Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Education
AL-Baha University
College of Arts and Humanities
Department of Foreign Languages
Motivation and Anxiety of EFL Learning among 1st level Female Students of English Department at Al-Baha University
A Thesis Proposal Submitted to the Department of Foreign Languages in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master Degree in Applied Linguistics
Presented by:
Safia Ahmed Hassan Al-Gamdi
Academic Number:
434015128
Under the Supervision of:
Dr. Haytham Abdalla
Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics
1438-1439 H
2017-2018
المملكة العربية السعودية
وزارة التعليم
جامعه الباحة
كليه الآداب والعلوم الإنسانية
قسم اللغات الأجنبية
الدافعية و القلق في تعلم اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية لدى طالبات المستوى الأول
قسم اللغة الانجليزية بجامعة الباحة
مقترح رسالة مكملة لمتطلبات الحصول على درجة الماجستير في اللغويات التطبيقية
إعداد الطالبة:
صفيه أحمد حسن سعد الغامدي
الرقم الجامعي:
434015128
إشراف:
د. هيثم عبد الله
أستاذ اللغويات التطبيقية المساعد
1438-1439
2017- 2018
Table of Contents
Abstract
Table of Contents
Chapter one (Introduction)
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Aims of the Study
1.4 Significance of the study
1.5 Questions of the Study
1.6 Hypotheses of the Study
1.7 Limitations of the study
Chapter Two (Literature Review)
2.1 Anxiety Factor
2.1.1 Anxiety and SL Acquisition
2.1.2 Decreasing Language Anxiety
2.2 Motivation Factor
2.2.1 Intrinsic (integrative) motivation
2.2.2 Extrinsic (instrumental) Motivation
2.3 Previous related studies
Chapter Three (Methodology)
3.1 Participants
3.2 Instruments
3.3 Procedures
3.4 Data Analysis
Chapter Four (Results & Discussion)
4.1 Results
4.2 Discussion
Chapter Five (Recommendations & Conclusion)
5.1 Recommendations
5.2 Conclusion
References
Appendixes
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the degree of motivation and anxiety among EFL University female students at Al-Baha City. The methodology of the study is based on the descriptive and statistical approach to analyze and explain the degree of motivation and anxiety on the process of EFL learning among university female students at Al-Baha city. The subjects of the study were chosen randomly from the university at Al-Baha city. They were 100 female students (aged from 19 to 22 studying at Al-Baha University) participated in this study. Two instruments were used to collect the data, the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the motivation questionnaire is that of Gardner's (1985) Attitude Motivation Test Battery Scale (AMTBS). The finding of the study is that there is a negative correlation between anxiety and motivation among EFL 1st level University female students at Al-Baha City. The results of this study indicate that students have a low level of anxiety and a high level of motivation towards learning English language.
1.1 Introduction
Motivation and anxiety are the two affective factors in the psychological field of second language acquisition. They may affect the process of second/foreign language learning. Chastain (1988) recognized that motivation and anxiety are predictors of SL performance. Chastain (1988) defined motivation as some incentive that causes the individual to participate in activity leading toward a goal and to preserve it until the goal is reached. On the other hand, Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system, (Spielberger, 1983).
These factors have been found to be highly related to EFL achievement. However, fairly few studies have examined the role of these two constructs simultaneously in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). This study will show the different types of motivation and anxiety that female students have through their learning of English language in the classes.
Foreign language researchers have stated that anxiety and motivationare effective factors are important predictors of foreign language performance (Clement et al, 1994: 417 – 448; Horwitz, E, K et al, 1986: 125-132; Garnder et al, 1992: 1992: 197-214).
Gardner, Day, and MacIntyre (1992) showed that anxiety and motivation are opposite ends of the same dimension, there being motivated, confident students and anxious, unmotivated students. Yan and Horwitz (2008) considered that motivation as an important factor that have a mutual and direct relation with anxiety. Compared to the abundant amount of studies on these two variables, insufficient empirical research has been undertaken to explore the relationship between the two (Liu and Cheng, 2014). This study therefore, hopes to ingrain further the understanding of the two factors and their effects on foreign language learning.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In Saudi Arabia English teachers often complain that the level of proficiency of English language among students in the university is decreasing, even though students study English for several years at primary, intermediate and secondary school. The students often express their feelings of anxiety, stress or nervousness while learning English, claiming that they have a mental block while learning the language. Learning more about anxiety and motivation may influence the process of language learning that is crucial to prevent an atmosphere that is fraught not only with frustration for teachers, but also with fear and anxiety for students (Mohammed 2015).
From my experience as a teacher of English Language in many schools I noticed that students have less desire and low motivation of learning English language. Even advanced students feel anxious while learning English in some situations. On the other hand, some students show a strong desire to learn English language.
1.3 Aims of the Study
The aim of this study is to
1- Explore motivation and anxiety among the 1st level of English department female students at Al-Baha University.
2- Show the anxiety of female EFL learners if there is any
3- Examine the relationship between language motivation and anxiety of the target subjects.
