Full text of DOI:10.1111/1467-9922.00194

Language Learning 52:3, September 2002, pp. 537–564
Sex and Age Effects on Willingness
to Communicate, Anxiety, Perceived
Competence, and L2 Motivation
Among Junior High School
French Immersion Students
Peter D. MacIntyre and Susan C. Baker
University College of Cape Breton
Richard Clément
University of Ottawa
Leslie A. Donovan
University College of Cape Breton
The present study involves a cross-sectional investiga-
tion of second-language (L2) communication among stu-
dents in a junior high French late immersion program. The
effects of language, sex, and grade on willingness to com-
municate (WTC), anxiety, and perceived communication
competence,on frequency of communication in French,and
on the attitude and motivation variables are examined
globally and at each grade level.It was found that students’
L2 WTC, perceived competence, and frequency of commu-
nication in French increased from grades 7 to 8 and was
Peter D. MacIntyre, Susan C. Baker, and Leslie A. Donovan, Department of
Psychology; Richard Clément, School of Psychology.
This research was supported by a research grant from the Social Science
and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded jointly to the first and
third authors. All four authors would like to thank the students, teachers,
and staff of Malcolm Munroe Junior High School and the Cape Breton–
Victoria Regional School Board for participating in this study. Correspon-
dence concerning this article may be addressed to Peter MacIntyre, Depart-
ment of Psychology, University College of Cape Breton, Sydney, Nova Scotia,
Canada, B1P 6L2. Internet: peter_macintyre@uccb.ca
537

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maintained between grades 8 and 9, despite a drop in
motivation between grades 7 and 8 and a steady level of
anxiety across the three grades.
Modern language pedagogy places great emphasis on com-
munication, the functional nature of which has been linked to a
variety of individual and contextual characteristics. Individuals
display consistent tendencies in their amount of first-language
(L1) talk (see early work by Borgatta & Bales, 1953; Chapple &
Arensberg, 1940; Goldman-Eisler, 1951), and the presence of these
behavioral patterns suggests an underlying continuum repre-
senting the predisposition toward or away from communicating,
given the choice. This personality-based orientation toward com-
munication (McCroskey & Richmond, 1987) corresponds to will-
ingness to communicate (WTC). As shown in previous research,
L1 WTC is dependent on both prior experiences in communication
situations (McCroskey & Richmond, 1991) and personality char-
acteristics such as anxiety, perceived competence, and a host of
social psychological characteristics sustaining the student’s com-
munication behavior (MacIntyre, Babin, & Clément, 1999). Fur-
thermore, these have been shown to affect WTC in the second
language (L2; MacIntyre & Charos, 1996; MacIntyre & Clément,
1999), thus extending the original L1 framework.
In spite of the rather stable nature of this personality trait,
the variables determining WTC may show differences related to
sex and age, although the nature of these differences is difficult to
predict. Adolescent girls tend to converse more than boys in the
L1 (Smith, 1997), and certain manifestations of anxiety follow
different developmental pathways in adolescent boys and girls
(Abe & Masui, 1981). Given the importance afforded WTC as a key
L2 acquisition concept (MacIntyre, Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels,
1998), the goal of this study was to examine its relation to age and
sex and to establish the concomitant links with other language-
related variables among young (aged 12–14 years) late immersion
students in an L2 acquisition context.

MacIntyre et al.
539
Willingness to Communicate in L1 and L2
The foundations for L1 WTC emerged from Burgoon’s (1976)
work on “unwillingness to communicate,” Mortensen, Arntson,
and Lustig’s (1977) “predisposition toward verbal behavior,” and
McCroskey and Richmond’s (1982) conceptualization of “shyness.”
Richmond and Roach (1992) noted that “willingness to communi-
cate is the one, overwhelming communication personality con-
struct which permeates every facet of an individual’s life and
contributes significantly to the social, educational, and organiza-
tional achievements of the individual” (p. 104).
MacIntyre (1994) found that the two variables most closely
related to L1 trait-level WTC are communication apprehension
and perceived competence.Communication apprehension,defined
as an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either
real or anticipated communication with others and seen as having
a trait-like quality (McCroskey & Richmond, 1987), is considered
to be one of the best predictors of WTC in the L1 (McCroskey &
Richmond, 1987, 1991). Research has consistently found signifi-
cant, high correlations between communication apprehension and
both L1 (McCroskey & McCroskey, 1986; McCroskey & Richmond,
1987) and L2 WTC (Baker & MacIntyre, 2000; MacIntyre &
Charos, 1996). It has been shown that people who experience high
levels of fear or anxiety about communicating tend to avoid it.
Language anxiety has become the preferred term when dis-
cussing communication apprehension in the L2 (Horwitz & Young,
1991). The negative effects of language anxiety can be explained
by proposing that the arousal of anxiety causes an increase in
self-focused attention and distracting, self-deprecating thoughts
(Eysenck, 1979; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994b). This cognitive
disruption and its consequences can occur within an individual
without a single act of communication behavior; simply being
aware of potential future communication with another person can
create distraction and disrupt the language learning process
(MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994a, 1994b). The potential to experience
language anxiety in anticipated communication situations seems

