ERIC Number: EJ1075211
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1916-4742
EISSN: N/A
A Comparative Study of Foreign Language Anxiety and Motivation of Academic- and Vocational-Track High School Students
Liu, Hui-ju; Chen, Chien-wei
English Language Teaching, v8 n3 p193-204 2015
This study aimed to investigate EFL learner language anxiety and learning motivation of high school students. Subjects included 155 students from the same private senior high school in central Taiwan, 60 in academic track and 95 in vocational track. The majority of the participants started taking English lessons either before entering elementary school or during the first two years in elementary school. Statistical methods were conducted to investigate 1) whether learner motivation and language anxiety significantly vary between academic- and vocation-track high school students, 2) whether both academic- and vocational-track high school students feel an above-average level of language anxiety, and 3) whether there is a significant relationship between language anxiety and motivation among the EFL high school students. The findings of the study revealed that first, both groups of students felt moderate levels of language anxiety; there were no significant differences in anxiety level between the two groups of students. Second, students in the academic-track were also found to have higher extrinsic motivation and overall learning motivation than their vocational-track counterparts. Furthermore, a significant negative relationship was identified between the two important affective variables, motivation and anxiety. Important pedagogical implications for English teachers were discussed in the study.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, High School Students, Vocational Education, Track System (Education), Academic Education, Anxiety, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Student Attitudes, Learning Motivation, Statistical Analysis, Comparative Analysis, Correlation, Elementary Education, Learning Strategies, Questionnaires
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale; Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A