Adopting both qualitative and quantitative approaches with a strong element of triangulation, the present research aimed to investigate the issues of reticence and anxiety in oral English classroom-learning and testing situations at the tertiary level in Mainland China. / Following the ground work phase, the main study, which was divided into two phases, got underway. In the first phase, a 124-item survey was distributed to approximately 570 first-year undergraduate non-English majors at three different proficiency levels at Tsinghua University; 547 valid questionnaires were processed. In the second phase, three English language classes (one from each different proficiency group) were selected for the case study which continued for the full term: the students were required to write reflective journals with one entry per week for six consecutive weeks, the teachers were asked to observe and keep a weekly record of the students' reticence and anxiety in classroom activities during the whole term, the three classes were observed and video-taped twice, 7 students from each group and their teachers were invited for semi-structured interviews, and the final oral English test given to the students was observed and video-taped. / The large-scale survey was analyzed using SPSS 11.00---descriptive statistics, reliability, correlation, factor analysis, t-test, and ANOVA to examine students' self-reported reticence and anxiety and their relationships with other variables such as students' self-rated English proficiency. The journals, interviews, and observations were subjected to a thematic content analysis to explore students' reticence and anxiety during oral English lessons and tests, and identify factors underlying reticence and anxiety in oral English classroom-learning and testing situations as well as corresponding coping strategies adopted by the participants. / The major findings were: (1) a considerable number of students self-reported and were observed to be reticent and nervous during oral English lessons and tests. The more proficient students tended to be less reticent and anxious, (2) the more reticent student tended to be more anxious during oral English lessons and tests, (3) reticence and anxiety negatively affected students' performance in oral English, (4) student reticence and anxiety varied from activity to activity in the classroom and changed during both the term and final oral English test, (5) multiple factors contributed to student reticence and anxiety during oral English lessons and tests, (6) the majority of the participants felt helpless about student reticence and anxiety. Most teachers and students were not aware of how to effectively cope with them, and (7) reticence and anxiety interacted with each other in both situations. Based on these findings, certain pedagogical implications were discussed to reduce students' reticence and anxiety in oral English classroom-learning and testing situations, thus enhancing the teaching and learning of oral English in Mainland China. In addition to contributing to the overall literature of research on reticence and anxiety in Chinese and FL learning contexts, the present research revealed some areas for future research. / Liu Meihua. / "July 2005." / Adviser: Jane Jackson. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0167. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 336-360). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:cuhk.edu.hk/oai:cuhk-dr:cuhk_343636 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Contributors | Liu, Meihua, Chinese University of Hong Kong Graduate School. Division of English. |
| Source Sets | The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Language | English, Chinese |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, theses |
| Format | electronic resource, microform, microfiche, 1 online resource (xvii, 403 p. : ill.) |
| Coverage | China |
| Rights | Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International” License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
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