Examining the relationship between Chinese EFL majors’ language anxiety and motivation

Abstract

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has received consistent attention from scholars in second language acquisition (SLA) field. However, the relationship between FLA and second language (L2) selves and how they would interact to influence language performance remain unclear. Former studies have shown conflicting findings about the link between FLA and L2 selves. Meanwhile, little research has been conducted in Chinese context to examine how Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ FLA relates to their L2 selves. Moreover, previous studies have paid little attention to English majors, whose FLA experiences and L2 selves may be distinctive from non- English majors due to the higher expectations from their teachers or themselves, higher peer pressure as well as the greater significance of achievement in English. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the association between Chinese EFL majors’ FLA and L2 Motivational Self System, and how their anxiety would interact with L2 motivation to influence their intended learning effort and language performance. This presentation will provide a critical review of the literature on the inconsistent findings about the relationship between FLA and L2 selves and the possible factors contributing to this inconsistency. It will also report on preliminary findings of a larger study examining the nature of Chinese EFL majors’ FLA and how FLA is related to L2 Motivational Self System and language performance. This study focuses on Chinese context because its distinctive culture and teaching traditions may greatly influence learners’ EFL learning experiences. Target participants are Chinese undergraduates majoring in English. Data collection methods include questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and English learning autobiographies. Explicating the interactions between FLA, L2 Motivational Self System and language performance enables us to better understand learners’ EFL learning process and help them set realistic and beneficial L2 selves to reduce their FLA.