The study was conducted from September 3, 2016 through December 5, 2016 with 29 participating students in the second year at the Department of International Studies, Hue University of Foreign Languages. The findings indicated that students had the tendency to gain more motivation to participate in the class activities when tasks were used. Students’ attitudes towards different tasks were also documented. Suggestions for teachers to make better use of this approach in teaching major subjects are discussed as well. | INCREASING MOTIVATION THROUGH TASK-BASED LEARNING IN ASEAN STUDIES COURSE Nguyen Thi Anh Thu* Department of International Studies, College of Foreign Languages, Hue University, 57 Nguyen Khoa Chiem, An Cuu, Hue, Vietnam Received 30 December 2016 Revised 16 May 2017; Accepted 19 May 2017 Abstract: It is widely observed that students with low levels of motivation and engagement are one of the challenges for teachers in leading classes, especially in the major subject class. Lack of motivation among students not only has undesirable outcomes on students’ academic performance but also negatively affects the teaching process. This research was conducted in order to increase students’ motivation and engagement through a task-based learning environment in ASEAN Studies class in the department of International Studies, Hue University of Foreign Languages. The quantitative analysis used the data from a questionnaire to examine the impact of the task-based approach on students’ level of motivation and engagement in ASEAN Studies class within 15 weeks. The study was conducted from September 3, 2016 through December 5, 2016 with 29 participating students in the second year at the Department of International Studies, Hue University of Foreign Languages. The findings indicated that students had the tendency to gain more motivation to participate in the class activities when tasks were used. Students’ attitudes towards different tasks were also documented. Suggestions for teachers to make better use of this approach in teaching major subjects are discussed as well. Keywords: task-based learning, task, motivation, international studies major, teaching 1. Problem statement Teachers, for a long time, have been struggling to overcome the problem of low participation among students, especially in major subject class. It is not difficult to observe behaviors such as sleeping, engaging in digital gadgets, asking inappropriate questions, giving irrelevant answers, etc. among students .
