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INTRODUCTIONLANGUAGE ANXIETY , MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL AND

ENGLISH PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 6 ENGLISH LEARNERS

It is well established that second/foreign language learning is often associated with

affective factors, among which the constructs of anxiety and motivation have been recognized

as important predictors of second/foreign language performance. Language learners usually

express anxiety, apprehension, and nervousness when learning a new language. Language

anxiety can originate from the learners’ own sense of “self,” their self-related cognitions,

language learning difficulties, differences in learners’ and target language cultures, differences

in social status of the speakers and interlocutors, and the fear of losing self-identity (Hashemi,

2011). Some symptoms of anxiety are shown physically as one may feel their heart beating

faster and psychologically as they may feel frightened or panicky. They start to have anxious

thoughts about the very real possibility of making a complete fool of ourselves and the

consequent loss of face as a consequence of this type of anxiety. Nobody likes to be thought of

as a failure.

Zhou (2009) found that foreign language anxiety mainly came from the family

background, the students’ language experience including the instructor, the teaching method

and some other factors. Likewise, Lu (2007) pointed out that classroom performance,

relationship with teachers and classmates, self-confidence in English learning were the major

factors influencing student’s English language anxiety.

Another important factor as a strong predictor of second/foreign language learning is

motivation. Brown (2007) reviewed the definition of motivation based on the three schools of

thought. In Behaviorism, motivation is seen as the anticipation of reward. Driven to acquire

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positive reinforcement and based on prior experience, we repeat a given action to get rewards.

On the other hand, Cognitivism sees motivation as choices people make. The forces behind

decisions are the needs or drives. Lastly, according to Constructivism; each person is

motivated differently and the emphasis is on social context and individual personal choices.

Student motivation is sometimes driven by fear of failure, based on the belief that grades

received depends on the judgment of their personal ability or intelligence rather than their

performance on a specific learning task. This drives student interest in achieving high grades,

in addition to beliefs about how their grades may influence future prospects (Covington,

2011).

Researchers are more concerned with student learning achievement and finding ways

to enhance students’ language, skills, and competency. Tanveer (2007) suggested that intrinsic

motivation usually results in anxiety-breeding situations. Accordingly, learners’ beliefs,

perceptions, and poor command of language may lead to a higher level of anxiety.

Furthermore, some other extrinsic factors such as social and cultural environments may be the

reasons for stressful situations. Other factors such as speaking in front of others were rated as

the possible sources of anxiety, followed by worries about grammatical mistakes,

pronunciation, and being unable to talk spontaneously (Awan, Anwar, & Naz 2010). However,

there are numbers of motivational beliefs associated with student’s academic behavior. For

this, there is a need to emphasize the relationship between language and learners’ motivation

and their language anxiety.

The Philippines is a linguistically, culturally, socially, and religiously diverse country

which is composed of 7,107 islands. In 2017, the Philippine Ethnologue reported that the

country is the home of 187 individual languages. Of these Philippine languages, 183 are said
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to be living while the other 4 are already extinct (Lewis, Fennig & Simons 2013).

Additionally, 41 Philippine languages are already institutionalized, 72 are developing, 45 are

vigorous, and 14 are sadly in trouble, while 11 are already dying. From all these Philippine

languages, the Department of Education (DepEd) identified 12 major languages to be used as

a medium of instruction in the currently implemented Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual

Education (MTBMLE) policy in the educational system of the country particularly in public

schools. These languages include Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol,

Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaon, Maranao, and Chabacano (DepEd,

2013).

However, it is the English language which is considered as the language of power and

of progress in the country that has played a major role in the lives of the Filipinos in

improving their socio-economic status and in achieving a much better life. In fact, it has

become the lingua franca in the country even before the world treated English as such because

of the country’s great linguistic diversity (Wa-Mbaleka, 2014). But even if it is highly valued

because of its functional and practical use in the Philippines and in many countries around the

world, learning the English language is still found to be very challenging since the process

goes through complicated tasks that involves psychological as well as social factors (Berowa,

2016). In fact, a large number of investigations in the fields of English as a Second Language

(ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) have emphasized the roles of different

variables that could facilitate or impede language learning. It has been stressed that affective

factors like language anxiety have an effectual role in language achievement and proficiency.
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Accordingly, this present study aims to examine how language anxiety and motivation

is related to the performance of Grade 6 learners in an English class in the Division of San Jose

City, Nueva Ecija during the School Year 2019 - 2020.

Statement of the Problem

Today, it is very important to have a greater knowledge in speaking English because it

is dubbed as the international language. When one has to use it for learning academic subjects,

its complexity is significant and a student must commit to learning the language itself from the

basic into its more complex form. A student must begin from the first step by learning even

the simplest terms to more unfamiliar words which are being used in almost all subjects in

their studies. But one may encounter difficulties in terms of academic performance especially

if there is second language anxiety, a low motivational level, and poor self-esteem.

Problems arise when a learner is having trouble with their diction in speaking the

language due to nervousness or fear. In addition, struggles on how to pronounce English

words properly is very crucial. What if a student does not have enough motivation to speak

fluently or because of limited training? The confidence of a learner could be one of the factors

that might have the answer to possible better second language performance.

Based on a report by the United Nations, the literacy rate of the Philippines is 97.95

percent and the highest among Southeast Asian countries and the performance level of our

learners in terms of oral communication in English is lower than expected. Some educators
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argue that there are some instances that may be the causes of this problem. In this case, some

factors may be considered in order to find out if these are valid and can be the starting point to

diagnose the root causes of the argument.

It is in this context that the researcher finds it important to conduct the study about the

relationship of the performance in English of Grade 6 learners of the Division of San Jose City

with their language anxiety and motivational level during the School Year 2019–2020.

Objectives of the Study

This study generally aimed to determine the language anxiety, and motivational level

level and their relationship to the performance in English of Grade 6 learners in the Division

of San Jose City during School Year 2019–2020.

Specifically, the study sought to:

1. describe the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents in terms of age, sex,

monthly income of parents, and parents’ educational attainment;

2. describe the language anxiety of learners in terms of communication apprehension,

fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and anxiety of English classes;

3. determine the respondents’ motivation to learn in terms of motivation intensity, desire

to learn the target language. and attitude towards learning the target language;

4. describe the respondents’ performance in English during the 1 st quarter of School Year

2019–2020;

5. find out the relationship between the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics

and their English performance;

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6. ascertain the relationship between the respondents’ language learning anxiety and their

English performance; and

7. determine the relationship between the respondents’ motivation to learn and their

English performance.

8.

9. .

10.

Hypothesis of the Study

The following hypotheses were tested in this study:

1. There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ socio-demographic

characteristics and their English performance.

2. There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ language learning anxiety

and their English performance; and

3. There is no significant relationship between the respondents’ motivation to learn and

their English performance.

Significance of the Study

The result of the study would be beneficial to the following:

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To the School Administrators. The results of this study can give valuable

information about the problems of our learners regarding their performance in the English

subject.

To the Teachers. The study can provide data to help them in the attainment of a

higher learning goal in terms of dealing with different types of learners. In addition, it will

also guide them on how to deal with problems regarding their students’ performance.

To the Pupils. Proper diagnoses regarding their different problems with performance

in English will help them to achieve more.

To the Future Researchers. This study will provide other researchers with additional

information and knowledge on the difficulties of students in their performance in English.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study was conducted in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija during the first

semester of School Year 2019–2020. A total of 160 Grade 6 learners from public elementary

schools were involved in the study. The respondents were chosen from different elementary

schools, namely: San Jose West Central School (Mega/2000–2500 enrollees), Abar 1 st

Elementary School (Large/1400–1600 enrollees), Sto. Niňo 3rd Elementary School (Medium/

300–700 enrollees), and Tulat Elementary School (Small/100–250 enrollees).

The independent variables in this study included the respondents’ socio-demographic

characteristics such as sex, age, monthly income of parents and parents’ educational

attainment; language learning anxiety in terms of communication apprehension, fear of

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negative evaluation, test anxiety and anxiety of English classes and the motivation to learn in

terms of motivation intensity, desire to learn the language target and attitude towards learning

the target language. The dependent variable was the English performance of Grade 6 pupils

during the first quarter of School Year 2019–2020.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This section presents the results of previous research on language learning anxiety,

language learning anxiety and gender, motivation and language learning, and anxiety and

foreign language motivation. It also contains studies regarding the relationship between socio-

demographic characteristics of learners and their performance in English.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Age
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Educators and parents have been known to hold strong beliefs about academic

practices that are unsupported by research. One example is the belief that academic success is

strongly and positively related to a student’s age and entrance to school or compared to the age

of classmates (Grissom, 2004). Some studies on age vis-à-vis academic performance were not

consistent in their results. Cabrillas (2008) reported in his study that age appeared to be one of

the most obvious factors that has highly significant relationship with the pupil’s English

performance in terms of their English average grade. Costales (2006) findings that younger

students got better grades than older students imply that academic achievement tend to be

lower among the older group. Academic achievement tended to be the lowest among the older

group and lower age are being associated with higher achievement. This means that as the age

increases, the level of achievement decreases.

Other studies stated otherwise. The study of Cabrillas (2013) found out that age was

not a predictor of academic performance among OFW children. Also, Baldevarona (2018)

revealed that age has no significant relationship with the classroom performance of the 4P’s

recipient-respondents.

Sex

Spelke (2005) considered that the reason for the discrepancy is cognitive sex difference

which claims that males (1) are more focused on objects from the beginning of life and

therefore, are predisposed to better learning about mechanical systems; (2) have spatial and

numerical abilities producing greater aptitude for mathematics; and; (3) are more variable in

their cognitive abilities and therefore, predominate the upper reaches of mathematical talent.

However, in the same study, it was mentioned that researches about cognitive development
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fail to support these claims. Instead, evidence showed that mathematics and scientific

reasoning can be developed from a set of biologically-based cognitive capacities for both men

and women. Although there are better studies which found that girls systematically

underperform boys in STEM disciplines, this trend changes as they progress in the educational

system (Contini & Mendiola, 2017)

Several tests of knowledge administrated internationally indicate that boys perform

better on standardized Mathematics tests, while girls achieve better educational results in

reading and language tests (Baker & Jones, 1993).

