The effects of L2 learners’ motivation and anxiety on English speaking skills
This study examines the effects of Korean EFL learners’ motivation and anxiety on their English speaking skills with a structural equation approach. The participants of the study are 193 college students enrolled in English conversation classes. The questionnaire on learning orientations, attitudes toward the community of native speakers of English, motivational intensity, class satisfaction and anxiety are given to the college students and their English speaking skills are assessed in terms of IATEFL’s criteria: Range, ease of speech, attitude, delivery, and interaction. Reliability and factor analysis are employed to confirm the internal consistency of questionnaire items and the validity of construct, and a structural equation model is run to examine the relation of Korean EFL learners’ affective aspects to their English speaking skills. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) while Korean learners’ attitudes toward native speakers of English and their community do not contribute to their desire to learn English, their learning orientations are found to affect their desire to learn English. (2) class satisfaction and desire to learn English are found to affect learners’ efforts to learn English, while anxiety is found to negatively contribute to leaners’ motivation intensity. (3) both integrative orientation and anxiety have direct effects on English speaking skills, integrative orientation affirmatively but anxiety negatively. Based on the findings, some suggestions are given for effective second language learning and teaching.