order to investigate the

relationship between motivation and attitude in learning a second language. Thus,

this study is aimed at investigating learners’ motivation and attitude through the use

of a questionnaire. 40 Form Four students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri

Rahmat, Johor Bahru have been chosen as respondents of the study. The data

collected have been analysed using percentages where most of the respondents

agreed that they learn a second language in order to gain advantages in terms of

getting prestigious jobs and better salary in the future. Most of the respondents like to

learn English and try to improve their language skills until they master it. In

conclusion, second language learning has a significant impact on the social being of

the learners, since it involves the adoption of new social and cultural behaviours and

ways of thinking.

ABSTRAK

Motivasi dan tingkahlaku merupakan dua aspek penting di dalam

pembelajaran bahasa kedua. Banyak kajian telah dijalankan untuk mengkaji kaitan

di antara motivasi dan tingkahlaku di dalam pembelajaran bahasa kedua. Oleh itu,

kajian ini bertujuan untuk menyelidik motivasi dan tingkah laku pelajar menerusi

penggunaan soal selidik. Atas tujuan ini, 40 orang pelajar Tingkatan Empat dari

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Rahmat, Johor Bahru telah dipilih untuk menjadi

responden kajian ini. Hasil kajian tersebut telah dianalisis menggunakan peratus di

mana kebanyakan responden telah bersetuju bahawa tujuan mereka belajar bahasa

kedua adalah untuk mendapat manfaat dari segi kerjaya yang berprestij serta

pendapatan yang lebih baik di masa hadapan. Kebanyakan daripada responden

tersebut berminat untuk belajar bahasa kedua dan cuba untuk memperbaiki

kemahiran bahasa mereka sehingga menguasainya. Kesimpulannya, pembelajaran

bahasa kedua mempunyai kesan yang penting terhadap kehidupan sosial seseorang

pelajar, semenjak ianya melibatkan penerimaan sosial dan budaya tingkahlaku dan

cara pemikiran yang baru.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE

TITLE PAGE i

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii

LIST OF APPENDIXES xiii

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of problem 2

1.3 Purpose of study 4

1.4 Research questions 5

1.5 Objectives of the study 5

1.6 Significance of the study 5

1.7 Scope of the study 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction 8

2.1 What is motivation? 8

2.2 What is attitude? 12

2.3 Second language learning 13

2.4 Motivational strategies in second

language classroom 16

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction 19

3.1 The Subjects 19

3.2 The research instruments 20

3.3 The administration of the instrument 20

3.3.1 The questionnaire 21

3.4 Data analysis 22

CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

4.0 Introduction 23

4.1 Findings: Section A 24

4.2 Findings: Section B 25

4.3 Findings: Section C 30

CHAPTER V DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, LIMITATION

AND RECOMMENDATION

5.0 Introduction 34

5.1 Discussion 34

5.2 Conclusion of the study 37

5.3 Limitations of the study 39

5.4 Recommendations for further research 39

REFERENCES 41

APPENDICES

Appendix A – Questionnaire 45

Appendix B – Approval letter from EPRD 49

LIST OF TABLES

NO. TITLE PAGES

3.1 Likert Scale 21

4.1.1 Respondents’ grades on recent English test 24

4.1.2 Language used at home 24

4.1.3 How often respondents used English at school 25

4.2.1 Respondents’ opinion on getting prestigious job 26

4.2.2 Respondents’ opinion on having better salary 26

4.2.3 Respondents’ feeling of shyness if they cannot

speak English with L2 community 27

4.2.4 Respondents’ choices to be able to speak more than

one language 27

4.2.5 Respondents’ opinion on personal development 28

4.2.6 Respondents’ experience in knowing about

Literature of L2 group 28

4.2.7 Respondents’ likeness towards learning English 29

4.3.1 Benefits that respondent will get when learning English 30

4.3.2 Respondents’ agreeable that they did not want

to speak English if their friends did not 31

4.3.3 Respondents’ opinion toward speaker who wants

to show off by speaking in English 31

4.3.4 Respondents’ opinion towards learning English

is a waste of time 32

4.3.5 Respondents’ opinion towards learning English

that did not bring any benefits 32

4.3.6 Respondents’ opinion towards the usefulness of

knowing how to speak in English 33

4.3.7 Respondents’ feeling of proudness if they can speak

in English 33

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL - English as a Foreign Language

EPRD - Educational Planning and Research Development

L2 - Second language

PMR - Peperiksaan Menengah Rendah

SPM - Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia

SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Science

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

A Questionnaire 45

B Approval Letter from EPRD 49

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Infants and young children appear to be propelled by curiosity, driven by an

intense need to explore, interact with, and make sense of their environment

(Thanasoulas, 2002). In Malaysia, generally we can see that many young children

can speak in English even though they are not as fluent as native speakers. However,

there are also some who cannot speak in English or even understand the language.

