VIET NAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR

TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Increasing Student Motivation in English

Speaking Class Using Task-based Learning
Approach

Course: Action Research – 001187

Students: 1. Nguyễn Đăng Khoa 01900171
2. Trần Gia Nguyễn 01900309
3. Nguyễn Võ Hòa Thuận 01900455
Instructor: Nguyễn Văn Thành

HO CHI MINH CITY, July 2023

 ASSESSMENT

Examiner Scores
(Name & Signature)
Students Content Written presentation Total
(7.0 pts.) (3.0 pts.) (10.0 pts.)

1. Nguyễn Đăng Khoa

2. Trần Gia Nguyễn
3. Nguyễn Võ Hòa Thuận

- Written proposal score:

- Content (7.0 pts.): …………………………………………………………….
- Presentation (3.0 pts.): ….…………………………………………………….
- Examiner’s comments:
……………………………………………………………………………………….
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem

1.3 Research question 2

1.4 Purpose of the study

1.5 Scope and limitation of the study

1.6 Research hypothesis 3

1.7 Significance of the study

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Definition of Task-based learning (TBL)

2.2 Definition of motivation

2.3 Definition of conventional/traditional teaching 5

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research site

3.2 Participants

3.3 Sample and sampling strategies 6

3.4 Instruments

3.5 Data collection procedures 8

3.6 Data analysis procedures 9

REFERENCES
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

English speaking is a crucial skill for learners in the globalized world, as it can open
up many opportunities for education, career, and communication. However, many learners
face challenges in developing their speaking proficiency, such as low motivation, lack of
confidence, anxiety, boredom, or ineffective teaching methods. Therefore, there is a need to
explore a teaching approach that can enhance learners' motivation and engagement in
speaking English. One such approach is task-based learning (TBL), which involves learners
in communicative and authentic tasks using the target language. TBL has been shown to
have positive effects on learners' speaking skills and motivation in various contexts.
However, there is limited research on how TBL can be implemented and evaluated in the
context of Viet Nam, where English is taught as a foreign language and learners have low
exposure and practice opportunities. Thus, this study investigates the effects of TBL on high-
school student motivation in English speaking classes. TBL is an instructional approach that
engages learners in communicative and authentic tasks using the target language. The study
will compare the motivational and speaking outcomes of two groups of high-school students,
specifically 11th-graders, in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam: a TBL instruction group and a
traditional instruction group. The study will also explore the students’ views and preferences
regarding TBL activities and English speaking. The study will add to the existing knowledge
on TBL and its influence on learner motivation and speaking proficiency in English.

1.2 Statement of the problem

In the globalized world, speaking English is a vital skill for learners, as it can
facilitate their access to education, career, and communication opportunities. However, many
learners face difficulties in developing their speaking proficiency, particularly in contexts
where English is a foreign language and learners receive limited input and output
opportunities. A major difficulty is the low motivation and confidence to speak English in
class, which may stem from various affective and pedagogical factors such as anxiety,
boredom, lack of interest, or ineffective teaching methods. Therefore, it is necessary to
investigate a teaching approach that can foster learners' motivation and engagement in
speaking English. One potential method is TBL, which engages learners in communicative
and authentic tasks using the target language (Smith & Jones, 2020). Thus, this study aims to
fill this gap by examining the impacts of task-based speaking activities on high-school

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student motivation and speaking proficiency in English in Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.

1.3 Research question

Based on the background of the study, statement of the problems and research
objective, the central research question to be addressed in this proposed study is: ‘Whether
the implementation of task-based learning approach enhance student motivation during an
English-speaking class?’

1.4 Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to examine the influences of TBL on high-school student
motivation and speaking outcomes in English in Viet Nam. Motivation is defined as the
learners' interest, attitude, and desire to learn the language, while speaking outcomes are
measured by the learners' fluency, accuracy, and complexity. The study will also explore the
students' views and preferences regarding TBL activities and English speaking. TBL
activities are communicative and authentic tasks that require learners to use the target
language to achieve a goal or outcome. The study will adopt the TBL framework proposed
by Willis (1996), which consists of three stages: pre-task, task cycle, and language focus.
The study will contribute to the literature on TBL and its impact on learners' motivation and
speaking skills in English, especially in the context of Viet Nam, where there is limited
research on this topic (Le & An, 2019).

1.5 Scope and limitation of the study

Scope: The research will focus on high-school students in grade 11 who are studying
English as a foreign language in a public school in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The
research will compare two groups of students: one group that receives TBL instruction and
another group that receives traditional instruction for 12 weeks.

Limitation: The research will measure the student motivation and speaking performance in
English before and after the intervention using a questionnaire, focus group interview,
coupled with observation technique to explore students’ perceptions and attitudes towards
TBL activities and English speaking. Also, the research will not cover other aspects of
language learning such as reading, writing, listening, grammar, or vocabulary. The research
will also not examine other factors that may affect the student motivation and speaking
performance such as personality, learning style, or culture.

