Table 4. Classification of Attitude Groups Based on GAM Scores
Note. GAM=Generalised Attitude Measure.
In my opinion, not every anxiety is negative. If we feel anxious then we study harder to overcome it, it is positive. However, almost all anxiety occurrences make us feel bored with studying English, and want to abandon English, because once we have no interest, no motivation, we cannot study well. (Dao, Aut, L40-43)
Similarly, Quan shared his view: “In my opinion, anxiety about studying English has two sides, both beneficial and harmful; however, the bad, harmful side dominates” (Quan, Aut, L44-45). Tuyet affirmed her unfavourable attitude towards English: “Despite being university students now, the anxiety about learning English is the nightmare not only for me but also for many other students” (Tuyet, MA, Aut, L35-36).
Thirty-four students were judged to have a mixed attitude towards FLA when they emphasised both its facilitating and debilitating aspects. For example, anxiety made learning English more difficult and stressful for Long, but it also made him focus more on studying:
In the exam time, it was the anxiety towards English that pushed me to focus on studying more in order to gain good result. It is different from ordinary days, when I have no anxious feeling I never study English. (Long, Int, L65-67)
Taking it more generally, Na and Yen admitted anxiety made learning more difficult, but they also supposed that if students did not feel anxious at all, they might think they were good enough at English and did not need to study, thus making no progress, or that anxiety implied students’ concern about studies, whereas for those who did not feel anxious it might mean they had abandoned EFL learning. In fact, it could be determined from Duc’s sharing of his anxiety that Duc did not feel highly anxious because he did not care much about EFL learning: “I don’t like studying English, so I mainly learn it to cope with exams. My target is to pass the exams only, I do not expect much on the results, therefore I do not feel very anxious” (Duc, Aut, L5-8). This view was also supported by Trong, who assumed that once students started to study seriously, they would unavoidably experience many pressures and that, “in order to get success, it seems that we have to endure considerable pressures”(Trong, Aut, L38-39, 59).