Cycle of Fear of Learning a Foreign Language: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

Foreign language learning as stipulated in the Malaysian Education Blueprint as one of the important facets towards developing a human capital. Upholding this aspiration, Malaysian students at the higher institutions are encouraged to take up a foreign language course throughout their study period. However, learning a foreign language can be a daunting and traumatic experience to many due to several reasons with gender role being one of the most prominent factors. Hence, this quantitative study is done to explore the comparison of fear of learning a foreign language across gender. The study involved 202 students from seven different foreign language courses namely German, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Italian and French from Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM, Shah Alam. A survey adapted from Wenden and Rubin (1987) andHorwitz, Horwitz andCope (1986) was distributed through Google Form. The data shown that female students experienced greater fear of foreign language learning across all elements under this study namely communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation and test anxiety, as opposed to their male counterparts. Although male students showed equal level of self-consciousness when speaking, their anxiety seemed to be lower than the females. The study could be an invaluable source to inform foreign language teaching especially in creating a stress-free environment for learning.

Exploring Pushing Factors for Learning and Causes of Fatigue among Foreign Language Learners

“…A study by Zolkapli et al (2023), which explores the motivation and demotivation factors for learning communication skills, found that two factors namely extrinsic goal orientation and control beliefs for learning had significant impacts on students' motivation, thus affecting how well students learn. In relation to that, Zain et al (2023) study showed that learning a foreign language is motivated by both internal and external factors for Malaysian students. Additionally, they also found that intrinsic motivation plays a critical role in encouraging students' extrinsic motivation to become passionate about the learning process.…”

“…The implications of the finding suggest that to provide a supportive learning environment that encourages good emotions, engagement, and effective communication, educational institutions and instructors should pay considerable attention to the relationship between motivational and demotivational aspects in learning. Zain et al (2023) conducted a quantitative study that examines the relationship between students' motivation and their fear of learning a foreign language. 163 UiTM Melaka students from various faculties participated in the survey.…”

Exploring Reasons for Learning English and Burnout Among Pre-University Students

“…According to Zulfa and Zahidah (2023), learners are more engaged in these learning activities if they possess a stronger extrinsic goal orientation, intrinsic goal orientation, or self-efficacy. In fact, numerous studies have consistently demonstrated how motivation significantly influences the effectiveness and productivity of teaching ESL (Amir et al, 2023;Nurudin et al, 2023;Saleh, 2023;Zain et al, 2023). However, several challenges prevent ESL learning objectives from being achieved.…”