TEACHERS’ MOTIVATIONAL PRACTICES AND LANGUAGE COMPETENCE OF

THIRD YEAR BSED-ENGLISH STUDENTS OF USEP-TAGUM

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND RELATED LITERATURE

Background of the Study

Motivation plays a very important role in the language learning of the students

because it is the force that drives them to achieve certain learning goals. The teacher,

too, has an equally significant role in the language learning of students. The teacher sees

to it that the interest that brings the students to learn, in the first place, is maintained to

ensure that there is an effective learning in the classroom. This can be done through

various motivational practices that the teacher applies in the classroom. These

motivational practices of teachers significantly affect the language learning of students,

specifically the students’ language competency.

In line with this, the need to do research on how the teacher’s motivational practice

affected the language learning of Slovakian students was observed by Kubanyiova

(2006). She stated that a teacher should create a motivating learning environment in order

for the students to feel more responsible for their learning and thereby increase their

competency in terms of using the second language. In addition, she cited Brophy (2004)

and Dornyei (2001) stating that teachers have a significant role in the quality learning

engagement of the students’ experience by applying motivational practices in the

classroom.
 Consequently, in Canada, Shahid (2014) claimed that motivating students to learn

and improving their language competency is a growing challenge for teachers. She

asserted that creating motivational activities is a great challenge for educators in the U.S.

and Canada. In addition, motivation, she believed, directly affected student engagement

in learning and using the second language.

Moreover, a study in Iran by Khodashenas, Amouzegar, Kishani, Hasheminasab

and Kazemian (2013) sheds light on the role of motivation in the language learning and

competency of students. They argued that the development of language competency is

highly influenced by motivation. As traced by Cheng and Doryie (2007), motivation is a

sustaining force that enables the learner to overcome the tedious process of language

learning and improvement of language competency.

In the Philippines, Barberos and Padayogdog (2013) emphasized that one of the

primary concerns of the teacher is to help students understand better in the classroom.

In order to achieve this, teachers should create a motivating environment for the students.

Through this application of motivational practice in the classroom, the students’

competency in language is developed and nurtured.

Furthermore, in the findings of Lucas (2010) on the different universities and

colleges in Metro Manila, concluded that motivation is indeed a significant factor in the

competency of students in terms of using the second language. This is because

motivation serves as the students’ impetus in achieving their learning goal, language

competence. Also, language competence is not easily achieved through merely studying

but also practice and the eagerness to practice is driven by the students’ motivation.
 Relevant to the abovementioned sources, Panda and Mohanty as cited by Kadtong

and Usop (2013) stated that the teacher’s instructional performance including his/her

motivational practice in the classroom plays a vital role in students’ learning in a language

class (specifically the second language components). The teacher’s motivational practice

increases and maintains the “want” of the student to learn what he ought to learn.

Additionally, these motivational practices maintain the interest of the students to practice

their competency in terms of the second language.

In Northern Mindanao, DepEd Region X claimed that as the teachers applied

creative motivational activities in the language classroom, the motivation of the students

is increased. Such activities that create a motivating classroom environment have been

the teachers’ practice to maintain the interest of the learners in learning and developing

their language. This yielded to more competent language learners in terms of using the

second language.

Consequently, in Davao Del Norte, DepEd Region XI conducted an enrichment

program to cater the teachers’ motivational practices in the classroom. DepEd Region XI

believed that through enhancing the teachers’ knowledge and developing their skills in

different motivational activities will help improve the learning of the target language,

including the students’ language competence. As further assumed, the teachers are able

to drive and sustain the students’ motivation in learning and developing the second

language through creating a motivating classroom environment for the students.

 The study will be of great use to teachers and students alike for they can glean

information on how to develop and sustain motivation in the everyday classroom

experience. As teacher education students, the researchers felt the need to pursue this

particular research to increase their knowledge on this matter, as they will soon be

classroom teachers.

Review of Related Literature

This section contains review of research literature pertaining to the variables and

indicators considered in this study. These include the following: Teacher’s Motivational

Practice (extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation) and Language Competence

(phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and vocabulary).

