CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT THE DIFFICULTIES OF KHMER STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH AT CAN THO UNIVERSITY (CTU) B.A thesis Supervisor: Le Thi Huyen, M.A Researcher: Kim Phi Rum Student‟s code: 7062920 Class: NN0652A1 Course: 32 Can Tho – April , 2010 Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To finish this research, I have got support from many people Firstly, I would like to thank to my supervisor, Le Thi Huyen, M.A, who has advised and showed me the procedure for the research step by step During the time working with her, I have realized errors that should be corrected to be a good person I have got more experience on working style, as well as know how to make thesis more effectively which is very useful for my higher education Secondly, I want to send my gratitude to my friends – Vu Thi Hong and Nguyen Thi Nhuyen, who have helped me so much during my process Especially, when I have difficulties, two of them are always willing to help me Thirdly, I am also grateful to Mr Moore Stephen (Department of Linguistics Macquaire University) and Ms Suksiri Bounchan (Department of English Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh) who have presented a good topic “Khmer learner English: A teachers’ guide to Khmer interference”, supplied me the necessary materials for my thesis when I was in Cambodia Thanks also to my advisor, Bui Minh Chau, M.A, who has given me special help during my difficult process Thank my parents who have encouraged me to finish the research well Last but not least, thank 74 participants who are willing to take part in my research so that I can have the data to finish my thesis Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 CONTENTS CONTENTS Page List of tables v Abstract vi Introduction 1 General statement of the problem Statement of hypotheses, objectives and questions General organization of the study Literature review The difficulties caused by the mother tongue in second language learning 1.1 Overview of Khmer language 1.2 The difficulties of Khmer Cambodia learners in learning English a In phonology b In grammar 1.3 The influence of L1 transfer 12 The difficulties caused by attitudes and motivation factors in learning English 14 Research method Research design 17 Description of participants and instruments 17 2.1 Participants 17 2.2 Research instruments 17 Research procedures 18 Results 19 The level of difficulties in learning English of Khmer CTU students 19 1.1 The level of difficulties in learning English caused by the mother tongue 19 1.2 The level of difficulties in learning English caused by factor of attitude 19 1.3 The difficulties in learning English can be caused by motivation 20 Khmer CTU students‟ awareness of the differences between Khmer and English 22 Discussions 25 Discussions 25 Pedagogical implications 26 Limitation and recommendations 27 Conclusions 27 References 28 Appendices 30 Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 LIST OF TABLES Tables: Page 2.1 Original consonant in Khmer 2.2 Distinctive phonemes in Khmer 2.3 Distinctive phonemes of invented consonant sounds in Khmer 2.4 Dependent and independent Khmer vowels 3.1 Clusters of questionnaire 18 4.1.1.a The mean score of level of difficulties in learning English caused by the mother tongue 19 4.1.1.b Descriptive statistic of difficulties in learning English caused by factor of attitude 20 4.1.1.b.1 Descriptive statistic of specific item of attitude factor 20 4.1.2 The overall mean score of Khmer students‟ self-study frequency in learning English 21 4.1.1.c The level of difficulties in learning English caused by the motivation factor 23 4.1.1.c.1 Descriptive statistic of specific items of English speaking environment difficulties 23 4.2 The overall mean score of Khmer students‟ awareness of the difficulties between Khmer and English 24 Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 ABSTRACT Nowadays, English is one of the most important languages of the world However, learning English seems to be difficult to all learners as well as to Khmer CTU students The study the difficulties of Khmer students in learning English at Can Tho university aimed to find out the difficulties that Khmer CTU students face in learning English which caused by the mother tongue as well as attitude and motivation factors With a descriptive research, 16 items – questionnaires were delivered to 74 Khmer CTU students who were following non-major English program to get data The data was analyzed by the Statistic Package for the Social Science (SPSS) program The result shows that Khmer CTU students sometimes have difficulties in pronouncing English sounds that not exist in Khmer language system Besides, lack of motivation from teachers; difficult English learning material; as well as lack of English speaking environment are other difficulties that Khmer students are suffering when learning English at CTU However, they still have positive attitude to English learning From the