1.6 Research hypothesis

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 Student motivation in English speaking class using task-based learning is greater than
that of those without task-based learning.

1.7 Significance of the study

Firstly, this study will provide empirical evidence on the effects of TBL on high-
school student motivation and speaking performance in English in Viet Nam. This will help
teachers and educators to understand the advantages and challenges of implementing TBL in
their classrooms and to design effective TBL activities for their students.

Secondly, this study will enhance the student motivation and engagement in learning
English speaking, which is an important skill for their academic and career development. By
participating in TBL activities, the students will have more opportunities to practice and
improve their speaking skills in a meaningful and authentic context. They will also develop
their confidence and interest in speaking English with their peers and teachers.

Thirdly, this study will contribute to the literature on TBL and its impact on learner
motivation and speaking skills in English. It will also provide insights and implications for
future research on TBL and other related topics in the field of language teaching and
learning.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 DEFINITION OF TASK-BASED LEARNING (TBL)

Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) or Task-based Learning (TBL) is a method

of teaching a second or foreign language that Prabu (1987) first used in his project in India.
The method involves learners doing different tasks in a real-life language setting where they
use the language to communicate.

2.2 DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION

According to Moreno (2009), “motivation to learn is the psychological processes that

direct and sustain students’ behaviour towards learning”.

a) Some sources of motivation: Motivation is a key factor that influences the success of
learning a foreign language. However, motivation is not a simple construct that can be easily
measured or manipulated. Rather, it is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that varies
depending on the individual learner, the learning context, and the learning goals. One way to

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understand motivation in language learning is to distinguish between two main types of
motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic motivation refers to the
internal drive to learn a language for its own sake, such as for enjoyment, curiosity, or
personal satisfaction. Extrinsic motivation refers to the external incentives or pressures to
learn a language, such as for marks, certificates, career chances, or social praise or
recognition (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Research has shown that both types of motivation
can affect language learning outcomes, but intrinsic motivation is generally considered to be
more powerful and enduring than extrinsic motivation (Gardner, 1985; Dörnyei, 2005).
Therefore, it is important for language teachers and learners to foster intrinsic motivation in
language learning by creating meaningful, engaging, and authentic learning experiences.

b) Theories about motivation: In education psychology, various theories and views on how
to increase students’ motivation have been introduced. Some of the most influential theories
are the self-determination theory and interest theory. Self-determination theory says that
motivation goes up when classrooms support student autonomy, competence, and relatedness
(Deci, 1992; Deci & Ryan, 2002). On the other hand, interest theory points out that finding
activities that match their personal interests is the essence of motivating students.
Furthermore, experts in this field have distinguished between dispositional interest and
situational interest, which explains how students are motivated to learn. Dispositional
interest, also known as personal or individual interest, is a consistent interest in a topic or
subject (Schiefele, 1999). On the other hand, situational interest is sudden, short-lived, and
caused by the environment rather than the learner (Krapp, Hidi, & Renninger, 1992).
Situational interest often comes before and helps the growth of dispositional interest and
may be an important way to get attention (Hidi, 1995; McDaniel, Waddill, Finstad, & Bourg,
2000).

c) The reason why TBL can help students feel motivated: Chua and Lin (2020) said that
TBL contains tasks which are related to the topic that the students are learning, and they
need to use the language to communicate and complete the tasks. Moreover, TBL makes the
learning environment positive, which can promote learners’ enjoyment and decrease
learners’ learning anxiety by uplifting their confidence (Bao & Du, 2015). As a result,
students who are motivated by outside rewards can become more motivated by themselves
when teachers give them challenging activities, letting students have control over their own
learning (Brophy, 2004; Perry, VandeKamp, Mercer, & Norby, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2000).
In addition, students’ motivation can increase because according to interest theory, students
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feel more motivated when the classrooms meet their need for relatedness (Furrer & Skinner,
2003). Following this, the students who feel connected in classrooms are more curious about
class work and value school more than those who feel alienated from their teacher
(Goodenow, 1993; Kohn, 2005).

2.3 DEFINITION OF CONVENTIONAL/TRADIOTIONAL TEACHING

Conventional or traditional approach is a term that refers to the common and prevalent way
of teaching in many schools, where the teacher mostly talks and explains the content of the
curriculum. This way of teaching is based on the textbook as the main source of knowledge,
controlled by the teacher as the authority figure and decision maker, and focused on tests as
the main measure of achievement. The main thing here is to memorize and repeat facts,
rules, and ideas of learning, rather than to understand and apply them. Conventional or
traditional approach has been criticized for being teacher-centered, passive, rigid, and exam-
oriented, and for neglecting the individual needs, interests, and abilities of students (IGI
Global, n.d.; Digital Class World, n.d.). Some alternative approaches that have been
proposed to overcome these limitations are student-centered, active, flexible, and learning-
oriented methods, such as collaborative learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based
learning, and problem-based learning (Resilient Educator, n.d.).

