Developing a Cartoon-Based English Proverbs Training Program and its Effectiveness on Anxiety and Orientation of L2 learning in English Learners

Learning English as a second language (L2) is a complex process in which success depends on many variables. This study aimed to develop a cartoon-based English proverb teaching program (CBEPT) and to evaluate its effectiveness in L2 learning anxiety and language learning orientation.

This study had an exploratory mixed method design (qualitative and quantitative). The statistical population for the qualitative part of the study included English language experts and psychologists, 10 of whom were selected using the snowball method. In the quantitative part, the statistical population included all English language learners at Amir English Language Teaching Institute located in the 3rd district of Tehran in 2009; 30 of them were selected by conveniance sampling method and were randomly assigned to two groups of 15 people in Experiments 1 and 2 and were taught English proverbs for 5 weeks. Experimental group 1 was trained using cartoons and educational slides and experimental group 2 was trained without cartoons and slides. The research instruments included researcher-made questionnaire to evaluate the validity of the educational package, Academic Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz and Perry, 2002) and the Language Learning Orientation Scale (LLOS) (Noels et al, 2000). Data were analyzed by the analysis of covariance in the SPSS statistics-26 software.

The results showed that CBEPT had a significant effect on L2 learning anxiety in L2 learners (p<0.05). In both groups, there was a significant difference between the scores of L2 learning anxiety in the post-test (at the level of 0.001); It also caused a significant difference in demotivation and external motivation scores between experimental groups 1 and 2 (p<0.05); But the effects were not stable over time (p >0.05). There was also a significant difference in internal motivation scores between experimental groups 1 and 2 and the validity of the scores was maintained at the follow-up stage (p <0.05).

The results revealed that this educational method had a significant effect on reducing L2 learning anxiety in a sustainable way and in internalizing the L2 learning orientation in English learners. Foreign language education planners could include this teaching method on their agenda.