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to affect the quality of L2 communication (Horwitz, 1986) and
lower L1 WTC (MacIntyre et al., 1999).
Anxiety is not the only reason why some people avoid com-
municating.WTC can also be affected by perceived communication
competence. Research in the area of reticence (see Phillips, 1968,
1977, 1984) has suggested a lack of communication skills as the
primary reason why some people are less willing to communicate
than others. Baker and MacIntyre (2000) argue that it is the
person’s perceptions of competence that will affect WTC.“Since the
choice of whether to communicate is a cognitive one, it is likely to
be more influenced by one’s perceptions of competence (of which
one is usually aware) than one’s actual competence (of which one
may be totally unaware)” (McCroskey & Richmond, 1991, p. 27).
Anxiety and self-perceptions of competence with respect to
the L2 have been linked through Clément’s (1980) superordinate
construct of linguistic self-confidence. MacIntyre, Noels, and
Clément (1997) further found that the perception of competence
in the L2 can be biased by language anxiety and that individuals
who are highly anxious about communicating tend to perceive
their communication competence to be lower than it is rated by a
neutral observer. The effect of one’s perceived competence can
override one’s actual competence in communication situations (for
studies in the L1,see McCroskey & Richmond,1990;Phillips,1968,
1977, 1984), especially when it comes to the initiation of commu-
nication (WTC).
The relation between anxiety and perceived competence,
especially as they contribute to WTC, is complex and may vary
over time, across situations, and among languages (MacIntyre et
al., 1998; MacIntyre et al., 1999). MacIntyre and Charos (1996)
found that perceived competence was more strongly related to L2
WTC than was language anxiety among novice adult learners.
Baker and MacIntyre (2000) found that perceived competence and
L2 WTC were strongly correlated among less advanced high school
language learners, but among those of similar age with more L2
experience, WTC was better predicted by language anxiety.
McCroskey and Richmond’s (1991) view that in the L1, WTC is

MacIntyre et al.
541
best predicted by communication apprehension was advanced
based on samples of speaking situations in which communicative
competence is fairlyhigh by definition.Therefore,whenexamining
relations among variables influencing L2 communication behav-
ior, it is important to take into consideration the learner’s experi-
ence and engagement with the target language.
Motivation
In considering the variables facilitating L2 communication,
motivational processes clearly have a role to play (Clément &
Gardner, 2001), though traditionally they have been more closely
tied to L2 learning than to L2 communication per se. According to
Gardner’s (1985) socioeducational model,motivation isan internal
attribute of the individual that can be influenced by external
forces. Most studies of the model have focused on integrative
motivation as its central feature and key individual-difference
variable (see Gardner, 1996; Gardner & Masgoret, 1999). The
integrative motive embodies three major elements: integrative-
ness, attitudes toward the learning situation, and motivation.
Integrativeness refers to an individual’s desire to interact with the
target language group.Attitudes toward the learning situation are
measured by an evaluation of the L2 teacher and the L2 course.
The motivation component is made up of the desire to learn the
L2, motivational intensity (effort), and attitudes toward learning
the L2. According to Gardner (1985), a truly motivated individual
will possess all three of these characteristics; therefore, these
components of motivation can be kept separate or combined into
a single attitude/motivation index (as in Gardner & MacIntyre,
1993).
Research has shown that motivation influences the reported
frequency of L2 use but might operate somewhat independently
from the influence of L2 WTC (MacIntyre & Charos, 1996). The
conceptual scheme underlying situation-specific L2 WTC pro-
posed by MacIntyre et al. (1998) shows that motivation contrib-
utes substantially to setting the conditions in which L2

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communication becomes possible. The effects of motivation on
authentic L2 communication, however, are likely to be channeled
through variables such as perceived competence and language
anxiety as they arise in context. Voluntarily initiating an L2
conversation with a native speaker or a more competent fellow
student can be an informal language acquisition context if learn-
ers are willing to “talk in order to learn” (see Skehan, 1989, p. 48).
However, the avoidance of communication because of immediate
anxiety arousal seems likely to override the more distal facilitat-
ing impact of language learning motivation.Therefore,though one
might expect a correlation between motivation and L2 WTC, the
relation is likely to be somewhat indirect.
Sex and Age
The foregoing discussion tacitly assumes some degree of
uniformity among L2 learners. It is evident, however, that sex and
age might have an impact on L2 communication and other indi-
vidual-difference variables. Gardner (1985) reports several stud-
ies that demonstrate more positive attitudes toward language
learning among girls and argues that attitudinal differences
might be responsible for obtained sex differences in achievement.
Modern languages seem to be perceived as a “traditionally ‘female’
subject” (Clark & Trafford, 1995, p. 315). According to Worrall and
Tsarna (1987), teachers’ self-reported practices suggest a pattern
that would favor girls over boys in the language classroom;Worrall
and Tsarna found that, regardless of teacher sex, English and
French teachers reported having higher expectations of girls than
of boys,giving girls more academic advice than boys,and providing
girls with more career encouragement than boys. Wright (1999)
found that in a sample of Irish adolescents learning French, girls
had more positive attitudes than boys toward learning and speak-
ing French. Further, when sex, school type, perceived in-school
influences on attitudes, and perceived out-of-school influences on
attitudes were entered into a regression analysis, sex emerged as
the strongest predictor of attitudes toward speaking French.