results, the researcher proposes some implications for both teachers and students that students should not only have good attitudes to their English learning but also know the differences between their mother tongue (Khmer) and English so that they will have “special treatments” to any aspects of English which are different from those of the former Teachers should make students more motivated in learning English, use the appropriate materials to students‟ ability as well as ask students to practice speaking English more frequently TÓM LƯỢC Ngày tiếng Anh ngôn ngữ quan trọng giới Tuy nhiên, việc học tiếng Anh khó tất người học nói chung sinh viên Khmer Đại học Cần Thơ nói riêng Bài nghiên cứu khó khăn sinh viên Khmer học tiếng Anh Đại học Cần Thơ nhằm tìm khó khăn họ học tiếng Anh gây yếu tố tiếng mẹ đẻ yếu tố thái độ động lực học Bằng hình thức định tính phiếu điều tra phát cho 74 sinh viên Khmer theo học tiếng Anh không chuyên trường để lấy số liệu Dữ liệu thu được phân tích phần mềm SPSS Kết cho thấy, sinh viên Khmer gặp khó khăn phát âm tiếng Anh mà hệ thống âm tiếng Khmer Ngoài ra, thiếu động lực học từ giáo viên; tài liệu học tiếng Anh khó thiếu môi trường thực hành nói tiếng Anh khó khăn mà sinh viên Khmer gặp phải học Anh văn Tuy nhiên, họ có thái độ tích cực học tiếng Anh Từ kết nghiên cứu, tác giả đưa số kiến nghị đến giáo viên sinh viên Khmer Để học tiếng Anh tốt hơn, có thái độ tích cực học tập, sinh viên cần biết giống khác tiếng mẹ đẻ tiếng Anh từ có cách xử lý tốt phần tiếng Anh khác với tiếng mẹ đẻ Bên cạnh đó, giáo viên cần tạo hứng thú, tiếp thêm động lực cho sinh viên học tiếng Anh, sử dụng tài liệu phù hợp với lực sinh viên yêu cầu họ luyện tập nói tiếng Anh nhiều Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION In this chapter, I would like to state general statement of the problem; statement of the hypotheses, objectives, or questions Besides, general organization and coverage of the study are also included afterwards General statement of the problem Nowadays, no one denies the importance of English language It is clear that the English language has become very dominant around the world In some countries, it is a native language, and in others, it is taught in schools as a second language According to “The world ten most influential languages” by Weber, G (1995), it ranks the second of the languages that have the most native speakers of the world with more than 508 million people (after Mandarin Chinese with more than billion people) It is the official language of more countries than any other languages, including New Zealand, the U.S.A, Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada According to Internet World Statistics English, it is also the language that is used most in the Internet People who know English can deal with the Internet, which is regard information and communications revolution It is clear that English is very necessary today We use it in different fields of life such as economy, e-commerce, medicine, aviation tourism, travel, and so on Especially, it is used in the field of education by the university and institute for the scientific research Because of the necessity of English, millions of people all over the world learn this language In Vietnam, English is taught from the 6th grade in Secondary School not only in the cities but also in the countryside However, learning English seems to be not easy to all learners, including Khmer learners who are considered to be more convenient in learning English because of the similarities between their mother tongue and English For example, it is rare for Khmer speakers to have any problems with pronouncing initial or medial – positioned consonant cluster such as /cr/, /pl/, /sm/, /tw/ because Khmer also has a similar system of blending consonants together (Moore, S & Bounchan S., 2010) Indeed, Khmer learners have met many difficulties in learning English Lightbown, M and Spada, N (1993) stated that learning English is not easy because there are many factors affecting English learners such as intelligence, aptitude, Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 age at which learner begins learning the language Besides, the native language or the mother tongue is one of the important factors in learning English (Kenworthy, 1987) It can make learners learn English easily or cause difficulties to them According to Lado, R (1957), “the elements that are similar to his native language will be simple for him, and the elements that are different will be difficult” On the other hand, in pronunciation, when there is a sound in the target language, which is absent the learner native sound inventory of vice versa, learners may not be able to produce or even perceive the sounds (Avery, P and Ehrlich, S 1992) Moreover, the factor of attitude and motivation is also one of the important factors leading to success “the more succeeds the greater one‟s motivation, the greater one‟s motivation, the more one succeeds” (Lightbown & Spada, 1993) In other words, if learners