*5.1.1 Levels of and changes in AOC anxiety, expectancy and value beliefs*

As reported in **Table 2**, the respondents scored 3.94 in phase 1 and 3.56 in phase 2 on AOCAS, below though close to the scale midpoint 4. This finding indicated that around one-third of the respondents were anxious about speaking English for


#### **Table 2.**

*Means, Standard Deviations and Paired Samples t-test Results of AOCAS and EVBI Scales in Both Phases (N = 74).*

academic purposes in both phases of the semester. Meanwhile, the students scored 3.60 in phase 1 and 3.85 in phase 2 on Expectancy, below the scale midpoint 4, suggesting that they generally had low expectancy of themselves as people who were good at communicating in English on academic studies. In addition, the students scored 5.27 to 5.89 in phase 1 and 5.35 to 5.97 in phase 2 on Attainment Value, Intrinsic Value, Utility Value and Cost Value, respectively, above the scale midpoint 4. These findings showed that more than half of the students believed that it was important to be able to communicate in English about their research, that they internally liked to and hoped to learn AOC well, that good oral English communication skills were important, and that they must invest a lot to learn AOC well.

Concurrently, comparison of the scores at two time points showed that the respondents scored lower on AOCAS and Attainment Value but higher on other scales in phase 2. This meant that, by the end of the semester, the students became less anxious about speaking English for academic purposes and held lower attainment value, but had higher expectancy, and greater intrinsic value, utility value and cost value about AOC. This tendency was further supported by the students' selfreported anxiety and motivation levels in weeks 3, 6, 9 and 12 respectively, as shown in **Figures 1** and **2**. Nevertheless, significant difference occurred only in expectancy, indicating that the students had significantly higher expectancy of themselves as people who were able to communicate in English about academic study by the end of the semester, as evidenced by paired samples t-test results reported in **Table 2**.

#### *5.1.2 Correlations between AOC anxiety and expectancy-value beliefs*

**Table 3** presents the coefficients between AOCAS and EVBI scales in both phases. It shows that AOCAS was significantly negatively correlated with expectancy (r = −.542, p ≦ .008) in phase 1, while significantly negatively related to expectancy (r = −.434, p ≦ .008) and intrinsic value (r = −.358, p ≦ .008) but positively to cost value (r = .307, p ≦ .008) in phase 2. This meant that in both phases, a respondent who had higher AOC anxiety held lower expectancy of himself/herself as a person who was able to communicate in English about academic study. In addition, this person tended to place lower intrinsic value and greater cost value on AOC in phase 2.

**Figure 1.** *Self-reported anxiety levels from week 3 to week 12.*

*The Interaction of Expectancy-Value Beliefs and Anxiety in Learning Academic Oral English… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98181*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Self-reported motivation levels from week 3 to week 12.*


*Note: The first number refers to the coefficient in phase 1 and second refers to the coefficient in phase 2; coefficient of determination: small = r* ≤ *0.1; medium = r = 0.3; large = r* ≥ *0.5. \* = p* ≦ *.05. \*\*= p* ≦ *.008.*

#### **Table 3.**

*Correlations between AOCAS and EVBI Scales in Both Phases (N = 74).*

**Table 3** also indicates that expectancy was only significantly negatively correlated with cost value (r = −.376, p ≦ .008) in phase 2, while attainment value, intrinsic value and cost value were significantly positively related to each other in both phases, with coefficients ranging from .452 to .767 (p ≦ .008) in phase 1 and from .231 to .773 (p ≦ .05) in phase 2. Alternatively, in phase 2, a person who had greater expectancy of himself/herself about AOC tended to invest less to learn AOC. By contrast, in both phases, a person who placed higher attainment value on AOC tended to place higher intrinsic value, utility value and cost value on AOC, or vice versa.

#### *5.1.3 Predictive effects of expectancy and value beliefs on AOC anxiety*

To examine the predictive effects of expectancy and value beliefs on AOC anxiety, multiple regression analyses were conducted in both phases, with AOC anxiety being the dependent variable and the EVBI scales being the independent variables. The results are reported in **Table 4**, which shows that the analyses produced only one model in phase 1 with R2 = .278 (p = .000): expectancy (β = −.527, t = −5.26, p = .000), which was a powerful negative predictor for AOC anxiety.


*= p* ≤ *.05. \*\*= p* ≤ *.01.*

#### **Table 4.**

*Multiple Regression Coefficients and Significance of Predictors for AOC Anxiety.*

As seen from **Table 2**, the analyses produced three models in phase 2: model 1 (expectancy) (R2 = .188, p = .000), model 2 (expectancy, intrinsic value) (R2 = .274, p = .005) and model 3 (expectancy, intrinsic value, cost value) (R2 = .343, p = .009), with model 3 being the best one. Model 3 reveals that expectancy was the most powerful predictor for AOC anxiety (β = −.261, t = −2.404, p = .019), followed by intrinsic value (β = −.386, t = −3.727, p = .000) and cost value (β = .298, t = 2.703, p = .009).

When AOC anxiety score at phase 2 was used as the dependent variable and expectancy-value beliefs at phase 1 as independent variables, no model was yielded.

