LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Asunción, Paraguay.
ISSN en línea: 2789-3855, junio, 2023, Volumen IV, Número 2 p 2155.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v4i2.743
Motivation in the classroom to develop English Speaking
skills
Motivación en el aula para desarrollar habilidades de habla en inglés
William Ricardo Navas Colón
wrnavas@pucesa.edu.ec
https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.vxix.xxx
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Ambato – Ecuador
Artículo recibido: 13 de junio del 2023. Aceptado para publicación: 20 de junio de 2023.
Conflictos de Interés: Ninguno que declarar.
Abstract
This research aims to show the magnitude of importance that motivation can have in the learning
process of English. For this reason, various elements thay may alter student´s motivation are
mentioned, making use of a questionnaire as an initiation process that were given to students
from the second level of English of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ambato. The main factors
of the research shows the importance of student´s interests, teachers role, daily habits, along
with others. Eventually, some recommendations for improving student´s motivation to develop
English speaking skills are proposed for future growth.
Keywords: motivation, factors, english speaking skills, students' interests
Resumen
Esta investigación pretende mostrar la magnitud de la importancia que puede tener la motivación
en el proceso de aprendizaje del inglés. Por tal motivo, se mencionan diversos elementos que
pueden alterar la motivación de los estudiantes, haciendo uso de un cuestionario como proceso
de iniciación que se entregó a estudiantes del segundo nivel de inglés de la Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Ambato. Los principales factores de la investigación muestran la importancia de los
intereses de los estudiantes, el papel de los profesores, los hábitos diarios, entre otros.
Finalmente, se proponen algunas recomendaciones para mejorar la motivación de los
estudiantes para desarrollar habilidades de habla inglesa para su crecimiento futuro.
Palabras clave: motivación, factores, habilidad para hablar inglés, intereses de los
estudiantes
Todo el contenido de LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades,
publicados en este sitio está disponibles bajo Licencia Creative Commons .
Como citar: Navas Colón, W. R. (2023). Motivation in the classroom to develop English
Speaking skills. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades 4(2),
2155–2164. https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v4i2.743
LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Asunción, Paraguay.
ISSN en línea: 2789-3855, junio, 2023, Volumen IV, Número 2 p 2156.
INTRODUCTION
Throughout the years, English has developed and increased its role around the world. Becoming
essential for every learner's understanding and interpretation. Nonetheless, how English is being
handled in Ecuador is not sufficient and is stated according to Education First by El Universo:
“Ecuador, the worst country in Latin America in English proficiency, according to the report”
(Universo, 2019); where Ecuador is sustained in the group of “low level of proficiency in English”
simultaneously with other Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico;
the remaining countries are at a higher level of proficiency in the language.
Also, motivation is an important factor to acquire a foreign language successfully. Hence,
developing students' motivation is essential in the process of learning a high level of English
proficiency. Motivation plays an important part in today's L2 learning process especially for
University students in Ecuador. According to (Putri, 2016) motivation makes a person want to
learn. So, without it, he or she will definitely fail to make the required effort, making it considerable
to be used in the classroom.
The outcome is unacceptable specifically in the city of Ambato that has been classified with a
“very low level of English proficiency” compared with other cities in Ecuador. Therefore, by
interpreting these results, three statements are determined:
• English is an important language
• English is introduced in all University levels, yet motivation for learners to speak is being
done incorrectly.
• Motivation can facilitate students speaking skills in classrooms
Concerning the first statement, it is essential to know that English is mandatory in Educational
schools all over Ecuador due to its importance and presence worldwide. As a result, all
Universities have implemented mandatory English levels to be approved in order to finish a career,
but even with this improvement the learners lack motivation for speaking.
Regarding the second statement, it can be established that it is to a certain degree true based on
the poor results shown in the report of (Universo, 2019); in which Ecuador is ranked in position
81 worldwide with a 46,57% of English proficiency making Ecuador the worst Latinamerican
country with the mentioned results, having countries as Netherlands in first place with 70,27%,
Sweden in second place with 68,74% and Norway in third place with 67,93% occupying the first
three places of best levels of English proficiency in the world.
