Beliefs about language learning and foreign language anxiety

174 Pages·2007·2.15 MB·English

Beliefs about language learning and foreign language anxiety: A study of university
students learning English as a foreign language in Mainland China
Nan Wang
B.A., Northwest University, 1998
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction
0N an Wang, 2005
University of Victoria
All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy
or other means, without the permission of the author.
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Supervisor: Dr. Robert Anthony
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate foreign language anxiety and beliefs about
language learning of university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in
mainland China. In addition, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and
students7b eliefs about language learning was studied. A total of 175 first and second year
university students participated in the study. A set of questionnaires consisting of the
Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (Honvitz, 1987), Foreign Language
Classroom Anxiety Scale (Honvitz, 1983) and a background questionnaire were
translated into Chinese and administered to the subjects. Several similarities and
differences were observed between the Chinese subjects7r esponses to the BALLI and
those of American foreign language students (Honvitz, 1988), Taiwanese EFL students
(Yang, 1992), Korean EFL students (Truitt, 1995), American students of French (Kern,
1995), American students of Japanese (Oh, 1996), and Turkish-speaking students of
English (Kunt, 1997). The Chinese subjects in this study reported higher levels of foreign
language anxiety than the subjects in previous studies. Two BALLI factors were found to
be significantly correlated with foreign language anxiety: "the difficulty about language
learning" (r = .544 p< .01) and "beliefs about foreign language aptitude" (r = -.255
p< .01), suggesting that Chinese EFL students who believe English is not a very difficult
language and perceive themselves as having higher language aptitude in language
learning tend to have lower levels of language anxiety. This study contributes to the
understanding of EFL students7b eliefs about language learning, and the frustrations and
difficulties they experience in foreign language classrooms.
Supervisor: Dr. Robert Anthony, (Department of Curriculum and Instruction)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Abstract.. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. .. . . . . .. . .. .. .. . . . .. . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . .. ..................
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Table of Contents.. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . ...
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List of Tables.. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . .. .. .. .. . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .........
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Acknowledgements.. .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . .. ... x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Problem 1
Objectives of the Study 3
EFL in China 4
Definition of Terms
Anxiety
Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Anxiety
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)
Beliefs about Language Learning
Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)
English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
English as Second Language (ESL)
Why This Study? 10
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 12
Foreign Language Anxiety
Definitions of General Anxiety
Approaches to the Study of Anxiety
Trait Anxiety
State Anxiety
Situation-specific Anxiety
Types of Anxiety
Conceptualization of Foreign Language Anxiety
Communication Apprehension
Test Anxiety
Fear of Negative Evaluation
Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety
Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety on Course Grades
Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety on Oral Performance and Listening
Effects of Language Anxiety on Reading and Writing
Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety on Learning Process
Sources of Foreign Language Anxiety
Personal and Interpersonal Issues
Instructor Beliefs about Language Teaching
Instructor-learner Interaction
Classroom Procedures
Language Testing
Learner Beliefs about Language Learning
Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning
Research on Beliefs about Language Learning
Relationship between Foreign Language Anxiety and Beliefs about Language Learning37
Identifying Research Gaps 40
CHAPTER 3 : METHODS
Research Questions
Participants 42
Instruments
The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)
The Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)
Background Questionnaire
Data Collection Procedures 4 8
Data Analysis Techniques 50
Purposes of the Statistical Procedures
Descriptive Statistics
Factor Analysis and Factor Scores
Factor Analysis
Factor Scores
Pearson Correlation Analysis
Multiple Regression Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
Research Question 1: What are the beIiefs of Chinese EFT. university students concerning
language learning? 54
Difficulty of Language Leaning 55
Foreign Language Aptitude 57
Nature of Language Learning 60
Learning and Communication Strategies 61
Motivations and Expectations 64
Summary 66
Research Question 2: What are the levels of foreign language anxiety of Chinese EFL
university students?