MacIntyre et al.
543
Gardner and Smythe (1975) found that grade 7 students had
highly positive attitudes toward learning French and grade 8, 9,
and 10 students had far less favorable attitudes, but in grade 11,
the students’ initial eagerness had returned.According to Gardner
and Smythe (1975), this pattern suggests that the grade 7 stu-
dents experience a heightened keenness when they first begin
learning French and that as they work to acquire proficiency in
the language through grades 8, 9, and 10, their enthusiasm is
somewhat dormant, until grade 11, when they have potentially
achieved their desired proficiency, thus restoring their positive
attitudes. In addition, similar variations across grade levels were
found for attitudes toward French Canadians and motivational
intensity (Gardner & Smythe, 1975). Clark and Trafford’s (1995)
qualitative data suggest that teachers of modern languages per-
ceive girls as maturing earlier than boys and consequently being
more serious about their studies than boys with respect to school
work. Sex and age differences in L2 attitudes and motivation
suggest that sex and age differences in L2 communication vari-
ables may show interesting patterns. Sex likely interacts with age
to influence L2 communication variables because of differences in
boys’ and girls’ developmental paths during adolescence.
Research Objectives
Given the scant research available on this topic, particularly
as concerns the individual-difference variables described above,
the present study examines WTC, language anxiety, perceived
competence, and motivation among three groups of adolescent L2
learners in a junior high school late immersion program. The
objectives of this study were
1. to test for the effects of sex, age, and language (L1 versus
L2) on WTC, anxiety, and perceived competence.
2. to examine the effects of sex and grade on integrativeness,
attitudes toward the learning situation, and motivation.

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3. to examine the correlations among the communication
variables, frequency of communication in French, and the
attitude and motivation variables at each of the three grade
levels.
Method
Participants
The participants were 268 students from a small junior high
school late French immersion program. For grades 7, 8, and 9 of
the French immersion program, all core subjects, such as science,
mathematics, and social studies, are taught in French, with the
exception of English Language Arts. All three grades are housed
in the same building along with students taking the regular
English-language program. The school is located in a unilingual
English-speaking community, and 98% of students in the sample
were native speakers of English. Whether in the French immer-
sion program or the regular (English) program with French as an
L2 subject, students in this school had studied French as a subject
since grade 4, prior to entering junior high in grade 7. The sample
consisted of 96 males and 188 females, with a median age of
13 years. Students ranged in age from 11 to 16 years at the time
of testing, with 97% of the sample between 12 (grade 7) and 14
(grade 9) years old; age is treated as synonymous with grade level
for the purposes of data analysis.
Materials
The study consisted of a questionnaire that included the
following eight scales.
Willingness to Communicate. McCroskey and Baer’s (1985)
20-item willingness to communicate scale was administered with
instructions that asked students to indicate the chances, ex-
pressed as a percentage (0–100%), of their initiating a conversa-
tion in each of 20 situations. The anchors were “I would NEVER

MacIntyre et al.
545
start speaking in French (English)” and “I would ALWAYS start
speaking French (English).” The scale was administered with
reference to speaking in the L1 (English, alpha = .94) and the L2
(French, alpha = .96).
Perceived Competence. McCroskey, Richmond, and
McCroskey’s (1987) perceived communicative competence scale
was administered. Instructions noted that individuals differ in
their communicative competence and asked students to report
their ability to communicate successfully, expressed as a percent-
age (0–100%), in each of 12 situations. The anchors were “Com-
pletely incompetent (I can’t do it)” and “Completely competent
(I am very good at it).” The scale was administered with reference
to speaking in the L1 (English, alpha = .95) and the L2 (French,
alpha = .93).
Communication Apprehension and Language Anxiety. The
12 items from McCroskey et al.’s (1987) perceived communicative
competence scale were administered with reference to anxiety
about communication. Instructions asked students to estimate
how nervous they would feel, expressed as a percentage of time
(0–100%), communicating in a variety of situations. The scale was
administered with reference to speaking in the L1 (English,
alpha = .90) and the L2 (French, alpha = .89).
Communication Frequency. Twelve items adapted by
MacIntyre and Charos (1996) from McCroskey et al.’s (1987)
perceived communicative competence measure were adminis-
tered. Instructions asked students to indicate how often they had
engaged in various speaking activities, such as talking with an
acquaintance. Responses were given on a 7-point Likert scale with
the anchors “Never” and “Many, many times.” The scale was
administered with reference to speaking French (alpha = .90).
Integrativeness. This 3-item scale from Gardner and
MacIntyre (1993) is an abbreviation of the Gardner (1985) scale
with the same name. It is a measure of integrativeness, or the
degree to which the respondent chooses to learn French in an
attempt to interact and communicate with Francophones. Single