Teachers’ motivational practices

There has been a so called triads of teaching in which the three elements in the

teaching-learning process are given credits namely: the content, the learner and the

teacher. The quality of learning engagement of the learners is not primarily dependent

alone to their intellectual faculties and the substance of the course content. The teacher

too has an influential power to create a quality learning environment. Brophy (2004)

asserted that language teachers play a very crucial role in creating a motivating learning

environment for the second language learners upon achieving the reach end goal-
competence in second language. This can be done through the employment of conscious,

unconscious and proactive motivational practices and strategies in the class.

As well, learners' motivation is a key variable that frequently concerns and

challenges practitioners in language classrooms (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007). Language

teachers are considered to have an immense impact to second language students in

learning the second language (English). To bring this closest to realization, a language

teacher must employ various motivational practices in the classroom. This would point

out that the use of motivational strategies and practices is significant for the learners to

be motivated too in acquiring the second language.

In addition, Abrar-ul-Hassan (2009) highlights that language teachers are facing

two main problems in language classes: motivating second language learners and

sustaining their motivation. This resort to recognition that language teachers are ought to

custom motivational practices as a vital element in language teaching. To the extent,

motivational strategies are used to impose and generate learners’ motivation to learn the

second language targeting language competence. This challenge brought a hard time for

language teachers to think of the practices that will engage students to be motivated in

learning the language.

To support the claim that employing motivational practices heads to the acquisition

of second language competence, Abrar-ul-Hassan (2009) has drawn motivational

practices applied to both EFL (English as foreign Language) and ESL (English as Second
Language) contexts. These are: promotion of learners' involvement in the program,

creation of a safe atmosphere for learners in the class and making the whole process of

language learning enjoyable and interesting. To her, by the simple inclusion of these

practices in language class, students may feel that teachers too are eager to teach the

students.

Likewise, Abrudan (2006) mentions that motivational strategies and practices are

considered keys in learning the second language that would create, foster and maintain

a very motivating classroom environment by an enthusiastic and well-prepared language

teacher. Some of the motivational practices that should be incorporated are as: teacher’s

enthusiasm, acknowledgement and stimulation of students ideas, the creation of a relax

and enjoyable atmosphere in the classroom, the presentation of activities in a clear,

interesting and motivating way, the encouragement of pupils with difficulties, helping them

to increase their expectations of themselves. These are some of the several motivational

practices believed to sustain the learning of the language.

Moreover, Koh, Soon and Towndrow (2008) accentuated that teachers have not

only the power on how well the students learn but also how motivated they are to learn

the second language. Importantly, they have discussed the effective motivating teaching

practices that would enhance student motivation extrinsically and intrinsically in a

language class. The whole raft of effective motivational teaching practices can be

summarized into: providing effective feedback, helping students set goals for learning,

fostering their self-efficacy and emphasizing the importance of effort and persistence in
learning. These and all can be fostered by language teachers to produce motivated and

competent second language students.

Without a doubt, it is important for language teachers to recognize the significance

of motivation and make good use of it in their teaching practices. The use of motivation

as a habit classroom practice by the teacher is highly needed to ensure that the students

are learning the second language and students are becoming language competent. For

the present time, English language teachers are applying various techniques with the

concept and help of motivation so that students’ sense of independence to learn the

second language may be extended to their notion that they are free to learn the second

language without rigidity and unenthusiastic classroom practices of the teacher (Downs,

2001).

Extrinsic motivation. It is something that comes from outside the learner.

Learners are extrinsically motivated when they attached learning process with rewards

(such as grades, awards or honors) and viewed that their learning performance has an

equivalent rewards or consequences. Pintrich and Schunk (2002) delimited the definition

of extrinsic motivation in a language class as motivation to engage in an activity facilitated

by the teacher as a means to an end, such as earning a reward or avoiding punishment

from the teacher for not doing the activity.

According to Morris and Maisto (2002), extrinsic motivation refers to rewards that

are obtained not from the activity but as a consequence of the activity. Students are opting
to the result of the activity they have performed not from the activity itself designed by the

teacher. Teachers use extrinsic motivation practices to stimulate learning or encourage

students to perform in a particular way. It is one of the most powerful motivations. It is

operative when an individual is motivated by an outcome that is external or somehow

related to the activity in which the students are engaged. This motivation arises from the

use of external rewards or bribes such as food, praise, free time, money or points toward

an activity. These incentives are all external, in that they are separate from the individual

and the task.

