Affective variables in a foreign language immersion programme: a quantitative study

Abstract

Language immersion has gained momentum within the last decades, as many learners around the word have benefitted from this motivating experience. Therefore, the principal aim of the present study was to ascertain whether a week of instruction at a linguistic immersion centre, whose language is English, has a positive influence on the levels of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, FL anxiety and the FL selves (Deci Ryan 2000, Dörnyei 2005, Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope 1991). Our participants were Primary education students (sixth graders; M: 11.5) who had taken part in such programme. They completed a quantitative questionnaire upon arrival (t1) and before leaving (t2). In order to compare their results both at time one and time at two one-factor ANOVA analysis was used. Results indicated that after the language learning inmersion programme experience, motivation increased, whereas anxiety decreased and the presence of the selves in the participants was weakened

Keywords

• affective variables
• linguistic immersion
• primary education