Monthly Income of Parents

More often than not, parents’ monthly income is relative to their occupation. Thus,

when occupation is considered stable, it is assumed that the family’s income is also sufficient.

Students whose parents had jobs showed higher academic performance for they have better

opportunities to obtain educational materials needed for their study, more time to do the

assignments through the help of tutors, and more supervision time from parents. In other

words, their parents can provide a better home environment that lead to the positive

performance of their children.

However, the study of De Guzman (2005) contradicts the above findings which

reported that there is no significant relationship between a father’s occupation and the

academic performance of students.

Parents may affect the behavior and decisions taken by their children through genetic

transmission, preferences, or/and environment—put simply, more educated and richer parents

can provide a “better” environment for their children, which creates an inequity which is the
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focus of sizable policy attention (McLachlan, 2013). However, Carneiro and Heckman (2004)

suggest that current parental income does not explain children’s educational attainment.

Parents’ Educational Attainment

Campbell, Hombo, and Mazzeo (2000) stated that parents with a high level of

education serve as role models to their children and inspire them to aim for higher academic

achievements. Similarly, parents with high educational attainment have the capabilities to help

their children develop positive performance.

Andaya (2016) stated that parents who have pursued higher forms or degree of

education tend to have children that demonstrate better performance and achievement over

time. However, Acharya’s study (2017) revealed that parents’ educational attainment did not

influence the academic performance of the students in mathematics.

On the other hand, Baclig (2000) reported that the low educational attainment of

parents affected their job opportunity, hence they may provide less input for the support and

improvement of the academic achievement of their children. Rich (2000) also found that

parents with lower educational attainment will likely to have children with lower educational

performance.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, Trends in International

Mathematics and Science Study and National Surveys (NAEP) of student achievement

consistently confirm the correlation between the level of parental education and the

performance of children. These surveys often rely on parental education as an important

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indicator for socio- economic background, or socio-economic status, though they frequently

use other measures as well as parental engagement or number of books in their home.

Individuals with parents who have lower levels of educational attainment tend to have greater

material resources to expend on young children and also tend to spend more time interacting

with them (for example, by reading to them at an early age) in ways that strongly influence

achievement outcomes. Thus, parental education, may provide a more direct link to the skills

attainment of both children and young adults.

Language Learning Anxiety

Second/foreign language learning can sometimes be a terrible experience for many

learners. The number of students who suffer from language learning anxiety is numerous.

Various aspects of language learning have been focused on by studies of anxiety such as

language outcomes, rate of second language acquisition, performance in language classrooms,

and performance in high-stakes language testing (Zheng, 2008).

Language anxiety has been seen as a negative psychological factor in the language

learning process by many of the researchers who have considered its impact on language

learners. On the other hand, if learners are relaxed and motivated, this barrier will be lowered

and the language input would more likely to be attended to and acquired.

An important question is whether language anxiety is always negative or not. Some

researchers have challenged the idea that anxiety is always a negative factor. For instance, an

experience that most of us may have is to write under pressure. Sometimes it seems we are

capable of writing more effectively and creatively when we have to complete a deadline and

have little time in which to complete it. On the other hand, the more time we have at our

disposal, the more ineffective and uninspiring our writing seems to be. Besides, more often we
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may leave things until another day until tension and anxiety to reach to the necessary levels in

order to force us into action. When it comes to speaking, anxiety may actually push us on to

greater effort and fluency. And many of us may have experienced a feeling of being nervous

and tense before speaking and this nervousness is reflected in stuttering, false starts, and

inaccurate pronunciation. These two types of anxiety, one a negative force, the other a positive

one, have been referred to as ‘debilitating’ and ‘facilitating’ anxiety in the literature. Positive

anxiety pushes one forward, motivates, and helps, while negative anxiety weakens one’s

resolve, creates doubts, encourages one to run away, and debilitates a learner.

Different learners may experience various levels of anxiety. For instance, introverts are

more likely to experience anxiety than extroverts (Brown, Robson, & Rosenkjar, 2001).

Introverts usually prefer individual work more than group work so they may easily become

anxious if they are put in more communication-oriented classroom settings. In contrast,

extroverts may feel anxious if they have to work on their own all the time

Language learning anxiety may be demonstrated by language learners in various ways.

Generally, foreign language anxiety has three varieties: communication apprehension, test

anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Communication apprehension is a feeling of

discomfort when communicating. More specifically, such apprehension occurs where learners

lack mature communication skills although they have mature ideas and thoughts. In fact, it

refers to a fear of getting into real communication with others. Communication apprehension

occurs in a variety of settings in both native language and second language and results in

negative outcomes for both speakers and listeners. As such, communication apprehension must

be addressed by language teachers, especially teachers who are teaching second or foreign

languages because learners who already experience some level of communication

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apprehension in their native language will face more anxiety when speaking a foreign or

second language, such as English (Schlenker & Leary, 1982). Test anxiety, on the other hand,

is an apprehension towards academic evaluation. It could be defined as a fear of failing in tests

and an unpleasant feeling experienced either consciously or unconsciously by learners in many

situations. Finally, fear of negative evaluation happens when foreign language learners feel

incapable of making the proper social impression and it is an apprehension towards

evaluations by others and avoidance of evaluative situations.

Motivation and Language Learning

Motivation has been defined as "some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to

do things in order to achieve something" (Harmer, 2007). Motivation is thought to be

responsible for "why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the

activity, and how hard they are going to pursue it” (Dörnyei, 2001). Ryan and Deci (2000)

state that "to be motivated means to be moved to do something." Unlike unmotivated people

who have lost impetus and inspiration to act, motivated people are energized until the end of a

task. However, they argue that arousing interest is not enough to be motivated but the interest

should be sustained. In addition, time and energy should be invested, and the effect which is

required needs to be maintained so as to reach a desired goal.

On the other hand, instrumental motivation is the desire to learn the second language

for pragmatic gains such as getting a better job. They also found that those students who were

interactively motivated benefited more from practice opportunities, voluntarily provided more

answers in the classroom, were more precise in responses, and were generally more successful

language learners.
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The importance of motivation in enhancing second/foreign language learning is

undeniable. Lifrieri (2005) points out that “when asked about the factors which influence

individual levels of success in any activity—such as language learning—most people would

certainly mention motivation among them.” According to Brown (2000), language learners

with the proper motivation will be successful in learning a second language. Similarly,

Gardner (2006) states that “students with higher levels of motivation will do better than

students with lower levels.” He also believes that if a person is motivated, he/she has reasons

for engaging in the relevant activities, makes more effort, persists in the activities, focuses on

the tasks, shows desire to achieve the goal, and enjoys the activities.

The results of empirical studies point to benefits of motivation in language learning

contexts. Arani (2004) investigated language learning needs of English as Foreign Language

(EFL) students at Kashan University of Medical Sciences to identify the students' attitudes

towards learning English as a school subject prior to entering the university. The participants

consisted of 45 medical students who had enrolled in the first and second year of study. The

researchers administered different types of questionnaires at the beginning, in the middle, and

at the end of the English for Medical Purposes (EMP) courses. The results showed that most of

the participants had positive attitudes towards both learning English and the English language

teacher.

Karahan (2007) conducted a study in the Turkish EFL context to examine the

complaints raised by learners, teachers, administrators, and parents about why most of Turkish

EFL students cannot attain the desired level of proficiency in English and to find out the

relation between language attitudes and language learning. The sample included 190 (94

females and 96 males) eighth grade students of a private primary school in Adana, Turkey,
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where English was intensively taught. The findings indicated that although the students were

exposed to English in a school environment more frequently than other students at public

schools, they had only mildly positive attitudes; female students especially had higher rates. In

addition, the students recognized the importance of the English language but interestingly did

not reveal high level orientation towards learning the language. On the other hand, the results

indicated that the participants had mildly positive attitudes towards English-based cultures but

they were not tolerant of Turkish people speaking English among themselves.

In addition, Qashoa (2006) conducted a study among secondary school students in

Dubai aimed at examining the students’ instrumental and integrative motivation for learning

English and recognizing the factors affecting learners’ motivation. Questionnaire and

interviews were used as an instrument. Questionnaires were given to 100 students, while the

interviews were conducted with 20 students, 10 Arab English teachers, and three supervisors.

The results suggested that students had a higher degree of instrumentality than integrativeness.

In addition, the findings indicated that difficulties with English aspects, such as vocabulary,

structures, and spelling were found to be the most demotivating factors for the students.

Motivational intensity refers to the extent of students’ motivation to learn the language

regarding work done for classroom assignments, future plans in language learning, and

language study. The desire to learn the language is related to how strong the desire of a student

to study the language. In addition, students’ attitudes toward learning the language estimate

students’ opinions about the language learning context, students’ evaluations of language

teachers, and language courses.

Some researchers have tried to examine motivational orientation and attitudes of the

learners towards learning English and have come up with different results. Sadighi and
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Maghsudi (2000) examined the effect of the two types of motivation namely as integrative and

instrumental motivation on the English proficiency of the EFL senior students. The results of

their study showed a significant difference between the means of English proficiency scores

for the instrumentally motivated students and the integratively motivated ones.

In another study, Moiinvaziri (2008) observed that Iranian students were both

instrumentally and integratively motivated to learn English. Vaezi (2008) pointed out that

Iranian learners are highly motivated and have positive attitudes towards learning English and

that they are more instrumentally motivated. Besides, Chalak and Kassaian (2010) stated that

Iranian learners learn the language for both ‘instrumental’ and 'integrative' reasons and they

have positive attitudes towards the target language community and its members. Shirbagi

(2010) observed that students showed favorable attitudes towards learning English and that

Iranian students learn a foreign language mainly for its utilitarian value rather than integrative

motivation.

Lepper, Iyengar, and Corpus (2005), examined motivational orientations in classrooms

and their relationship to age differences and academic correlates. They found intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation to be only moderately correlated, suggesting that they may be largely

orthogonal dimensions of motivation in school. Intrinsic motivation showed a significant

linear decrease from 3rd grade through 8th grade and proved positively correlated with

children’s grades and standardized test scores at all grade levels. Extrinsic motivation showed

few differences across grade levels, and it was negatively correlated with academic outcomes.