However, a direct opposition has been accentuated as to the use of extrinsic

reinforcement of the teacher is concerned by Krause, Bochner, and Duchesne (2003).

According to them, almost all teachers use extrinsic reinforcement in some form to

motivate students, although they may not realize they are doing so and may not always

use such reinforcement effectively. This would mean that the practice of the teacher in

the class to use extrinsic reinforcements may not be suitable at all paces of learning of

the students and may these extrinsic rewards wouldn’t be beneficial in the course of

learning of the students. Reasons provided may be that the students are working the

designed task for them in partial fulfilment and for compliance without embracing the

learning itself.

Dörnyei (2001) explains that extrinsic motivation is related to doing an action in

order to receive an extrinsic reward or to avoid punishment. Classroom is funded by

rewards; the teacher’s practice use of extrinsic rewards are highly encouraged to be used
as a motivating scheme for students so that tasks design for them may be as well

completed in a manner. Students who are extrinsically motivated work on tasks because

they believe that participation will result in desirable outcomes such as a reward or praise.

Thus, teachers are responsible to employ incentive system in the class to motivate

student in partaking class participation and for learning.

Furthermore, Brophy and Wentzel (2014) discuss that extrinsic strategies when

applied by the teacher in the class can stimulate students to engage in classroom tasks

and activities. This is so when the activities and tasks set by the teacher are completed

successfully, it will bring valued rewards for them. By offering extrinsic rewards, teachers

also communicate to students what they value with regard to learning. However, when

motivation is purely extrinsic, the activity itself is not valued except as an instrument the

students can use to obtain rewards that they do value.

Contextually, Noels, Clement, and Pelletier, (2001) defined extrinsic

motivation in second language learning as the pressure or reward from the social

environment to learn a language. Extrinsically motivated learners aim to obtain a better

career opportunity, a teacher’s praise or recognition or even to prove that one is a good

learner. However, a characteristic of external motivation is that it implies some kind of

external pressure which once removed may result in the language learner quitting the

second language learning. When the students are used and immuned with extrinsic

rewards, they are already functioned with the extrinsic rewards only and when in the
absence of extrinsic rewards, students do not feel motivated in any way to learn. The

challenge for the teacher is to employ extrinsic rewards not for lifetime but customarily.

Intrinsic motivation. It refers to motivation engaged in class activity because it is

enjoyable and satisfying to do. Deci and Ryan (2000) believe that intrinsic motivation is

founded upon innate needs for competence and self-determination. They remark that

when students are free to perform an activity, they will seek interesting situations where

they can rise to the challenges that the activity presents. By striving to meet these

challenges, learners develop a sense of competence in their abilities. The teacher’s

motivational practice should exhibit various language activities that would attract them

and would make them comfortable to do.

Another claim of Deci and Ryan (2000) is that students will be intrinsically

motivated only for activities that hold intrinsic interest for them, activities that have the

appeal of novelty, challenge or aesthetic value. By this, a teacher must infer first his/her

students’ needs, curiosities and interests. If a teacher is well known to the interests of the

students, he/she may design activities that would pull students’ attention to participate in

class activities. A language teacher, for instance must mold interactive and enjoyable

activities for the students to attach their selves to classroom activities. This practice may

cause intrinsic rewards both for the teacher (seeing the students’ performance towards

learning the second language) and the learners (developing their second language

competence).
 As for the abovementioned claim, important note on motivation has been stressed

by Hulleman, Schweigert and Harackiewicz (2008) that interest of students are highly

related to intrinsic motivational practices of the teacher. Hulleman et.al defined interest in

language class context as which someone is engaged and entirely absorbed by an

activity. And so, interest can be distributed into two aspects: personal and situational.

Personal interest refers to the stable disposition of students who are attracted to the

learning activities, enjoying the tasks and the likable trait to involve in the activity for their

own sake. In contrast, situational interest refers to the students’ state of interest that

develops through the interactions with the tasks’ characteristics. And so the teacher

should manifest practices in the classroom that cater to both interests through letting them

engage in language activities and tasks while holding and sustaining students’ attention

to the task.