Meanwhile, the city of Ambato has a 47,45% of English proficiency, one of the worst in the entire
country of Ecuador. Also, to mention Quito has 51,13% and Cuenca 50,31% which are among the
provinces with the highest levels of English proficiency in Ecuador. Therefore, the city of Ambato
is in need to improve the motivation of students when learning and speaking a foreign language
in order to improve their capabilities.
With reference to the third statement, it is mentioned that motivation plays a crucial role in the
learning process of speaking skills in English. Motivation determines whether to become a
thriving student or not. When the students have the assurance and the feeling of being motivated
to learn they will properly interact and engage in learning and impact their performance. (Devana
& Afifah, 2020)
There must be a discrepancy while teaching English specifically for Pontifical Catholic University
students in the city of Ambato that may elucidate variations between the hours learned of English
and the students' low extent of motivation to speak. As a consequence, this investigation will
LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Asunción, Paraguay.
ISSN en línea: 2789-3855, junio, 2023, Volumen IV, Número 2 p 2157.
center on the different characteristics that may influence students' motivation to speak English
and to find a relation between the learners' English level and their motivation.
Literature review
Motivation and English speaking
Motivation is a condition inside us that desires a change influenced by the satisfaction of
accomplishing essential growth (Souders, 2019). Also, during the process of second language
learning it can be stated that a learner can be productive with the correct motivation. These claims
are supported by numerous studies showing the importance of promoting and preserving
motivation while learning English (Alizadeh, 2016).
According to Gardner (1985) and cited by (Alizadeh, 2016) motivation is the fusion of attempt
plus desire to acquire the objective of learning English including the beneficial perspectives with
regard to learning. Based on the thoughts of Hui-Ju Liu & Chien-Wei Chen, (2015) cited by
(Hussain, 2020) adding similar points of view that motivation is extremely important ahead with
language competence in determining another languages success.
Crookes and Schmidt (1991) recognized motivation as learners' positioning with reference to the
aim of learning English, highlighting that motivation is in fact crucial to learn inside of the
classroom, whether teachers inforce a well structured classroom in order to make it easier for
learners to follow and make them feel encouraged to keep up with each class. Therefore, a
positive and effective motivation is essential for improving English speaking skills. (Hussain,
2020)
Astuti (2012) expressed that motivation is a psychological factor that may influence students´
process of speaking English and the result of learning. Therefore, if the students demonstrate
having a high level of motivation they will be able to improve their speech performance. In this
sense, students´ motivation makes the learning process clearer and interactive, involving them
to speak in English persistently (Menggo, 2016).
Described by (Stevick, 1976), the integratively motivated student will not be considered prone to
engage in receptive acquisition and therby encouraging students through motivation and a well
structured class to interact with others showing interest and desire will help students achieve a
high proficiency in speaking skills. Thus, it requires a meaningful interaction with sufficient
motivation from students to accomplish a natural communication. (Krashen, 1981).
As a consequence, motivation is an important factor that encourages learners to exceed their
educational objectives. Nevertheless, the factors that may improve the level of motivation among
the learners are likely to be different in various cultures depending on their social needs.
Theories of Motivation
Deci and Ryan’s (1985) theory, came up with two basic variations establishing that motivation
can be classified into the distinct motives that arise, which are: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic motivation refers to the willingness of the student to learn (not forced) what is believed
to be important for them. Also, intrinsic motivation gives the student a necessary push to learn
without having compensations due to the needs of each individual.
Legault (2016) stated that:
Intrinsic motivation is a natural human tendency –in other words, people will actively strive
toward doing the things they find interesting or enjoyable. Moreover, intrinsic motivation can turn
LATAM Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Asunción, Paraguay.
ISSN en línea: 2789-3855, junio, 2023, Volumen IV, Número 2 p 2158.
out to be integrative if the learner is able to connect with the culture of the classroom and
instrumental if the learner has their own wish to acquire new speaking skills. (2016)
As claimed by (Higgins, 2000, 2006) cited by (Thompson & Jaque, 2017) people gain value from
the normal habits that they undergo when the activity supports their aim, interests, or mood.
