A longitudinal study of foreign language anxiety and enjoyment (original) (raw)

Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables

Positive psychology has boosted interest in the positive as well as the negative emotions that Foreign Language learners experience. The present study examines whether-and to what extent-foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and FL classroom anxiety (FLCA) are linked to a range of learner-internal variables and teacher/ classroom-specific variables within one specific educational context. Participants were 189 British high school students learning various FLs. Levels of FLE were linked to higher scores on attitudes towards the FL, the FL teacher, FL use in class, proportion of time spent on speaking, relative standing and stage of development. Lower levels FLCA were linked to higher scores on attitudes towards the FL, relative standing and stage of development. FLCA thus seems less related to teacher and teacher practices than FLE. The pedagogical implication is that teachers should strive to boost FLE rather than worry too much about students' FLCA.

The effect of anxiety and motivation on foreign language achievement.

The aim of this study was to test how anxiety and motivation affected the foreign language achievement of Turkish college students studying at a vocational school. The study had two purposes. First, we examined the relationship among foreign language anxiety, motivation and achievement among Turkish college students. Secondly, a foreign languale achievement model based on language anxiety and motivation was developed and tested by a structural equation modeling. In this study, foreign language anxiety and motivation were treated as independent variables whereas foreign language achivement was treated as a dependant variable. To achieve the purposes, foreign language classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS) and language learning orientations scale (LLOS) were administered to 267 participants. The results of the study showed that amotivation was positively related to language anxiety. Also, intrinsic motivation and introjected regulation as subscales of motivation were negatively related to language anxiety. The application of the structural equation modeling showed that both anxiety and motivation significantly predicted the English achievement of the language learners within a Turkish context. Pedagogical implications of the results were discussed.

An Investigation into the Foreign Language Anxiety and English Learning Motivation of Students in Tertiary Level

Defining the English learning motivation of students and foreign language anxiety in language acquisition has been at the centre of much research and controversy for many years. While motivation has been one of the key factors that influence the success of foreign language, the effects of anxiety on foreign language learning cannot be ignored. More recently researches have attempted to quantify the effects of anxiety and motivation on language learning but these efforts have met with mixed results. This paper examines the relationship between foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation of students in university preparatory classes in language learning. For this purpose, the two questionnaires were used in the study mainly to seek information about the anxiety and motivation levels of foreign language learners. Participants involved 140 students from compulsory and 60 students from optional preparatory classes. The results of the study indicated that there is a significant relationship between anxiety and motivation of the students and some individual variables are also statistically significant for the students' motivation and anxiety levels.

The Relationship between Language Learning Anxiety and Motivation

Third International Conference on Psychology, Counseling, Education, Mashhad, Iran, 2020

Over the past decades, researchers have been investigating language learner variables, especially affective ones including language-learning attitude, anxiety, interest, motivation, inhibition, and self-esteem, in the field of second language (L2) acquisition in an effort to improve L2 teaching and learning process. Among these variables, language-learning anxiety has been gradually becoming the research focus of many researchers. Second language researchers and teachers have been aware that anxiety is not only common amongst foreign language learners, but also poses potential problems for foreign language learners "because it can affect the acquisition, retention, and production of the new language" (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991). Anxiety is one of the primary predicators of L2 acquisition, and it can negatively affect the performance of foreign language learners. In light of the negative effects of anxiety on language learning process, some researchers and educators in the field of second foreign language learning have been trying to identify the sources of foreign language anxiety so as to help learners reduce anxiety in learning a foreign language. This study is a literature review of English-language learners' anxiety for learning English and some effective factors influencing it.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY AND STUDENTS' LEARNING MOTIVATION FOR FILIPINO FOREIGN LANGUAGE (KOREAN) LEARNERS

IOER International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 2022

Anxiety and motivation are indispensable aspects of learning a foreign language (FL). To some extent, students' motivation for Korean language learning can influence their learning outcomes. This quantitative study aimed to look into the relationship between foreign language anxiety and the learning motivation of Filipino students. Through stratified random sampling, 633 college students from Bataan Peninsula State University-Main Campus studying a foreign language (Korean) served as the sample for this study. The sample comprised 58% male and 42% female, mostly belonged at ages 19-24. Data gathered was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Correlation analysis between FL learning anxiety and motivation was implemented. More so, an independent sample T-test and an ANOVA (Tukey-HSD as post hoc) were applied to evaluate FL anxiety and learning motivation differences. The results demonstrated a low-tomoderate significant relationship between language anxiety and learning motivation. Furthermore, there are differences in learning motivation based on sex rather than age. On the other hand, age has no bearing on the two factors in the examination. In conclusion, FL anxiety hinders language acquisition yet students have a positive and motivated outlook toward learning.

