Is anxiety always harmful? An exploration of the impact of language anxiety on EFL learning motivation, EFL competence and EFL academic performance

Abstract

Anxiety is widely recognized as a debilitating emotional state that brings negative outcomes. However, the concept of facilitating anxiety, which is believed to be beneficial in certain situations, has often been neglected in prior scholarly work. This study emphasizes the distinction between facilitating anxiety (beneficial anxiety) and debilitating anxiety (harmful anxiety), situating this exploration within the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL), and examines their impacts on learning motivation, EFL competence, and EFL academic performance. We collected 476 valid questionnaires from EFL college students and utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques for data analysis. Of the 14 proposed hypotheses, seven were validated. The results revealed surprising insights, including: (1) debilitating anxiety showed a positive influence on both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; (2) neither facilitating anxiety nor debilitating anxiety had a statistically significant impact on EFL academic performance; (3) debilitating anxiety significantly affected EFL competence, but the impact was positive. The findings suggest a new understanding of anxiety’s role in the EFL learning process, challenging conventional views and highlighting the need for further research to fully explore the potential of facilitating anxiety in educational settings.