Abstract:

This paper reports a study of Saudi military cadets’ motivation to learn English as well as their L2 anxiety, using Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System as the main theoretical framework. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between the L2 motivation and L2 anxiety of this under-researched context. A sample of 179 Saudi military cadets participated in this survey. Correlation and regression analyses of the data showed that the motivation to learn English of this sample of Saudi students was not different from other L2 learners in other EFL contexts. Furthermore, the study revealed a strong linear relationship between the L2 Motivational Self System and L2 anxiety. While the relationship between L2 anxiety and Ideal L2 Self was negative, the relationship between L2 anxiety and Ought-to L2 Self was positive. Finally, the study found a positive relationship between the participants’ Self-Perceived Competence and their L2 motivation, however, the relationship between their Self-Perceived Competence and L2 anxiety was negative.

Keywords:

Motivation, L2 Motivational Self System, Language Learning Attitudes, Ideal L2 self, Ought-to L2 self, Religious Interest, English anxiety.