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items assessed integrative orientation, attitude toward French
Canadians, and interest in foreign languages (alpha = .64).
Motivation. This variable, also from Gardner and MacIntyre
(1993),was measured by three items that assess the desire to learn
French, the effort put forth, and attitude toward learning French
(alpha = .75).
Attitude Toward the Learning Situation. This variable
(Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993) was measured by two items tapping
attitude toward the teacher and attitude toward the course
(alpha = .65).
Attitude/Motivation Index. Eleven items measuring inte-
grativeness, motivation, and attitudes toward the learning situ-
ation were supplemented by single items measuring instrumental
orientation, French use anxiety, and French classroom anxiety
were summed to create an attitude/motivation index (AMI;
alpha = .85; Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993). Items were measured
on a 7-point scale.The two anxiety items were recoded so that high
scores represented a lack of anxiety before these items were
combined with the other items. A high score on the AMI indicates
more favorable attitudes and stronger motivation.
Procedure
In accordance with the wishes of the school administration,
the grade 7 students were assembled in the school’s cafeteria to
complete the questionnaire. Students in grades 8 and 9 were
tested in their regular classrooms, and all completed the question-
naire in the class period allotted.
Results
For the analyses to follow, the type I error rate was set at
p < .05 unless otherwise stated. For the analyses of variance, all
post hoc tests were conducted using Tukey’s honestly significant
difference test (Q), which is more conservative than the t-test but
can be interpreted in a similar manner. The correlations among

MacIntyre et al.
547
the variables studied here were computed for the overall sample
and for each grade separately. Each correlation is evaluated for
significance at the .05 level.
Effects of Language, Sex, and Grade on WTC, Anxiety, and
Perceived Competence
A 2 (English, French) × 2 (male, female) × 3 (7, 8, 9) multi-
variate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to test for
effects of language, sex, and grade on WTC, anxiety, and per-
ceived competence. At the multivariate level, significant main
effects of language, Hotelling’s = 0.949, F(3, 257) = 80.70; sex,
Hotelling’s = 0.034, F(3,257) = 2.88;and grade,Hotelling’s = 0.073,
F(6, 257) = 3.08, were observed. These main effects are qualified
by two significant two-way interactions between grade and lan-
guage,Hotelling’s = 0.091, F(6, 257) = 3.84, and between grade and
sex, Hotelling’s = 0.052, F(6, 257) = 2.18.
Univariate Results for WTC. At the univariate level, signifi-
cant main effects of language, sex, and grade on WTC were
observed, as well as two significant two-way interactions, one
between grade and language, the other between grade and sex.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results are summarized in Table 1;
all means are presented in Table 2. The main effects indicate that
WTC is higher in the L1 (M = 778) than in the L2 (M = 589), higher
among girls (M = 728) than among boys (M = 640), and higher in
grades 8 (M = 733) and 9 (M = 710) than in grade 7 (M = 609), but
not significantly different between grades 8 and 9. Post hoc tests
on the Grade × Language interaction (see Figure 1) indicate that
L1 WTC does not show significant differences among the three
grades. L2 WTC is significantly higher in grades 8 and 9 than in
grade 7, and the difference between grade 8 and grade 9 is not
significant. L1 WTC is significantly higher than L2 WTC at all
three grade levels, and as is evident in Figure 1, the difference
between L1 and L2 WTC decreases across the three grades.
For the Grade × Sex interaction,post hoc tests show that girls
in grade 9 (M = 814) are significantly higher in WTC (L1 and L2

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Table 1
Univariate ANOVA Summary Results for the Effects of Language,
Sex, and Grade on Willingness to Communicate, Anxiety, and
Perceived Competence
Apprehension/
anxiety
Perceived
competence
WTC
F
η2
F
η2
F
η2
Language
Sex
Grade
Sex × Language
Grade × Language
Grade × Sex
Grade × Language ×
Sex
92.1* .264
8.40* .032
6.70* .050
2.41 .009
4.95* .037
3.94* .030
0.18 .001
140.7* .354
2.90 .011
0.94 .007
0.00 .000
4.01* .030
4.20* .032
1.60 .012
43.3* .144
2.42 .009
1.65 .013
0.90 .003
5.15* .039
1.10 .008
0.33 .003
Degrees of freedom
(error)
257
257
257
*p < .05.
combined) than boys in grade 9 (M = 605). Grade 8 boys (M = 735)
and grade 8 girls (M = 732) do not differ significantly in overall
WTC, nor do grade 7 boys (M = 579) and grade 7 girls (M = 638)
differ. Boys show no significant changes in WTC over the three
grades, but grade 9 girls (M = 651) are higher in WTC than grade
7 girls (M = 473). Estimates of effect size show that, in this
analysis, language has the largest effect on WTC at the univariate
level.
Univariate Results for Anxiety. The main effect of language
on anxiety is significant at the univariate level, as are the Grade
× Language and Grade × Sex interactions. ANOVA results are
shown in Table 1; the corresponding means are shown in Table 2.
The main effect of language indicates that anxiety is significantly
higher in the L2 (M = 396) than in the L1 (M = 246). Post hoc tests
on the Grade × Language interaction (see Figure 2) show that L1
anxiety is significantly higher in grade 8 than in grade 9 but not