Extrinsic motivation is established on the outcomes that can be rewards to overcome the
activities proposed in classrooms. Both integrated and instrumental motivations are used in this
category, which is not a suggested way of use since it could have a negative impact on students
where they are pushed to learn expecting the reward they could receive.
Importance of Motivation in English speaking
For students, English language speaking is demanded at all levels of the education system.
Knowing English correctly is crucial for Ecuadorian students at University levels in order to attain
academic success as well as being competitive for job offers. Through motivation, students
expect to achieve their goals which in this case is to speak English properly and with that case
Teachers are expected to motivate students to achieve goals to communicate and maintain high
expectations when speaking a foreign language. Moreover, Ecuadorian University level students
consider to successfully fulfill their goals if academic success is accomplished (including English
language speaking) (Yue, Zhao, Meng, Qian, & Wu , 2022)
In terms of Dornyei (1998) if students are put under stress it may influence their motivation, which
is specified as an important fact for students to use speaking skills properly and it is one big
factor that affects language learners’ success. It is well known that the more motivated students
are, the more successful they would be at English speaking (Wakgari, 2022)
Language learning and speaking
In the process of learning and speaking a language, the teacher has the main role. Apart from
imparting the learners with a set of tools, the teacher also gives them the practice necessary for
a better English speaking form. Furthermore, as mentioned by Tan (1979): “communication
means to send and receive a message between a listener and a speaker in oral communication”.
Therefore, a student can be considered a successful communicator once he or she is able to
understand correctly and express their points of view from what was heard. (Lumettu &
Runtuwene, 2018)
Speaking techniques
Dörnyei (2001) mentions that to gather information from learners it's good to use some
perspectives such as: interviews, group discussions and questionnaires with sentence
completion items. These are only some ideas in order to create a harmonious place where
students can feel motivated to speak. In Universities it's useful to have a good amount of
technological sources to implement in the classroom since students are now used to having
these resources daily and making it suitable for the students' learning process of speaking. Also,
using topics that are more relevant to the learners' everyday experiences and background that
are connected into one purpose which is to make tasks more varied and motivate students to
speak freely. (Horvat, 2012)
Teaching speaking techiniques is not an easy job for teachers at the level of Universities
expectancy. Speaking is a productive skill mostly expressed with the motivation of students
performance while interacting. In fact, the students have problems at the moment of a
conversation, especially in their speaking skills. For this reason, it is important to point out the
importance of a well designed class by the teacher in order to avoid students´ lack of
motivation. Moreover, to have creative, and affective students through integrated skills and
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reach the main goal of every learner which is to be proficient at the momento of speaking.
(Ardiansyah, 2020)
METHODOLOGY
The present research gathered important data by means of a questionnaire. This study has been
done based on a mixed approach combining quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire
consisted of elicit information on subjects such as age, sex and mother tongue with also a range
of questions focused to explore students´ motivations towards English speaking skills in the
Pontifical Catholic University of Ambato.
Participants
This research was carried out among a group of 20 students (male and female) who formed part
of the seventh level of English of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ambato and the ages ranged
from 15 to 22 years. The level was selected since it is one of the most problematic levels for
students. It takes them from an B2 to a B2 level of CEFR (Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages). Due to this, there is an extensive difference in skills of each student
but also in their motivation. In this level a key factor is students motivation for learning and
speaking English adequately.
Group A
This sample consists of 11 students, 5 male and 6 female with different aspects. This group has
difficulties understanding for what is new for them moving on to a highler level of English and
with mostly lack of motivation. This fact is represented with 80% of the students that passed the
level and 20% that are repeating due to its complexity which has become a challenge to
overcome.
Group B
This group consist of 9 students, 4 male and 5 female that have different cultures and ideologies.
It can be included that 10% of the students have repeated a level while 90% haven`t. Mainly
speaking, this group has higher expectancies of motivation to pass a level than the first group.
Data collection
The Questionnaire
The questionnaire is the main tool used as measurement in this research. A questionnaire is the
main form of collecting quantitative relevant information. A questionnaire approves quantitative
data to be gathered in a proper way so the information is proper and logical for investigation.