1.4 Significance of the Study
English language learning is often associated with some factors that influence EFL learning. Therefore, it is important to identify the causes of high language achievers and language underachievers based on anxiety and motivation.
This study will provide English teachers and students in AlBaha city with recommendations for teaching and learning English with reference to the two concerned affective factors. It will familiarize students with some learning strategies and techniques that may help to encourage less anxious and more confident, motivated and skilled students toward learning English language.
1.5 Questions of the Study
1. Do 1st level female students at Al-Baha University have the motivation to study English?
2. Do the female learners show any type of anxiety in learning English as a foreign language?
3. What is the relationship between motivation and anxiety among 1st level female students at Al-Baha University?
1.6 Hypotheses of the Study
To answer the questions of the study the researcher expects the following hypotheses. The hypotheses will be measured by using Gardener's (1985) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire.
H1: 1st level of English department female students at Al-Baha University are less motivated to learn English as a foreign language.
H2: 1st level of English department female students at Al-Baha University are highly anxious to learn English as a foreign language. This hypothesis will be measured by using the questionnaire that is based on the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).
H3: There is a significant correlation between motivation and anxiety among 1st level of English department female students at Al-Baha University. In this hypothesis the relation between motivation and anxiety will be shown in the analyses of the results of the questioners.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
The study will focus on 100 1st level female students and will not be generalized to all levels of students. The study will focus on Saudi female EFL students of English Department at Al-Baha University, whose mother tongue is Arabic.
1.8 Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of the research topic and presented the problem statement of the research. The chapter also included the research questions, objectives and hypotheses proposed in the present research. Moreover the chapter provided the limitations of the present study.
Chapter two
2.1 Introduction
This chapter will focus on (§ 2.2 Anxiety Factor) which explain anxiety, its types, anxiety in SL acquisition and how to decrease anxiety in learning the foreign language, and (§2.3 motivation factor) which explain motivation, its types (Intrinsic/Extrinsic and Integrative /Instrumental), and (§2.4) some previous related studies about anxiety and motivation in learning the foreign language are also explained in this chapter.
2.2 Anxiety Factor
Anxiety is considered to be as one of the most important affective factors, which affect the learner's emotional and behavioral components. Therefore, anxiety creates an unpleasant feeling, fear and worry (Seligman et al, 2001). According to Arnold (2000, p.59), language anxiety ranks high among factors influencing language learning, regardless of whether the setting is informal or formal. Anxiety is also defined as the feeling of tension, worry, nervousness and apprehension associated with an arousal of nervous system (Spielberger, 1983).
Ellis (1994) divides anxiety into three types which are trait anxiety, state anxiety and situation anxiety. Situational anxiety is aroused by a specific type of situation or event such as public speaking, class participation or examination. Trait and state anxiety are related to the learners' nature. The learners tend to be anxious when they compare themselves with others.
Psychologists distinguish two types of anxiety. Personality trait anxiety and transient anxiety. The former is related to personality characteristics while the later is a response to a particular anxiety provoking stimulus such as examination (Spielberger, 1983).
2.2.1 Anxiety and SL Acquisition
Many researchers have showed that anxiety has an important effect on SL acquisition. Krashen (1981) stated that the student who feels at ease in the classroom and likes the teacher may seek out more intake by volunteering and may not be more accepting of the teacher as a source of input. SL anxiety has been defined as " a distinct complex of self perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process", (Horwitz, E , K et al, 1986: 125-132). SL anxiety is related to over competitiveness in the foreign language classroom. Students tend to outperform other classmates and have positive feedback from their teacher (Baliely,1983). Language anxiety is a reaction to real difficulties that the learners have processing when they learn SL.(Saito et al,1999).
Gregersen (2004), mentioned that there are nonverbal clues of anxiety that may be attributed to the classroom environment such as : facial expression, less eye contact and regular gestures. There is a question astonishing the teachers of EFL that ''Is there a specific instrument for measuring learning anxiety?''. There is a solution for this problem to identify SL anxiety by developing a systematic instrument which is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). This instrument is used to identify student's anxiety experience in language learning.(Aida, 1994:155-168).
2.2.2 Decreasing Language Anxiety
Many studies on language anxiety have suggested a variety of strategies that help of decreasing this problem. First, to make the classroom a safe and less anxious place, the teachers of language must be friendly and they should encourage students to have strong self-confidence. Then the students would feel more comfortable. (Price, 1991). Second, students should believe in their positive personality traits and gather their own strengths to build up their experiences about learning the language. After that the teachers can build the students' self confidence and self esteem in SL ability by encouragement, reassurance, positive reinforcement and empathy (Onwuegbuzie et al, 1999:217-239)
The relationship between language motivation and anxiety has been studied by some researchers (e.g., Gardenar &Lalonde, 1987). In their studies, they have treated anxiety either as a separate factor in its own right or as a secondary factor of EFL self-confidence. When considered as a distinct variable, EFL anxiety was found to be negatively related to EFL motivation. Anxiety was, however, related to self-confidence gained as a result of perceived communicative competence. Lack of anxiety is thus viewed as a predictor of EFL self-confidence characterizing motivated language learners. Also, the relationship between EFL anxiety and self-determination theory of language learning motivation has been examined by some researchers such as Toth (2007) and Liu and Huang(2011). These scholars have shown that anxiety is positively and significantly related to a motivation. They have, however, found that anxiety is more significantly (Khodadady & Khajary 2012).
