The Mediating Role of Language Motivational Self System in the Relationship between Epistemological Beliefs and Second Language Writing Anxiety in Student

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Authors
A. Homayouni 1
S. J. ABDOLMANAFI ROKNI 2
1 - Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Bandar Gaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Gaz, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran
10.48311/LRR.15.4.473
Abstract
This research investigated the mediating role of language motivational self system in the relationship between epistemological beliefs and second language writing anxiety in students. The research method was correlation type using structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this research was made up of all the students of the second secondary school, 203 students were randomly selected and answered to Papi's self-motivation system questionnaires (2010), Cheng's second language writing anxiety (2004) and the short form of Schumer's epistemological beliefs questionnaire (1999). The results showed that epistemological beliefs have a direct effect on second language writing anxiety and the motivational self system of language has a direct effect on second language writing anxiety. Also, epistemological beliefs have an indirect effect on second language writing anxiety through the motivational self system of language. The research model was also confirmed and the result showed that the variable measurement models have a good fit and 45% of the variance of language writing anxiety is explained by cognitive variables. Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that there is a direct and indirect causal relationship between the variables of epistemological beliefs, language motivational self system and second language writing anxiety, and the mediating role of language motivational self system in the relationship between epistemological beliefs and second language writing anxiety were confirmed.

 

1. Introduction

Language is often seen as a key to gaining knowledge and empowerment. When learning a language, people can communicate on different levels and it allows them to understand and interpret the abstract concepts, feelings and thoughts of the people. Through learning a foreign language, a larger population is accessed, more knowledge is available, and the sharing of ideas becomes deeper and more diverse (Gollnick & Chin, 2009). Language leaning is a cognitive and social process and we learn it through interaction with others as well as conscious mental effort. This means that learners can play an active role in their learning through the use of learning strategies (Anugkakul, 2011). One of the important factors in learning a second language is anxiety. Anxiety can be an important variable that a language learner experiences while learning a foreign language. Anxiety is an integral part of human experience and nature. Anxiety is a vague feeling of uneasiness with apprehension that occurs in response to internal and external stimuli. Also, it may lead to cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms (Baghiani Moghadam et al., 2015). McIntyre and Gardner (1994) described L2 anxiety as "feelings of tension and apprehension especially in L2 contexts, including speaking, listening, and writing." When learning a foreign language, these anxieties can affect students' performance in academic environments (Farsian et al., 2014). Language writing anxiety is one of the most important variables that plays an important role in second language learning. Second language writing anxiety is defined as a relatively stable tendency of anxiety related to second language writing that includes a variety of dysfunctional thoughts, increasing physiological arousal, and maladaptive behaviors (Cheng, 2004). Studies have shown that students’ writing performance is related to anxiety. In the language anxiety literature, there are two variables of epistemological beliefs and the motivational self-system of the second language playing a decisive role. Learners' beliefs about language learning are also very important (Fujiwara, 2015). In the last three decades, researchers have studied beliefs about knowledge and their impact on learning. These so-called epistemological beliefs include a complex system of beliefs. They not only affect academic performance and information processing, but also they interact with constructs such as achievement motivation (Oschatz, 2015). Students’ epistemological beliefs affect the application of learning strategies and their ability to understand academic texts in English (Allahi, 2018). Another factor affecting language anxiety is the motivational self-system of the second language. The second language motivational self-system model by Dornyei (2005) with three aspects of the self as the language self, the language ideal self, and the language learning experience was developed based on previous models and empirical evidence from psychological studies. Intrinsic motivation and different types of writing anxiety indicate English as a foreign language learners' evaluative judgments from teacher and peer feedback (Tsao et al., 2017). Motivation and self-reported English competences/skills had strong negative and significant correlations with English writing anxiety levels (Akbarov & Aydoghan, 2018). Therefore, this research investigated the relationship between epistemological beliefs and second language writing anxiety, mediated by the second language motivational self-system among students.



2. Method

The present research is an applied one. The data were collected cross-sectionally and analyzed descriptively, and correlational part was based on the method of structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this research consists of secondary school students of which 203 students were randomly selected as the sample. To collect data, Taguchi et al.,'s (2009) motivational self-system questionnaires, Schumer's (1990) epistemological beliefs, and Second Language Writing Anxiety, Cheng (2004) were used. For data analysis, descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of structural regression modeling were done using SPSS 24 and Amos 23 software.



3. Findings

 The results show a significant correlation between the subscales of the language motivational self-system and epistemological beliefs with English writing anxiety. There was a significant negative relationship between the subscales of the motivational self-system of language and English language writing anxiety, and a significant positive relationship was observed between epistemological beliefs and English language writing anxiety. The paths of epistemological beliefs and motivational self-system of language also had a significant direct effect on English writing anxiety. Also, the indirect path of epistemological beliefs on English language writing anxiety was observed through the mediation of language motivational self-system, and in general, two variables had the predictive power (R2 = 0.45) of the English language writing anxiety variable, which was about %45. This endogenous variable can be explained by these variables.



4. Conclusion

The aim of this research was to investigate the structural relationship between epistemological beliefs and second language writing anxiety with the mediation of language motivational self-system among students. The results showed that epistemological beliefs had a direct effect on second language writing anxiety and an indirect effect on second language writing anxiety through the mediation of language motivational self-system. The findings are consistent with the results obtained by Papi (2010), Kyung (2017), Sadeghi (2022), and Zare et al., (2019). Writing, especially for second language learners, is a laborious and demanding activity, and at the same time, it is a skill that they must master in order to perform well at higher levels (Daud et al., 2005). Writing tasks are usually required in any field of study. However, writing is a very difficult skill and second language learners are afraid of doing that (Gupta, 1998). The concept of success in writing is related to self-expression, flow of ideas, external expectations, high self-confidence, and enjoyment of writing in a second language (Basturkmen & Lewis, 2002). L2 writing anxiety can be defined as "the avoidance of writing and situations which potentially require some writing along with the potential to evaluate that writing" (Hassan, 2001). Epistemological beliefs in the field of internal factors increase anxiety by forming inappropriate cognitive dimensions. Participants’ beliefs about these dimensions of knowledge may prevent the emergence of more complex epistemological beliefs in the domain of English language learning. Second language curriculum should focus on developing the use of language learning skills and appropriate cognitive strategies (e.g., critical thinking) to determine the most accurate sources of vocabulary knowledge in specific communicative contexts (Ziegler, 2014).

Dörnyei's (2009) language motivation system has been applied in various settings around the world to understand the motivation for learning languages. Some research studies have suggested that students should develop different forms of self-motivation at different organizational levels. In some language learners, the initial motivation to learn a language does not come from internal or external images and is more from a successful engagement with the actual process of language learning experience (Papi, 2010). Through recognizing and strengthening the variables of the ideal self, the ought to self, and learning experiences, the amount of individual effort in learning can be predicted (AttarSharqi & Akbari, 2018). Intrinsic motivation and different types of writing anxiety show English as foreign language learners' evaluative judgments from teacher and peer feedback (Tsao et al., 2017). Analysis of the causes of second language writing anxiety showed that language problems, insufficient writing practice, test anxiety, lack of knowledge, and low self-confidence in writing performance are the main sources of second language writing anxiety. Eckstein and Ferris (2018) recommend teaching second language writers to edit common patterns of errors and sensitizing students to the value of subtle and purposeful lexical variation in their writing. Teachers should look for more effective ways to reduce the anxiety that students feel when learning and writing English in order to support successful language learning experiences (Choi, 2013).

 

Keywords

Subjects

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Language Related Research
Volume 15, Issue 4 - Serial Number 82
September and October 2024
Pages 473-507