MacIntyre et al.
549
Table 2
Means for Communication and Motivation Variables
Girls
Boys
Overall
Grade 7
WTC French
WTC English
Anxiety (French)
Anxiety (English)
Perceived competence (French)
Perceived competence (English)
Frequency of communication (French)
AMI
Integrativeness
Motivation
482
794
443
255
655
867
26.3
46.1
18.0
18.4
11.7
465
694
400
226
625
808
28.0
44.4
17.5
18.1
11.3
473
744
421
241
640
837
27.1
45.2
17.8
18.2
11.5
Attitudes toward the learning situation
Grade 8
WTC French
WTC English
Anxiety (French)
Anxiety (English)
Perceived competence (French)
Perceived competence (English)
Frequency of communication (French)
AMI
Integrativeness
Motivation
625
840
394
267
753
825
36.1
47.3
18.1
17.8
12.0
664
805
385
307
759
830
36.0
43.6
17.2
16.4
10.5
644
823
390
287
756
828
36.0
45.5
17.7
17.1
11.2
Attitudes toward the learning situation
Grade 9
WTC French
WTC English
Anxiety (French)
Anxiety (English)
Perceived competence (French)
Perceived competence (English)
Frequency of communication (French)
AMI
Integrativeness
Motivation
749
879
284
149
816
938
32.7
45.9
18.1
17.6
10.7
553
657
472
274
729
779
36.2
45.0
17.9
17.5
10.6
651
768
378
211
772
828
34.4
45.5
18.0
17.6
10.6
Attitudes toward the learning situation

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Figure 1. Effect of Grade × Language interaction on WTC.
Figure 2. Effect of Grade × Language interaction on anxiety.
significantly different between grade 7 and grade 8. L2 anxiety
shows no significant differences across the three grade levels. L2
anxiety is significantly higher than L1 anxiety at all three grade
levels; the difference between L1 and L2 anxiety does not show a
consistent pattern across the three grades.

MacIntyre et al.
551
Post hoc tests on the Grade × Sex interaction show that boys
in grade 9 (M = 373) are higher in anxiety (L1 and L2 combined)
than are girls in grade 9 (M = 216). Grade 7 boys and girls do not
differ significantly in anxiety (Ms = 313 and 349, respectively), nor
do grade 8 boys and girls differ (Ms = 346 and 331, respectively).
Boys’ level of anxiety does not change significantly over the three
grades.For girls,anxiety in grade 9 (M = 216) is significantly lower
than in grades 7 (M = 349) and 8 (M = 331) and does not differ
significantly between grades 7 and 8. Estimates of effect size
show that language has the greatest influence on anxiety in this
analysis.
Univariate Results for Perceived Competence. The main ef-
fect of language and the Grade × Language interaction show
significant effects on perceived competence at the univariate level.
ANOVA results are summarized in Table 1. The main effect of
language indicates higher perceived competence in the L1
(M = 841) than in the L2 (M = 723). Post hoc tests on the
Grade × Language interaction (see means in Table 2) show that
perceived competence in the L1 does not differ significantly across
grade levels but that perceived competence in the L2 is signifi-
cantly higher in grade 8 than in grade 7, is significantly higher in
grade 9 than in grade 7, and does not differ significantly between
grades 8 and 9. Perceived L1 competence is significantly higher
than perceived L2 competence at each grade level, and there is a
tendency, although not completely consistent, for the gap between
L1 and L2 perceived competence to decrease across the three
grades (see Figure 3). Estimates of effect size indicate that lan-
guage has the largest effect on perceived competence at the uni-
variate level in this analysis.
Effects of Sex and Grade on Frequency of Communication in French
To test for effects of sex and grade on frequency of communi-
cation in French, a 2 (male, female) × 3 (7, 8, 9) completely
randomized ANOVA was conducted. Means are given in Table 2.
Only the main effect of grade was significant, F(2, 273) = 10.09,