As mentioned, internal desire to teach people, to impart knowledge and value is

always in teaching as a vocational goal. Fulfilment of intrinsic teaching practices is

guaranteed to have intrinsic rewards. Dornyei (2001) defines intrinsic motivation as

performing a behavior for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and satisfaction

such as the joy of doing a particular activity or satisfying one’s curiosity. With this

definition, the referred intrinsic rewards can be subdivided into two areas: the educational

process and the subject matter. For the educational process, when a teacher applies

intrinsic motivational practices to the class and the students are keenly responding to the

practices is considered very rewarding. The intrinsic reward for the teacher lies on their
performance and behavior. For the subject matter, the intrinsic rewards lie on the increase

of the teacher’s knowledge of the content.

On the other hand, Carreira (2005) cited Vallerand’s Academic Motivation Scale

as an excellent determinant used to guide language teachers as to how to make students

intrinsically motivated to learn the second language upon achieving language

competence. The intrinsic motivation is subdivided into three types: intrinsic motivation to

know (IM-knowledge), intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment (IM-accomplishment)

and intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation (IM-stimulation).

To further discuss, IM-knowledge refers to motivation for doing an activity for the

pleasure related to developing knowledge and new ideas. On the other hand, IM-

accomplishment refers to the feelings associated in attempting to realize a goal or master

a task. Lastly, IM-stimulation refers to motivation based on the sensations stimulated by

doing a task, that is, fun and exciting. Thus teachers must develop motivational practices

that encourage students to develop new ideas through a series of cognitive activities;

develop the students’ goal-setting skills to accomplish their goals for language

competence; and develop students’ autonomy in engaging in a language activity and

enjoying the class, at the same time (Barry & King, 2000).

However, there is an attempted claim of Brophy and Wentzel (2014) that students

are willing to engage in language activities if they have found personal value on it and

they are enjoying the learning process in second language learning, especially developing
language competence. Also, they stressed that teachers’ practices must be intrinsically

motivating and thus should be value-laden on the part of the learners. Thus, students

engage in language activities because there are values attached to the tasks and

activities, meaningful as they are to the lives of the learners and worthwhile to learn by

and can be enjoyable in such a way. Teachers ought to develop perceptions that second

language learning has value to the students, teachers must: see to it that the curriculum

content and the learning activities should be meaningful and/or worthwhile and develop

the content and scaffold students’ learning engagement in the activities in ways that

enable them to see and appreciate the value of it.

Language Competence

According to Steffanson (2013), the language competence of a student is

significantly affected by motivation. He said that this motivation should be found in the

learning environment of the student. He further claimed that language competence is

achieved when a student’s motivation to seek his goal, language competence, is created

and sustained. In order for this to be achieved, the teacher must be able to apply

motivational practices in the classroom.

 Consequently, according to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages or

TESOL (2008), an international association, language competence is greatly affected by

the student’s motivation. They further elaborated that, at times, second language

competence is not seen as important to the learner’s immediate need, except when to

pass exams. In this case, most especially, the learners are needed to be motivated for

them to be able to create goals and sustain their interest in pursuing those goals. TESOL

claimed that in order for language competence to be achieved, the teacher must find a

way to tap into the learner’s intrinsic motivation and connect it with external motivating

factors. This because, the association claimed, learners have different purposes in

studying and developing their language competence, teachers must know these purposes

to create appropriate motivational practices.

However, for Agnesia (2014), language competence affects the motivation of the

student and therefore the motivational practices of the teacher as well. In relation to the

motivation of the students, their language competence affects their motivation because it

keeps the students focused in a task given to them. According to her, when the learners

believe that they are competent in a task their motivation to succeed increases. On the

other hand, when the learners find the task to be difficult for their level of competence,

they will be frustrated and most likely to decrease their motivation. She also stressed that

when the tasks given are constant, the learners will feel that their level of language

competence becomes static, and therefore will become bored and thoroughly decreases

their motivation.
 According to Kaboody (2013), the common target of second language learners is

language competence. In relation to this, he claimed that for the learners to achieve this

goal, the teacher must formulate proper motivational practices. In addition, language

competence, Kaboody explained, is achieved when the learners are positively and

actively engaged in the learning process. He claimed that bringing the students to learn

positively and actively can be done through the teacher’s creation of a motivating

classroom environment.

