ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the motivation to study English and how that affects Vietnamese tertiary students’ English assessment results. Non-English major students in three universities in Ho Chi Minh City were surveyed and interviewed in a study that found that students’ expectations about how they would perform on the examination corresponded with their results. Seeing English as a way to obtain a desirable job (“utility value”) appeared to strongly influence these students’ willingness to take extra English classes. Given the government’s desire for greater competence in English, effective strategies are recommended.
