Speaker
Description
New policies in Vietnam prioritize English, viewing it as the second most important language. Personal motivation plays a crucial role in foreign language learning, a widely acknowledged fact, but most research in Vietnam truly explores what motivates Gen Z students from within. For this study, the author utilized ideas from several different theories, such as Self-Determination Theory, Dörnyei's L2 Autonomous System, Norton's Identity Investment Theory, and MacIntyre et al.'s Communicative Readiness Concept. The author sought to understand what truly motivates 83 Gen Z university students from the College of Foreign Economic Relations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, through a structured interview with 16 open-ended questions and then analyzed their responses to identify common themes. The author found five main reasons that motivate them internally: learning for pleasure, seeing it as a part of themselves, using digital media for motivation, enjoying self-learning, and a gap between motivation and the actual desire to speak. Internal motivation was always the primary reason they wanted to learn, even in the face of external pressures. The author found that there was often a gap between their motivation and their speaking ability. Even when they had high internal motivation, anxiety about speaking a foreign language still prevented them from actually trying to communicate. These results contradict the common view that Vietnamese students only learn for practical reasons. They show that we need teaching methods and leveraging the habit of using digital technology to help students feel more empowered and confident in communication.