have positive attitude and motivation in learning English, it will motivate them in learning In contrast, if they have negative motivation, it will lead them to difficulties in learning English In brief, there are difficulties in learning English of English learners especially Khmer CTU students There are many factors affecting students; however, two main factors that may directly or indirectly affect the result of Khmer students‟ language learning are their mother tongue, and their attitude and motivation These factors may cause difficulties to Khmer learners Being a Khmer student at CTU, I really want to help Khmer students realize as well as overcome problems in learning English Therefore, I want to conduct the research that I named The difficulties of Khmer students in learning English at Can Tho university (CTU) Statement of the hypotheses, objectives and questions 2.1 Statement of the hypotheses The differences between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English as well as lack of attitude and motivation cause difficulties in learning English of Khmer CTU students Khmer CTU students‟ awareness of the differences between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English is low 2.2 Statement to the objectives With this research, I want to: find out the difficulties of Khmer CTU students in learning English caused by the mother tongue as well as attitudes and motivation factors Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 measure Khmer students‟ awareness of the differences between Khmer and English 2.3 Statement of the questions What are the difficulties in learning English of Khmer CTU students caused by the mother tongue as well as attitudes and motivation factors? To which extent are Khmer students aware of the differences between their mother tongue and English? General organization of the study This thesis consists of five chapters: Chapter is introduction which consists of four following items: general statement of the problem, statement of the hypotheses, objectives, questions, and general organization of the study Chapter is literature review It relates to the difficulties caused by the mother tongue in second language learning, the difficulties of Khmer Cambodian learners in learning English, influence of L1 transfer, the difficulties caused by attitude and motivation factors in second language learning Chapter is research methodology It includes research design, participants, instruments, and research procedure Chapter is research findings, including some difficulties that Khmer CTU students suffer from learning English, as well as their awareness of the differences between Khmer and English languages Chapter is discussions It is about the summary of research problems, methods, and findings as well as conclusions and implications Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, I will review the difficulties caused by the mother tongue in second language learning, the difficulties of Khmer Cambodian learners in learning English, influence of L1 transfer, the difficulties caused by attitudes and motivation factors in second language learning THE DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY THE MOTHER TONGUE IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING: 1.1 Overview of Khmer language Khmer is the official language of Cambodia and is spoken by virtually all Cambodians Its origins lie mainly in a local language from the Mon-Khmer family and the two ancient Indian languages, Pali and Sanskrit Words of Khmer origin are typically root words and are commonly found in the spoken language whereas words of Pali and Sanskrit origin, in a Khmerized form, can be found in formal written language and literature, including poetry Khmer has a small number of vocabulary items borrowed from Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, French, and most recently English (Moore, S & Bounchan, S 2010) Based on the differences between English and Khmer first on phonology then on grammar, the following section is some difficulties of Khmer Cambodian learners in learning English which has been reported on the 6th CamTESOL 2010 by Moore, S and Bounchan, S 1.2 The difficulties of Khmer Cambodian learners in learning English: a In phonology Consonants English has 20 alphabetic consonants (or, 21 including letter „y‟), and an additional consonant sounds consisting of combined consonants Khmer consonants are more numerous There are 33 consonants and sub-consonants as shown in Table 2.1, and more complex since they make up just 21 individual distinctive phoneme sounds as shown in Table 2.2 Moreover, there are additional „invented‟ consonants in Khmer (see Table 2.3) bringing the grand total to 24 consonant sounds Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 Table 2.1 Original Consonant in Khmer (adapted from Pov, O 1968) ញ ឡ Table 2.2 Distinctive phonemes in Khmer Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 = k = ng = c 10 1.3 The difficulties in learning English caused by