A few differences in children’s sex or ethnicity were also found.

Liu (2010), found that Taiwanese university freshmen in the advanced English

proficiency level classes had significantly higher motivation than the other groups of students
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with lower proficiency levels over an entire academic year. Motivation also remained

negatively related to foreign language anxiety and served as a significant predictor of learner

anxiety.

Chalak and Kassaian (2010) investigated various socio-psychological orientations of

Iranian undergraduates towards learning English which focused on the motivation orientations

of the students and their attitudes towards the target language and its community. The results

indicated that these Iranian non-native speakers of English learn the language for both

‘instrumental’ and 'integrative' reasons and their attitudes towards the target language

community and its members.

The study of Mahdavi, Zafarghandi, and Jodai (2012) noted that Iranian students were

less motivated and their attitudes toward English and English learning are relatively neutral.

Also, Mahdinejad, Hasanzadeh, Mirzaian, and Ebrahimi (2012) studied motivational

orientations of 306 female students. The results of their study indicated that there was a

statistically significant and positive relationship between the intrinsic motivation and students’

English language learning. However, there was no significant relationship between extrinsic

motivation and students’ English language learning.

Anxiety and Foreign Language Motivation

The relationship between language motivation and language anxiety has been explored

by many studies. Some researchers have found language anxiety is negatively associated with

foreign language motivation (Gardner, Lalonde, Moorcroft, & Evers 1987; Hashimoto, 2002).

However, anxiety as a secondary factor of foreign language self-confidence was related to self-
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confidence gained as a result of perceived communicative competence. Therefore, lack of

anxiety is seen as a predictor of FL self-confidence found among motivated language learners.

Motivation has also been found to be a significant predictor of foreign language anxiety

(Huang, 2005; Liu, 2010). Liu (2010) found that Taiwanese university freshmen in the

advanced English proficiency level classes had significantly higher motivation than the other

groups of students with lower proficiency levels over an entire academic year. Motivation was

also shown to be negatively related to foreign language anxiety and served as a significant

predictor of learner anxiety.

Liu (2011) examined the relationships between foreign language anxiety, learning

motivation, autonomy, and language proficiency among first-year non-English major

undergraduates, who were separated into various levels of English language classes based on

their English proficiency. The findings indicated that more than half of the subjects’ responses

reflected different degrees of learner anxiety. In addition, it was noted that learning motivation,

followed by listening proficiency, reading proficiency, and learner autonomy, had the highest

correlation with foreign language anxiety; all the correlations were highly significant and

negative. The results also indicated that both learner anxiety and autonomy contributed were

significant predictors of language proficiency. On the other hand, motivation failed to

contribute significantly in the regression model when learner autonomy was simultaneously

included as a predictor variable. This result can be due to the high degree of correlation

between learner autonomy and motivation.

In Xiong and Tan’s study (2007), experimenters are asked to test their language

competence. Sixty seven percent of the students have a low evaluation over their language

ability, and were not satisfied with their performance in class; among those, there are
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considerable part who are actually good English learners, which shows that Chinese students

from senior high are not confident with their English learning; they tend to underrate their

ability. After carefully analyzing, three reasons were revealed. Traditional English teaching

take no account of communicative ability; thus, students have little chance to use the target

language. Secondly, influenced by traditional Chinese culture, their personality development

is also limited; in most cases, approval will only be earned when the students showed

humility and respectful. Lastly, negative evaluation is received from parents or teachers or the

students themselves. Teachers correct students’ error at any time; students carelessly laugh at

those of low levels. Students cannot receive encouragement during their growing-up years,

virtually lowering their self-esteem and causing anxiety. This case happens more frequently

especially in the rural English classrooms.

An overview of the previous studies indicates that foreign language anxiety negatively

affects the learners’ performance (Soupon, 2004; Andrade & William, 2009). Similarly, Awan

(2010) found that female students were less anxious in learning English as a foreign language

than male students. However, Ezzi Ayash (2012) found that both male and female students had

a high level of FL anxiety but female students' anxiety was higher than male students. Given

these contradictory results, the present study aims to examine the degree of anxiety among

Iranian EFL learners.

Related Studies

Na (2007) examined 115 Chinese high school students’ English learning anxiety in

EFL classrooms. The students were found to be anxious in English classes, and males

exhibited higher anxiety than females. Such high level of anxiety appeared to have a
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debilitative role in performing the task of language learning. In Iran, Mahmoodzadeh (2012)

conducted a study on the influence of gender on learners' foreign language anxiety to

determine the level of foreign language anxiety in matched-gender and mixed-gender

classrooms. The results of the study showed that mixed-gender classrooms were more likely

to be anxiety-provoking, and it was noticed that significant amount of language anxiety

among Iranian learners was caused by the presence of the opposite gender in the classes. This

suggests that motivation is one of the affective factors which can predict language learners’

success and can determine L2 achievement and attainment.

In Africa, Idri (2012) found that Algerian students learning English as a Foreign

Language experienced foreign language anxiety and mostly felt anxious when they were

asked to speak in English and to be assessed in doing so. Moreover, in order to reduce

language anxiety while performing oral tasks, the students were found to employ some

learning strategies. This kind of anxiety according to Huberty (2009), referred as test anxiety,

which appears to be an apprehension over academic evaluation. Nemati (2012) examined test

anxiety among 323 Iranian undergraduate and post-graduate university male and female

students from different disciplines. No significant relationship was found between age and

anxiety, but both males and females were found to be equally affected by test anxiety.

Anxiety, therefore, comes from different sources for different students learning a foreign

language; moreover, it affects students differently, both physically and mentally.

In order to find the possible relationship between foreign language learning anxiety

and English learning motivation, Liu and Huang (2012) conducted a study on 980 (617 males

and 363 females) first-year non-English majors from various disciplines such as law,

engineering, mechanics, and economics and management at three universities in China. It

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was found that foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly

negatively correlated with each other, and both of these factors were also found to be

significantly correlated with students’ performance in English classes. In terms of studying

the relationship between motivation, anxiety, and language learning, Koizumi (2002)

conducted a research on 129 Japanese junior high school students to investigate the extent to

which motivation, language anxiety, and test anxiety affect L2 proficiency of such students.

The results of the study revealed that motivation had considerable impacts on L2 proficiency;

however, the effects of test anxiety and language anxiety were not considerable, and they

were also found to be weakly correlated.

Kwan (2004) also examined the relationship between the sources of language anxiety

(communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and general anxiety towards

English) and motivational intensity of English learning among 117 secondary school students

in Hong Kong. The results of the study indicated that students had moderate level of anxiety

and motivational intensity, and these two affective factors were found to be moderately and

negatively correlated. In a related study, Carreira (2006) studied the relationship between

English learning motivation and foreign language anxiety among 91 Japanese, English major

university students. The results of the study showed that those students who were studying

English for practical reasons and had intellectual satisfaction while learning English were

more likely to have lower levels of foreign language anxiety.

Lastly, Lucas et al. (2010) conducted a study on 240 freshmen college students in the

Philippines to examine whether students are intrinsically motivated to learn L2

communicative skills, such as writing, reading, speaking, and listening. It was clearly

indicated by the results of the study that the students were intrinsically motivated to learn
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specific language skills, such as speaking and reading, in English, their second language.

They were also found to be intrinsically motivated via accomplishment and knowledge.

Summary of Related Literature and Studies

Language learning motivation is an important factor that affects the performance of

different students. The learning context of students is likewise an important factor that may

determine students’ type of motivations and may affect their overall performance and level of

anxiety.

Studies have demonstrated that language learning motivation is a key factor in

controlling L2 achievement, while language learning anxiety is another important factor

influencing students’ language performance and second/foreign language learning process.

Notably, only Outadi (2011) has done previous work on Iranian EFL learners in the

Philippines, focusing on the sources and manifestations of their English language learning

anxiety. No previous work focusing on the English language learning anxiety and motivation

among Filipino students in the Philippines has been done; no study has also explored the

correlation of language learning anxiety and motivation for this group of learners.

In contrast, Ede (2004) stated that “gender needs to be considered, as it plays a role in

kindergarten performance.” Oshima and Domaleski (2004) reported that “gender was a

significant predictor for reading, but not for mathematics,” when studying students in Grades

Kindergarten through Eight. Clearly, research studies in the area of student gender related to

academic performance have also yielded mixed results. Educators and policy makers should

have a broad scope of literature and research studies available to them when they make

academic recommendations to parents (Grissom, 2004). Further research in the area of

 24

student success and school entrance age can add additional evidence to the body of literature

in the field of education. In addition, the longitudinal nature of this study allowed the

researcher to examined test score data on individual students over a three-year period, a

perspective which is often lacking in the research on student success and age (Grissom, 2004;

Oshima & Domaleski, 2006).

It is crucial to understand several components of the family structure when

determining the likelihood of academic success of students. Social factors that involve race,

ethnicity, English proficiency, family income, parental education, and family are significant

when it comes to educational opportunity and success to it. In addition, incidents of early

childhood academic and behavioral problems, or the level of student achievement are

associated with social background factors. These factors are interrelated that they cannot be

overlooked when attempting to determine the relationship between any of the factors and

education. Research indicates that when elements such as family structure, size, and parents’

educational level are controlled, the variation in academic performance disappears (Young &

Smith, 1997).

METHODOLOGY

This section deals with the theoretical framework, conceptual framework, operational

definition of terms, locale of the study, research design, population and sampling,

development of research instrument, data-gathering procedure, and method of data analysis

that were used in this study.

 25

Theoretical Framework

This study was anchored on the Foreign Language Anxiety Theory as postulated by

Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope in 1986. It provides that language anxiety is composed of and a

combination of the following components: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and

fear of negative evaluation. The first component pertains to the anxiety experienced by the

students when they communicate with the use of the target language to others. Additionally,

the second component refers to the concept of fear in taking the examination, while the third

component concerns the worry of the students that they may be misunderstood. Thus, a

language learner may experience anxiety every time he/she speaks with fellow students, or

when talking to teachers of native speakers of the language. It is also possible that students

feel uneasiness during class recitations, reports, presentations, or dialogues among others.