(Roopa & Rani, 2012)
Personal information questions about three different aspects were used:
• Biological characteristics: age, sex, and mother tongue.
• Questions linked to the role of motivation in student´s English speaking skills.
The questionnaire used in the research was taken face to face so that the researcher could take
notes on what was being said. Identifying the “why” and “how” of the students lack of motivation
gathered through the observation process making it also a qualitative approach of information.
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It consisted of open-ended questions sharing participants thoughts, beliefs, motivations and
feelings which can enable an understanding of the meaning that students ascribe to their
experiences. (Sutton & Austin, 2015)
Mixed methods approach was used and it is a combination between both qualitative and
quantitative research data, techniques and methods within a single research framework.
Implementing this approach can increase the validity of the research while collecting and
evaluating data. (Kabir, 2016)
RESULTS
First Variable: Personal Information
The average age of the participants in this research is 18.5 years, which means that regardless
the number of students that formerly repeated a level, the average age is appropriate for the
seventh level of English at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ambato (18- 19 years). Concerning
sex, there were a total of 20 students, 9 male (45%) and 11 female (55%).
The students were introduced into 2 classrooms (Group A and Group B) in which the results
presented were formed: in Group A, 20% had repeated a level, but in Group B, only 10% had
repeated a level.
Figure 1
Group A – Group B
Figure 1 and 2 show the difference between the two groups. It can be indicated that Group B has
a higher level of motivation in English than Group A, demonstrating a greater expectancy to pass
the level. The main observation after reviewing these results is that the differences in the two
groups of students could be introduced in the language teaching in order to create a class more
adapted to motivate students speaking skills.
Second Variable: Students’ Interests
This group of questions is imperative to expressing students’ motivation towards English
speaking. The most important fact to know is whether students like English or not in order to
contemplate the students who admit to like English and are motivated to learn different speaking
80%
20%
Group A
Passed
Repeated
10%
90%
Group B
Repeated
Passed
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skills to improve their speech performance. In this investigation, 84% of the students liked English,
and the remainder (16%) did not.
Therefore, it can be mentioned that students regularly like English in general but not as a subject
to be seen at school. This interpretation is made due to the fact it is used for different reasons as
in real life situations for communication purposes such as travel and hobbies. Regarding the
negative aspects for students is to notice the difficulty of the language and lack of motivation to
complete the learning process.
In general, it is important to point out that 100% of students intend to pass the level and improve
their english speaking skills because they are sure of its importance and the better opportunities
that it will grant them in the future.
Figure 2
Students like English
CONCLUSION AND A METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL
The most important results of the research were diagnosed by a mixed approach of quantitative
and qualitative results. There was an in – depth study to find out what are the factors that affect
students motivation in the seventh level of english in the Pontifical Catholic University of Ambato
It was identified that students know of the main importance that English will have in their futures,
consequently, students have set it as their primary objective not only to learn it but also to have
better speaking abilities to communicate adequately for better jobs, to be able to travel abroad
and meet new people, and live in an English speaking country. All students that formed part of
this research want to improve their english speaking skills and have clear that self motivation is
also important for them to achieve this goal.
In addition, the role of the English language in students’ lives is important since english is present
in nearly in every aspect of a sport or hobby, and for this reason, it sets an important role in the
students’ lives. Despite of this, the teacher’s role in the students’ motivation to learn is widely
important, this is likely the factor that was related to students’ motivation in the classroom. The
students’ answers indicated that, they preferred teachers with a high English level or native
86%
14%
Students Like English
Yes
No
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teachers. Neverthless, students feel motivated when teachers have a good pronunciation and
making fun and participative lessons.
Generally, other factors such as the importance of games and diversity in the materials used in
class are important to consider for students interaction and motivation to participate. Primarily,
every student like the use of technological devices and new ineractive applications in order to
enlarge their motivation and english speaking skills in the classroom. Additionally, an appropriate
amount of motivational intensity to develop learning strategies can increase student´interest and
improve personal attitudes towards English speaking. (Cong, Sida, & Haijing, 2022)
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