عفت سعیدی مرغملکی، کارشناسی ارشد آموزش زبان انگلیسی، دکتر علیرضا نجفی

نام و نام خانوادگی:عفت سعیدی مرغملکی
عنوان پایان نامه: The Interrelationships between Anxiety, Enjoyment, and Willingness to Communicate Among Iranian EFL Learners: Focusing on the Role of Age, Gender, Proficiency, and Achievement Variables
رشته تحصیلی: آموزش زبان انگلیسی
مقطع تحصیلی: کارشناسی ارشد ناپیوسته
استاد راهنما اول: دکتر علیرضا نجفی
چکیده:

This research aimed at discovering: (a) the differences between foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) levels among foreign language learners generally, and across different gender, proficiency level, age, and achievement groups; (b) the influences of gender, age, proficiency level, and success on FLCA, FLE, and willingness to communicate (WTC); (c) the links between FLE and FLCA, FLE and WTC, and between FLCA and WTC; (d) the differences in the strengths of the correlations between FLE, FLCA, and WTC across different gender, proficiency level, age, and achievement groups; (e) the influential role of FLE and FLCA in WTC, generally and for different gender, proficiency level, age, and achievement groups. For this purpose, 327 Iranian EFL learners participated in this research. The participants were divided into females and males, three different proficiency levels, two age groups, and three achievement groups. A quantitative method applying questionnaires was used to collect the data. A measure of FLE consisting of 21 items, a measure of FLCA including 8 items which were extracted from the FLCAS, and a measure of WTC including 28 items from IWTC Scale were used. Statistical analyses using SPSS and MedCalc softwares revealed that (a) students experienced more enjoyment than anxiety in their foreign language classes in general and also across different gender, proficiency, age, achievement groups; (b) age and proficiency level did not significantly influence students‟ WTC, FLE, and FLCA; (c) success didn‟t affect students‟ FLE while it could influence the language learners‟ WTC and FLCA; (d) while gender influenced the students‟ FLE, it did not influence the language learners‟ FLCA and WTC; (e) WTC and FLE were positively and significantly, WTC and FLCA were negatively and significantly, and FLE and FLCA were negatively and significantly related; (f) the overlapping of FLE and FLCA was significantly higher in girls compared to boys; (g) there was a stronger link between FLE and WTC among the least proficient language learners compared to the most proficient students; (h) both FLE and FLCA significantly predicted WTC generally and across different gender, proficiency level groups and for adolescents and the medium achievers, additionally, for these models, it was seen that FLE had stronger influence on increasing WTC than decreasing impact of FLCA on WTC; (k) FLCA could not significantly predict WTC for models obtained among young adults, the least successful and the most successful students. The findings of this research can be used to enhance language learners‟ willingness to communicate in an effective way.

کلیدواژه: Achievement; Age; Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety; Foreign Language Enjoyment; Gender; Iranian EFL learners; Proficiency Level; Willingness to Communicate