Furthermore, language learning motivation is one of the key factors affecting the rate

and success of foreign language learning (Lucas et.al., 2010). Intrinsic motivation “refers to

doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable” (Deci & Ryan, 2000),

whereas, extrinsic motivation “refers to doing something because it leads to a separable

outcome.” A motivation is a state in which learners cannot see the relationship between their

behavior and the concerned outcome. A motivation, however, cannot entirely account for the

poor performance of second/foreign language learners because such a behavior can also result

from another important affective factor which is language learning anxiety.

Conceptual Framework

Motivation and anxiety can be referred to as two significant affective factors which

can influence the process of language learning. Motivation can be regarded as an important
 26

factor which controls human behavior and gives it a direction. Language learning motivation

demands the combination of several components which are effort, the desire to achieve the

goal of learning the language, and favorable attitudes towards learning the language.

The study assumed that the learner’s socio-demographic characteristics like age, sex,

monthly income of parents and parents’ educational attainment, as well as the language

learning anxiety, and motivation to learn have bearing on the learner’s English performance

(Figure 1).

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Respondents’ Socio-
Demographic Characteristics

 age
 sex
 monthly income of parents
 parents’ educational
attainment

English Performance of
Grade 6 Learners during
the 1st Quarter of School
Year 2019 - 2020
 27

Language Learning Anxiety

 communication apprehension
 fear of negative evaluation
 test anxiety
 anxiety of English classes

Motivation to Learn

 motivation intensity
 desire to learn the language
target
 attitude towards learning the
target language

Figure 1. Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

Operational Definition of Terms

For clearer and better understanding of the terms used, the following are defined

according to their use in the study.

 28

Academic Performance. Refers to the grade obtained by the learners in English 6

during the first quarter of School Year 2019-2020.

Language learning anxiety. Defined as “the feeling of tension and apprehension

specifically with second language contexts, including speaking, listening, and learning.” In

this study, language learning anxiety was categorized in terms of communication

apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and anxiety of English classes. Also, it

is a fear of learning the second language among Grade 6 learners.

Communication apprehension. Refers to the level of fear, anxiety, or nervousness of

Grade 6 learners triggered by the real or anticipated communication with another person or

people.

Fear of negative evaluation. Pertains to a psychological construct reflecting

apprehension about others’ evaluations, distress over negative evaluation by Grade 6 learners.

Test anxiety. Defined as tension along with worry and fear of failure that occur before

or during test situations among Grade 6 learners.

Anxiety of English classes. Pertains to the lack of self-confidence because of fear

when learning or speaking in English classes.

Motivation. This refers to the drive of the respondents to learn in terms of motivation

intensity to learn, desire to learn the language target, and attitude towards learning the target

language.

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in four (4) public elementary schools in the Division of San

Jose City, Nueva Ecija during the 1 st semester of School Year 2019-2020. The elementary
 29

schools were classified as mega school (San Jose West Central School), large school (Abar 1 st

Elementary School), medium school (Sto. Niño 3 rd Elementary School), and small school

(Tulat Elementary School).

Figure 2. Map Showing the Location of the Study

San Jose City is situated at the northern part of Central Luzon. The city is composed of

38 barangays. Its strategic location made San Jose City the center of business and trade in this

part of Region III, hence, the fast development which includes the creation of San Jose City

Division.

In March 2010, the Interim Division of San Jose City was formally approved with Dr.

Alberto P. Saludez as the Schools Divisions Superintendent. The Division is composed of 444
 30

Elementary teachers and 203 Secondary teachers. The Division is fortunate that the Local

Government Unit under the leadership of Hon. Mario O. Salvador, City Mayor, prioritizes

education in its annual budget allocation, hence the division is enjoying a good financial

support.

At its infancy stage, the division is now receiving teacher item positions and

classrooms to accommodate the significant increase in the number of enrollees. The Division

is composed of 48 elementary schools, 7 secondary schools, and 18 private schools.

Research Design

To determine the relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics of the

respondents, language learning anxiety, and motivation to learn with the English performance

of the respondents, descriptive-correlation design was used.

Descriptive-correlational research design was the most appropriate research design for

this study. It was designed to gather information about present existing conditions. It is

helpful in describing the nature of the situation at the time of the study. It also involved

collection of data in order to test the hypotheses or to answer questions concerning the status

of the study. Correlational design was used to relate two sets of variables in this study.

Population and Sampling

Samples were randomly selected from Grade 6 pupils of selected public elementary

schools in the Division. Respondents in the school were selected by two-step random

sampling using Slovin’s formula. Table 1 shows the distribution of the respondents.
 31

Table 1. Distribution of the Respondents

NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
CLASSIFICATION SCHOOL GRADE 6 STUDENT-
ENROLLEES RESPONDENTS
San Jose West Central
Mega 401 84
School
Large Abar 1st Elementary School 209 44
Sto. Niño 3 Elementary
rd
Medium 120 25
School
Small Tulat Elementary School 28 7
TOTAL 758 160

Development of Research Instrument

The main instrument in this study was a questionnaire- checklist consisting of three

parts (Appendix A).

Part I was the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics such as age, sex,

monthly income of parents and parent’s educational attainment.

Part II of the instrument was the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)

created and developed by Horwitz, 1986 “to assess the specific anxiety experienced by

students in the foreign language classroom.” It is a self-report measure that assesses the degree

of anxiety, as evidenced by negative performance expectancies and social comparisons,

psycho-physiological symptoms, and avoidance behaviors" (Horwitz, 1986). The FLCAS is a

5-point Likert scale. It consists of 33 items, of which 8 items were for communication

apprehension (1,9,14,18,24,27,29,32); 9 items for fear of negative evaluation

(3,7,13,15,20,23,25,31 and 33); 5 items for test anxiety (2,8,10,19,21). As for the remaining 11

items (4, 5,6,11,12,16,17,22,26,28 and 30), they were put in a group which was named anxiety

of English classes. For each item, respondents were required to respond with an answer like
 32

strongly agree (5), agree (4), undecided (3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1). However,

items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14,18,22,28 and 32 were to be scored reversed. It has been shown that this

instrument is highly reliable, since the FLCAS has demonstrated the internal reliability

achieving an alpha coefficient 0.93 and test-retest reliability yielding an r=0.83 (P< 0.001). In

this research, the FLCAS was used in its original form.

Part III of the questionnaire dealt on the Motivation scale established by Chen (2006).

It measures language learners’ motivation around three dimensions: motivation intensity,

desire to learn the target language, and attitudes towards learning the target language. The

scale with 11 items was abridged and some items were adjusted in order to fit specific learning

contexts and different socio-cultural perspectives. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the

motivation scale was 0.91. To prevent respondents from choosing only one side of the rating

scale, five out of the 11 items were negatively worded.

Permission to use the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and

Motivation Scale were secured from the authors (Appendix B).

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher sought an approval from the Office of the Schools Division

Superintendent to conduct the study in the Division of San Jose City (Appendix C). After

which, the researcher forwarded a letter to the school principals of the target schools.

A half-day visit to each school was conducted. The respondents were gathered for a

brief orientation about the study. The questionnaire was administered and retrieved right after

the respondents answered. The researcher oriented the respondents to elicit reliable responses.
 33

For the academic performance of the pupils, the researcher requested a copy of the

respondents’ grade in English 6 for the first quarter period from their advisers.

Methods of Data Analysis

The collected data were analyzed, interpreted, and the implications determined

through the use of descriptive, inferential statistics.

Frequency counts, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were utilized to describe

the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, language learning anxiety, and

motivation to learn.

Inferential Statistics includes Correlation Analysis such as Pearson-Product Moment

Correlation Coefficient and Spearman Ranking were used to determine the relationship of the

socio-demographic characteristics, language learning anxiety, and motivation to learn with the

English performance of Grade 6 Pupils and language learning anxiety and motivation to learn.
 34

CHAPTER III

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This part presents the data gathered for the study on the language anxiety,

motivational level, and academic performance of Grade 6 Pupils in the Division of San Jose

City, Nueva Ecija. It dealt with the findings and answers to the problems posed in the study.

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Responses were obtained from one-hundred sixty (160) Grade 6 pupils in the Division

of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. The respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics

considered were: age, sex, monthly income of parents, and parents’ highest educational

attainment of parents. Data on these variables are presented in Table 2.

Age
 35

The age of the respondents ranged from 10 to 16 years old with a mean age of 11.20

and a standard deviation of 0.77. The result means that the respondents’ age was not widely

distributed.

It can be seen in the table that majority (77.50%) of the respondents were aged 11

years old. However, there were some (15.00%) who were aged 12 years old; others (5.00%)

were aged 10 years old; a few aged 16 years old (1.30%), and aged 13 and 15 years old

(0.60%) respectively.

It also showed that during the conduct of the study, Grade 6 pupils in the Division of

San Jose City, Nueva Ecija were eleven years old.

Table 2. Socio – Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

CHARACTERISTIS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Age
10 8 5.00
11 128 77.50
12 24 15.00
13 1 0.60
15 1 0.60
16 2 1.30
Mean = 11.20
SD = 0.77

Sex
Male 78 48.80
Female 82 51.20

Monthly Income of Parents

1,000.00 – 5000.00 78 48.80
5,001.00 – 10,000.00 56 35.00
10,001.00 – 15,000.00 19 11.90
15.001.00 – 20,000.00 4 2.50
20,001.00 and above 3 1.90
 36

Mean = 9,567.00
SD = 3.47

Mother’s Educational Attainment

Elementary Graduate 35 21.90
High School Graduate 96 60.00
Bachelor’s Degree 26 16.30
Master’s Degree 2 1.30
Ph.D. Degree 1 0.60

Father’s Educational Attainment

Elementary Graduate 47 29.40
High School Graduate 75 46.90
Bachelor’s Degree 32 20.00
Master’s Degree 6 3.80

Sex

More than half (51.20%) of the respondents were females and the remaining 48.80%

were males. The result implies that during the conduct of the study, there were more female

enrollees in Grade 6 level in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Result contradicts the finding of Cabrillas (2018) wherein male pupils dominated in

his study.

