The relationship of emotions, motivation and language learning autonomy: Differences in Hungarian secondary schools

Abstract

The investigation of contextual variations in the role of individual difference variables is one of the most important research aims in foreign language pedagogy, especially in teaching environments where there are fluctuations in teaching efficiency. Thus, in our study we aimed 1) to show the ways various emotions, motivational variables, and self-efficacy beliefs relate to language learning autonomy; and 2) to explore the extent to which these influences are context independent, that is, equally important across schools. To achieve these aims, we designed a nation-wide quantitative study in Hungary that included students (N = 1,152) from 11 secondary schools across the country through systematic quota sampling. The scales included in our standardized questionnaire were analysed with multivariate statistical techniques. Our analysis focused on school-level differences, and the main results show that, concerning learner autonomy, the only association that seems to be significant across each school is students' motivation, while the role of the other scales is limited to some of the schools. Based on our results, we suggest implications for teachers and researchers alike.

Investigating contextual variations in the role of individual difference variables is one of the most important research objectives in foreign language pedagogy, especially in teaching settings where there are fluctuations in teaching efficiency. Therefore, in our study we set out to 1) show the ways in which various emotions, motivational variables, and self-efficacy beliefs impact language learning autonomy; and 2) explore the extent to which these influences are context-independent, i.e., equally important in all schools. To meet these objectives, we designed a nationwide quantitative study in Hungary that included students (N = 1,152) from 11 secondary schools across the country using systematic quota sampling. The scales of our standardized questionnaire were analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques. Our analysis focused on differences at the school level and the main results show that, when it comes to student autonomy, the only impact that appears to be significant in all schools is student motivation, while the role of the other scales is limited to some of the schools. Based on our results, we suggest implications for both teachers and researchers.