The Interrelatedness of Affective Factors in EFL Learning: An Examination of Motivational Patterns in Relation to Anxiety in China

This study examines the motivational pattern in relation to the anxiety of Chinese learners of English. Based on a survey consisting of an anxiety questionnaire and a motivation questionnaire, the findings revealed an unbalanced pattern of two types of motivation clusters that resembled the integrative-instrumental duality, with the level of instrumental motivation significantly higher than that of integrative motivation. Although anxiety and motivation overall were not significantly correlated, integrative motivation was found to be a predictor of low anxiety. The school requirement was the only motivation for English learning that was significantly positively correlated with anxiety. This study suggests a context-specific approach to understanding the interrelatedness of affective factors in English learning; it provides implications for policy making in EFL settings like China where learners have limited exposure to the target language instruction is examination oriented and English is mostly emphasized as a tool for attaining instrumental goals.