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This study was an investigation of student beliefs about their EFL education, and it was based upon the subjective task value component of the expectancy-value theory, a prominent theory of achievement motivation. The participants were three cohorts of Japanese public elementary school students (Cohort 1 from 2008; Cohort 2 from 2009; and Cohort 3 from 2010); each cohort consisted of third through sixth graders (N = 1,478; N = 3,693; and N = 1,336, respectively). Three research questions with associated hypotheses were posited in order to determine: (a) if students of all age groups could differentiate the three value components of Enjoyment, Importance, and Use; (b) the degree to which grade levels and genders were different with regard to each value; and (c) if grade level and gender differences were consistent between cohorts. The Young Learners Value Scale (YLVS) was an 11-item, 4-point Likert self report scale created in order to investigate elementary school students' values concerning their EFL education. Prior to conducting inferential analyses on the collected data, the dimensionality, validity, and reliability of the YLVS were established through the use of the Rasch rating-scale model. In addition, the raw scores were converted into interval Rasch measures. Results of the principal components analyses showed that each grade level was able to differentiate the three values of Enjoyment, Importance, and Use. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the instrument measures as well as the factorial structure of the theoretical model were both invariant across grade level. Results of the two-way ANOVAs indicated that the third grade students valued the Enjoyment, Importance, and Use of English to a statistically significant higher degree than the higher grade levels. Descriptive statistics showed that all grade levels valued the Enjoyment and Importance of English, yet all grade levels responded neutrally to the Use of English. With regard to gender, female students held statistically significant greater values of Enjoyment, Importance, and Use of English and their EFL class than boys, yet these differences were found for only Cohorts 2 and 3. This study was the first, to the best of my knowledge, to use the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation as a basis for an investigation of public school EFL students. The results indicated that the elementary school students valued the Enjoyment and Importance of English, but were neutral to the Use of English. The integration of more skill-based activities that focus on listening to English and speaking in English to communicate to others and a reduction in fun-focused activities such as songs and games might provide a greater opportunity to enhance the students' value of Use. / CITE/Language Arts

In the Florida Public Schools' Curriculum, there lacks a requirement for completion of foreign language credits in order for a student to graduate. However, many colleges and universities, as well as scholarship programs like the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, require students to take a minimum of two consecutive years of a foreign language. In many schools, there is an abundance of Level 1 and Level 2 foreign language classrooms, but in the upper levels there seems to be a scarcity of students within those programs. Why is it that these few students are motivated to continue studying the language, even though it is not required of them? This study serves to show the variety of motivations felt by high school students during the 2007-2008 school year. After conducting several focus groups at Oviedo High School in Oviedo, FL, with Spanish 3 and Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish students, the researcher analyzed the variety of reasons given candidly by the students. Through the conversations with these students, a better understanding of the motivations of high school students can be attained. Through this understanding, educators can target other areas that might motivate students, and thus work to increase enrollment in classes and to ensure that students can see the benefits of learning a second language with fluency.

In classrooms all over the world, there are students who fear the attention of both teachers and peers alike. Anxiety is a cause for such fears and in foreign language classrooms it can be prevalent. Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a concept developed by Horwitz et al (1986) to describe the unique anxiety that arises in a foreign language learning situation. Anxious students are less prone to use their target language and feel less motivated in their language studies, both of which have a negative effect on their learning. The aim of this study was to measure and compare anxiety levels among Swedish lower and upper secondary school students, identify major sources of anxiety and gain understanding of individuals’ perception of foreign language anxiety. 49 subjects from two classes participated in the study. Their anxiety was measured with the foreign language classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al (1986). Interviews were used to gain insight into the subjects’ perception of foreign language anxiety. The results showed that a majority of the subjects were anxious and that students in the lower secondary school class were more anxious than the upper secondary school class. The identified major sources of anxiety were teacher-induced anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and general anxiety. / I klassrum över hela världen finns det elever som är rädda för både lärarens och sina klasskamraters uppmärksamhet. Nervositet är en orsak till en sådan rädsla och kan vara vanligt i främmandespråkklassrum. Språkängslan inför främmande språk är ett begrepp utvecklat av Horwitz m. fl. (1986) för att beskriva den unika nervositet som uppstår vid lärande av främmande språk. Nervösa elever är mindre benägna att använda språket de lär sig och känner sig mindre motiverade att lära sig och båda sakerna har en negativ effekt på deras inlärning. Syftet med studien var att mäta och jämföra nervositetsnivåer bland svenska högstadie- och gymnasieelever, identifiera de största källorna till nervositet och få förståelse för elevers uppfattning av nervositet. 49 elever från två klasser deltog i studien. Deras nervositet mättes med skalan för språknervositet i samband med undervisning i främmande språk, utvecklad av Horwitz m fl (1986). Intervjuer användes för att få insikt i deltagarnas uppfattning om språknervositet inför främmande språk. Resultatet visade att en majoritet av deltagarna led av språknervositet och att högstadieeleverna i högre grad var nervösa än gymnasieeleverna. De största källorna till nervositet som identifierades var lärarorsakad nervositet, rädsla för negativt omdöme och generell nervositet.