The Role of the L2 Learning Environment in Shaping Individual Learner Factors and Language Achievement: A Comparison Study of Danish and Spanish Learners of L2 English

Abstract

Based on the assumption that individual learner factors are context-dependent, this exploratory study examined whether differences in two learning environments (Denmark and Spain) have a differential influence on a set of learner factors that have together been previously identified as important in second language (L2) research, specifically, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA), English competence beliefs (ECB), motivation (ideal L2 self) and attitudes towards English language learning. The study also examined whether the L2 learning environment and learner factors had a differential influence on the proficiency of two groups of adolescent learners, as measured by a more instruction-related test (grammaticality judgment test) and a more out-of-school-exposure-related test (listening comprehension test). The results showed that learning environment had a differential influence on FLCA and that gender had an impact on FLCA and ECB. Furthermore, the study showed a differential impact on the L2 English proficiency of the two learner groups of four different factors (i.e., FLCA, ECB, learners’ ideal L2 self, learners’ attitudes towards the presence of English in the academic context, and ECB interacting with FLCA). These findings point to a crucial role of the learning environment in L2 learning and provide empirical support for a context-dependent view of the expression of learners’ individual characteristics in relation to L2 learning.