Self-assessment of language abilities of students with different levels of anxiety and motivation to learn a foreign language

Abstract

The article, based on a sociological survey conducted in 2023, examines the relationship between the assessment of one's own language abilities and interest in a foreign (English) language the language of Russian schoolchildren and students (SPO, junior courses of universities) with the levels of their anxiety and motivation when mastering the subject. An analysis of foreign and domestic research literature and a detailed analysis of the survey materials revealed that students who are more confident in their knowledge and linguistic potential are less likely to experience anxiety and are motivated due to a positive assessment of the prospects for learning a language (career, travel, prestige) and interest in the culture associated with it. Anxiety is negatively affected by low self-esteem of abilities, low interest in the subject, resulting in unwillingness to learn the language as a whole (in the classroom and as part of homework), misunderstanding of logic and timidity in constructing new phrases, boredom in the classroom, as well as mistakes made during work.