Levels in Learning French-do They Differ?

Abstract

Undergraduates at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Malaysia are required to pass a foreign language of their choice in order to graduate. As this is only a requirement, many students feel they are forced to study these languages without much interest on their part. Quite often Mandarin, Japanese and Arabic languages are their first choice, leaving French in the background. Learning French in Malaysia can pose many difficulties for new students. Due to a lack of exposure to the language and culture, many students will find the learning process extremely challenging and will face obstacles such as fear of learning, which can decrease their motivation. In this quantitative study, the researchers will investigate if the fear and anxiety levels among students are relatively consistent across all levels of proficiency. The study included 50 male and 50 female students from various academic backgrounds, divided into three groups based on their French proficiency level (27% for Level 1, 52% for Level 2, and 21% for Level 3). The objective of the study is to determine the correlation of fear in learning French despite the different level of proficiency. The findings revealed that fear was a common problem experienced by most of the respondents regardless of their different level of proficiency. To overcome these challenges, several strategies to overcome the difficulties have been suggested in the hopes of improving both learners and educators.