Attitudes, motivation and anxiety in learning English as a Foreign Language: A comparative study of Italian high school and university students

Perceived as two important affective variables, anxiety and motivation have been found to be highly correlated to second and foreign language acquisition. The present study investigates the relationship between the level of foreign language anxiety experienced by Italian high school and university students and their motivation in learning English as a foreign language. Motivation is acknowledged as one of the most influential variables that affect the process of language learning, and a number of studies were conducted by researchers in the field. In the same vein, foreign language anxiety (FLA) has long been recognized as a factor that hinders the process of foreign language learning at all levels. Among numerous FLA sources identified in the literature, students’ communicative and interactive ability seems to be of particular interest, especially in the formal language learning context. Exploring language anxiety in the modern English classroom is essential to boost learners’ confidence and develop their speaking skills in the target language. The current study addresses the following research questions: 1) What are the potential sources of foreign language anxiety among high school and university students in learning English? 2) To what extent do different motivational orientations shape and affect students’ performance? 3) Is there a significant relationship between the motivation level of students and their foreign language anxiety? After introducing recent theoretical developments in language learning motivation research, this dissertation will also consider the temporal dimension of students’ motivation to signal possible changes from high school to university. To this end, the instrument used as data collection method is a questionnaire addressing both issues of foreign language motivation and anxiety, which will be administered to a heterogeneous group of non-native English-speaking students in an Italian context.