A Study On English Listening Anxiety,Listening Self-Efficacy And Listening Proficiency For Junior High School Students

Listening,one of the basic language skills,exerts a great influence on second language acquisition.Listening is closely related with affective factors including anxiety and self-efficacy.Based on Krashen's affective filter hypothesis and Bandura's self-efficacy theory,the present study was an attempt to explore the relations between listening anxiety,listening self-efficacy and English listening proficiency for junior high school students.A total of 153 junior high school students participated in the present study.Data on students'listening anxiety and listening self-efficacy were collected through two specific questionnaires.Data on students' listening proficiency were collected from listening comprehension scores in their final exams.The study showed that:1)Junior high school students had a moderate level of English listening anxiety and their listening self-efficacy was in the mid to upper level;2)The results revealed significant negative correlations between listening anxiety and listening proficiency,and between listening anxiety and listening self-efficacy.Moreover,there was a significant positive correlation between listening self-efficacy and listening proficiency;3)The study indicated that there were significant differences between students with high and low listening proficiency in terms of listening anxiety.There were also significant differences between students with high and low listening proficiency in terms of listening self-efficacy;4)Listening anxiety and listening self-efficacy were predictors of English listening proficiency.Besides,listening self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of English listening proficiency than listening anxiety.It is hoped that these findings will contribute to a better understanding of the relations between listening anxiety,listening self-efficacy and listening proficiency.The study will also provide English teachers with insights to reduce students' listening anxiety and increase their listening self-efficacy,which will be conducive to the improvement of their listening proficiency.