Foreign language learning motivation and anxiety among Iranian students in the Philippines

• Main Author: Gomari, Hamid
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Subjects: English language—Study and teaching—Iranian speakers; Motivation in education; English Language and Literature; Language and Literacy Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6827
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study determined whether Iranian EFL students in the Philippines are motivated to learn English; whether Iranian EFL students experience language learning anxiety while studying in the Philippines; and lastly, whether there is a correlation between language learning anxiety and motivation among Iranian EFL students in the Philippines. The study employed a descriptive quantitative research design, utilizing a survey questionnaire based on Noels, Pelletier, Clement, and Vallerand’s (2000) Language Learning Orientations Scale – Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation Subscales (LLOS-IEA) and Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). The results of the LLOS-IEA survey appeared to suggest that Iranian EFL learners in the Philippines are more motivated extrinsically, via external regulation, to learn the English language. However, the results of the dependent samples t-test showed that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that Iranian EFL learners in the Philippines are indeed more extrinsically motivated to learn the English language. The results of the FLCAS survey showed that, overall, they experienced a moderate level of language learning anxiety, primarily from Test Anxiety, which is rooted in their fear of failing tests and examinations. Finally, the computed Pearson correlation coefficient revealed that, in general, there is a significant and negative correlation between language learning motivation and anxiety among Iranian EFL learners in the Philippines, and according to Cohen’s (1988) classification of strength of Pearson correlation values, the correlation is considered moderate (r = .30 - .49). Based on these findings, the study recommends schools, educators and learners to first, recognize that Iranian EFL learners do in fact experience anxiety in their English language classes before they explore alternative teaching strategies and techniques to vii specifically address these anxieties, such as adopting a students’ performance evaluation measure that is not heavily reliant on test scores and focusing on the formation of favorable or positive attitudes towards learning the English language.