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Description
Testing and assessing are crucial in the teaching and learning process of all educational levels. In higher education, more and more universities like Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 (HPU2) have used certain standardized test specifications, namely IELTS, TOEFL, VSTEP or equivalent to assess the English learning outcome of all students. This survey study was carried out to examine the effects of the Standardized English Tests on motivation of HPU2 final-year English majors because the researchers believed that learners’ achievement in learning could show whether they were motivated to learn or not. The findings show that standardized tests for graduation requirement have had noticeable influences on students’ learning motivation, yet there existed doubts among students that their current English curriculum could actually help them achieve their learning targets. Besides, a number of students perceived that the difficulty level of the tests as well as quite high requirement for graduation exceeded their real English competence. The researchers also proposed suggestions to increase the positive effects of the test to enhance students’ motivation and learning autonomy.
Keywords: Standardized tests, motivation, graduation requirement, impacts
