Speaker
Description
Despite increased efforts to make English classes more engaging and student-centred, many university students from non-English majors remain unmotivated and disengaged. This study investigates how EFL instructors comprehend their students’ motivation and explores their strategies to foster classroom engagement at Ho Chi Minh University of Education. Informed by Dörnyei's L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) and reflective teaching practices, the paper adopts a mixed-methods design. Employing the English for General Purposes Division lecturers as the subject, it includes a structured questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions, followed by semi-structured interviews with selected instructors. The research reveals perceived causes of low motivation, the effectiveness of motivational strategies, and beliefs about how student mindsets toward English might be shifted. Findings aim to provide practical insights into how English lecturers navigate the complex challenge of motivating learners who may not view English as relevant or attainable. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of motivation from the educator’s perspective and highlights context-sensitive approaches that can inform curriculum development and teaching practice in similar tertiary EFL settings.
Biography
Ms. Huynh Nguyen Nhan Hoa is a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. She holds an MA in TESOL at Victoria University of Wellington and has over 5 years of experience teaching English for General Purposes. Her research interests include motivation for language learning, language teaching methods, and cross-cultural communication.
