Changes in and influence of intrinsic motivation and foreign language anxiety on English speaking of English major freshmen in China

Abstract

For English major students, English speaking ability is of great importance, and their graduation and further career all require excellent English speaking ability. As freshmen, when having English speaking courses, students are easily influenced by anxiety and motivation. Intrinsic motivation and foreign language anxiety are extensively researched in EFL, but not many studies focus on their influence on English speaking of English majors or reveal the dynamic nature of these two affective factors. The current study is a quantitative research which involved a total of all 210 English major freshmen from two ordinary universities, using two questionnaires as research instrument, students’ English speaking scores are analyzed with the results of questionnaires before and after they learn their English speaking courses. There are 4 findings of this research: Firstly, the foreign language anxiety negatively influence students’ English speaking. Secondly, the intrinsic motivation positively influence students’ English speaking. Thirdly, there are negative correlation between foreign language anxiety and intrinsic motivation. Fourthly, foreign language anxiety and intrinsic motivation are dynamic during learning process and can be influenced by the course.