2.3 Motivation Factor
Motivation is considered to be one of the most important factors that affect the student's language input. Motivation is the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language. Gardner (1985), defined motivation as the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language. Brown (1994), mentioned that motivation is an inner drive, impulse, emotion, or desire that moves one to a particular action.
Research shows that motivation influences how often learners use foreign language learning (FLL) strategies, how much input learners receive, how high their proficiency level becomes, and how long the learners maintain FLL skills, (Oxford, 1992).
Motivation is perceived to be composed of three elements. Firstly, effort which reference to the time spent on studying the foreign language. Secondly, the desire which indicates how much the learner wants to become proficient in the foreign language. Thirdly, the affect which illustrates the learner's emotional reactions to the foreign language (Gardner, 1982).
Motivated students are found to be more active in classes and more likely to interact with other students, the teacher and other members in the society and are less likely to drop out of language study (Gardner & Macintyre, 1991:57-72). Highly motivated learners interact confidently with native speakers of the language which in return increases the amount of input that learners receive, and then they have better results in language learning (Scarcella, & Oxford (1992).
2.3.1 Motivation types
Motivation is divided into two basic types. The integrative and instrumental motivation according to Gardner & Lambert (1972). In the context of language learning, instrumental motivation refers to the learner's desire to learn a language for "utilitarian" purposes. Integrative motivation refers to the desire to learn a language to integrate success fully into the target language community.
2.3.2 Intrinsic or Integrative Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students Lepper et al, (1973). Intrinsically motivated behaviors are internal rewards, for example : the joy of doing a particular activity or satisfying one's curiosity, Dornyei (1994). In this type of motivation, the learner is thought to be the most successful when learning a target language because he likes the people who that speak the language, admires the culture and has a desire to become familiar with the society in which the language is used, Falk (1978).
2.3.3 Extrinsic or Instrumental Motivation
It comes from outside of the students. Extrinsically motivated behaviors are the ones in which the student performs to receive award like (excellent grades, money or gifts) or to avoid punishment. In contrast to integrative motivation this type of motivation is referred to as instrumental motivation which generally characterized by the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of SL. Hudson (2000).
2.34 Previous Related Studies
Mohammed (2015) investigated the relationship between two affective variables: language anxiety and motivation in his study about EFL Saudi college students of English included 75 students randomly selected from Shaqra University in Saudi Arabia. The researcher believes that the student anxiety level and the motivational pattern play an essential role in language achievement. He stated that it is important to investigate the causes of students’ anxiety and to find ways to decrease it. Also it is necessary to study the types of motivation to see whether these types are sufficient to help students achieve the proper language progress. The researcher concluded his study with some recommendations for teaching and learning English with relation to the affective factors. The classrooms should be the places where motivation can be increased rather than weakened. Language teachers should familiarized students with pedagogical strategies in the learning process.
Liu & Cheng (2014) have presented a study of assessing language anxiety in EFL students with varying degrees of motivation. These two factors are constantly found among students with different proficiency levels. The participants consisted of 150 university students in Taiwan. The finding of this study is that, the higher levels of motivation are constantly associated with lower levels of anxiety. The researchers also find that the combination of speaking anxiety and fear of negative evaluation acted as a primary source of language anxiety in the EFL classrooms.
Similarly, Jain & Sidhu, (2013) have investigated the relationship between anxiety, attitude, and motivation regarding 60 students at the Faculty of Education in Malaysia. The study showed that anxiety has been an important factor that influences the students learning of SL where science students showed significantly positive attitude than non-science students.
Özgür & Griffiths (2013) studied the relationship between motivation and language learning. This study was done in a private language school in Istanbul, Turkey. It consisted of four types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, instrumental and integrative. Participants were 22 male and 22 female Turkish students. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between motivation and language learning success. According to results, students' main motivation to learn English was for employment purposes. The strongest motivators are personal satisfaction, self improvement, parents, school, studying abroad and getting a better job. It is also important that extrinsic motivation has negative effect on achievement.
Waseem & Jibeen (2013), have presented a study of anxiety amongst learners of English as SL, which is an examination of motivational patterns in the Pakistani context. The study investigated the interrelatedness of the two affective factors of anxiety and motivation in English learning classrooms. The participants were 170 male and female undergraduate students in Pakistan. The finding of the study showed that instrumental motivation is a significant contributor towards SL anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation, speech apprehension, and fear of tests; whereas integrative motivation only contributed towards fear of negative evaluation.