Compulsory English Courses in Higher Education: A Source of Angst or Thrill?

Abstract

Positive psychology is a significant determiner of successful learning outcomes, in whose absence learning may be negatively affected. In the case of compulsory English courses, it is suspected that negative psychology may outweigh its positive counterpart since many students indicate reluctance to attend those classes. In that respect, the present study aims to measure the levels of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Foreign Language Anxiety and compare two psychological constructs to reveal which one is more dominant in a compulsory English course. The participants are 166 undergraduate freshman students taking the aforementioned course. The results show that, although the course is compulsory and every student has to take it, Foreign Language Enjoyment outweighs Foreign Language Anxiety. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to current psychological theories in the conclusion section.