The Impact of High School Preparatory Classes on English Achievement, Anxiety, and Motivation

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between achievement in language learning, language anxiety, and motivation in high school students who took and did not take preparatory classes. This study used a quantitative method to describe all students’ responses to a list of questions. Ex post facto analysis, a quantitative method design, was used in this study. The study involved 468 students enrolled in the public Anatolian high schools. The data was collected using the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Scale and the Motivation Scale in English Language Learning. The high school students' English achievement levels were calculated using their end-of-year English grades. The data was analyzed using the T-test, Pearson Correlation, and Regression Analysis. According to the results, preparatory classes motivate students to learn a foreign language. Students who participated in preparatory classes were more inspired than those who did not. Students who took preparatory classes outperformed students who did not take preparatory classes in terms of achievement and achieved more outstanding English-language scores. Moreover, it was revealed that students' anxiety affected their English-language achievement negatively, while motivation increased the achievement of learning English.

Keywords

• English language achievement
• Foreign language learning anxiety
• Foreign language learning motivation
• Preparatory classes

References

1. Ağçam, R., & Babanoğlu, M.P. (2016). Learner Perceptions on EFL Teaching Practices in Turkish Higher Education. Turkish Journal of Education, 5(3), 146-156. https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.94535
2. Aydın, E. (2007). An analysis of motivations, attitudes, and perceptions of the students at TOBB University of Economics and Technology toward learning English as a foreign language (Master's thesis, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
3. Baş, G. (2013). Yabancı dil öğrenme kaygısı ölçeği: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [Foreign language learning anxiety scale: Validity and reliability study]. Türkiye Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 172, 49-68. https://doi.org/10.20296/tsad.26538
4. Batumlu, D. Z., & Erden, M. (2007). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and English achievement of Yıldız Technical University School of foreign languages preparatory students. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education, 3(1), 24-38.
5. Bernaus, M., & Gardner, R. (2008). Teacher motivation strategies, student perceptions, student motivation, and English achievement. The Modern Language Journal. 92, 387-401. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00753.x
6. Brown, D. H. (2006). Principles of language learning and teaching. White Plains: Pearson Education.
7. Burns, N., & Grove, S. K. (2005). The practice of nursing research: Conduct, Critique and Utilization. Missouri: Elsevier.
8. Buyukyavuz, O., & İnal, S. (2008). A descriptive study on Turkish teachers of English regarding their professional needs, efforts for development, and available resources. The Asian EFL Journal, 10, 215-234.

9. Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2011). Introduction to psychology: Modules for active learning. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
10. Çakar, G. (2009). The relationship between past learning experiences and the foreign language anxiety of Turkish EFL students (Master's Thesis, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
11. Demirdaş, Ö., & Bozdoğan, D. (2013). Foreign language anxiety and performance of language learners in preparatory classes, Turkish Journal of Education, 2(3), 4-13. https://doi.org/10.19128/turje.181060
12. Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and Researching: Motivation. UK: Pearson Longman.
13. Ehrman, M. E., Leaver, B. L., & Oxford, R. L. (2003). A brief overview of individual differences in second language learning. System, 31, 313-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(03)00045-9
14. Gardner, R. C., & Macintyre, P. D. (1993). A student's contribution to second language acquisition. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26, 1-11.
15. George, D., & Mallery, M. (2010). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference. Boston: Pearson Ltd.
16. Griffiths, C., & Özgür, B. (2013). Second language motivation. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1109-1114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.01.165
17. Gürel, E., & Demirhan İşcan, C. (2020). Reviewing the 9th grade English curriculum with Stake's responsive evaluation model according to teachers’ opinions. Çukurova University Faculty of Educational Journal, 49(1), 501-554. https://doi.org/10.14812/cufej.623396
18. Horwitz, E. K. (1991). Preliminary Evidence for The Reliability and Validity of a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale. Virginia: TESOL.
19. Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign-language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317
20. Karabey, M. (2011). Foreign language classroom anxiety of preparatory class students at Atatürk University (Unpublished master’s thesis, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey).
21. Kaya, M. (1995). The relationship of motivation, anxiety, self-confidence, and extroversion/introversion to students’ active class participation in an EFL classroom in Turkey (Master’s thesis, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
22. Kennedy, J. R. (1996). Variations in the motivation of successful and unsuccessful Turkish learners of English (Master’s thesis, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
23. Lukmani, Y. M. (1972). Motivation to learn and language proficiency. Language Learning, 22(2), 261–273.
24. Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and Associates. Language Learning, 53(1), 123–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9922.00212
25. May, R. (1977). The Meaning of Anxiety. New York: W. W. Norton. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/meaningofanxiety00mayr/page/204/mode/2up [17.04.2020].
26. Mehdiyev, E., Uğurlu, C.T., & Usta, G. (2017). Validity and Reliability Study: Motivation Scale in English Language Teaching. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 54, 21- 37. https://doi.org/10.9761/JASSS3632
27. Ministry of National Education. (2019). Ortaöğretim Kurumları Yönetmeliği [Regulation on secondary education institutions]. Retrieved from https://ogm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2019_07/16134512_yonetmelik.pdf [22.02.2020].
28. Oxford, R. L., & Ehrman, M. (1995). Adults’ language learning strategies in an intensive foreign language program in the United States. System, 23, 359-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00023-D
29. Ryan, R. L., & Deci, E. M. (2002). Overview of self-determination theory: An Organismic-dialectical perspective. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, Handbook of Self-Determination Research, Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
30. Samimy, K. K. (1989). A comparative study of teaching Japanese in the audio-lingual method and the counseling-learning approach. The Modern Language Journal, 73(2),169–177.
31. Schumann, J. H. (1994). Where is Cognition? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16(02), 231-242. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263100012894
32. Sehic, S. (2017). College-level second language courses and creative thinking skills: An ex post facto study. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 119-142.
33. Solak, E., & Bayar, A. (2015). Current Challenges in English Language Learning in Turkish EFL Context. Participatory Educational Research, 2(1), 106-115. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.15.09.2.1
34. Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo Alto, California: Consulting Psychological Press.
35. Stroud, C., & Wee, L. (2006). Anxiety and identity in the language classroom. Relc Journal, 7(3), 299-307. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071311
36. Şakrak, G. (2009). The relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language anxiety in Turkish EFL students (Master’s thesis, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
37. Tsai-Yu, C., & Goretti B. Y. (2004). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and learning difficulties. Foreign Language Annals, 37(2), 279-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2004.tb02200.x
38. Wörde, V. R. (2003). Students’ perspectives on foreign language anxiety. Inquiry, 8 (1), 1-15.
39. Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426-437. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1991.tb05378.x
40. Zafar, S., & Meenakshi, K. (2012). Individual learner differences and second language acquisition: A review. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(4), 639-646. https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.3.4.639-646
41. Zanghar A. (2012). Instrumental and integrative motivation among undergraduate Libyan students of English as a foreign language (Master’s thesis, Colorado State University). Retrieved from https://api.mountainscholar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/630f7b94-3243-4734-aae5-47712e35648a/content
42. Zeidner, M. (2010). Test Anxiety. In I. B. Weiner & W. E. Craghead (Eds.), The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.