Exploring Writing Motivation and Writing Anxiety Using the Expectancy-Value Theory

Motivation and anxiety are important emotional variables that could influence second language writing, particularly in the acquisition of Chinese as a second or foreign language, where the complexity of characters and accuracy required could cause more cognitive load on the learners. While an integration of Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT) suggests that students' expectancy for success and value of the task influence their engagement, previous studies have shown that high motivation could be related to high levels of writing anxiety in Chinese learning environments. This study therefore addresses the needs to investigate writing motivation (expectancy and value) and writing anxiety of learners drawing on EVT as a unified theoretical framework. A quantitative survey research was applied, involving 247 undergraduate learners of Chinese. Data were collected using a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire consisting of two sections: writing motivation (expectancy and task value) adapted from Zhang et al. (2014), and writing anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and avoidance behaviour) adapted from Cheng (2004). The findings show that learners attach great importance to Chinese writing and show moderate-to-high expectancy beliefs but also feel an excessive degree of writing anxiety especially in evaluative and time-limited environments. Expectancy and writing anxiety were weakly but significantly correlated, although no significant differences were identified according to years of studies. These findings indicate that high task value may not be enough to mitigate writing anxiety. The findings suggest the pedagogical need for targeted support that boosts expectancy beliefs through intervention and deals effectively with emotional resistance, to enable both continued engagement with and confidence in Chinese writing.