The Impact of High School Preparatory Classes on English Achievement, Anxiety, and Motivation

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between achievement in language learning, language anxiety, and motivation in high school students who took and did not take preparatory classes. This study used a quantitative method to describe all students’ responses to a list of questions. Ex post facto analysis, a quantitative method design, was used in this study. The study involved 468 students enrolled in the public Anatolian high schools. The data was collected using the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Scale and the Motivation Scale in English Language Learning. The high school students' English achievement levels were calculated using their end-of-year English grades. The data was analyzed using the T-test, Pearson Correlation, and Regression Analysis. According to the results, preparatory classes motivate students to learn a foreign language. Students who participated in preparatory classes were more inspired than those who did not. Students who took preparatory classes outperformed students who did not take preparatory classes in terms of achievement and achieved more outstanding English-language scores. Moreover, it was revealed that students' anxiety affected their English-language achievement negatively, while motivation increased the achievement of learning English.