FLCAS Scale Analysis
FLCAS Item Analysis
Summary
Research Question 3: What is the relationship between Chinese EFL university students'
beliefs about language learning and their levels of foreign language anxiety? 75
Factor Analysis 76
Principal Component Analysis on the BALL1 76
Factor Scores 83
Correlations and Multiple Regression Analysis 84
Correlations of BALL1 Factors and FLCAS Scores 84
Multiple Regression Analysis 86
Summary 90
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 9 1
Summary and Discussions 9 1
Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning 93
Comparison with Previous Studies Using BALL1 95
Foreign Language Anxiety 106
Relationship between Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning and Foreign Language
Anxiety 109
Conclusions 111
Pedagogical Implications 113
Limitations 118
Recommendations for Future Research 120
REFERENCES 123
APPENDIX A HREC CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL 128
APPENDIX B PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORMS AND INVITATION LETTERS 129
APPENDIX C BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE 139
APPENDIX D BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE LEARNING INVENTORY 141
APPENDIX E FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM ANXIETY SCALE 149
APPENDIX F FACTOR ANALYSIS FOR THE BALL1 157
APPENDIX H PERSONAL COMMUNICATION 162
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Total and Percentage of Subjects by Gender
Table 4.1 The Difficulty of Language Leaming
Table 4.2 Foreign Language Aptitude
Table 4.3 The Nature of Language Learning
Table 4.4 Leaming and Communication Strategies
Table 4.5 Motivations and Expectations
Table 4.6 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale Results
Table 4.7 BALLI Factor 1 (Motivational Beliefs and Communication Strategies)
Table 4.8 BALLI Factor 2 (the Difficulty of English Learning)
Table 4.9 BALLI Factor 3 (Language differences/value of Learning English)
Table 4.10 BALLI Factor 4 (Importance of Formal Learning)
Table 4.11 BALLI Factor 5 (Beliefs about Foreign Language Aptitude)
Table 4.12 Correlation of the BALLI Factors and the FLCAS Scores
Table 4.13 Multiple Regression Analysis of BALLI Factors on the FLCAS Scores
Table 4.14 Model Summary of Multiple Regression Analysis
Table 5.1 Comparison of the BALII: the Difficulty of Language Learning
Table 5.2 Comparison of the BALLI: Foreign Language Aptitude
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Table 5.3 Comparison of the BALLI: the Nature of Language Learning 10 1
Table 5.4 Comparison of the ALLI: Learning and Communication Strategies 103
Table 5.5 Comparison of the BALLI: Motivations and Expectations 105
Table 5.6 Summary of Foreign Anxiety Studies Using the FLCAS (EFL Groups) 107
Table 5.7 Summary of Foreign Anxiety Studies Using the FLCAS (American Groups)l08
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Robert Anthony, my supervisor,
for his patience, guidance, insightful advice, and constant encouragement over the past
two years. Without his support and guidance, this thesis would never have been
completed. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the other members of my thesis
committee: Dr. Kathy Sanford and Dr. Sylvia Pantaleo for their invaluable suggestions
and constant support. Sincere appreciation is also extended to Dr. John Walsh for his
constructive comments in statistical analyses of my study and Dr. E.K. Horwitz for her
invaluable suggestions.
I would like to thank my dear dad and mom for their love, support, and
encouragement. They are always there to be of help when I need them and I am so
blessed to be their daughter.
My special thanks also go to my research assistant, Miss Song Bai, in China. She
devoted plenty of time to helping me distribute and collect questionnaires used in my
research. I really appreciate her warm-hearted nature, support and cooperation. I wish to
extend my special thanks to my friends, Miss Citing Li and Ting Min, who generously
volunteered their editing expertise and helped me verify the Chinese versions of the
questionnaires. Also, 1 would like to express my deep appreciation to so many
anonymous participants in my research. Their time is precious.
Finally, I want to thank all my friends around me, both those in China and here in
Canada, for their constructive and insightful suggestions, their warmth and support, and
their friendship.