The Interaction of Expectancy-Value Beliefs and Anxiety in Learning Academic Oral English in Bilingual Chinese Postgraduate Students

Abstract

Despite the plethora of research on speaking anxiety, most studies focus on speaking for general purposes in various bilingual contexts, particularly ESL/EFL (English as second/foreign language) contexts. Little research has been done on anxiety when speaking English for academic purposes in bilingual students. Even fewer studies are available on the interaction between academic oral communication (AOC) anxiety and expectancy-value beliefs —important concepts of language learning motivation. Hence, the present longitudinal study examined the interaction of expectancy-value beliefs and AOC anxiety in bilingual Chinese postgraduate students when learning academic oral English. In addition to interviews, a set of matching questionnaires on AOC anxiety and expectancy-value beliefs were collected from 74 Chinese postgraduate learners of English in week 2 (phase 1) and week 14 (phase 2) of a 16-week semester. Analyses of the data revealed the following major findings: (1) One-third to half of the participants experienced AOC anxiety and had low expectancy of themselves about AOC, and more than half of them held high attainment, intrinsic value, utility value and cost value of AOC in English, (2) significant increase occurred in expectancy but not in AOC anxiety or any value over the semester, and (3) expectancy was a great negative predictor for AOC anxiety in phase 1, while expectancy, intrinsic value and cost value were powerful predictors for the latter in phase 2. Based on these findings, some implications for teaching and learning AOC to bilingual students are discussed.

The Relationship Between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Enjoyment, and Expectancy-Value Motivation and Their Predictive Effects on Chinese High School Students’ Self-Rated Foreign Language Proficiency

“…For example, Xu (2017) found that Chinese first-year undergraduates’ FLA was negatively correlated with their expectancy and intrinsic value but positively connected with attainment value. Other researchers (e.g., Liu and Dong, 2021 ; Zhang, 2021 ) further revealed that expectancy-value motivation could predict FL learning emotions. The longitudinal study by Liu and Dong (2021) revealed that both expectancy and value components of motivation were negative predictors for anxiety experienced by postgraduates learning academic oral English.…”

“…Other researchers (e.g., Liu and Dong, 2021 ; Zhang, 2021 ) further revealed that expectancy-value motivation could predict FL learning emotions. The longitudinal study by Liu and Dong (2021) revealed that both expectancy and value components of motivation were negative predictors for anxiety experienced by postgraduates learning academic oral English. These prior research findings inform that it may be more discreet to consider the relations between FL emotions and expectancy-value motivation as bidirectional since each can play a role in affecting the other, and they both are critical to FL learning success.…”

“…First, a holistic view looking into the two emotional feet in FL learning, namely both FLCA and FLE and examining their relations with FL expectancy-value motivation and combined predictive effects on FL learning is evidently lacking. This is worthy of our attention because, for one thing, in a real FL learning context, FL learners do not experience one type of emotion at a single time but are in the constant flow of different emotions; and for another, the two FL emotions intertwine significantly with motivation along the FL learning process ( Liu and Dong, 2021 ). Second, although EVT holds significant potential for understanding L2 motivation ( Nagle, 2021 ), SLA research that takes such a perspective is scarce.…”

“…Moreover, though it was conceptualized that learners’ expectancy for success and subjective task values multiplicatively predict learning performance and proficiency, such “expectancy × value” interaction has not been sufficiently validated in different contexts, and their effects on FL learning and proficiency remain a less-understood myth. Third, the past research has primarily been conducted among FL learners at a tertiary education level (e.g., Liu and Dong, 2021 ; Zhang, 2021 ), leaving FL emotions and expectancy-value motivation of young FL learners largely unnoticed, although young FL learners’ FLCA, FLE, and expectancy-value motivation appraisals can be very different from college students ( Li et al, 2018 ; Loh, 2019 ).…”

“…Research has evidenced that whereas FLCA may have debilitating effects on FL learning, FLE can facilitate FL learning and even “undo” the adverse effects rendered by negative FL emotions ( MacIntyre and Vincze, 2017 ). Besides being predictive of language learners’ FL proficiency, FLCA, FLE, and expectancy-value motivation correlate and interact significantly (e.g., Xu, 2017 ; Liu and Dong, 2021 ). Empirical findings concerning such an emotion-motivation relationship began to emerge recently, but the predictive effects of emotion-motivation factors remain largely under-explored.…”