Raffini (1993) states, “Rarely does one hear parents complain that their pre-schooler

is ‘unmotivated’ ” (p.2).

As children grow, their passion for learning frequently seems to shrink and

they fail to invest themselves fully in the experience of learning. Many of them are

physically present in the classroom but largely mentally absent. This could be

considered as they are either not interested in learning or the lesson is not attractive.

Thus, awareness of how students’ attitudes and beliefs about learning development

and what facilitates learning for its own sake can assist teachers in reducing student

apathy.

Therefore, this study tried to investigate the factors that can influence learners

in learning English as a second language. Besides that, this study also attempted to

find out learner’s second language background in terms of their grades and the

frequency of the language used at school and at home. This study was conducted

because motivation and attitude are important aspects in learning a second language.

Considerable research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many

children as they move from elementary school into middle school (Eccles and

Midgley, 1989).

Researchers in social psychology and education have recognized the

importance of motivation for successful second language learning (Noels and

Pelletier, 1994). In fact, affective aspects such as attitude, motivation and even

anxiety have been shown to be at least as important as language aptitude for

predicting second language achievement (Gardner, 1985 cited in Noels and Pelletier,

1994) because these aspects support learners in their learning process. However,

there has been discussion regarding the formulation of second language motivation,

and the argument has been advanced that second language researchers need to

explore models of motivation developed by educational and social psychologists not

directly involved in second language research.

1.2 Statement of problem

The lack of proficiency in a second language seems to be the main problem

faced by learners especially in rural areas as well as in urban areas. For that reason,

there is a need to identify the factors that can improve learners’ proficiency in second

language. The reason why these learners are not proficient is due to their

environment where they usually speak in their own dialect. They do not speak in

English because they are more comfortable using their own native language such as

the Malay language or Chinese language. Therefore, learners will not improve in

their second language proficiency because they seldom use the particular language in

their daily communication.

When learners are unable to speak in English, it does not mean that they are

poor in terms of understanding their reading materials. However, the problem in

understanding the reading materials is common among learners. Learners do not

understand some of their reading materials because these materials may not be

suitable with their proficiency level. It is because the vocabulary is quite difficult and

it is rarely found in their usual reading material. Thus, they will lose interest in

learning English. Students who think that learning English is not attractive will do

something else rather than pay attention in the language class.

In addition, lack of confidence is a crucial problem faced by learners.

Learners are easily influenced by their schoolmates, who will ask them to skip

classes or not do their homework. It is because they feel that they do not belong to

the class. Moreover, they feel that they are low achievers in their class and do not

understand what the teacher is teaching. Learners who do not have any confidence in

learning will not do well. Thus, they will keep on failing themselves and feel

unmotivated.

In general, it is not easy for learners to be proficient in the English language

if they are not motivated and supported by other factors such as teachers, parents as

well as friends. Being proficient in English can really help them in their studies as

well as for their personal development.

1.3 Purpose of study

The purpose of the study was to find out the factors that influenced learners

in learning a second language, which is English. It is important to find out why

learners want to learn a second language whether it is to get a better job or to

increase their communication skills. There are many factors involved in learning a

second language, which depends on their own perceptions and goals. If the learners

do not have any goals in learning English, then there will be no purpose of learning

the particular language. It is important to make sure that the learners do not have any

negative perceptions about learning English. Thus, teachers should explain the

benefits of learning English so that it will not distract learners learning process.

In addition, this study also attempted to find the main reasons learners learn a

second language. Learners need to have reasons for learning English because it will

increase their enthusiasm. They should have been exposed to the importance of

learning English by explaining to them that it is good for their personal development.

Furthermore, it is also to make them realize that they should be able to speak more

than one language.

Nowadays, learning English as a second language is crucial because it is

demanded when applying for a job and for international communication. Thus,

learners should learn English and master the language so that they will be prepared in

the future.

1.4 Research questions

This study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What are the factors that influence learners to learn a second language?

2. What are the main reasons for learners to learn a second language?