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The main purpose of this study is to scrutinize the student motivation in learning
English as a foreign language under the Task-Based Learning approach. This chapter
describes the methodology that was used to address the research question and test the
hypothesis. The chapter is organized into four sections: research site, participant selection,
instruments, and data collection procedure. Each section provides relevant information and
justification for the methodological choices that are made in this study.

3.1 Research site

Phuoc Kien High School is a public school since 2010 in Nha Be Ward, Ho Chi Minh
City, Viet Nam. In recent years, the school has achieved remarkable academic awards, so
that the students of Phuoc Kien High School are considered to have quite a strong academic
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foundation. Throughout the internship, we realized that students were timid and inactive in
English lessons, especially in Speaking classes. In contrast, they were more likely to be
active in other subjects such as Math or Literature. Therefore, we decided to select Phuoc
Kien High School as the research site for the study.

3.2 Participants

The target population of this study consists of the students of Phuoc Kien High
School, a public school in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. However, not all grades were
considered for the selection of the participants, due to two objective reasons. Firstly, the 10th
graders may not be accustomed to the study environment yet, as they have to adjust to many
new classmates and teachers. This may affect their confidence and participation in speaking
classes. Secondly, the 12th graders may have less motivation and interest in English classes,
as they have to focus on the subjects that they will take in the national graduation exam.
Moreover, they may not see the relevance of English for their future major or career,
especially if they do not plan to pursue higher education or work in an international context.
Therefore, this study decided to focus on 11th graders as the most suitable and reasonable
participants, as they are expected to have more familiarity with the school setting, more
enthusiasm for learning English, and more willingness to engage in speaking activities.

3.3 Sample and sampling strategies

The participants comprise 32 students from two 11-grade classes that were selected
with random stratified sampling. We take the classes in the study regard of speaking
performance to guarantee that the students from both classes are precisely equal in terms of
their English-speaking ability.

3.4 Instruments

In order to collect the data for this study, we will employ five instruments, which are
described below:

Archival records

The two classes will be selected based on their similar scores on the latest English-
speaking achievement test, which was administered by the school as part of the regular
assessment. The researchers want to ensure that the speaking ability of the two classes was
comparable, so that the result after the intervention will not be influenced by the initial
difference in their language proficiency. Moreover, using the archival records of the test

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scores is a convenient and efficient way to select the participants, rather than designing and
conducting a new test for this purpose.

Observation

Observation is a data collection method that involves watching, listening, and

recording the behaviors and attitudes of the participants in the study. As observers, we will
immerse ourselves in the classroom setting and document the phenomena of interest.
Observation allows us to collect rich and authentic data that can only be obtained through
direct access to the research phenomena. It also enables us to capture the natural and
spontaneous interactions of the students in their learning environment. Therefore, in this
action research, we use this method to observe both classes and compare their motivation
levels under different teaching approaches.

Questionnaire

Questionnaires are research tools designed to gather information from respondents

before and after the treatment through a series of questions. For this study, we will use
closed-ended questions under the format of multiple-choice options to collect data offline.
We, intentionally, choose this method because of its merits. Typically, research
questionnaires allow us to collect a large amount of information in a short time, which is
more effective and inexpensive. Besides, it can be used to collect various types of data,
including attitudes, opinions, behaviors of respondents. Moreover, the respondents are
anonymous and not subject to time constraints, leading to provide more relaxed environment
so that students have a greater chance of being honest. Finally, the collected data are much
easier to sort and present. Hence, coupled with observation technique, we choose
questionnaires aimed to verify the observed data of student motivation. As a result, we are
able to draw out the conclusion and answer the research question without biased perspective
of the researchers as well as giving more valid and powerful evidence to conclude the
hypothesis.

Lessons using TBL instructions

We will design speaking lessons using the TBL framework adopted from James
Willis (1996), which consists of six stages: Pre-task, task, planning, report, analysis, and
practice. In the pre-task stage, we introduce the topic and the task to the students and activate
their background knowledge and relevant vocabulary. In the task stage, we ask the students
to work in pairs or small groups and perform a communicative task that required them to use
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language meaningfully and interactively. For example, one of the tasks is to plan a trip to a
foreign country and present it to the class. In the planning stage, we give the students time to
prepare their oral reports based on their task outcomes. We encourage them to focus on both
accuracy and fluency of their language use. In the report stage, we invite each pair or group
to present their report to the class or to another pair or group. We monitor their presentations
and take notes of their language strengths and weaknesses. In the analysis stage, we provide
feedback on their language use and draw their attention to specific linguistic features that
were relevant to the task. We use examples from their own language output or from
authentic texts to illustrate the language forms and functions. In the practice stage, we give
the students an opportunity to practice some of the language items that will be highlighted in
the analysis stage. We design practice activities that were similar to the original task but
require more controlled or focused use of the target language. For example, after planning a
trip to a foreign country, we ask the students to write an email to a friend inviting them to
join the trip and giving some details about it.

