17014129061171000000 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this study is entirely my own and that this work has not been previously submitted and approved for a degree in the Banking Academy of Vietnam or any other institution of higher education. This dissertation is copyright material, from which no quotation may be published without proper acknowledgement. Hanoi, May 2021 Signature Nguyen Van Dung i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the help and support of a number of people. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my respected supervisor, Dr.
Trinh Ngoc Anh. Her perceptive guidance and insightful feedback were most valuable to my dissertation. Her invaluable expertise pushed me to sharpen my thinking and helped me to develop as a researcher. The profound belief that she had in my work was a great source of motivation.
I would also like to acknowledge the assistance and encouragement from Ms. Dinh Thi Kieu Trinh. She took out her precious time to answer my questions and gave me words of support. Many thanks are due to all participants who lent breadth and value to the research findings.
Their participation played a decisive role in this dissertation. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my two dearest friends, Tran Huy Du and Nguyen Hoang Hien Nhi. They never wavered in their support and always believed in my abilities. Their constant encouragement and unrelenting support were much needed and appreciated.
Last but not least, I am grateful to my family. My grandma and my parents were always there by my side. Particularly, I also wish to express my appreciation to my mom, who celebrated every small achievement of mine. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi LIST OF TABLES. vii LIST OF FIGURES.
viii LIST OF APPENDICES. ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. Rationales of the Study. Significance of the Study.
Scope of the Study. Structure of the Study. 3 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW. Anxiety from a Psychological Viewpoint .2 Foreign Language Anxiety.
Definitions of Foreign Language Anxiety. Ways to Identify Foreign Language Anxiety. Causes of Foreign Language Anxiety. Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety.
Strategies to Alleviate Foreign Language Anxiety. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). English as Foreign Language Learning Anxiety. Review of Previous Studies in Non-English Speaking Countries.
Review of Previous Studies in Vietnam. 18 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Methodological Approach – Mixed Methods. Rationale of Choosing Mixed Method.
Data Collection, Instruments, and Procedure. Quantitative Data Analysis. Qualitative Data Analysis. 31 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
The Factors Associated with The Students. Pre-Existing Mental Illnesses. Fear of Making Mistake and Negative Evaluation. Test Anxiety and Fear of Failure.
Fear of Being Unprepared. Beliefs about English Language Learning. The Factors Associated with The Lecturers. Judgmental Attitude and Harsh Manner of Teaching.
Native Speakers for Lecturers. The Factors Associated with The Academy. Content Misalignment between Curriculum and Examination. The Factors Associated with The English Language.
61 iv CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION. Summary of The Findings. Implications for Students. Implications for Lecturers.
Implications for the Banking Academy of Vietnam. Recommendation for Further Studies. 80 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a foreign language FLA: Foreign language anxiety FLCAS: Foreign language classroom anxiety scale vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographic Information about the Participants of the Questionnaire.
Background Information of Eight Interviewees. Classification of Questionnaire Items. Levels of Agreement or Disagreement's Values. Five contributing levels.
English Learning Anxiety Levels of Students With and Without Mental Illnesses. Students’ Communication Apprehension. Students’ Fear of Making Mistakes and Negative Evaluation. Students' Test Anxiety and Fear of Failure.
Students' Fear of Being Unprepared. Students' Beliefs about English Language Learning. Students' Perception towards the Judgmental Attitude and Harsh Manner of Teaching. Students’ Perception towards Native English-speaking Lecturers.
Students' Perception towards the Demanding Curriculum. Students' Perception towards Content Misalignment between Curriculum and Examination. Students' Perception towards English Grammar. Students' Perception towards English Vocabulary.
Students' Perception towards English Pronunciation .56 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Framework of the Study.21 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Questionnaire. 80 Appendix B: Interview Questions. 85 Appendix C: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) of Horwitz et al.
86 Appendix D: Interviews Questions from Kongi (2015). 88 ix ABSTRACT Title: The Factors Contributing to English Learning Anxiety among Senior English- Major Students at Banking Academy of Vietnam Author: Nguyen Van Dung, a fourth-year student of Faculty of Foreign Languages in Banking Academy of Vietnam. Key Words: English learning anxiety, factors, English-major, senior students, Banking Academy Advisor: Dr. Trinh Ngoc Anh, a lecturer of Faculty of Foreign Languages in Banking Academy of Vietnam.
Abstract: Although there has been an extensive number of studies on the complex phenomenon of English learning anxiety in many countries, only a small number of authors in Vietnam have dedicated their studies to this topic. That number shrinks significantly when only papers revolving around the undergraduates are considered. This study aims at exploring the factors contributing to English learning anxiety among the English-major seniors at Banking Academy of Vietnam. To achieve this aim, a mixed-method approach was adopted by implementing a questionnaire and interviews.
103 seniors completed the questionnaire developed from the FLCAS of Horwitz et al. Through purposive sampling, eight students were selected to participate in the semi- structured interviews. The findings revealed that the vast majority of participants experience moderate to high levels of English learning anxiety. The students with pre- existing mental illnesses reported a higher level of English learning anxiety than ones without.
