A Comparison of Language Anxiety in English and Mandarin Learning in Hong Kong
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Date
2008-03-??
Authors
鄢秀
Champa Detaramani
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
英語學系
Department of English, NTNU
Department of English, NTNU
Abstract
本研究旨在探討並比較大學英語及國語課上語言焦慮的來源及影響。共401名同時修讀英語及國語傳意技巧課程的大學生參加了本研究。通過量化及質化的分析,研究發現語言焦慮程度與真實及學生自我評估的英文、普通話成績均相關;母語與目標語的距離因素對焦慮程度以及焦慮與語言成績相關程度沒有顯著影響;學習語言的時間長短僅對國語焦慮有影響;焦慮程度與學生心目中兩種語言各自的地位及作用、父母以及語言環境的因素有關。
Hong Kong has a long bilingual tradition. After Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Government announced the language policy of "biliteracy and trilingualism." As a result, the Cantonese speaking students are required to learn to speak Mandarin in addition to English. Reticence and anxiety are reported in language classes. This study investigated and compared the sources and impact of anxiety in university English and Mandarin classes in Hong Kong. The participants were 401 university students who took both English and Mandarin Communication Skills classes. The investigation used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings indicated that the anxiety level was related to both real and perceived English and Mandarin achievement. The factor of language distance between the native language (Cantonese) and the target languages (English and Mandarin) did not have significant influence on anxiety levels or the correlation between anxiety and language learning. The time spent on learning had a significant impact only on Mandarin anxiety. It was also found that students' anxiety level was related to their perception of the status and function of the two languages, to parental influence, and to the language environment.
Hong Kong has a long bilingual tradition. After Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Government announced the language policy of "biliteracy and trilingualism." As a result, the Cantonese speaking students are required to learn to speak Mandarin in addition to English. Reticence and anxiety are reported in language classes. This study investigated and compared the sources and impact of anxiety in university English and Mandarin classes in Hong Kong. The participants were 401 university students who took both English and Mandarin Communication Skills classes. The investigation used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings indicated that the anxiety level was related to both real and perceived English and Mandarin achievement. The factor of language distance between the native language (Cantonese) and the target languages (English and Mandarin) did not have significant influence on anxiety levels or the correlation between anxiety and language learning. The time spent on learning had a significant impact only on Mandarin anxiety. It was also found that students' anxiety level was related to their perception of the status and function of the two languages, to parental influence, and to the language environment.