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Figure 3. Effect of Grade × Language interaction on perceived competence.
and estimates of effect size indicate that grade (η2 = 0.069) had
the largest effect on frequency of communication in French; esti-
mates of effect size were below 0.001 and 0.006 for sex and for the
Grade × Sex interaction, respectively. Post hoc analyses show that
self-reported frequency of communication in French is lower in
grade 7 than in grades 8 and 9 and does not differ significantly
between grades 8 and 9.
Effects of Sex and Grade on Attitude and Motivation Variables
A 2 (male, female) × 3 (7, 8, 9) MANOVA was performed in
order to examine the effects of sex and grade on three attitude and
motivation variables extracted from the AMI: integrativeness,
attitudes toward the learning situation, and motivation. Results
of the multivariate tests reveal a significant effect of grade, but
no significant effect of sex, and no sex by grade interaction. At
the univariate level, grade had a significant effect on motivation
and a marginally significant (p < .07) effect on attitudes toward
the learning situation. Results are summarized in Table 3. In exam-
ining the effect of grade on motivation, post hoc analysis of means
reveals a significant decline in motivation between grade 7

MacIntyre et al.
553
Table 3
MANOVA Summary for the Effects of Sex and Grade on Attitudes
and Motivation
F
df
η2
Main effect of grade
Multivariate
Univariate
Integrative
ALS
Motivation
Main effect of sex
Multivariate
Univariate
Integrative
ALS
Motivation
Grade × Sex
Multivariate
Univariate
Integrative
ALS
3.988*
6, 532
.043
0.163
2.636*
4.153*
2, 267
2, 267
2, 267
.001
.019
.030
1.533
3, 265
.017
1.949
4.499*
2.578
1, 267
1, 267
1, 267
.007
.017
.010
0.920
6, 532
.010
0.227
2.012
1.274
2, 267
2, 267
2, 267
.002
.015
.009
Motivation
Note. Integrative = Integrativeness. ALS = Attitudes toward the learning
situation. Motivation = Motivation for learning French.
*p < .05.
(M = 18.2) and grade 8 (M = 17.1); the mean for grade 9 (M = 17.6)
was not significantly different from the means for grades 7 and 8.
Correlations Among the Communication and Motivation Variables
The correlations among language anxiety, perceived compe-
tence, and willingness to communicate in French overall, with
grades 7, 8 and 9 combined, were significant and moderately high
(see Table 4). The AMI significantly correlated with all seven
variables. Generally, the correlations show that those who have
positive attitudes and motivation tend to be more willing to

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Table 4
Correlations Among Communication and Motivation Variables
Grades combined
AMI
1.00
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
WTCE WTCF
FREQ
FREQ
FREQ
AMI
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
–.307** 1.00
–.226** .624** 1.00
.220** –.291** –.309** 1.00
.213** –.221** –.351** .547** 1.00
WTCE .288** –.354** –.424**
WTCF .187** –.268** –.344**
.411**
.200**
.070
.360** 1.00
.474**
.232**
.442** 1.00
FREQ
.293** –.205** –.350**
.408**
.498** 1.00
Grade 7
AMI
1.00
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
WTCE WTCF
AMI
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
–.303** 1.00
–.188 .637** 1.00
.226* –.291** –.176
.007 –.077 –.106
–.341** –.233*
–.176 –.220*
1.00
.312** 1.00
.303**
.073
WTCE .105
WTCF .001
.208** 1.00
.342**
.058
.448** 1.00
FREQ
.179
–.284** –.398** –.032
.353**
.450** 1.00
Grade 8
AMI
1.00
CAE LAF PCE
PCF
WTCE WTCF
AMI
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
–.462** 1.00
–.252* .605** 1.00
.322** –.385** –.496** 1.00
.328** –.287** –.552** .591** 1.00
WTCE .376** –.477** –.628**
WTCF .354** –.338** –.447**
.535**
.348**
.132
.431** 1.00
.562**
.282**
.574** 1.00
.381**
FREQ
.258* –.241** –.315**
.491** 1.00
Grade 9
AMI
1.00
–.091
–.240*
.119
CAE
1.00
.671** 1.00
–.165 –.264*
LAF
PCE
PCF
WTCE WTCF
FREQ
AMI
CAE
LAF
PCE
PCF
1.00
.742** 1.00
.414**
.171
.134
.286* –.272*
–.328**
–.404**
–.252*
WTCE .356** –.254*
WTCF .187 –.262*
FREQ .530** –.099
.384** 1.00
.402**
.244*
.260* 1.00
–.294**
.463**
.433** 1.00
Note. AMI: Attitude/Motivation Index; CAE: Communication apprehension in English;
LAF:Language anxiety in French;PCE:Perceived competence in English;PCF:Perceived
competenceinFrench;WTCE:WillingnesstocommunicateinEnglish;WTCF:Willingness
to communicate in French; FREQ: Frequency of communication in French.
*p < .05. **p < .01.