The major sources of English learning anxiety were identified to be English vocabulary, students’ beliefs about English language learning, test anxiety and fear of failure, fear of being unprepared, as well as lecturers’ judgmental attitude and harsh manner of teaching. Based on the results, a number of implications and recommendations for future research were constructed. x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the rationale for undertaking the topic of factors contributing to English learning anxiety, the research aim, the research question, the scope, the significance as well as the structure of the study. Rationales of the Study In the recent years, English has gained its popularity and usage as an international language.
Subsequently, English learners are placed under significant pressure to acquire English proficiency. Nonetheless, they still struggle with learning and using the language competently. This problem has raised interest among many researchers in identifying the factors which undermine the learners’ mastery of English. The research findings indicate that cognitive variables such as language aptitude and learning methods as well as affective ones, namely motivation and anxiety disturb the process of foreign language learning (Wang, 2010).
With a particular regard to language anxiety, a large body of literature (i. Horwitz et al. 1986; Marwan, 2007; Aslan & Thompson, 2018) identifies that it might bring detrimental effects as it can interfere with acquisition, retention, and production of new language” (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991) In Vietnam, English has been taught in general education system since Grade 3 and it has become the most prevalent foreign/ second language. Although there has been a number of attempts to research this issue in Vietnamese educational context such as in secondary and high schools (Thu, 2016; Nguyet, 2017; Hanh, 2018) or in university settings (Huyen, 2010; Nhung, 2013; Thuy & Ha, 2020), there is a dearth of investigations among English majors who are trained and expected to be highly proficient English users.
While it is believed by many that English learning anxiety is restricted to only the learners at beginner level, Tóth’s study (2011) with Hungarian university found that English-major students also suffer considerably from high levels of anxiety. In many cases, the university students, being the adult English learners, have had unpleasant experiences with English learning in the past, which may mentally hinder them from advancing the language as easily as, for instance, children do (Kongi, 2015). Moreover, the 1 students of higher education are often more concerned with public disgrace as opposed to students of basic education, who have much less prejudice against themselves and others (Kostyuk, 2010). Given such, this study is an attempt to investigate the underlying reasons of English learning anxiety among the seniors of English major at the Banking Academy of Vietnam.
Research Aim The study ultimately aims to investigate the factors contributing to English learning anxiety among senior English-major students at Banking Academy of Vietnam. Research Question What factors contribute to English learning anxiety among senior English- major students at Banking Academy of Vietnam? 1. Significance of the Study Investigating English learning anxiety is critical to understand students’ learning experience and achievements. Krashen (1982) stresses on the significance of building a low anxiety learning environment in improving learner’s language competence.
Therefore, this study is of significant value to stakeholders such as institutional bodies, lecturers and students who contribute to creating anxiety-free education settings. In particular, firstly, the results of this study may raise the lecturers’ awareness of presence and the causes of anxiety in their classes. The lecturers might apply the implications in finding ways to respond to their students’ anxiety appropriately and make the classroom environment anxiety-free. Secondly, the study might facilitate students to make self-assess of their English learning anxiety level and give some recommendations on how to ease that unpleasant emotion.
Moreover, the Banking Academy of Vietnam may also benefit from this study as it offers several suggestions for potential improvements in developing, managing, and evaluating the curriculum to help create a positive academic setting for the students. Last but not least, the findings and implications from this study may add some fresh insights to the literature of the Vietnamese setting. Scope of the Study This study mainly focuses on investigating the major factors contributing to the English learning anxiety among English major seniors at Banking Academy of Vietnam. The population is limited to only the students of K20 majoring in English language.
The study was conducted within a period of two and a half months, between 5th March, 2021 and 20th May, 2021. Structure of the Study This study consists of five chapters including this introductory one. This chapter explains the focus of this case study, the rationale for undertaking the topic, the research question, the purpose, the scope, significance and the structure of the study. Chapter II: Literature Review.
This chapter presents an overview of major theories and previous studies relating to English learning anxiety and the theoretical framework that guides the study. Chapter III: Methodology. In this chapter, the methodology including the participants, the research methods, the data collection instruments, and data analysis are described in detail. Chapter IV: Findings and Discussion.
This chapter demonstrates the results from the questionnaire and the interviews as well as discuss some significant findings. Chapter V: Conclusion, Implications and Recommendation. This chapter summarizes the findings, identifies the limitations of the study and offers implications and recommendations for further research. 3 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents a comprehensive account of relevant literature on English learning anxiety, followed by the theoretical framework which guides the present study.
Anxiety from a Psychological Viewpoint Anxiety in general is described as a “subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness and worry” associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system (Horwitz and Young, 1991, p. Anxiety embodies three fundamental interconnected features: physiological (e., blood pressure, muscle tension, sweaty palms, blushing, forgetfulness), behavioural (e., frequent absence, avoidance behaviour, leaving a situation) and cognitive (e., subjective appraisal process, self-doubt, negative expectations).