Monthly Income of Parents

In terms of monthly income of parents, the result obtained a mean monthly income of

PHP 9,567.00 with a standard deviation of 3.47 which indicates that during the conduct of the

study, monthly income of respondents’ parents was below the mean.

 37

Nearly fifty percent (48.80 %) of the respondents revealed that they had a monthly

income of Php 1,000.00 to 5,000.00; it was followed by those whose monthly income ranged

from Php 5,001.00 to Php 10,000.00 (35.00 %); Php 10,001.00 to Php 15, 000.00 (11.90 %);

15,001.00 to Php 20,000.00 (2.50 %); and only 3 (1.90 %) Php 20,001.00 and above (1.90 %)

respectively.

The result shows that during the conduct of the study, monthly income of respondents’

parents was below the mean. Similarly, Cabrillas (2008) revealed that family income among

Grade Six learners was below the poverty line.

Mothers’ Educational Attainment

With regard to mother’s educational attainment, majority (60.00 %) of their mothers

were high school graduates. However, there were elementary graduates (29.90%), bachelor’s

degree holders (16.30 %), master’s degree holders (1.30%), and Ph.D. degree holders

(0.60%).

The result entails that during the conduct of the study, the mothers of the respondents

were mostly high school graduates. This conforms to the finding of Cabrillas (2008) that

many of his respondents’ mothers were high school graduates. Also, Compalas (2019) had

similar findings on the educational attainment of the mothers.

Fathers’ Educational Attainment

 38

In terms of father’s educational attainment, almost fifty percent (46.90%) of their

fathers were high school graduates. However, there were elementary graduates (29.40%),

bachelor’s degree holders (20.00%), and master’s degree holders (3.80%).

The result implies that during the conduct of the study, fathers of the respondents were

also high school graduates. Also, Cabrillas (2008) identified his respondents’ fathers were

high school graduates. Similarly, Compalas (2019) found the same.

Language Learning Anxiety of the Respondents

The FLCAS questionnaire was considered as the most important questionnaire in the

current study. It was mainly used to reveal the general state of language learning anxiety

among Grade 6 learners in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija during the School Year

2019- 2020.

Table 3 presents presents the data on the over-all language learning anxiety of the

respondents with the over-all mean of 2.563.11, which is described as “agreeundecided.” Test

anxiety and Communication Apprehension both obtained thegot the highest pooled mean of

2.60 described as agree3.24, followed by Communication Apprehension with the pooled

mean of 3.20 followed by , and Anxiety of English Classes with the pooled mean of 2.51

3.while 05, while the Fear of Negative Evaluation got the lowest mean of 2.4095 which is

also . These were described as “disagreeundecided.”

Table 3. Language Learning Anxiety of the Respondents

STATEMENT MEAN DESCRIPTION

Communication Apprehension
1. I never feel sure of myself when I am speaking 2.90 Agree
in the English class.
2. I start to panic when I have to speak without 2.30 Disagree
 39

preparation in the English class.

3. I would not be nervous speaking English with 2.71 Agree
my classmates.
4. I am afraid that my language teacher is ready to 2.75 Agree
correct every mistake I make.
5. I feel very self-conscious about speaking in 2.11 Disagree
English in front of other students.
6. I get nervous and confused when I am speaking 2.50 Agree
in my English class.
7. I get nervous when I understand every word the 2.20 Disagree
English teacher says.
8. I get nervous when I don’t understand every 2.80 Agree
word the English teacher says.
9. I would probably feel comfortable around 2.70 Agree
native speakers of English.
Pooled Mean 2.60 Agree
Fear of Negative Evaluation
1. I shake when I know that I’m going to be called 2.30 Disagree
on in our English class.
2. I keep thinking that the other students are better 2.71 Agree
at languages that I am.
3. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my 2.20 Disagree
English class.
4. I get upset when I don’t understand what the 1.90 Disagree
teacher is correcting.
5. I can feel my heart pounding when I am going 2.60 Agree
to be called on in class.
Table 3 continued…
6. I always feel that the other students speak English 2.61 Agree
better than I do.
7. The English class moves so quickly I worry about 2.42 Disagree
getting left behind.
8. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me 2.66 Agree
when I speak English.
9. I get nervous when the English teacher asks 2.45 Disagree
questions which I haven’t prepared in advance.
Pooled Mean 2.40 Disagree
Test Anxiety
1. I don’t worry about making mistakes in the 2.60 Agree
English class.
2. I am usually at ease during tests in my English class. 2.71 Agree
3. I worry about the consequences of failing my 2.70 Agree
English class.
4. I feel confident when I speak in the English class. 2.80 Agree
 40

5. The more I study for an English test, the more 2.20 Disagree
confused I get.
Pooled Mean 2.60 Agree
Anxiety of English Classes
1. I am afraid when I don’t understand what teacher 2.20 Disagree
Is saying in English class.
2. It wouldn’t bother me at all to take more 2.60 Agree
English classes.
3. During English class, I find myself thinking 2.10 Disagree
about things that have nothing to do with the course.
4. I don’t understand why some people get so 2.74 Agree
upset over language classes.
5. In English class, I can get so nervous and forget 2.30 Disagree
things I know.
6. Even if I am well-prepared for the English class, 2.60 Agree
I feel afraid about it.
7. I often feel like not going to my English class. 2.10 Disagree
8. I don’t feel pressure to prepare very well for the 2.90 Agree
English class.
9. I feel more tense and nervous in my English class than 2.53 Agree
in my other classes.
10. When I’m on my way to English class, I feel very sure 2.55 Agree
and relaxed
Pooled Mean 2.51 Agree
Over-all Mean 2.56
Agree

Table 3 continued…
Legend : 3.25 – 4.00 Strongly Agree
2.50 – 3.24 Agree
1.75– 2.59 Disagree
1.00– 1.74 Strongly Agree

Communication Apprehension

In terms of communication apprehension, the computed pooled mean was 2.603.20,

described as “agreeundecided.” The result means that the respondents respondents have

experienced were undecided whether they have communication apprehension or not. This e

result suggests that they are experiencing discomfort and uneasiness and nervousness
 41

especially were not sure about themselves and sometimes feel nervous in their English class.

More specifically, when speaking in front of their classmates during their English class.

The item, “I never feel sure of myself when I am speaking in the English class” got the

highest mean of 2.903.60, described as “agree.” It was followed by “I get nervous when I

don’t understand every word the English teacher says” with the mean of 2.803.46, described

as “agree.” However, the item, “I feel very self-conscious about speaking in English in front

of other students” got the lowest mean of 2.1166 and it was described as

“disagreeundecided.” This means that the respondents can speak in front of other students

without being so conscious when speaking in English.

There are numerous opinions on the consequences of communication apprehension

and anxiety. There are internal effects, which are “fright, discomfort, being unable to cope,

being inadequate and possibly feeling dumb.” Behavioral responses to communication

apprehension are considered as external effects, such as avoidance, withdrawal, and

disruption. Avoidance has to do with someone who deliberately refuses to communicate with

others. Withdrawal is when someone detaches himself or herself out from communication

situation by not responding to any questions or communicating (Beattie, 1991).

Other consequences of communication apprehension among children are emotional,

educational, and social. Shyness and reticence affect the social skills necessary for children to

make friends. They seem to have a higher need to avoid failure, and they have less

achievement or success motivation than other students do. In the classroom, the teacher may

regard quiet students as "perfect" in that they are not involved in discipline problems.

However, students with communication apprehension or those who avoid responding to the
 42

teacher or participating in classroom discussions are perceived as less capable, which may

negatively affect their marks (McCroskey, 1970).

Various researchers have defined communication apprehension as a feeling of

discomfort, or fear syndrome which is experienced in relation to either real or anticipated

communication with another person or persons. It is also an avoidance or non-participation in

and subsequent withdrawal from communication due to inadequate communication skills

(Powers & Smythe, 2000). Furthermore, communication apprehension can be conceived as a

general unwillingness to communicate based on fear and anxiety or as avoidance due to

inadequate communication skills.

Moreover, communication apprehension may greatly impede students’ good

performance in the classroom and more importantly, their whole academic performance not

only in their English subject but also in other core subjects, specifically Mathematics and

Science of which using the English language is crucial for their learning. In reality, many

language learners find it difficult to express themselves in spoken language in the target

language. They can pass exams easily but they find it difficult to communicate in English.

Fear of Negative Evaluation

In terms of fear of negative evaluation, the computed pooled mean was 2.4095,

described as “disagreeundecided.” The result means that the respondents were not that afraid

of negativeundecided whether they have fear of negative evaluation or feedback coming from

others. or not. Respondents were not sure about themselves if they have fears towards

negative evaluation during their English class.

 43

The item, ““I keep thinking that the other students are better at languages than I am”

got the highest pooled mean of 2.71 described as agree. It was followed by “I always feel that

other students speak English better than I do with the mean of 2.74 which is also described as

agree.

I keep thinking that the other students are better at languages than I am” got the highest mean

of 3.39; described as “undecided.” It was followed by “I can feel my heart pounding when I

am going to be called on in class” with the mean of 3.24, also described as “undecided” while

the item, “I get upset when I don’t understand what the teacher is correcting” got the lowest

mean of of 1.902.37, described as “disagree.”

According to Harmer (2007), assessment that is either largely positive or somewhat

negative are likely received as praise or criticism by the students. In other words, evaluation

can be perceived as either positive or negative. Hence, in the case of negative evaluation,

students are likely to perceive it as criticism. For instance, learners often have to perform in

front of their teachers and peers, and in a language that they cannot present themselves as fully

as they can in their first language. Hence, outcome in that context may lead to negative

evaluation. Idri (2012) claimed that most of the committed mistakes are oral, and for that,

teacher and peers tend to provide an immediate feedback. Reactions such as, “we can have

peers’ laughs, comments, or instructions’ harsh error-correction, humiliation, etc.” will likely

lead to low performance.

Test Anxiety

In terms of test anxiety, the computed pooled mean was 2.603.24, described as

“agreeundecided.” The result implies that the respondents were experiencing undecided
 44

whether they have test anxiety. or not. They tend to be worried of failing and facing its

consequences in their English class.y were not sure about themselves if they have anxiety in

taking tests during their English class.