motivation Table 4.1.1.c the level of difficulties in learning English caused by the motivation factor Min – Max N = 74 M (SD) Difficulties caused 3.42 (.76) 0-4 Making motivation from teacher 2.26 (1.13) 0-5 Learning materials 3.53 (1.38) 0-5 Speaking environment 1.51 (1.01) 0-5 by the motivation factor In general, the mean score (M = 3.42, SD= 76) of motivation factor indicates a low level (less than 50%) of how often students get troubles in learning English caused by motivation factor However, the maximum score, Max = of this group also implies that sometimes motivation factor causes difficulties to Khmer students‟ learning English Conversely, the rest students never have troubles in learning which caused by motivation factor (Min = 0) From table 4.1.1.c, we observe that among motivation factors causing difficulties, speaking environment is the lowest frequency (M= 1.51, SD= 1.01) In contrast, learning material are highest frequency (M= 3.53, SD = 1.38) The maximum score of learning materials Max = implies that some students usually have difficulties in learning materials, the rest ones are not (Min= 0) Nevertheless, in general, a high level of learning materials (more than 50% on frequency scale) was also showed by the mean score M= 3.53 (SD= 1.38) Moreover, the mean score M= 2.26 (SD= 1.13) of making motivation from teachers indicates a quite low level (just about 10%) It means that students seldom take motivation to learn English from teachers On the other hand, the minimum score Min= and maximum score, Max= also reveals that teachers usually encourage students to learn English, some teachers never it In the following section, I will present the findings of specific items in English speaking environment difficulties Table 4.1.1.c.1 Descriptive statistic of specific items of English speaking environment difficulties N= 74 M(SD) Item 1.84 (1.07) Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 Min – Max 0-4 27 Item 1.32 (1.40) 0-5 Item 1.55 (1.30) 0-5 Item 14 1.66 (1.34) 0-5 From table 4.1.1c.1, we could identify that the Khmer students are low consistence in speaking environment The learners rated that most of them rarely practice English with their friends (item 1, M= 1.84, SD= 1.07) However, the maximum score, Max= reveals that some students often practice English with their friends In addition, the mean score M= 1.32 (SD= 1.32) of item indicates a low level of how often student have opportunities to communicate with native speakers (less than 10% on frequency scale) Yet, there are some students who usually have chances to speak English with natives (Max = 5) Moreover, we observe that Khmer student‟ opportunities in communicating with English speakers is low (item 8, M= 1.55, SD= 1.30), just about 5% Nevertheless, the maximum score (Max= 5) also signifies that the rest some students usually have opportunities to communicate with English speakers Furthermore, Khmer students‟ ability in using English in normal conservation is also low (item14, M= 1.66, SD= 1.34) It means that most Khmer students seldom have ability to speak English in normal conversations, just a few Khmer students usually have this ability (Max = 5) Khmer CTU students’ awareness of the differences between English and Khmer The cluster of Khmer students‟ awareness of the differences between English and Khmer includes two items (item and item 7) Table 4.2 will show the statistic results of how often student aware of differences between English and Khmer Table 4.2 The overall mean score of Khmer students’ awareness of the differences between Khmer and English N=74 M (SD) Min-Max Students‟ awareness 2.73(1.30) 0-5 Item 2.65(1.33) 0-5 Item 2.81(1.41) 0-5 The statistics from this table shows us that students are seldom aware of the differences between Khmer and English (M = 2.73, SD= 1.30) in general Besides, there Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 28 are some students who are never aware of those differences, the rest ones are usually (Min= 0, Max= 5) Similarly, in the descriptive statistic of item 2, we see that students‟ level of awareness of difference between Khmer and English is very low (M= 2.65, SD= 1.33, just about 15% on frequency scale) Moreover, they also admit that they “rarely” know the mistakes caused by the differences between Khmer and English (item 7, M= 2.81, SD= 1.41) However, there are participants who usually know those mistakes, but some participants never know them (Min = 0, Max = 5) In this chapter, the statistic results of the level of difficulties in learning English of Khmer CTU students and awareness of the differences between English and Khmer, two main reports have been made In the next chapter, pedagogical implementations will be suggested on the basis of the discussion of the reported statistic results Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 29 CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS Chapter has supplied the study results about the difficulties of Khmer CTU students in learning English In this