According to Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2007), language competence of the

students can be enhanced through student’s engagement in learning activities. This

student engagement in learning is, in turn, achieved through the motivational practices

applied by the teacher in the classroom. Consequently, they claimed that language

competence must be seen by the students as relevant to their needs. For the students to

realize this, the teacher must look for proper motivational practices that will help awaken

the students’ drive to enhance their language competence.

Phonology. According to Chomsky (2004) phonology refers to the system of

sounds in a language and of the history of their changes that helps the students develop

language competence. He also stressed out that in order to understand the forms and

structures of words it is important to gain first insights into how a lexicon is built up during

acquisition, and what lexical representations look like. This is also similar to phonology;

knowledge into the development of both phonological representations and the

phonological system should be of higher importance to understanding phonological

knowledge.

In addition, the development of phonological awareness and phonemic awareness

are dependent upon language-rich environments. That is, the quality and quantity of

verbal interaction that students experience everyday play a significant role in nurturing

the students’ foundation to emergent literacy. Thus, phonological awareness is one way

to develop language competence of the students (Dorrell, 2002).

Moreover, Speech Learning Model (SLM) adheres to the notion that perception

leads to production in L2 language learning and assumes that segments are produced

only as accurately as they are perceived (Flege, 2003). Furthermore, Flege emphasized

that students’ ability to perceive correctly or read accurately certain words results to

accurate production of words. From the SLM perspective, learners’ success in

discriminating contrastive L2 sounds is a manifestation of their overall level of

phonological competence because accuracy in production is dependent on learner’s

ability to discern differences between L2 sounds. Flege also asserts that when students

develop this mastery of discriminating sounds this would then lead to their ability to the

production of words and eventually lead to the mastery of English language and language

competence.

The National Reading Panel (2000) indicates that a student must be comfortable

with the text he/she is reading so as to decode the words accurately and quickly and
eventually understand the meaning of the reading selection. Additionally, teachers should

focus their discussion on phonological comprehension and direct instruction in order to

provide greater emphasis on students’ mastery on reading components.

Furthermore, Adams (1990), Hiebert, Pearson, Taylor, Richardson, & Paris, (1998)

Snow et al., (1998) added that competence with language is critical to social interactions

and that the ability to read is highly valued and important for social and economic

advancement. Likewise, students’ ability to effectively communicate with others through

spoken and written language is considered one of the ultimate goals of our educational

system.

Morphology. It is the study of the smallest units of meaning. Knowledge of the

morphology of the language used reflects the smallest building blocks of comprehension.

Morphology contains the rules which allow the speaker to increase his/her linguistic

competence through their application. In addition, the knowledge of morphology is

necessary to know the way the human brain works and process language (Dominguez,

“The Role of Morphology in the Process of Language Acquisition and Learning).

The processing of the word meaning will be easier if, one has to know the word

well. And, in order to know the word well, one should not only know the definition of the

word but also its relationship to other words, including other morphological forms of the

word (Nagy & Scott, 2000).

 Caulisle (2004) added that knowing how to use the morphology of words is an

essential skill for students. Given a number and variety of new words, a student must

learn to comprehend text on unfamiliar topics, especially when learning the second

language. Caulisle stressed that the ability to comprehend text on unfamiliar topics will

enable a learner to develop language competence since he/she is able to process the

language.

However, Gaustard and Kelly (2004) suggested that deficiencies in morphological

aspects of conversational language acquisition play a critical role in the students’

morphological awareness and growth. Furthermore, the morphological component of

conversational competence in English is dependent on the mode and completeness of

the models of English to which students are exposed. Therefore, morphological

awareness of the students does not solely depend on the students themselves but also

to the people that surrounds them and most importantly the teachers.