The item, “I feel confident when I speak in the English class” got the highest mean of

2.803.53, described as “agree.” It was followed by “I worry about the consequences of failing

myam usually at ease during tests in my English class” with the mean of 2.73.41, also

described as “agree.” The item, “the more I study for an English test, the more confused I get”

got a lowest mean of 2.2084, described as “undecided.disagree”.

Although the students are experiencing test anxiety, they are still confident when speaking in

their English class.

According to Young (1999), test validity, time limit, test techniques, test format and

length, testing environment, and clarity of test instructions are important factors that caused

test anxiety among language learners. Negative comments of teachers on test applications, the

fear of negative evaluation and students’ bad experiences on prior tests are other reasons that

provoke anxiety.

Alternatively, Alcala (2002) advised that the use of two or three examiners as one is

too subjective and more than three can inhibit the students’ performance. It can be said that

this kind of application was helpful for both inter-rater reliability of test scores and prevention

of test anxiety of learners as Speilberger (Horwitz & Young, 1991) notes that an individual’s

objectively measured ability to perform the task can determine the effect of anxiety on

performance in a test. Third, teachers should inform the students on the aims of the tests,

content, test techniques, and number of the questions before its administration. As Alcala

(2002) stated, teachers should familiarize students with the exam format and the type of rating
 45

system. Good communication and feedback before and after tests is also beneficial to decrease

test anxiety of learners. On the other hand, teachers should be aware that tests are not the

means of punishment or ways to authority. Thus, they should avoid comments that affect

learners’ motivation and concentration negatively. Students needed clear explanations and

sample answers for the test items designed in different test techniques. Lastly, creating a low-

stress language environment was believed to facilitate acquisition of second language by

allowing students to concentrate on communication rather than being distracted by test

anxiety.

Language teachers should acknowledge students’ fears and find ways to evaluate

students without inducing high levels of anxiety and while still maintaining a positive,

effective climate. Phillips (1991) recommends that “something as simple as an encouraging

smile before the test begins might diminish the ominous atmosphere.” Another way to

decrease test anxiety in testing environment is to allow learners to express their feelings and

comments. Lastly, Alcala (2002) stated that the anxious students “frequently fail to reach

their potential. … their marks do not fully reflect their knowledge of second language.” Thus,

teachers have to find ways such as assignments, group works, projects to confirm and compare

their students’ performance, knowledge, and skills. Consequently, when the results were taken

into account, it is clear that language teachers have a place in the center of test anxiety

provoking issues. Thus, teachers have a key role to decrease the level of test anxiety of their

learners.

Anxiety of English Classes

 46

In terms of anxiety of English classes, the computed pooled mean was 2.513.05,

described as ““agreeundecided.”. The result implies that the respondents were unsure whether

they hadreally experiencing anxiety anxiety in their English classes or not.

The item, “I don’t feel pressure to prepare very well for the English class” got the

highest mean of 2.903.56, described as “agree .” followed by “I don’t understand why some

people get so upset over language classes”. However, the respondents were “undecided” on

items, “I don’t understand why some people get so upset over language classes with the mean

of 3.33 and “It wouldn’t bother me at all to take more English classes” with the mean of 3.19.

On the other hand, the respondents differed on items, “During English class, I find myself

thinking about things that have nothing to do with the course” and “I often feel not going to

my English class.”. Both got the lowest lowest means of 2.1056, and these were described as

“disagree.”

Tang’s study (2005) among high school students, indicated that students indeed had

the feeling of anxiety in their English classrooms, and they experienced more fear of negative

evaluation. This is the reason why students experienced more fear of negative evaluation than

any other kind of anxiety. Moreover, during high school, the stress of the national

examination for college entrance and the serious competition among students also causes

some students to pay more attention to others’ strong points and their own weak points, which

results in the arousal of anxiety. As for the external factors, the reasons should first come

from the large context of English learning in China. Research has indicated that contact with

the people and culture of the target language could reduce anxiety.

However, although China has become more and more open to the world, and many

foreigners have come to China in the past thirty years, most English learners, especially high
 47

school students, seldom have opportunities to communicate with native speakers of English.

Thus, high school students tend to experience more anxiety in English classrooms. Moreover,

most Chinese teachers in middle schools overwhelmingly emphasize reading and writing,

while paying less attention to listening and speaking. The existence of anxiety in English

classrooms can also be ascribed to classroom atmosphere. In most Chinese EFL classrooms,

teachers play the role of controller or dominator. Students usually feel nervous or oppressed.

Consequently, they lack a free, relaxed environment for English learning. Finally, another

factor that cannot be overlooked is the high expectations of Chinese parents for their children.

Such high expectations usually do not encourage students, but often result in more anxiety

(Wang, 2003).

Motivation Level of the Respondents

The Motivation Scale was mainly used to reveal the general state of motivation to

learn English subject among Grade 6 learners in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija

during the School Year 2019 –2020 (Table 4).

The over-all motivation level of the respondents was 3.09, described as “partially

agree.” Motivation intensity got the highest pooled mean of 3.32, followed by desire to learn

the target language with a pooled mean of 3.07, while the attitude towards learning the target

language got the lowest pooled mean of 2. 88. All items were described as “partially agree.”

Table 4. Motivational Level of the Respondents

STATEMENT MEAN DESCRIPTION

 48

Motivation Intensity
1. Besides learning in the class, I study English on 3.86 Mostly Agree
my own.
2. I am not enthusiastic in learning English. 2.66 Partially Agree
3. I grasp every opportunity to acquire English, no 3.44 Mostly Agree
matter in or out of class.
Pooled Mean 3.32 Partially Agree
Desire to Learn the Target Language
1. If there are opportunities, I will take any course 3.39 Partially Agree
related to English.
2. I will not try to figure out the meaning of 2.95 Partially Agree
unknown word and grammar.
3. Compared with other subjects, I dislike English 2.88 Partially Agree
(it was not my choice to be in this class) Not agree
Pooled Mean 3.07 Partially Agree
Attitude Towards Learning the Target Language
1. I won't reflect (think deeply) what I have learnt in 2.98 Partially Agree
English subject.
2. I am not enthusiastic in learning English. 2.74 Partially Agree
3. Learning English makes me happy. 3.64 Mostly Agree
4. Compared with other subjects, I dislike English 2.54 Somewhat Agree
(it was not my choice to be in this class)
5. I dislike English. 2.51 Somewhat Agree
Pooled Mean 2.88 Partially Agree
Over-all Mean 3.09 Partially Agree
Table 4 continued…
Legend : 4.20 – 5.00 Totally Agree
3.40 – 4.19 Mostly Agree
2.60 – 3.39 Partially Agree
1.80 – 2.59 Somewhat Agree
1.00 – 1.79 Not Agree

Motivation Intensity

In terms of motivation intensity, the computed pooled mean was 3.32, described as

“partially agree.”

When it comes to motivation intensity, respondents had no intense motivation to learn

English subject during their class. They only took their opportunity to study English on their

own whether during their class period or not.

 49

The item, “besides learning in the class, I study English on my own” got the highest

mean of 3.86, described as “mostly agree,” while the item, “I am not enthusiastic in learning

English” got the lowest mean of 2.66, described as “partially agree.”

Motivation provides the driving force to sustain the long and demanding learning

process and all the other factors involved presuppose motivation to some extent. According to

Mihaljević Djigunović (2006), it is commonly accepted nowadays that during the foreign

language learning process both cognitive and affective learner qualities are activated. The

cognitive factors involve intelligence, language aptitude, and learning strategies, while the

affective factors involve attitudes, motivation, and anxiety. Motivation is considered to be

perhaps the most important of the variables and it significantly affects the language learning

process.

Furthermore, the learner starts learning with a certain degree of general learning

ability, type and intensity of initial motivation, as well as attitudes towards learning English.

All these factors influence the learner’s learning beliefs. Consequently, under the influence of

the formal learning context the type and intensity of motivation may change.

Zhu (2002) claimed that persistence is crucial for success in learning a foreign

language and further commented that the learner should be courageous and determined in

order to be successful. Zhang (2000) noted that confidence underpins determination and once

confidence is established, active participation in learning a foreign language will occur and

perseverance will be followed by successful achievement.

Desire to Learn the Target Language

 50

In terms of desire to learn the target language, the computed pooled mean was 3.07,

and it was described as “partially agree.” The result means that the respondents did not totally

agree that their desire to learn the target language helped them to improve their performance

in the English subject. This suggests that when it comes to their desire to learn the target

language, respondents did not have a desire to learn English.

The item, “if there are opportunities, I will take any course related to English” got the

highest mean of 3.39, while item, “compared with other subjects, I dislike English” had the

lowest mean of 2.88; both were described as “partially agree.”

Referring to the vital role that motivation plays in language learning, Ebata (2008)

stressed that motivation produces effective second language communicators by planting in

them the seeds of self-confidence, and this would make learners positive about their learning

process. It strengthens their will to acquire the target language and continuously engage

themselves in learning even after they complete their study. Liuoliene and Metiuniene (2006)

also pointed out that motivation is an influential factor in any learner's achievement, and it was

often attributed with the capacity to override other factors, such as language aptitude.

Attitude Towards Learning the Target Language

In terms of attitude towards learning the target language, the computed pooled mean

was 2.88, described as “partially agree.” The result means that the respondents partially agree

that their attitude towards learning the target language helped them to improve their

performance in English subject. The result suggests that somehow, the respondents had a

positive attitude to learn the English subject.

 51

The item “learning English makes me happy” got the highest mean of 3.64, described

as “mostly agree,” and it was followed by “I won’t reflect (think deeply) what I have learnt in

English subject” with the mean of 2.98, described as “partially agree,” while item “I dislike

English” had the lowest mean of 2.51, described as “somewhat agree.”

Learners’ attitude plays a vital role in maximizing learning and teaching output.

Learners’ attitude is defined as a collection of feelings regarding language use and its status in

society. The feelings are good, bad, and neutral. These can nurture or hinder the learning

process effectively.

Results showed some findings that learners who were highly and positively involved

in their English proficiency had positive attitudes and highly motivated towards learning

English. This was supported by the study of Al Mamun (2012) and Kassaian (2010) that

students showed positive attitude towards English language.