Affective Factors in Foreign Language Education: The Role of Anxiety

Affective Factors in Foreign Language Education: The Role of Anxiety, 2020

This study investigates the role of affective factors in language education. Specifically, it examines the influence of anxiety on EFL learning. It examines students' speaking and test anxieties, and whether it prevents them from engaging in classroom communication activities or not. The study was carried out in a Moroccan EFL classroom. Twenty students participated in the study. They answered a closed-ended Likert-scale questionnaire that gathered data about the target phenomenon. The results showed that students' level and feeling of anxiety differed from an educational and instructional situation to another. They also showed that most Moroccan EFL students have low anxiety levels and feelings towards English because their attitudes towards it are generally positive.

Measuring foreign language anxiety among learners of different foreign languages: in relation to motivation and perception of teacher’s behaviors

Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education

This study investigates foreign language anxiety among Indonesian undergraduate students of English, French, Japanese, Korean and Arabic language programs, and examines its relationship with students' motivation and their perception of teachers' behaviors. Questionnaires were distributed to 182 s-grade undergraduate students majoring in five foreign languages at an Indonesian public university. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed that learners of Japanese have the highest foreign language anxiety level compared to others. Furthermore, using independent sample T-test method, it showed that learners of non-Latin languages group (Japanese, Korean, and Arabic) have a higher foreign language anxiety level than those of Latin language group (English and French). The relationship between foreign language anxiety, learners' motivation and their perception of teachers' behaviors, was analyzed using a multiple-regression method, and the finding indicated that learners' motivation does not affect foreign language anxiety. Meanwhile, their perception of teacher's behaviors significantly affects foreign language anxiety. Based on the results, the present study suggests that foreign language teachers should give more attention to their teaching method and behaviors applied inside the classroom, and on how to create a more conducive learning environment in the classroom in order to reduce foreign language anxiety experienced by their students.

Examining the Relationship Between the Foreign Language Anxiety and Students’ Learning Motivation to Filipino Foreign Language Learners

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN INDUSTRY, 2021

This quantitative research study investigated the relationship between anxiety acquired through foreign language learning and learning motivation of Filipino students in Bataan Peninsula State University. Participants were identified through stratified random sampling. It adapted two sets of questionnaires: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale by Horwitz, et al. (1986) and Foreign Language Learning Motivation Questionnaire developed by Gonzales (2006). Results showed that anxiety and motivation have a significant relationship with each other. Higher level of learning motivations students set for themselves manifest higher chances for them to develop consciousness and anxiety over their academic performance. They see L2 learning essential in employment opportunities, effective communication, and exploring foreign culture. However, their sense of interest to the course is primarily driven by extrinsic motivations which are only influenced by external factors such as the need to ta...

The dimensions of foreign language classroom enjoyment and their effect on foreign language achievement

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2018

This paper reports a study that investigated the dimensions underneath the construct of foreign language classroom enjoyment and explored the pattern in which these enjoyment dimensions affect foreign language achievement. To this end, 320 first language Chinese senior high school students, who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL), were invited to complete an adapted version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. These students' mid-term English examination scores were collected as a measure of foreign language achievement. Factorial analysis revealed a 3-factor solution for the adapted scale, including Enjoyment of Teacher Support, Enjoyment of Student Support, and Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. Path analysis showed that Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning had a direct effect on mid-term scores. Enjoyment of Teacher Support and Enjoyment of Student Support indirectly affected language achievement via Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. There was no significant difference in the indirect effect of enjoyment of teacher and student support on English achievement. The findings are discussed and pedagogical implications are suggested.

How Motivation and Enjoyment spread their wings during English Foreign Language learning: A pseudo-longitudinal investigation into Moroccan learners1

Learning and Motivation , 2024

The current study uses a pseudo-longitudinal design to investigate the trajectory of three lower-order dimensions of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE): FLE Teacher, FLE Personal and FLE Social (Botes et al., 2021) as well as 11 items/scales reflecting attitudes and motivation in the mini-Attitudes/ Motivation Test Battery (Tennant & Gardner, 2004) of 85 Beginner, 322 Intermediate and 95 Advanced Moroccan English Foreign Language learners. Data were collected through an online questionnaire. Oneway ANOVAs revealed a significant but non-linear increase for the values of three FLE dimensions across skill levels. Further one-way ANOVAs showed that the values of seven positively oriented motivation scales increased significantly and that the two anxiety scales decreased significantly across skill levels (very small effect sizes). Scheffé post-hoc tests confirmed that the strongest increase happened between Beginner and Intermediate levels for the FLE dimensions before levelling off at an Advanced level. This non-linear pattern was less clear-cut for the motivation scales. Correlation analyses revealed stronger relationships between the FLE dimensions and motivation scales at higher skill levels. We argue that FLE and motivation gradually reinforce each other at high skill levels. Some pedagogical implications are formulated.