Consequently, Paul (2000) asserts that all second language learners need to

obtain a high level of proficiency in the alphabet system, the system upon which the

English written language is based. This knowledge entails phonological and

morphological components. This is then necessary if English literacy and language

competences are the primary goals.

Syntax. It refers to the way words are grammatically formed and ordered to form

phrases, clauses, and sentences. Likewise, an aspect of linguistic competence relates to

the nature of linguistic structure, in particular syntax, and its acquisition (Isakson &

Spyridaki, 2003).

According to the study conducted in University of Sheffield, (2012) syntax is all

about the structure of sentences, and what determines which words go where. He added

that studying syntax allows us to define perspective rules about how language works.

Moreover, syntacticians aim to find out the factors involved in grammar, more specifically

with regards to certain languages. Ultimately it is important to study syntax since it is one

of the basic aspects of language which highly contributed to language competence.

In relation to the statement above, Associate University Teacher in Linguistics,

University of Sheffield, Gary Wood (2012), added that studying syntax is relevant to a lot

of subject in linguistics. It is important to study syntax to understand how children acquire

their language, how they start constructing sentences and what stage do they learn the

tacit syntactic rules of the language.

Noam Chomsky (2004) cited that syntax is the study of the principles and

processes by which sentences are constructed in particular languages. Syntactic

investigation of a given language has as its goal the construction of a grammar that can

be viewed as a device of some sort for producing the sentences of the language under

analysis.
 Shaffer, et.al, (2002) postulates that syntax is one of the basic of languages. It is

the way in which humans come to understand meaningful sentence formation. That is,

the students will be able to develop their language competence through the

understanding of sentences they hear and read. They added that the ability to understand

sentence formation will enable the students to work on their own sentence formations.

Thus, enhancing their competency in terms of language.

Semantics. It refers to the study of how language conveys meaning. Using a broad

definition of semantics, we investigated word features, the position of information in

paragraphs and in documents as a whole, and idea importance (Isakson & Spyridaki,

2003). In this way, they claimed, the students are able to properly comprehend or

decipher meaning in a given text. With this, they are given the opportunity to develop their

own language competence since they will be able to construct meaningful texts of their

own.

Richard as cited by Saleh (2008) says meaning is what a language expresses

about the world we live in or any possible or imaginary word. This expression of meaning,

whether written or spoken, improves the students’ ability to relate ideas in the second

language. That is, Saleh added, expressing meaningful idea and practice will develop the

students’ language competence.

 Nikelasas cited by Pakpahan (2005) states that meaning is a complex

phenomenon involving relationship between a language and the mind of its speakers and

practical use to which it is put. In addition, language learners don’t solely recognize and

produce grammatically correct sentences but also they comprehend its propositional

content. They also added that there are two factors that make semantics become

important. First, meaning is strictly connected with communication. A certain meaning can

be delivered through communication and it plays an important role in human life. Second,

the process of human attempts to comprehend the nature of meaning involves the mental

ability by the use of reasoning and perception. Thus, semantics is central to the study of

communication; and as communication becomes more and more crucial factor in social

organization, the need to understand it becomes more and more pressing. Semantics is

also at the centre of the study of the human mind-thought process, cognition and

conceptualization.

Semantics is a sub discipline of linguistics which focuses on the study of meaning.

The study added that semantics tries to understand what meaning as an element of

language and how it is constructed by language as well as interpreted, obscured and

negotiated by speakers and listeners of language (University of Sheffield, 2012).

Additionally, the word meaning can be defined in many ways, but the definition

most pertinent to linguistics and the one we will use is that meaning is the function of

signs in language. This understanding of meaning corresponds to German philosopher

Ludwig Wittgenstein's (2000) which cited that the meaning of a word is its use in the

language (in other words, the role a word plays in the language).

Moreover, Davidson (1984) cited in his study Language and Structure II:

Semantics and Pragmatics that semantic competence consists of the ability to determine

the meaning of a particular string of words. Since a particular string of words may

correspond to more than one syntactic structure, then semantic competence consists of

the ability to determine the meaning of a particular syntactic structure. This ability also

consists of the capacity to determine the relationships between the meanings of distinct

syntactic structures.

