Secondary EFL Learners’ Extracurricular L2 Contact and their Self-Beliefs Concerning Oral Narrative Competencies

Analyzing Relations among Constructs – Clarifying the Role of Language Proficiency and Gender

verfasst von

Günter Faber

Abstract

In the EFL context, the learners’ extracurricular contact with the L2 is considered both an important goal and a substantial means to develop and optimize their foreign language acquisition. From a cognitive-motivational perspective the extent and intensity to communicate in a foreign language outside the EFL classroom will not only depend on the learners’ language skills, but will also be strongly affected by their related selfbeliefs. In particular, their perceptions of their own competencies as well as their apprehension concerning the use of the English language should decisively regulate their actual willingness to communicate in the L2. Besides pertinent listening, pronunciation, vocabulary or grammar skills, in particular, the learners’ oral narrative competencies and their related self-beliefs, respectively, should claim a central role in determining their L2 contact. However, as previous EFL research could incrementally differentiate L2 competence beliefs and anxieties into several specific subcomponents (such as speaking, reading, or writing beliefs) and could clearly demonstrate the relationships of these subcomponents with the foreign language learners’ relevant achievement and proficiency levels - the issue of oral narrative competence beliefs and anxieties appears to be barely analyzed. Moreover, little is known about their contribution to explain interindividually existing differences in EFL learners’ extracurricular L2 contact. Therefore, the present study aims at clarifying these relationships. In a sample of N = 256 German ninth-graders from 9 inner-city grammar schools the relations between their related competence beliefs, anxiety, teacher ratings of their relevant L2 skills, and their extracurricular L2 contact were analyzed. For concurrent validation, measures of their L1 and L2 self-concept were also included. Using structural equation modeling method the results could show the learners’ L2 contact being directly explained by their self-perceptions of oral narrative competencies, which appeared to be directly affected by their anxiety concerning oral narrative situations. The anxiety variable, in turn, could be directly predicted by the teacher rating of learners’ speaking skills. Hence, the L2 speaking skills had no direct impact on the learners’ L2 contact, but were sequentially mediated by their oral narrative self-beliefs and their apprehension or fear of failure concerning oral narrative situations. Furthermore, multiple group comparison could demonstrate these relationships among variables to be invariant across gender. Taken altogether, the present findings stress the need for conceptually and methodologically more complex research designs to intensely unravel the developmental pathways and educational effects of EFL learners’ extracurricular L2 activities.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Psychologie

Typ

Beitrag in Buch/Sammelwerk

Seiten

59-98

Anzahl der Seiten

40

Publikationsdatum

03.2016

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geisteswissenschaftliche Fächer (insg.), Sozialwissenschaften (insg.)