MacIntyre et al.
555
communicate, have higher perceived competence, communicate
more frequently in the L2, and have lower communication appre-
hension. A complete correlation matrix is provided in Table 4. The
first correlation matrix reported in Table 4 aggregates data from
grades 7, 8, and 9 and obscures some interesting patterns across
grade levels, particularly with respect to attitudes/motivation and
the correlations among L2 communication variables.
Examining the correlations for each grade level individually
yielded some interesting findings. Correlations within each grade
level are presented in the lower portion of Table 4. First, we will
examine the correlations between communication-related vari-
ables and AMI. In grade 7, AMI correlates only with communica-
tion apprehension in the L1 and perceived competence in the L1.
In grade 8, these variables still correlate significantly, but AMI
also correlates with all four L2 communication variables. In
grade 9, AMI does not correlate significantly with communication
apprehension and perceived competence in the L1 but is signifi-
cantly correlated with corresponding variables in the L2. There
appears to be a developmental pattern in the relation between the
attitude/motivation complex and communication-related vari-
ables. Examining only the L2 communication variables, it can be
seen that the strongest correlate of L2 WTC was L2 perceived
competence at all three grade levels. The correlations between L2
WTC and language anxiety,L2 WTC and L2 perceived competence,
and language anxiety and L2 perceived competence were lowest
in grade 7,increased in grade 8,and then declined again in grade 9.
The only nonsignificant correlation with respect to these variables
was found among the grade 7 students, between language anxiety
and perceived competence in French.
Discussion
Overall, the results demonstrate that investigating indi-
vidual differences among younger learners is both possible and
to be encouraged, given the reliability of the scales and the
interesting pattern of results. From a pedagogical perspective, it

556
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Vol. 52, No. 3
is encouraging to note that WTC, perceived competence, and
frequency of communication in the L2 increased from grades 7 to
8. Also encouraging is the tendency for the difference between L1
and L2 WTC to decrease across the three grades (see Figure 1).
MacIntyre et al. (1998) have argued that the fundamental goal of
L2 instruction should be to produce students who are willing to
use the language for authentic communication,and in this respect,
the immersion program studied appears to have produced those
desirable results.
The lack of a significant difference between grade 8 and 9
students in terms of L2 WTC, L2 perceived competence, and
frequency of communication in L2 suggests that the gains made
in these nonlinguistic outcomes earlier in the program are main-
tained. It would be preferable if a further significant increase in
L2 WTC, perceived competence, and communication frequency
were to occur between grades 8 and 9. It might be that anxiety is
preventing such an increase in WTC. A reduction in anxiety might
be necessary to produce continuing gains in WTC, given the
tendency for anxiety to be negatively correlated with WTC in both
the L1 (McCroskey & McCroskey, 1986; McCroskey & Richmond,
1987) and the L2 (Baker & MacIntyre, 2000; MacIntyre & Charos,
1996). Anxiety reduction might conceivably lead to further in-
creases in perceived competence as well, given that those high in
communication anxiety might be prone to underestimate their
communicative competence (MacIntyre et al., 1997). Future re-
search could examine whether attempts at anxiety reduction do
lead to increased L2 WTC and possibly increased perceived com-
petence.
The lower L2 WTC among the grade 7 students may be
explained by examining the correlations between the two vari-
ables that theoretically underlie it, anxiety and perceived compe-
tence (MacIntyre et al., 1998). The strongest correlate of L2 WTC
in all three grade levels was perceived competence in the L2. The
grade 7 students, who have less experience with the L2 than the
grade 8 and 9 students, also feel less competent to communicate,
as is indicated by the significantly lower L2 perceived competence

MacIntyre et al.
557
among the grade 7 students. As a consequence, the grade 7 stu-
dents also report being less willing to initiate communication in
French.
The only nonsignificant correlation among L2 WTC,language
anxiety, and L2 perceived competence at all three grade levels was
between language anxiety and perceived competence for grade 7
students. Their relatively lower perceived competence does not
appear to be related to individual differences in anxiety. It has
been observed among university students that students high in
language anxiety tend to underestimate their competence
(MacIntyre et al.,1997);among the grade 7 students in the present
study, it might be that language anxiety has not yet developed this
association with lower perceived competence because of lack of
experience. The significant negative correlations between lan-
guage anxiety and perceived competence among grade 8 and 9
students are consistent with the notion that the negative relation-
ship between anxiety and perceived competence is a function of
repeated experience (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989).
The observed pattern of sex differences in WTC and anxiety,
although not specific to the L2,isnonetheless interesting.Whereas
boys’ overall WTC and anxiety levels remain constant across the
three grade levels, girls show an increase in WTC and a decrease
in anxiety from grade 8 to grade 9. A partial explanation of these
results can be found in developmental psychology. Increased self-
consciousness is associated with the onset of puberty (see
Sigelman, 1999), which is, on average, earlier for girls than for
boys. For girls, puberty begins approximately between the ages of
12 and 13 years (grades 7–8), whereas for boys the average onset
of puberty corresponds to grade 9, between 13.5 and 14 years
(Jensen, 1985; McCandless, 1970). Grade 9 girls might be past the
most anxiety-provoking phase of puberty, perhaps making them
less anxious and more willing to communicate. Speculations relat-
ing maturational patterns to individual differences in communi-
cation require confirmation by future research and would be better
addressed by a longitudinal research design. If confirmed, these