Vocabulary. Chang and Tang (2008) claimed that vocabulary is a significant

indicator of language competence especially on the tertiary level. On the other hand, they

indicated that insufficient vocabulary impedes various learning activities which will, in turn,

limit the development of language competence. Since, according to Chang and Tang, the

knowledge of words and their meanings (vocabulary) will be of great help in the

acquisition of language in terms of reading and listening. More importantly, this

knowledge of words and their meanings will be of great help to students in terms of

language competence because they will be able to concretize their feelings, ideas, and

expressions through words. Moreover, motivation will increase the students’ interest and

effort in increasing their vocabulary and therefore their language competence.

 According to Fontenchan and Gallego (2012), vocabulary knowledge is a

significant indicator of language learning, including language competence. In addition,

they pointed out, that vocabulary knowledge is crucial in language competence because

wide vocabulary knowledge enables a student to understand and perceive a battery of

words or utterances in the second language. They added that through vocabulary the

students are able to use the second language competently because the students have a

set of words at their disposal. Also, they claimed that there is a positive link between

motivation and language competence. This is because they believe that motivation is

relevant in learning vocabulary and therefore enhancing language competence also.

Furthermore, they claimed that in order to attain rich vocabulary knowledge, teachers

need to create motivational practices that will drive students to learn new words and

practice what they have learned.

Vocabulary, as claimed by Berendes, Weinert, Zimmerman, and Artelt (2013), is a

central indicator of language competence. They claimed that in knowing the vocabulary,

students will be able to have knowledge of words and meanings that they can use in

practicing the language. However, they claimed that to materialize this goal, the students

should be motivated to sustain their drive to be competent in terms of the second

language. Furthermore, they discussed that it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure

that students are motivated to learn. The teachers can fulfil this responsibility by choosing

and applying motivational practices in the learning activities.

 Marttinen (2008) also said that vocabulary plays a central role in the second

language acquisition, as well as language competence. She added that the teacher in the

21st century is plagued with the problem of teaching vocabulary to the students and

making these students realize the importance of vocabulary in the development of their

language competence. Marttinen offered a solution to this dilemma and that is to apply

motivational practices in the classroom. According to her, motivation increases the

impetus of students to study new words and constantly use those words in

communication. Through this, the students are able to enhance their language

competence because they are already constantly using the language as if it was their

own.

In conclusion, the abovementioned studies establish that teachers’ motivational

practices in terms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation greatly affects the language

competence of the students in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and

vocabulary. That is, the students who are extrinsically and intrinsically motivated are more

likely to succeed in achieving language competence. However, there are also studies that

claim that there are still more factors that would have greater effect on language

competence than motivational factors alone. These include

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored to Gardnerian Theory of Second Language Learning

Motivation which postulated that motivation plays a significant role in students’ language

competence. This theory is based on the definition of motivation as the extent to which
the individual works or strives to learn the language because of the teachers’ motivational

practices, the students’ desire to learn the language and the satisfaction experienced in

the activity.

This theory is supported by Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (2000)

which explains that the nature of language learning in ESL is directly related to motivation

of the students. They constructed the motivation paradigm on which they subdivided

motivation into two: extrinsic and intrinsic.

Dornyei and Clement (2001) pointed out that motivational practice of teacher in the

classroom is a vital factor for students in learning the second language. They stressed

that teachers’ motivational practice influence language learners extrinsically, intrinsically

or both.

Dornyei and Ushioda (2011) added that teacher’s role is to motivate students in

learning the second language. Teacher’s promotion of a motivating classroom

environment is vital for students in achieving language competence. Other teachers’ roles

include; capturing students’ interest in language and catching and sustaining their

attention to learn the second language.

Moreover, as cited by Brown (2004), Bachman’s language competence model is

in consonance with Canale and Swain’s grammatical competence model which claimed

that language competence is concerned with mastery of the linguistic code (verbal or

nonverbal) including, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and vocabulary

knowledge.
Conceptual Framework

The study’s independent variable is the teachers’ motivational practices with

indicators as: extrinsic motivation which refers to the pressure or reward from the outside

force or social environment to learn the language; and intrinsic motivation which refers to

the internal factors or personal drives that motivate students to learn the language.

