Foreign Language Anxiety and Indigenous Language Competence as Predictors of Junior Secondary School Two Students’ Achievement in French in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo

Abstract

This study explored Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and its consequential effects on the achievement of French learners. It also examined how Mother Tongue Proficiency (MTP) could affect achievement in a foreign language. Junior Secondary School 2 students from six (6) schools were selected as participants. The instruments used were Foreign Language Anxiety Questionnaire (r =.72), Yoruba Language Proficiency Test (r = .75) and French Language Achievement Test (r = .80). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage scores, mean and standard deviation as well as the inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that foreign language anxiety had a negative relationship with students’ achievement in French language while mother tongue proficiency had a positive relationship with it. The joint contribution of the two independent variables to students’ achievement in French language was significant. Also, each of the variables had relative contributions to students’ achievement in French language with Mother Tongue Proficiency being a variable with a stronger prediction power. It was therefore recommended that the medium of instruction in the primary school shall be the language of immediate environment for the first three years of schooling. Also, French Language teachers should fabricate means of reducing foreign language anxiety among learners.

Keywords: Achievement in French language, Foreign Language anxiety, Indigenous language competence, Predictors