chapter, I will present the discussion including summary of the problems, method and findings; conclusions and implications Discussions It was hypothesized in my study that the differences between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English, the lack of motivation and the lack of attitude would cause difficulties in Khmer CTU students‟ English learning However, the research results could satisfy only two points of the hypothesis First of all, the participants state that they sometimes (70%) have difficulties in pronouncing the sounds which not have in Khmer language system of frequency (M= 3.82, SD= 1.05) Meanwhile, some students assert that they rarely apply their first language knowledge to make English sentences (M= 2.58, SD= 1.05) Therefore, it can be concluded that the students in this study have difficulties in learning English caused by the differences between the mother tongue and English, especially in pronunciation Secondly, with motivation factor, the findings reflect that teachers rarely motivate students in learning English (M= 2.26, SD= 1.13), and that the English learning materials are sometimes difficult for some to learn (M= 2.53, SD= 1.39) Moreover, students‟ English speaking frequency is low (M= 1.51, SD= 1.02) That means they hardly practice speaking with speakers of English, even with their friends These factors could lead to students‟ negative motivation or lack of motivation, which could cause difficulties to Khmer students in their English learning The third point in my first hypotheses is that the lack of attitude would cause difficulties in the English learning process of Khmer CTU student In fact, the results show that most of the Khmer CTU students have good attitudes to English learning (M= 3.82, SD= 1.05) Therefore, it is hard to conclude that they have difficulties with this factor In another hypothesis, “Khmer CTU students‟ awareness of the differences between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English is low” The result of the study reflects Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 30 that this hypothesis is reasonable because the degree of their awareness is “rarely” with the mean score M= 2.22 (SD= 1.05) Pedagogical implications From the result of my research, I would like to supply some suggestions Firstly, students should know the differences as well as the similarities between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English Lado, R (1957) states that when we know the differences between the two languages, we “can use the prediction in deciding which items needed to be given special treatment in the cause”, or “we can use intensive techniques, such as repetitions or drills, in order to overcome the interference and establish the necessary new habits.” In other words, if we know those differences we can avoid the difficulties in learning English Secondly, to be good at learning English, we should have good attitudes to that learning To teachers, they should make students more motivated in learning English Besides, they should supply the materials that are suitable to their English ability Last but not least, students should be asked to practice speaking English more to overcome the speaking environment problems Limitations and recommendations As any previous studies, the current study has some limitations Firstly, as the different levels of English proficiency of the Khmer CTU students in this study were not identified The findings about the students‟ awareness of the differences between the English and the Khmer languages might not have been observed adequately Moreover, the size of the sample (n=74) might be a small one, so the results might not be generalized to the whole population of Khmer students in CTU Therefore, more research should be conducted with larger sizes and the participants‟ proficiency levels identified Secondly, the results of this study were completely based on the self-report questionnaire which mainly relied on the individual respondents‟ perceptions Thus, it is likely that learners might claim to have or to something that in fact they not, which might affect the validity and reliability of the research As a result, further research should be carried out with other instruments such as interviews, and observations to avoid this limitation Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 31 Also, in further research, we could conduct the experimental design and record the participants‟ pronunciation to investigate to what extent the mother tongue (Khmer in this context) affects the English learning process of the participants Conclusion The results of the research indicate that Khmer CTU students are somewhat aware of the differences between the English and Khmer languages as well as face difficulties in learning English due to the differences between the two languages, the lack of motivation and possibly due to the lack of attitude toward language learning It is hoped that these findings will help teachers gain insights into