558
Language Learning
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results present an interesting challenge for teachers who try to
encourage communication among students at this age.
Further contributing to the observed sex differences may be
the cumulative effects of differential treatment by teachers.
Worrall and Tsarna (1987), who surveyed English and French
teachers, found a pattern suggesting a general favoring of girls in
the language classroom. This tendency for females to find favor in
the classroom may be reflected in the present study in grade 9
girls’ lower anxiety and higher WTC. These findings should not
necessarily be taken to indicate that males are at a disadvantage
compared to females when it comes to developing L2 proficiency.
Although nonsignificant differences must be interpreted cau-
tiously, the nearly equal mean scores of males and females for the
frequency of French use in the present sample suggest that both
males and females inthe sampleare practicing L2 communication.
It is possible that boys and girls in this sample show no difference
in communication frequency because they are communicating in
different settings; Baker and MacIntyre (2000) found that boys
prefer L2 communication outside of class, whereas girls prefer
in-class communication. It should be noted that the effect sizes for
sex and for interactions involving sex as an independent variable
are small, observed results that are consistent with Canary and
Hause’s (1993) finding that sex differences in communication
variables tend to be small.
It might be seen as unfortunate that L2 motivation decreased
between grades 7 and 8, but such variations among grade levels
have been observed in previous research. Gardner and Smythe
(1975) found a similar pattern for measures of attitudes toward
learning French and toward French Canadians and motivational
intensity. The region in which the current participants reside does
not offer French immersion before grade 7. As Gardner and
Smythe (1975) have suggested, it is perhaps the novelty of the
immersion experience in grade 7 that inflates motivation. The
decrease in motivation that is experienced after grade 8 may imply
an inevitable reduction in motivation during the intense language
learning process. Research on long-term immersion programs

MacIntyre et al.
559
supports the notion that attitudes and/or motivation might re-
bound later in the learning process (see Blake, Lambert, Sidoti, &
Wolfe, 1981; Genesee, 1978; Lambert & Tucker, 1972; Swain &
Lapkin, 1982), as was reported by Gardner and Smythe (1975).
It is also possible that the decrease in motivation in the
present and previous samples reflects a more global decrease in
achievement motivation among adolescent learners and not one
specific to language learning.According to Sigelman (1999),school
achievement motivation generally tends to decline during adoles-
cence because of a number of factors,among which are the increas-
ing amounts of negative feedback children receive as they progress
through school, the onset of puberty, and cognitive growth that
allows them to assess their abilities more realistically. It may be
useful in future studies examining language learning motivation
among adolescents to include more general academic-achieve-
ment measures so that possible links between changes in lan-
guage learning motivation and global achievement motivation
may be examined.
Experience might play a role in the changing relationship
between the AMI and communication in the L1 and L2. For the
grade 7 students, stronger motivation was correlated with lower
anxiety and higher perceived competence in their L1 but, surpris-
ingly, not in the L2. Given that this is the first year of the
immersion program for these students,perhaps L1 self-confidence
provides a security blanket for the initial difficult period of adjust-
ment to the program. Clément (1980) refers to L2 confidence as a
secondary motivational process among minority-group members
learning the language of a majority group. In this case, we have
an enclave of majority-group students who are learning the lan-
guage of a minority group in an immersion setting. Students have
voluntarily placed themselves in the position of becoming a minor-
ity-group member, regardless of whether their emerging identity
is constructed as Bilingual, Francophone, or Immersion Student.
In the present locale, all of these identities are in a minority-group
position. It would appear that L1 self-confidence with communi-
cation initially supports motivation in this extraordinary setting.

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The students in grade 9 seem to associate motivation with L2
confidence, rather than L1 confidence, likely because of the expe-
rience gained along the way. The results obtained for the most
experienced group, the grade 9 students, correspond most closely
to Clément’s (1980) original model.
A couple of limitations of the present study are noteworthy.
First, the conclusions based on self-report data should be verified
by behavioral studies of classroom and extracurricular L2 commu-
nication. Such research would be a valuable addition to the litera-
ture on WTC and related variables. It should be noted, however,
that “trait-like” variables may bear inconsistent relations to be-
havior in specific situations, and one must be cognizant of the
difference between studying patterns of reactions at the trait level
and studying individual occurrences at the situated level (see
MacIntyre et al., 1998). A second limitation, the cross-sectional
design, means that it is possible that differences observed based
on grade represent cohort effects. Children of different ages may
have been exposed to different kinds of broad social influences
(e.g., the variety of political tensions between anglophone and
francophone groups in Canada) at critical moments in the devel-
opment of attitudes toward the L2 and native speakers. In order
to address this limitation, a longitudinal investigation in which a
cohort of junior high immersion students is studied through
grades 7–9 is being planned.
Understanding how the psychological variables supporting
L2 WTC vary over time and across situations promises to be a
productive avenue for future research. If the goal of L2 instruction
is to increase the use of the L2, especially outside of the classroom,
our understanding of age and sex variations becomes of para-
mount importance. L2 communication is a context-bound phe-
nomenon, and that context is heavily determined by fundamental
characteristics of the learner.
Revised version accepted 15 February 2002

MacIntyre et al.
561
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