The Relationship between the Stress from Learning English and Defense Mechanism of Elementary Students

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between the level of stress included in elementary school children as a result of learning English and their resulting defense mechanisms. This study also investigates the relation between the types of defense mechanisms and the English achievement of those same children. The subjects were 106 fifth grade students in a metropolitan area in Korea, and a survey was employed to collect data. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was conducted in order to test the differences across the four types of defense mechanisms that were observed between low and high levels of stress of the students. In addition, a t-test was conducted in order to compare the English achievement of the two groups of students. The results indicate a strong relationship between the level of stress from learning English and the particular type of defense mechanism. The findings imply that there is a need to consider elementary students' stress from learning English and helping them to control stress in appropriate ways.