Al Mamun (2012) conducted a survey with 79 randomly selected non-major English

undergraduate students from Khulna University, Bangladesh, to gauge their attitude towards

English as Foreign Language (EFL). The research findings indicate that the learners have a

positive attitude towards English language and their motivational orientation were instrumental

in nature.

Chalak and Kassaian (2010) conducted study with 108 English translation major

students at Islamic Azad University, Iran and investigated their motivational orientation and

their attitude towards learning English. The findings showed that these EFL learners tend to

learn English for both instrumental and integrative reasons and their attitude towards the target

language was generally highly positive in nature.

 52

Furthermore, Bobkina and Fernandez (2012) and Tahaineh and Daana (2013) found

most of the students had a positive attitude towards the social values and educational status of

English. Moreover, students’ have positively high attitude towards learning the target

language.

English Performance of the Respondents During the 1st Quarter

English performance is commonly measured through examinations or continuous

assessments and it is usually reflected in forms of percentile ranks of grades. Table 5 shows

the English performance of the respondents that was determined by their first quarter grade.

The respondents’ mean grade during 1st quarter in English 6 was 82.04 with a standard

deviation of 4.11 which indicates that there was a quite wide distribution of grade.

Table 5. English Performance of the Respondents During 1st Quarter

GRADE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

90 and above (Outstanding) 6 3.75
85 – 89 (Very Satisfactory) 40 25.00
80 – 84 (Satisfactory) 66 41.25
75 – 79 (Good) 48 30.00
74 and below (Needs Improvement) 0 0
Table 5 continued…
Mean = 82.04
SD = 4.11

Table 5 shows that 41.25 percent got satisfactory grades in English 6 during 1 st quarter

from 80–84, and only a small number (3.75 %) among the respondents got an outstanding

performance in English. This could be attributed the fact that the period was just the

beginning of the school year, and these learners might not have adjusted yet in their English
 53

class. The result conforms to the finding of Cabrillas (2008) that Grade Six pupils’ grades

mostly ranged from 81–86 during the time of the study.

Relationship between the Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents and

their English Performance

The respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, which included, age, sex,

monthly income of parents, mother’s educational attainment and father’s educational

attainment, and their English performance were tested using the Pearson Product Moment

Coefficient of Correlation and Spearman Rank. The results of the analysis are shown in Table

6.

The respondents’ mothers’ educational attainment was found highly significant to the

respondent’s English performance (r = 0.211), while respondents’ fathers’ educational

attainment was significantly related to their English performance (r = 0.195).

Table 6. Relationship between Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Performance

in English

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ENGLISH PERFORMANCE (r)

Age 0.066
Sex 0.148
Monthly Income of Parents 0.095
Educational Attainment of Mother 0.211**
Educational Attainment of Father 0.195*
**significant at 0.01 level (2 – tailed)
Table 6 continued…
*significant at 0.05 level (2- tailed)

The result denotes that the higher the educational attainment of both parents, the better

the English performance of their children. This is because educated parents are expected have
 54

better English communication skills and knowledge which could be useful when they attempt

to help their children in their academic subjects especially in English.

The level of educational attainment of parents could influence the academic

achievement of their children. According to the European Union Monitoring Report (2013),

those students whose parents have a tertiary level of education perform, on average,

significantly better in tests of science, reading, and mathematical ability than to those whose

parents have only basic schooling. In a family where both the father and mother are educated,

their children are always taken good care of in their academic activities. Such parents know

the importance of getting educational materials for their children is school. They may go

through their children’s exercise books after school, or even employ a private teacher to teach

them after school. By so doing, their academic performance will be improved; whereas in the

case of illiterate family, the need to supervise the children’s exercise books is not there, hence

their children’s low academic performance in school.

Furthermore, Campbell, Hombo, and Manzo (2000) stated that parents with high level

of education serve as models to their children and inspire them to aim higher academic

performance.

On the contrary, Acharya’s study (2017) revealed that parent’s educational attainment

did not influence the academic performance of their children.

A mother’s education has more influence than father, so the mother’s education is

more important. Karshen (2003) says that students whose parents are well educated get higher

positions than those whose parents are not educated. Educated parents help their children in

schoolwork activities. They involve themselves in children’s school activities and school

environment.
 55

As regards the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the socio-

demographic characteristics and the English performance of the respondents, the hypothesis

was rejected in terms of mother’s and father’s educational attainment.

Relationship between Respondents’ Language Learning Anxiety

and English Performance

The respondents’ language learning anxiety and their English performance were tested

using the Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation as shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Relationship between Respondents’ Language Learning Anxiety and

English Performance

LANGUAGE LEARNING ANXIETY ENGLISH PERFORMANCE (r)

Communication Apprehension -.193*
Fear of Negative Evaluation . .086
Test Anxiety -.181*
Anxiety of English Class .198

*significant at 0.05 level (2 – tailed)

Results revealed that language learning anxiety was not significantly related to their

English performance in terms of communication apprehension and test anxiety.. This means

that whether the respondents have languagewho have test learning anxiety in English class,

as well as those who are experiencing communication apprehension are less likely to

perform well in it does not affect their English while those who are not experiencing anxiety

in English class and those who do not have communication apprehension could perform

better. On the other hand, fear of negative evaluation and anxiety of English class were

found to have no significant relationship with English performance of the respondents. lish

performance.
 56

The result conforms withnegated the findings of MacIntyre and Gardner (2001) which

assumed that anxiety causes cognitive interference in performing specific speaking task and

Woodrow’s (2006) which indicated that second language speaking anxiety is a significant

predictor of oral achievement.

Thus, the hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between the

respondents’ language learning anxiety and English performance was acceptedrejected.

Relationship between Motivational Level and Performance in English

Table 8 shows that the relationship between the respondents’ motivation level and

their English performance. Result revealed that motivation level in terms of attitude towards

learning the target language was significantly related to their English performance (r = 0.194).

Table 8. Relationship between Motivational Level and Performance in English

MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL ENGLISH PERFORMANCE (r)

Motivation Intensity 0.041
Desire to Learn the Target Language 0.088
Attitude towards Learning the Target Language 0.194*

*significant at 0.05 level (2 – tailed)

The result means that the higher the respondents’ motivational level in terms of

attitude towards learning the target language, the higher will be their English performance.

The result is similar with the findings of Belaja, Sai, and Lin (2012), that motivation

has a significant effect on the areas of growth, development, learning, and achievement.

Motivation is a process to encourage certain behavior as to achieve specific information.

Motivational concepts are difficult to understand because their effects cannot be known
 57

directly. A teacher has to consider various action motives of one's behavior as to measure

changes, desires, needs, and goals. High motivation will motivate an individual to work harder

to achieve his goals. Indeed, motivation is a very useful stimulant in determining a student's

achievement in his studies.

Motivation can be considered as a drive to avoid failure (Donald, 2001). In this regard,

motivation is considered as an extension of the psychological process that drives a person to

act. In principle, motivation is the force to meet biological needs and demands. Motivation is

also related to interest and stimulation.

According to Belaja, Sai, and Lin (2012), motivation has a significant effect on the

areas of growth, development, learning, and achievement. Motivation is a process to

encourage certain behavior as to achieve specific information. Motivational concepts are

difficult to understand because their effects cannot be known directly. A teacher has to

consider various action motives of one's behavior as to measure changes, desires, needs, and

goals. High motivation will motivate an individual to work harder to achieve his goals.

Indeed, motivation is a very useful stimulant in determining a student's achievement in his

studies.

This is in line with the opinion stated by Woolfolk (1990) that motivation is referred to

as an internal power in humans, which arouses, directs, and controls their interest and

behavior. A student is said to have the motivation to learn if he or she has a high level of

attention and perseverance in solving certain learning tasks. A motivated student will have

great effort and enthusiasm in learning, even outside the time specified by the teacher, as well

as having the need to have extra learning. Motivated students are committed and always have
 58

the needs to find and enrich information from various sources. Furthermore, motivation is a

force that makes people change their attitudes, interests, or activities.

Thus, the hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between the

respondents’ motivation level and English performance was rejected in terms of attitude

towards learning the target language.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section contains the summary, conclusions, and recommendations that were

based on the results and findings of the study.

Summary

This study determined the language anxiety and motivation level and their relationship

to the performance in English among Grade 6 learners of the Division of San Jose City, Nueva

Ecija during School Year 2019–2020.

 59

The study was conducted in the Division of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija during the First

Semester of School Year 2019 – 2020. A total of 160 Grade 6 learners from public elementary

schools served as the respondents of the study.

The independent variables in this study included the respondents’ socio-demographic

characteristics such as monthly income of parents and parents’ educational attainment;

language learning anxiety in terms of communication apprehension, fear of negative

evaluation, test anxiety and anxiety of English classes; and the respondents’ motivation to

learn in terms of motivation intensity, desire to learn the language target, and attitude towards

learning the target language. The dependent variable was the English performance of Grade 6

pupils during the First Quarter of School Year 2019 - 2020.

The main instrument in this study was a questionnaire-checklist. Part I dealt with the

respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, monthly income of parents

and parent’s educational attainment. Part II of the instrument was the Foreign Language

Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Part III of the questionnaire dealt with the Motivation

scale established by Chen (2006). It measures language learners’ motivation around three

dimensions: motivation intensity, desire to learn the target language, and attitudes towards

learning the target language. For the academic performance of the pupils, the researcher

requested a copy of the respondents’ grade in English 6 for the first quarter from their

advisers.

The collected data were analyzed, interpreted, and the implications determined

through the use of descriptive, inferential statistics. Frequency counts, percentages, mean, and

standard deviation were utilized to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of the

respondents, language learning anxiety, and motivation to learn. Pearson-Product Moment

 60

Correlation Coefficient and Spearman Ranking were used to determine the relationship of the

socio-demographic characteristics, language learning anxiety and motivation to learn with the

English performance of Grade 6 Pupils.