Lessons not using TBL instructions

With this approach, we aim to improve the students' speaking skills by providing
them with repeated practice of exercises and sentence patterns that are based on the students'
textbook. The exercises and sentence patterns are designed to help the students master the
pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of the target language. For example, one of the
exercises is to listen and repeat a dialogue between two people who are introducing
themselves. Another exercise is to complete a sentence with the correct verb form. The
sentence patterns are common expressions or structures that the students can use in different
situations. For example, one of the sentence patterns is "How do you say ... in English?"
which the students can use to ask for help when they don't know a word. Another sentence
pattern is "I like ... because ..." which the students can use to express their preferences and
reasons. We use these exercises and sentence patterns to expose the students to a variety of
spoken language input and output, and to increase their confidence and fluency in speaking.

3.5 Data collection procedures

Firstly, we will investigate four 11-grade classes, ranging from 11A1 to 11A4 via
archival records of the results in the latest speaking achievement test. Then we select two
classes that had similar results, specifically, 11A1 and 11A2. Next, we divide the students of
each class into four groups according to their results, which are: Excellent, good, average,

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and below average. After that, we randomly pick out students from those groups to
eventually form a group of 12 students per class, 32 students in total. A questionnaire is sent
to students to identify students’ behaviors when they lack motivation.

In treatment stage, we carry out the treatment for 12 weeks with both classes. In class
11A1, we implement TBL approach in teaching speaking class, while in class 11A2 we use
the traditional one.

After considering various factors that influence student motivation, we will

commence our study by observing and taking notes of students’ actions and behaviors as
indicators of their engagement. This will allow us to assess the impact of the TBL approach
on student motivation. Our notes will include the following details: Teacher’s name, Class,
Date, Lesson, Students’ behaviors, and Numbers of occurrences.

During the 12-week period, we will record the students’ behaviors in each lesson. In
the final week, we will compare the changes in their reactions to those from the first week to
determine if the TBL approach has influenced their motivation. In addition to observation,
we will also distribute a questionnaire at the end of the treatment period to gather objective
feedback from the students about the approach. Along with observation, the questionnaire
will provide us with additional insights into the impact of the TBL method on student
motivation. Finally, after analyzing the data, we will engage in a discussion to draw
conclusions.

3.6 Data analysis procedures

Pre-treatment

Questions in the questionnaire aim to measure student motivation in two 11-grade

classes, one with TBL approach, one with traditional approach, before the treatment. The
percentage results are detailed in the table below:

Before applying TBL

Students’ behaviors Number of students
approach (%)

1. Using mobile phones

2. Chatting with friends

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 3. Sleeping

4. Yawning

5. Playing truant

TABLE 1. Students’ behaviors before treatment in both classes

Post-treatment

After 12 weeks of treatment in two classes, we gathered useful information. This data
indicated how student motivation improved before and after taking part in the study.

The following table shows percentage results of Class 01 before and after applying the TBL
approach:

Number of students Number of students

Students’ behaviors (Before applying TBL (After applying TBL
approach) approach)

1. Using mobile phones

2. Chatting with friends

3. Sleeping

4. Yawning

5. Playing truant

TABLE 2. The percentage results of students’ behaviours before and after applying the
TBL approach

The following table shows percentage results of Class 02 applying the traditional approach:

Students’ behaviors Number of students Number of students

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 (Before applying (After applying traditional
traditional approach) approach)

1. Using mobile phones

2. Chatting with friends

3. Sleeping

4. Yawning

5. Playing truant

TABLE 3. The percentage results of students’ behaviours applying the traditional

approach

Furthermore, we made a preparation for another questionnaire in Likert-scale format,

which is attached with the Table 2 and Table 3 for the participants to complete, which was
utilized to judge the changes and effectiveness of the TBL approach on students’ motivation.
The obtained results are shown in the table below:

Students’ satisfaction
about the effectiveness of Numbers of students Total (%)
TBL approach

1. Strongly disagree

2. Disagree

3. Slightly disagree

4. Slightly agree

5. Agree

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 6. Strongly agree

TABLE 4. The student motivation about the effectiveness of the TBL approach

We use the data collected from Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4 to compare with Table
1. The results showed significant changes and improvement in student motivation before and
after applying the TBL approach. Based on the analyzed results, our group expects that the
TBL approach may boost student motivation, which should be widely applied in the
classroom.

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Our research team is grateful for your valuable time and contribution to our study.

Truly appreciated!

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