This paper is a study in the linguistic field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), with some overlap in the relation of language and gender. Focus is placed on adults' experiences and feelings towards using their learned language in different scenarios and whether there are any substantial differences related to the sex of the learner. The main questions discussed are, firstly, how confident Swedish adults are when communicating in English in different scenarios with different recipients. Secondly, what factors there are and how these factors influence adults' feelings towards communicating in English. The paper compares a sample of female and male adults of varying ages from 23-70, who live in Sweden. Using quantitative and qualitative questions in a questionnaire paired with an interview, this paper examines the feelings towards communication in English among adults and how these feelings have changed since they were in school. The study research how language anxiety and motivation relates to learning and using a foreign language. The research also examines if these factors have any connection to the participant’s sex. Learning how the affective factors or individual differences change over time can aid future teachers of English in motivating and helping students struggling with learning English. At some point during their period of studies, most adults in the study reported that they felt language anxiety or lack of confidence. However, the findings of this study that most adults eventually outgrow such anxiety and develop confidence as they become older and use English more.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hh-44958 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Fällmark, Katarina |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för lärande, humaniora och samhälle |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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