Self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety of Korean university students
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the level of self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety of university English learners and their differences according to gender, year, English proficiency level, and KSAT level. This study further aimed to determine the correlation between self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety of the learners. The respondents of this study were 255 randomly selected college students enrolled in English classes from a local university. A survey questionnaire consisting of 43 items was administered to the students. The Mean was used to determine the level of students’ self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety, followed by t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s r analysis. The results showed that the students at the current school had a moderate level of self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety. Significant differences were found in the students’ level of self-esteem, motivation, and anxiety when they were grouped according to gender and English proficiency level. The males had higher level of self-esteem and motivation and lower level of anxiety when compared with the females. No significant difference existed when the students were grouped according to year. There was a positive correlation between self-esteem and motivation, with high levels of self-esteem associated with high levels of motivation. On the other hand, there was a strong, negative correlation between self-esteem and anxiety with high levels of self-esteem associated with low levels of anxiety. Furthermore, there…
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There is a generally negative relationship between individuals' motivation and anxiety levels.
“A review of the relevant literature reveals a generally negative relationship between individuals' motivation and anxiety levels (Ahmetovic et al., 2020; Basco and Han, 2016).”
From Incidental vocabulary learning from digital games: the predictive role of game playing time, foreign language motivation, and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as Basco and Han, 2016
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- Authors
- Basco, L. M., & Han, S.-H.
- ORCID
- Han, Sang-Ho
- Venue
- Journal of Language Teaching and Research
- Publisher
- Academy Publication
- Published
- 2016-11-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1069
- ISSN
- 1798-4769 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2547193484
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 4.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Language Teaching and Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Keywords
- self-esteem, student motivation, anxiety, Korean university students, English as a foreign language, gender differences, English proficiency levels, Korean language proficiency
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