their Khmer students‟ perceptions in learning and so can play a significant role in helping their students learn more effectively by applying more suitable teaching approaches Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 32 REFERENCES Avery, P and Ehrlich, S (1992) Teaching American English pronunciation Oxford, England: Oxford University Press Bui, H (1997) Phương pháp đại dạy học ngoại ngữ Hà Nội: NXB Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội Chhim, S (1965) Grammaire pali Phnom Penh: lycée boudidhique preah suramarit , (2007) ញ (Chhun, L., (2007) Khmer grammar, Phnom Penh: Banthiasrey Press) Cummins, J (2000) Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters Dechert, H (1983) How a story is done in second language London: Longman Ellis, R (1994) The study of second language acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, R (1997) Second language acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Gardner, R.(1985) Socialpsychology and second language learning Retrieved from: http://slr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/3/2/180 Lado, R (1957) Linguistics across cultures, applied linguistics language teachers Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press Lado, R.(1964) Language teaching: A scientific approach, New York: Mc Graw-Hill Lam, K (2007) Tài liệu đào tạo giáo viên dạy Tiếng Khmer cho cán công chức: Ngữ âm tiếng Khmer Cần Thơ: Đại học Cần Thơ Le, T (2008) B.A thesis: Vietnamese EFL learners’ production of English final consonants Can Tho: Can Tho university Lightbown, M., & Spada, N (1993) How languages are learned Oxford: Oxford University Press Moore, S., & Bounchan, S (2010) English in Cambodia: Changes and challenges World Englishes, 19 (1), 116-128 Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 33 Moore, S., & Bounchan, S (2010) Khmer learner English: a teacher’s guide to Khmer interference (unpublished) Odlin, T (1989) Language transfer: cross – linguistic influence in language learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ofoegbu, F (2004) Teacher motivation: a factor for classroom effectiveness and school improvement in Nigeria Retrieved from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_1_38/ai_n6073200/ , (1968) ញ: (Pov, O (1968) specific Khmer grammar Phnom Penh: Khmer government Press) Swan, M., & Smith, B (Eds.) (1987, 2001) Learner English: A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Tonkin, D (1962) Modern Cambodian writing Phnom Penh: Universite Buddique Preah sihanouk Raj Weber, G (1995) The world’s 10 most influential languages Retrieved from http://www.andaman.org/BOOK/reprints/weber/rep-weber.htm Weden, A (1991) Learner strategies in language learning Retrieved from: http://openlibrary.org/books/OL9844448M/Learner_Strategies_in_Language_Lear ning_(Language_Teaching_Methodology_Series) Yallop, C (1995) An introduction to phonetics and phonology (2nd ed) Oxford: Blackwell Yallop, C (1995) English Phonology Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Marquaire University Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 34 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE DIFFICULTIES OF KHMER CTU STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH Class:……………………… Name of province/city in which I attended in high school:……………… I have been learning English for:……… Currently, I am… /am not… taking English courses at foreign language centers I think my level of English is Poor so-so good very good excellent Please read each statement and tick () which one is the best describes your thinking or experience: Statement Usually 99%90% Often 90%-75% Sometimes 75%-25% Seldom 25%10% Rarely 10%-1% Never 1% I practice speaking English with my friends I am aware of the differences between Khmer and English language In class, teacher makes me motivated to learn English In learning English, I apply my first language knowledge (Khmer) to make sentences (i.e có chó trắng: there is dog white one) I have opportunities to communicate to native speakers I learn English by myself from the materials that teachers gave me I know my mistakes caused by the differences between Khmer and English I have opportunities to speak to English speakers Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 35 Statement Usually 99%90% Often 90%-75% Sometimes 75%-25% Seldom 25%10% Rarely 10%-1% Never 1% I have difficulties in pronouncing the sounds that don‟t have in Khmer languague system (e.i // in pleasure, /t/ in teacher, 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 // in thanks and // in that I learn English to get a job with high salary My good score in English test makes me more motivated my English learning process I study English by myself from text books, newspapers, CDs… In English, I self-study things that teachers haven‟t taught My English speaking ability is good enough for everyday conversations I learn English for my great score not for my use in the future The English learning materials at CTU are difficult for me to learn THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND HELP! Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 36 APPENDIX PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA VỀ NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN KHMER TRONG HỌC TIẾNG ANH Lớp: ………………………… Tôi học THPT tỉnh:………… Tôi học Tiếng anh được:… năm Tôi học tiếng Anh lúc … tuổi Hiện  CÓ /  KHÔNG theo học Trung tâm Ngoại ngữ Tôi nghĩ trình độ tiếng Anh thì:  Kém  Vừa vừa  Tốt  Rất tốt Xuất sắc Vui lòng đọc câu đánh dấu () vào mục (luôn luôn), (thường thường), (đôi khi), (ít khi), (hiếm khi), (không bao giờ) mà bạn cho phù hợp với bạn nhất: SỐ CÂU TÔI NGHĨ Luôn Thường thường 99%90% 90%75% Đôi 75%25% Ít Hiếm 25%10% 10%1% Tôi luyện nói tiếng Anh với bạn bè Tôi ý thức khác biệt tiếng Khmer tiếng Anh Trong lớp giáo viên tạo hứng thú làm có thêm động lực học tiếng Anh Tôi dựa vào kiến thức tiếng mẹ đẻ (Khmer) đặt câu tiếng Anh (vd: /mian chhke so muoi/ có chó trắng : there is dog white one) Tôi có hội giao tiếp với người xứ Tôi tự học tiếng Anh từ giáo trình giáo viên đưa cho Tôi ý thức lỗi sai khác biệt tiếng Khmer tiếng Anh gây Tôi có hội giao tiếp với người nói tiếng Anh Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 37 Không 0% TÔI NGHĨ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Luôn Thường thường Đôi Ít Hiếm 99%90% 90%75% 75%25% 25%10% 10%1% Tôi gặp khó khăn phát âm (tiếng Anh) mà tiếng Khmer Vd: âm // pleasure, /t/ teacher, // thanks // that Tôi học tiếng Anh để tìm việc có lương cao Kết tiếng Anh tốt giúp có thêm động lực học tiếng Anh Tôi tự học tiếng Anh từ sách vở, báo chí, băng đĩa… Tôi tự học nhiều điều từ tiếng Anh mà giáo viên chưa dạy Tôi nói tiếng Anh giao tiếp thông thường Tôi học tiếng Anh điểm để sử dụng tương lai Giáo trình tiếng Anh trường ĐHCT khó học CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN SỰ GIÚP ĐỠ CỦA CÁC BẠN! Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 38 Không 0% APPENDIX ****** Method (space saver) will be used for this analysis ****** _ R E L I A B I L I T Y A N A L Y S I S - S C A L E (A L P H A) Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = Alpha = 74.0 N of Items = 16 7449 Descriptive Statistics for specific items Item N 74 Minimum Maximum Mean 1.84 Std Deviation 1.073 Item 74 2.65 1.329 Item 74 2.26 1.135 Item 74 2.58 1.614 Item 74 1.32 1.406 Item 74 3.74 1.398 Item 74 2.81 1.411 Item 74 1.55 1.305 Item 74 3.82 1.953 Item 10 74 4.01 1.494 Item 11 74 3.69 1.260 Item 12 74 3.88 1.384 Item 13 74 3.57 1.257 Item 14 74 1.66 1.348 Item 15 74 4.84 1.103 Item 16 74 3.53 1.387 Valid N (listwise) 74 Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 39 APPENDIX ADAPTATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE Lado (1957) The elements that are similar to his native language will simple for him and the elements that are different will be difficult Moore, S and Bounchan, S (2010) Because of the differences between Khmer and English phonologies, some Khmer learners of English may have difficulty pronouncing certain English sounds In particular, there is no // (as in pleasure), /t/ (as in teacher), // (as in that), // (as in thanks) sounds in Khmer Lado (1964) In writing or speaking the target language, second language learner tends to rely on their native language (L1) Gardner (1985) Positive attitudes and motivation are related to success in second language learning Lightbown, M and Spada, N (1993) Research findings suggest a circular cause and effect relationship between motivation and success in second language learning That is, the more one succeeds the greater one‟s motivation The greater one‟s motivation, the more one succeeds ADAPTED VERSION I have difficulties in pronouncing the sounds that don‟t have in Khmer language system (i.e // in pleasure, /t/ CLUSTER Factor of the mother tongue in teacher, // in thanks and // in that In learning English, I apply my first language knowledge (Khmer) to make sentences (vd: Factor of the mother tongue /mian chhke so muoi/ có chó trắng : there is dog white one) In class, teacher makes me motivated to learn English Factor of motivation (motivation from teachers) I learn English for my great score not for my use in the future I learn English to get a job with high salary My good score in English test makes me more motivated my English learning process Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 40 Lightbown, M and Spada, N (1993) Language is affected by many factors Among them are opportunities for interaction with the speaker of the target language I practice speaking English with my friends Factor of motivation (environment) I have opportunities to speak to English speakers My English speaking ability is good enough for everyday conversations Lightbown, M and Spada, N (1993) For learning successful, the material which is taught must be appropriate for the learners‟ stage of development I have opportunities to communicate with native speakers The English learning materials at CTU are difficult for me to learn Factor