Volume 29, Issue 1
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.149
ANXIETY IN ORAL COMMUNICATION OF ENGLISH LEARNERS FROM ETHNIC MINORITY AREAS
Abstract
Anxiety is common among learners of English as a foreign language, especially in the process of oral communication. Based on the self-discrepancy theory, this paper explores the influence of the anxiety in oral communication over the English learning behavior of the Li nationality. The author carried out a survey in the living area of Li nationality in Hainan Province, China. Based on the survey data, the author investigated the correlation between the psychological self and anxiety and the learning behavior, and the correlation between anxiety and learning behavior. The results show that oral English learning of the Li nationality is influenced by local dialects; the anxiety in oral English communication mainly stems from the lack of confidence under low self-efficacy; self-discrepancy has a significant influence on the learning behavior and anxiety, while anxiety and learning behavior are involved in a two-way interaction; with the growing value of self-discrepancy, English learners with low self-efficacy tend to show anxiety early. The research results lay the basis for the design of coping strategies with anxiety of Li nationality English learners in oral communication.
Keywords
Oral English, Li Nationality, Anxiety, Self-Discrepancy Theory, Learning Behavior.