Towards a Full Model of Second Language Learning: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

Much research in second language acquisition (SLA) centres on the relationships among individual difference measures such as language attitudes, motivation, anxiety, self-confidence, language aptitude, learning strategies, field independence, and measures of achievement in the language. Numerous studies have supported the proposed influences of these individual difference variables on achievement, and a number of models have been developed to explain the relationships among subsets of these variables. However, there is a lack of research examining the relationships among all these variables simultaneously. In the present study, we investigate a large number of individual difference measures to determine their underlying dimensions, to contrast their predictive validities, and to evaluate their contributions in a causal model of SLA. Our study was based on a sample of 102 university students enrolled in introductory French. The results indicated substantial links among the affective measures and achievement. Support was found for these connections in the proposed causal model.

Examining the effects of differential instructional methods on the model of foreign language achievement

“…This suggests that for the classroom emphasizing communicativeness, EFL students who learn English for the inherent pleasure are highly likely to display more motivational intensity, heightened desire to learn English, and more positive attitudes toward learning English, and these students tend to gain a higher English course grade. These results are consistent with previous L2 motivation literature (e.g., Gardner, 2001;Gardner, Tremblay, & Masgoret, 1997;Masgoret & Gardner, 2003;Noels et al, 2001;Pae, 2008;Ramage, 1990), lending support to the socioeducational model of L2 acquisition, which is based on the assumption that attitudinal variables such as L2 orientations are indirectly related to L2 achievement through motivation. The same pattern was observed for self-confidence, meaning that when the teachers' instructional focus is communicativeness, students with IM tend to show greater perception of self-confidence, and experience less anxiety in English class and outside use, as consistent with the previous findings about IM (e.g., Ehrman, 1996;Harter & Connell, 1984;Noels et al, 1999Noels et al, , 2000Noels et al, , 2001.…”

The Correlation among EFL Learners’ Test Anxiety, Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Achievement

“…The obtained results indicated a statistically significant and negative correlation between FLA and language achievement. This finding of present study is also in line with previous related studies (Horwitz 1986;Saito & Samimy, 1986;Gardner, Lalonde, Moorcroft, & Evers, 1987;MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989;Aida, 1994;Gardner, 1997;Cheng, Horwitz, & Schallert, 1999;Horwitz, 2001;Dalkılıç, 2001;Park & Lee, 2005;Liu, 2006;Tallon, 2006;Batumlu & Erden, 2007;Awan, Azher, Anvar, & Naz, 2010;Lan, 2010;Wang, 2011;Atasheneh & Izadi, 2012;Al-Shboul, Sheikh Ahmad, Sahari Nordin, & Abdul Rahman, 2013;Demirdaş & Bozdoğan, 2013;Dordinejad & Ahmadabad, 2014;Amiri & Ghonsooly, 2015). …”

Examination of the Relationship Between Autonomy and English Achievement as Mediated by Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

“…It showed students with higher level of anxiety got lower scores than their less anxious classmates. Gardner et al (1997) examined the relationship between foreign language anxiety between different affective variables and achievement in French. They found that there was a negative relationship in language anxiety and two measures of achievement as objective measures (r = −.66, p = .001, n = 102) and French grades (r = −.33, p = .01, n = 102).…”