of motivation (learning materials) Lightbown, M and Spada, N (1993) The research has also shown that learners learn a great deal that no one ever teaches them They are able to use their own internal learning mechanisms to discover many of the complex rules and relationships which underlie the language they wish to learn In English, I self-study things that teachers haven‟t taught Factor of attitude Lado (1964) Most of the mistakes which second language learners make are due to interference from the first language I know my mistakes caused by Students‟ awareness the differences between Khmer and English I study English by myself from text books, newspapers, CDs… I learn English by myself from the materials that teachers gave me I am aware of the differences between Khmer and English language Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 41 [...]... students negative motivation or lack of motivation, which could cause difficulties to Khmer students in their English learning The third point in my first hypotheses is that the lack of attitude would cause difficulties in the English learning process of Khmer CTU student In fact, the results show that most of the Khmer CTU students have good attitudes to English learning (M= 3.82, SD= 1.05) Therefore,... score of level of difficulties in learning English caused by the mother tongue; attitude factor; motivation factor and Khmer students awareness of differences between English and Khmer 1.1 The level of difficulties in learning English caused by the mother tongue Table 4.1.1.a The mean score of level of difficulties in learning English caused by the mother tongue factor M (SD) Min-Max Difficulties in learning. .. hypothesized in my study that the differences between the mother tongue (Khmer) and English, the lack of motivation and the lack of attitude would cause difficulties in Khmer CTU students English learning However, the research results could satisfy only two points of the hypothesis First of all, the participants state that they sometimes (70%) have difficulties in pronouncing the sounds which do not have in Khmer. .. presented the statistic results of frequency level of attitude factor causing Khmer students difficulties in learning English In the next section, I will present students motivation to learning Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 26 1.3 The difficulties in learning English caused by motivation Table 4.1.1.c the level of difficulties in learning English caused by the motivation factor Min – Max N = 74 M (SD) Difficulties. .. pronunciation to investigate to what extent the mother tongue (Khmer in this context) affects the English learning process of the participants 4 Conclusion The results of the research indicate that Khmer CTU students are somewhat aware of the differences between the English and Khmer languages as well as face difficulties in learning English due to the differences between the two languages, the lack of. .. by factor of attitude In terms of difficulties in learning English caused by factor of attitude, the mean score M= 3.82 (SD= 85) signifies that most of Khmer students often have good attitude to English learning (more than 70%) However, the minimum scores of attitude factor Min= 2 imply that some students seldom have good attitude in learning English Table 4.1.1b shows statistic results of attitude... establish the necessary new habits.” In other words, if we know those differences we can avoid the difficulties in learning English Secondly, to be good at learning English, we should have good attitudes to that learning To teachers, they should make students more motivated in learning English Besides, they should supply the materials that are suitable to their English ability Last but not least, students. .. speaking Khmer in their English lessons” (Moore, S and Bounchan, S 2010) which leads them to difficulties in English speaking Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 21 CHAPTER 3 METHODS In the previous chapter, chapter 2, I have presented the literature review including the difficulties caused by factors of the mother tongue as well as factors of attitudes and motivation in L2 learning In this chapter, I will present the. .. factor which influences the rate and success of second language learning (Donough, 1983; Ellis, 1994) Donough (1983) also stated that “motivation of the students is one of the most important factors influencing their success or failure in learning the language” Another factor is the learner‟s attitudes This is also an English learner‟s motivation in language learning It is affected by his/her attitudes... we can infer that they sometimes learn English because of scores, but some students never learn because of scores (Min =0) In other words, the level of score effects Khmer students learning is very low (about 5% of frequency scale) The mean score of item 15 M= 4.84 (SD= 1.10) indicates that most students rarely learn English just for Kim Phi Rum 5/20/2010 25 their great score, not for their use in