Motivation and Anxiety towards Deutsch Learning as a Foreign Language at a German Partner University

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivation and language anxiety and to determine the possible relations between which types of motivation impact the students’ Foreign Language (FOLA) anxiety, the present study examined relationship between motivation for learning Deutsch and FOLA anxiety among high school students. The three domains that usually affect students’ performance (test anxiety, communication apprehension, and fear of negative feedback anxiety) have been investigated. To attain its purpose of acquiring Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and motivation scale were administered to130 participants. The results of the study revealed that there is a negative relation between learner motivations’ integrative and instrumentality to foreign language anxiety that both anxiety and motivation showed significantly predict the Deutsch acquisition of the language learners within a Liceo de Cagayan University context. Although this study did not reveal strong correlations between motivation and FOLA anxiety, it could be concluded that motivation and FOLA anxiety has no impact on language acquisition. It also indicates that students who have practical reasons and intellectual satisfaction tend to have lower levels of FOLA anxiety. To create a low-anxiety classroom environment, it is important for the teacher to repeatedly and clearly express that they are aware of the existence of anxiety in the learners. Despite the well-known facts that motivation and anxiety are significant variables in determining learners’ acquisition of Deutsch as a foreign language, further research is needed to explore possible variables that associates between motivation and FOLA anxiety. Teachers’ use of affective strategies such as humor, friendly relationship, supportive, and relaxed classroom atmosphere that encourage risk-taking are effective in decreasing foreign language anxiety and facilitating learning.

 

Keywords: Motivation, anxiety, foreign language, pedagogy, deutsch, Philippines.