The differences in degree, features and sources of foreign language anxiety between

The examination of the responses to the Finnish FLCAS and the analysis of the first two open-ended questions suggests that even though FLA caused similar symptoms in both learner groups, there are some dissimilarities in the degree, the sources and the factors affecting the FLA between English and non-English majors. The most notable differences between the English majors and non-English majors were related to (1) the degree of FLA and (2) anxiety about the consequences of failing. In addition, the results related to the fear of spoken communication differed in some extent between the two groups. This chapter presents the differences and provides conclusions of these findings. First, this chapter presents the most significant differences in the FLCAS responses between the English and the non-English majors. Second, this chapter discusses all of the most relevant findings related to the differences between the two learner groups, including the results derived from the background questionnaire, the Finnish FLCAS, and the open-ended questions. In essence, this chapter draws conclusions of the findings related to the differences between the two learner groups and provide the answers to the third research question.

To examine the differences in the Finnish FLCAS responses between the English and the non-English major participants, I conducted a series of chi-square tests on all 33 items of the FLCAS and compared the 5-point Likert-scale responses of the English major vs the non-English major participants. The analyses showed that the responses between the English and non-English majors differed significantly in the items #1, 10, 17 and 26. Item #1 reflected communication apprehension, whereas items #10, 17, and 26 indicated a general feeling of anxiety. The chi-square test results of these four items are shown in Table 13 below.

Table 13. Finnish FLCAS items with significant differences between English and non-English majors

Item χ² df p Result

1: I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking English in my English classes/lectures.

10: I worry about the consequences

of failing my English courses. 11.61 4 0.02

English classes/lectures. 11.09 4 0.03

Non-English majors were

significantly less keen on attending English classes/lectures than English majors.

26: I feel more tense and nervous in English classes/lectures than in indicates that there were significant differences between the two groups in the Likert-scale responses of these items. To examine these differences, I consulted the numbers and percentages of participants who had disagreed (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree) or agreed (4=agree,

5=strongly agree) with the statement in the said FLCAS item. I did this by calculating the sums of the percentages of responses coded as 1 or 2, and responses coded as 4 or 5 in both of the studied groups.

This analysis showed that in item #1 (I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking English in my English classes/lectures) a majority in both groups disagreed with the statement, which meant that they felt confident or sure of themselves when speaking English in an English class or lecture.

However, 15% of the English majors and 38% of the non-English majors agreed with the statement, which meant that they never felt quite sure or confident when speaking English in an English class or lecture. As can be seen in Table 13, the chi-square test on item #1 showed that this difference was significant, meaning that the studied group of non-English majors were significantly less confident or sure of themselves when speaking English in English classes or lectures than the English majors (χ²=10.63, df=4, p=0.03).

Analysis of item #10 (I worry about the consequences of failing my English courses) showed that 42% of the English majors and 25% of the non-English majors worried about the consequences of failing. Chi-square performed on the responses of item #10 suggested that the English majors were significantly more worried about the consequences of failing their courses than the non-English majors (χ²=11.61, df=4, p=0.02). Furthermore, 5% of the English majors and 19% of the non-English majors agreed with the statement in item #17 (I often feel like not going to my non-English classes/lectures), which indicated that a minority often felt like not going to their English classes or lectures. The chi-square for this item suggested that the non-English majors were significantly less keen on attending their English classes or lectures than the English majors (χ²=11.09, df=4, p=0.03). In addition, 7% of the English majors and 33% of the non-English majors agreed with the

statement in item #26 (I feel more tense and nervous in English classes/lectures than in my other classes/lectures), which indicates that they felt more tense and nervous in their English classes or lectures than in other classes or lectures. The chi-square test performed on the responses for item

#26 revealed that the non-English majors were very significantly more anxious in English classes/lectures than in other classes compared to the English majors (χ²=17.63, df=4, p=<0.01).

Judging on the results it seems that the English language classroom situation and using the TL in class provokes more FLA in the non-English majors than it does in the English majors. A reason for this difference may be the fact that a vast majority of the non-English majors (71%) had only taken one course, or study unit, of English in their university studies, which means that they had much less experience in the English language classroom situations in the university than the English majors. The result of the chi-square test on item #10 (I worry about the consequences of failing my English courses) suggested that the English majors find the consequences of failing their courses more anxiety inducing compared to the non-English majors. This is in line with Toth’s results, as they found the demands, the expectations, and the intensive language learning situation to be the in the core of the fear of inadequate performance of the Hungarian English majors (2010:

96). This is likely the case with the Finnish English majors as well, as so many of them (42%) worried about the consequences of failing their courses. It is also possible that the fact that the English majors worry more about the consequences of failing their English courses than the non-English majors simply because the non-English majors’ studies consist mainly of non-English courses while a majority of the non-English majors take only one English course during their university studies.

Nevertheless, based on this finding it seems that many English majors face pressure related to passing their courses.

The differences in the degree of FLA were one of the most significant differences between the English and the non-English majors. An independent samples t-test comparing the FLCAS scores of the two groups yielded a p-value 0.04 (alpha 0.05), which means that the non-English majors experienced significantly higher levels of FLA than the English majors. This result did not conform with the results of the anchor study, as Toth’s (2010) results suggested that the English majors carried higher levels of FLA than the non-English major comparison group.

FLA related to spoken communication was found to divide the English and the non-English majors to some extent. The examination of the Finnish FLCAS responses coded as 4 or 5 (see Tables 7–

8) and the content analysis of the second open-ended question suggested the English majors find spoken communication in the classroom slightly more anxiety-inducing than the non-English majors. However, the fact that the English majors were more generally anxious with regards to their personalities than the non-English majors undoubtedly affected the English majors’ open-ended question responses. Furthermore, the chi-square analysis of item #1 (I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking English in my English classes/lectures) suggested that the non-English majors were significantly less confident or sure of themselves when speaking non-English in English classes or lectures than the English majors, and that 75% of the English majors felt confident or sure of themselves when speaking English in an English class or lecture. To conclude, while the English majors may find some spoken communication situations slightly more anxiety-inducing than the non-English majors, overall, the English majors experience less FLA related to English language learning than the non-English majors.

According to the chi-square analysis of item #10 (I worry about the consequences of failing my English courses) there was a significant difference between the two groups in their fears or

anxieties related to the consequences of failing. The English majors were significantly more anxious about the consequences of failing their courses than the non-English majors (see Table 13). As mentioned earlier, a simple explanation to this difference is, that the English majors are more worried about the consequences of failing their English classes as their studies comprise practically solely of English classes, while the non-English majors only take one course of English in the Language Center, unless they are minoring in English of course. Hence, it is clear that the English majors are more worried about the consequences of failing, as it could result to the discontinuation of their studies.