#### **5.2 Interview results**

At the beginning of the semester (phase 1), all the 7 interviewees reported that they took the ASCAC because they were required to take an English course to graduate on time and that they held the following expectations of the course: To improve English, especially speaking and listening English (5/71.42%), to become brave to speak English (2/28.57%), to improve academic oral English (2/28.57%), and to learn English way of thinking (1/14.29%). Except for one interviewee who remarked that he would hardly need to speak English for academic purposes in the future, the other six were fully aware of the importance of learning AOC well to their research and future career. They thus all were willing to make efforts to study the course well and planned to "take notes, listen to and practice the instructor's suggestions, work on assignments seriously, and try to speak English as much as possible" (Luo, phase 1). Two interviewees also planned to memorize as many English words as possible. However, they generally could not invest more time in learning English due to heavy load from work or research projects. Hence, during the first few weeks, when speaking English in groups in class, 3 interviewees reported feeling anxious in that they were not confident due to poor spoken English, limited vocabulary, inability to understand what the instructor said, and/or often forgetting words when speaking English. Three reported not feeling anxious because "… It's ok to make mistakes or switch to Chinese, because it was between us

#### *The Interaction of Expectancy-Value Beliefs and Anxiety in Learning Academic Oral English… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98181*

students" (Wang, phase 1) and "… The purpose was to practice and improve spoken English" (Ya, phase 1). Dou said that he was not anxious when the topics were familiar to him but anxious when the topics were unfamiliar or difficult.

When presenting research results in class, Dou reported not feeling anxious if his research was good but the other six did feel anxious to varying degrees because "… The other students were so good at English" (Luo, phase 1), "I'm afraid of forgetting words" (Pan, phase 1) and "I'm not well-prepared" (Ya, phase 1). When presenting research results in conferences, only Luo remarked that he was not anxious because he was prepared, the other six felt anxious to varying degrees due to the following reasons: a) Listeners were experts; b) they could not understand others well; c) the audience was big, d) the situation was quite formal and they feared making mistakes, e) they feared forgetting words when answering questions, and f) experts asked hard-to-answer questions. As passive listeners in lectures and seminars, all the interviewees would not feel anxious. Yet they became anxious when presenting if they were unable to express their ideas clearly in English, forgot words when answering questions, could not understand questions, and/or were not prepared or saw an expert in the audience.

During the semester, in spite of heavy load from work or research projects, all the interviewees managed to increase their English-learning time and the frequency of speaking English and spend (a lot of) time on course assignments. For example, "To prepare for my assignments, I search for information and listen to English every day. And I listen to each of my own recordings several times and redo it until I feel it satisfactory. In addition, I keep on speaking English out in class. I think all these efforts are good and help improve my spoken English" (Ya, phase 2). As Xuan (phase 2) recalled, "I used to learn English kind of mechanically, like memorizing words and doing practice tests. Now to learn this course well, I changed my way of learning English: I came to watch TED talks, English movies and TV episodes and listen to English speeches. I think this kind of input is better than what I got in the past. I learned more practical and more nativelike use of English". Because of these efforts, they all claimed that their expectations of the course were met and that they gained a lot from the course: a) Logical way of thinking, b) correct pronunciation, c) increased use of English, d) the ability to speak English logically, e) the gut to present research results in the front, f) the ability to understand and respond to questions timely, g) the courage to speak English, h) a more systematic understanding of academic English, and i) new knowledge. As remarked by Dou (phase 2), "… As a Ph.D student, I'll highly probably present my research in international conferences, for which logic is important. Then, through the practice of each assignment and Dr. Liu's feedback, I came to understand more logic and English way of thinking. In this way, I gradually know how to develop my ideas."

As the interviewees became (more) familiar with one another, had increased practice and use of English, and became more logical in developing and presenting ideas, they reported becoming less anxious and more confident as the term progressed. Furthermore, as they got more used to the English way of thinking instead of simply translating from Chinese to English, and became more confident, all the interviewees reported feeling much less (or not) anxious when speaking English in groups in class by the end of the semester. Nevertheless, still three interviewees reported feeling anxious when the topics were not familiar, and one did so when not prepared. When presenting research results in class, three interviewees did not feel anxious because of the following reasons: a) increased exposure to and practice of English (e.g., reading literature in English, speaking English aloud, listening to English speeches and getting involved in discussions in English), b) getting more used to the English way of thinking, c) understanding their own research better, and d) having been trained how to present and answer questions in class. Two

reported feeling anxious, though less anxious compared with how they felt at the beginning of the semester, in that they "still need to know more about research" (Wang, phase 2) and "… It takes time to improve English" (Pan, phase 2). Two reported not feeling anxious if well prepared but anxious if the preparation is insufficient, as "If I am fully prepared, I know more than others do. I can answer their questions. So I don't feel anxious when presenting my research results" (Dou, phase 2). If presenting research results at conferences, Luo (phase 2) reported not feeling anxious because of adequate preparation, "… I fully understand my research and rehearse my presentations many times in advance". Ya did not feel anxious either when prepared, yet became anxious in the 'question and answer session' in that "I may not understand others' questions". The other five interviewees were anxious to varying degrees, because "… My research may not be so good" (Pan, phase 2), "… I may not be able to understand others' questions and thus cannot answer those questions" (Xuan, phase 2), and "… The audience are experts" (Wang, phase 2). Nevertheless, they reported feeling much less anxious compared with the beginning of the semester, thanks to increased confidence in presenting research in English because of more practice, preparation, and the learned English way of thinking.
