ERIC Number: EJ997724
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 40
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1696-2095
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Available Date: N/A
Measuring Self-Perceptions of Oral Narrative Competencies and Anxiety in the EFL Context
Faber, Gunter
Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, v10 n3 p1343-1382 2012
Introduction: Due to a considerable lack in empirical efforts and appropriate instruments, and theoretically rooted in a cognitive-motivational perspective on academic personality development, the present study analyzes a questionnaire for measuring EFL learners' self-perceptions of oral narrative competencies and perceived anxiety concerning oral narrative classroom situations. Method: In a sample of N = 256 German ninth-graders from 9 inner-city grammar schools this newly developed instrument was administered along with related self-belief and performance measures and, for the purpose of discriminant validation, also with matched measures in the native language German. Results: Principal components analysis led to the formation of two subscales measuring perceived competency and anxiety. Both subscales provided psychometrically sufficient and valid data. Especially, structural equation modeling analyses evidenced the L2 self-perceptions of oral narrative competence and anxiety to be considerably stronger related to English than to German belief and performance variables. The relations between L2 and L1 constructs mainly turned out to draw a domain-specific pattern. Additional analyses of variance could verify significant gender differences in the anxiety scores indicating that female learners tended to report a higher degree of anxiety concerning oral narrative classroom situations. Furthermore, self-perceptions of narrative competencies could be clearly differentiated from the overall English self-concept variable. Discussion: The results could confirm the multidimensional and task-specific feature of academic self-beliefs in the EFL context. Accordingly, both measurement scales might serve as research instruments for further analyses of EFL learners' cognitive-motivational orientations in a specific competence area of oral language use. (Contains 7 tables and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Factor Analysis, Anxiety, English (Second Language), Personality, Oral Language, Personality Development, Structural Equation Models, Gender Differences, German, Native Language, Second Language Learning, Self Concept, Questionnaires, Student Attitudes, Language Skills, Grade 9, Measures (Individuals), Scores, Communicative Competence (Languages), Personal Narratives, Foreign Countries
University of Almeria, Education & Psychology I+D+i. Faculty of Psychology Department of Educational and Developmental Psychology, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 LaCanada de San Urbano, Almeria, Spain. Tel: +34-950-015354; Fax: +34-950-015083; Web site: http://www.investigacion-psicopedagogica.org/revista/new/english/presentacion.php
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Grade 9
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A