On the other hand, the study’s dependent variable is the students’ language

competence with the following indicators: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and

vocabulary. Phonology refers to the system of sounds in a language and of the history of

their changes that helps the students develop language competence. Morphology refers

to the ability of students to learn word formation in developing language competence.

Syntax, on the other hand, refers to the ability of students to understand words and

sentences in order to develop language competence. In addition, semantics also refers

to the ability of students to understand the meaning of the words used in order to develop

language competence. Lastly, vocabulary refers to richness of words the students can

use in assisting them to develop language competence.

 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Teacher’s Motivational Language Competence

Practice

 Phonology
 Extrinsic Motivation  Morphology
 Intrinsic Motivation  Syntax
 Semantics
 Vocabulary

Figure 1. The Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to determine the significant relationship between the

teachers’ motivational practices and the third year BSED-English students’ language

competence.

Specifically, the study answers the following questions:

1. What is the level of Teacher’s Motivational Practice in terms of:

1.1. Extrinsic Motivation

1.2. Intrinsic Motivation?

2. What is the level of Language Competence of USeP Third Year BSED-English

students in terms of:

2.1. Phonology

2.2. Morphology

2.3. Syntax

2.4. Semantics

2.5. Vocabulary?

3. Is there a significant relationship between Teacher’s Motivational Practice and

Language Competence?
Null Hypothesis

The null hypothesis is tested at 0.05 level of significance.

1. There is no significant relationship between teacher’s motivational practice

and language competence.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study is focused on teacher’s motivational practice and the level of language

competence among USeP Third Year BSED-English students. The level of teacher’s

motivational practice is determined by of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The level of

language competence in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and

vocabulary. The coverage of this study is to further determine the relationship between

the teacher’s motivational practice and the language competence.

Significance of the Study

It is in the hope of the researchers that the result of this study is greatly significant

to:

1. The University of Southeastern Philippines in designing relevant programs in

the curriculum that will enable employees, administrators and powerhouse of

mentors to effectively carry out their functions and responsibilities for the

betterment of the institution’s academic competence:

2. The teachers to enable them to provide appropriate instructional activities and

motivate students to learn their different fields that will eventually develop and

enhance leaner’s academic and language competence.

3. The learners that they may come to realize the importance of language

competence and language related activities in their continuous search and

exploration of knowledge, skills and right attitudes as motivated learners.

4. The researchers that they may bear in their minds and hearts the importance of

conducting such study about teacher’s motivational practice and how does it affect

the language competence of the students. This study is greatly significant to them

since they can really use motivational practices in their language disciplines in the

future.

5. The future researchers that they may use the results, findings, and further

recommendations done by the researchers as basis to their new search of study.

Definition of Terms

The terms used in this study are defined operationally as follows:

Motivation is defined as the impulse, emotion or desire that causes one to act in a certain

way (Diaz-Rico, 2008). In this study, motivation refers to the practices used by the

teachers that increase the students’ interests in developing language competence.

Extrinsic Motivation according to Brown (2007) refers to the anticipation of a reward

from outside and beyond the self. In this study, extrinsic motivation also refers to the

pressure or reward from the outside force or social environment to learn the language.
Intrinsic Motivation according to Raffini (1996) this is what motivates the students to do

something when they don’t have to do it. In this study, this refers to the internal factors or

personal drives that motivate students to learn the language.

Language Competence in this study refers to the expected mastery of English by the

students when teacher applies motivational practices. The areas measured in the

competency are phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and vocabulary.

Phonology in this study refers to the system of sounds in a language and of the history

of their changes that helps the students develop language competence.

Morphology refers to the study of and description of word formation in a language

(Webster’s Dictionary, 2010). In this study, this refers to the ability of students to learn

word formation in developing language competence.

Syntax according to Webster’s Dictionary (2010) this refers to the arrangement of words

in a sentence. In this study, syntax refers to the ability of students to understand words

and sentences in order to develop language competence.

Semantics refers to the study of development of the meaning of words. In this study,

semantics refers to the ability of students to understand the meaning of the words used

in order to develop language competence.

Vocabulary in this study, vocabulary refers to richness of words the students can use in

assisting them to develop language competence.