The following were the salient findings of the study:

Socio – Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

The age of the respondents ranged from 10 to 16 years old with a mean age of 11.20

and a standard deviation of 0.77. Majority (77.50%) of the respondents were aged 11 years

old. More than half (51.20%) of the respondents were females and the remaining 78 (48.80%)

were males. In terms of monthly income of parents, the result yielded a mean monthly

income of Php 9,567.00 with a standard deviation of 3.47. Nearly fifty percent (48.80%) of

the respondents revealed that they had a monthly income of Php 1,000.00 to 5,000. In terms

of mother’s educational attainment, 60 percent of their mothers were high school graduates

(96 or 60.00%). In terms of father’s educational attainment, almost fifty percent (46.90%) of

their fathers were high school graduates.

Language Learning Anxiety of the Respondents

The over-all language learning anxiety of the respondents got the over-all mean of 2

3.5611, described as “agreeundecided.” Test anxiety and got the highest pooled mean of

3.24 and it was described as “undecided.” It was followed by Communication Apprehension

with both obtained the pooled mean of 2.603.20 which is , and it was also described as “

agreeundecided.” Anxiety of English classes yielded a pooled mean of 2.513.05, described as

whileagree while the Fear of Negative Evaluation got the lowest pooled mean of 2.40.95;

which is both were described as “ disagreeundecided.”

 61

Motivation Level of the Respondents

The over-all motivation level of the respondents was 3.09; it was described as

“partially agree.” Motivation Intensity had the highest pooled mean of 3.32, and it was

described as “partially agree”; followed by “desire to learn the target language” with the

pooled mean of 3.07, and it was also described as “partially agree.” The attitude towards

learning the target language got the lowest pooled mean of 2.88, and it was also described as

“partially agree.”

English Performance of the Respondents During 1st Quarter

The respondents mean grade during 1st quarter in English 6 was 82.04, described as

“satisfactory” with a standard deviation of 4.11. More than forty percent (41.25 %) got a

grade from 80–84 in English 6 during 1 st quarter, followed by those with a grade from 75 to

79 (30.00 %). A small number of respondents got the grade of 90 and above (3.75 %).

Relationship between the Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

and their English Performance

The respondents’ educational attainment of their mother was found highly significant

to the respondent’s English performance (r = 0.211), while respondents’ educational

attainment of their father was significantly related to their English performance (r = 0.195).

Relationship between Respondents’ Language Learning Anxiety

and English Performance
 62

Result revealed that language learning anxiety had no significant relationship with

their English performance.

Relationship between Motivational Level and Performance in English

Result revealed that motivation level in terms of attitude towards learning the target

language was significantly related to their English performance (r = 0.194).

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:

1. Majority of the respondents were 11 years old and female. Nearly half of the respondents

revealed that they had a monthly income of Php 1,000.00 to 5,000.00. Their mothers were

mostly high school graduates, while the highest percentage of fathers were high school

graduate too.

2. The respondents are experiencingThe over-all language learning anxiety anxiety such as

communication apprehension, test anxiety and anxiety of English classes.of the

respondents was described as “undecided.”

3. The over-all motivation level of the respondents was described as “partially agree.”

4. The respondents’ English performance was “satisfactory” during the 1 st quarter of SY

2019-2020.

5. Educational attainment of their mothers was found highly significant to the respondent’s

English performance, while their fathers’ educational attainment was significantly related

to their English performance.

6. Language learning anxiety was not significantly related to their English performance.
 63

7. Motivation level in terms of attitude towards learning the target language was

significantly related to their English performance.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are given:

1. English teachers should acknowledge anxiety feelings as legitimate and attempt to lessen

students’ feelings of inadequacy, confusion, and failure by providing positive experiences

and feedback to counteract anxiety. Likewise, teachers should build student confidence

and self- esteem in their English language ability via encouragement, reassurance,

positive reinforcement, and empathy. In doing this, they can help students level up their

motivation to learn English.

2. Teachers should correct students' errors made in English classrooms as wisely as possible

since unwise correction of teachers makes learners anxious and frightened.

3. To reduce students' classroom anxiety problems, teachers should remind students not be

worried about their mistakes because it is through making errors that one can improve

his/her language proficiency.

4. Parents should openly discuss language learning anxiety with their children and

encourage them to seek help when they need it.

5. Teachers should also remember to avoid assuming that students who have high levels of

achievement are not experiencing anxieties in English classes.

6. The role of language teachers in motivating learners to learn the target language is needed

to help them acquire positive attitudes towards language learning. They must be aware
 64

that their teaching strategies have the potential of both causing and reducing language

anxiety in the learners.

7. Similar or related study may be conducted on this topic with greater number of

respondents to validate results of the present study.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A – Research Instrument

LANGUAGE ANXIETY, MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL, AND ENGLISH

PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 6 PUPILS IN DIVISION

OF SAN JOSE CITY, NUEVA ECIJA

 72

INSTRUCTIONS

Please provide the needed information by giving the data or putting a check ( /) mark
on the appropriate space provided in each item.

PART I. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE

RESPONDENTS
1. Age: ________
2. Sex:
( ) male ( ) female
3. Monthly Income of Parents ___________
4. Parents’ educational attainment:
Mother Father
_________ Elementary Graduate ___________ Elementary Graduate
_________ High School Graduate ___________ High School Graduate
_________ Bachelor’s degree ___________ Bachelor’s degree
_________ Master’s degree ___________ Master’s degree
_________ Ph.D. degree ___________ Ph.D. degree

PART II. LANGUAGE ANXIETY QUESTIONNAIRE

Please check the appropriate box after each statement to indicate the extent of your agreement
or disagreement.

5 - Strongly Agree

4 - Agree

3 - Undecided

2 - Disagree

1 - Strongly Disagree

Statement 5 4 3 2 1

A. Communication Apprehension
 73

1. I never feel sure of myself when I am speaking in the

English class.

2. I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in

the English class.

3. I would not be nervous speaking English with my

classmates.

4. I am afraid that my language teacher is ready to correct

every mistake I make.

5. I feel very self-conscious about speaking in English in front

of other students.

6. I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my

English class.

7. I get nervous when I don’t understand every word the

English teacher says.

8. I get nervous when I don’t understand every word the

English teacher says.

9. I would probably feel comfortable around native speakers of

English.

B. Fear of Negative Evaluation

1. I shake when I know that I’m going to be called on in our

English class.

2. I keep thinking that the other students are better at

languages than I am.

3. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my English class.

 74

4. I get upset when I don’t understand what the teacher is

correcting.

5. I can feel my heart pounding when I am going to be called

on in class.

6. I always feel that the other students speak English better

than I do.

7. The English class moves so quickly I worry about getting

left behind.

8. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I

speak English.

9. I get nervous when the English teacher asks questions which

I haven’t prepared in advance.

C. Test Anxiety

1. I don’t worry about making mistakes in the English class.

2. I am usually at ease during tests in my English class.

3. I worry about the consequences of failing my English class.

4. I feel confident when I speak in the English class.

5. The more I study for an English test, the more confused I

get.

D. Anxiety of English Classes

1. I am afraid when I don’t understand what the teacher is

saying in English class.

2. It wouldn’t bother me at all to take more English classes.

 75

3. During English class, I find myself thinking about things

that have nothing to do with the course.

4. I don’t understand why some people get so upset over

language classes.

5. In English class I can get so nervous and forget things I

know.

6. Even if I am well prepared for the English class, I feel afraid

about it.

7. I often feel like not going to my English class.

8. I don’t feel pressure to prepare very well for the English

class.

9. I feel more tense and nervous in my English class than in

my other classes.

10. When I’m on my way to English class, I feel very sure and
relaxed.

Part III. Motivation Questionnaire

Direction: The following items are helpful to indicate how motivated students are to learn
English language. Put a check (/) to the column that best describes your reaction.

5 - Totally Agree

4 - Mostly

3 - Partially Agree

2 - Somewhat Agree

1 - Not Agree
 76

Statement 5 4 3 2 1

A. Motivation Intensity

1. Besides learning in the class, I study English on my own.

2. I am not enthusiastic in learning English.

3. I grasp every opportunity to acquire English, no matter in or

out of class.

B. Desire to Learn the Target Language

1. If there are opportunities, I will take any course related to

English.

2. I will not try to figure out the meaning of unknown word

and grammar.

3. Compared with other subjects, I dislike English (it was not

my choice to be in this class) Not agree

C. Attitude towards Learning the Target Language

1. I won't reflect (think deeply) what I have learnt in English

subject.

2. I am not enthusiastic in learning English.

3. Learning English makes me happy.

4. Compared with other subjects, I dislike English (it was not

my choice to be in this class)

5. I dislike English.
 77

Part IV. Grade in English 6, First Quarter School Year 2019 – 2020______________

Appendix B – Permission to Use Research Instrument

Inbox x

Albert M. Molina <albert.molina@deped.gov.ph>
Fri 25 Jul, 19:45
(14
 78

hours
ago)

to E. K. Horwitz

Dear Dr. Horwitz,

I am conducting my masters’ thesis entitled: LANGUAGE ANXIETY, MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL, AND

ENGLISH PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 6 PUPILS IN DIVISION OF SAN JOSE CITY,
NUEVA ECIJA.

In this regard, I am seeking your permission so that I can use your instrument the Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).

Rest assured that proper citation and acknowledgement will be given.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

ALBERT M. MOLINA

Subject : RE: Permission to use FLCAS

Date : Mon, Jul 28, 2019 12:45 PM CDT

From : E. K. Horwitz
 79

To : Albert Molina

You have my permission to use the instrument Albert. Good luck with your research.

E. K. Horwitz

Inbox x

Albert M. Molina <albert.molina@deped.gov.ph>
Fri 25 Jul, 19:55
(14
hours
ago)

to Jason A. Chen

Dear Dr. Chen,

I am conducting my masteral thesis entitled: LANGUAGE ANXIETY, MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL, AND

ENGLISH PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 6 PUPILS IN DIVISION OF SAN JOSE CITY,
NUEVA ECIJA.

In this regard, I am seeking your permission so that I can use your instrument the Motivation Scale
Questionnaire.
 80

Rest assured that proper citation and acknowledgement will be given.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

ALBERT M. MOLINA

Subject : RE: Permission to use Motivation Scale Questionnaire

Date : Mon, Jul 28, 2019 10:45 PM CDT

From : Jason A. Chen

To : Albert Molina

You have my permission to use the instrument.

Good luck with your research.

J. A. Chen
 81

Appendix C – Permit to Conduct Study