Predictors of Foreign-Language Anxiety: Examining the ...

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CompetitivenessTo assess how competitive English majors were four items were constructed relyingon Bailey’s (1983) description of competitive learner characteristics.In the second part of the questionnaire students were asked to rate themselveson single-item rating scales or by choosing from given alternatives. The followingvariables were assessed.Self-perceived proficiencyParticipants indicate how well they can use English in terms of writing, reading,speaking, and comprehension. Each skill is rated on a 5-point scale varying from“very poorly” to “very well”.Satisfaction with current level of achievementStudents indicate how satisfied they are with their level of proficiency in Englishby choosing one answer from four alternatives ranging from “definitely yes” to“absolutely not”.Self-perceived proficiency relative to othersRespondents rate their level of English language proficiency as compared to thatof peers by choosing one answer from five alternatives ranging from “muchhigher than the average” to “well below the average”.Self-perceived aptitude relative to othersStudents assess their aptitude for FL learning as compared to that of peers bychoosing from five alternatives anchored at one end by “exceptional” and at theother “I don’t think I have an aptitude for FL learning”.The instrument was tested for response and construct validity, while reliabilitywas assessed using the internal consistency method (Tóth, 2007). Reliabilities forthe subscales of the questionnaire are as follows: α = .90 for L2-self-concept, .82 forstrength of motivation, .69 for competitiveness, and .75 for perfectionism. Thesereliability figures compare favourably with those of similar scales used in previousresearch (e.g., Ely, 1986; Dörnyei, 1990; Gardner et al., 1997); therefore, the questionnairecan be considered satisfactorily reliable.132 UPRT 2007: Empirical studies in English applied linguistics
Data analysisTo investigate how the selected learner variables (proficiency, FL aptitude,strength of motivation, L2-self-concept, perfectionism, and competitiveness) arerelated to FLA, and what contribution they make to its prediction, two procedureswere used. Pearson correlations were computed to assess the strength and directionof the relationship between anxiety and each of the six learner characteristics. Multipleregression analysis was used to assess the effect of the six learner variables simultaneouslyand determine their relative contribution to the prediction of FLA.Standard Multiple Regression was run first, with all six predictor variables enteredinto the regression model. This procedure was used so as to assess (1) towhat extent this set of individual learner variables is useful in explaining differencesin participants’ anxiety level, and (2) what each independent variable addsto the prediction of FLA that is different from the contribution of the other predictors.Total variance explained (R 2 ) was used as a measure of the predictive powerof the six independent variables, while squared partial correlation coefficients asan estimate of their unique contribution as a proportion of R 2 . To determinewhether the obtained values were indicative of a small, medium, or large effect,Cohen’s (1988) criteria were used, according to which, values between 2% and12.99% suggest small, values 13% - 25.99% medium, and values of 26% or abovelarge effect sizes for multiple regression models in the behavioural sciences. Finally,a backward selection method was adopted to identify the best predictors ofFLA. To assess the relative importance of the best predictors of participants’ anxietylevel standardized correlation coefficient (β) and squared partial correlationvalues were examined.ResultsCorrelation findingsTable 1 presents the correlations between each of the selected learner variables -cognitive, affective, and personality-related ones – and foreign language anxiety.Of the six examined variables four were significantly related to FLA, namely, proficiency,L2-self-concept, perfectionism, and competitiveness.Tóth, Zs. Predictors of foreign-language anxiety 133
Page 2 and 3: have been investigated, no previous
Page 4 and 5: Pohlman, & Bishop-Marbury, 1991; Ga
Page 6 and 7: Besides self-perceptions of TL comp
Page 8 and 9: InstrumentsSelf-report instruments
Page 12 and 13: Table 1: Correlations between cogni
Page 14 and 15: large effect size. The estimated co
Page 16 and 17: As for the other significant predic
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Page 20 and 21: The findings concerning the non-sig
Page 22 and 23: ReferencesAida, Y. (1994). Examinat
Page 24 and 25: Horwitz, E. K. (1996). Even teacher
Page 26: Wine, J. D. (1982). Evaluation anxi

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