Foreign Language Anxiety

in the Classroom

Tien-hui Yu 余天蕙Seton Hall University

Definition

Foreign language anxiety: a distinct complex of self-perceptions,

beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom learning arising

from the uniqueness of the language learning process.

Sources of Anxiety

Speaking the target language in front of peers Teacher-centered classroom Fear of losing oneself Making errors …………

Three Types of Foreign Language Anxiety (Horwitz,1986)

(1) Communication apprehension (2) Test anxiety (3) Fear of negative evaluation

The Influence of Anxiety

Severe language learning anxiety causes interlocking problems. Language anxiety is one of the best predictors of foreign

language achievement.

A Case Study

Instrument:

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale ( Horwitz, 1986)

Results

Anxiety does exist in the Chinese language learning classroom. Learners from different levels are influenced by anxieties. Learners who suffered from one of the anxieties are affected by

the other two anxieties simultaneously. Learners who experienced higher anxiety levels had lower self-

esteem and got lower grades, while less anxious learners had higher self-esteem and got higher grades.

Pedagogical Implications

1. Coping with the anxiety

2. Making the learning context less stressful

Coping with Anxiety

Workshop

Learning training

A Less Stressful Classroom

Reducing communication apprehension anxiety

Reducing fear of negative evaluation

Reducing test anxiety

Conclusion

No teacher can guarantee that a class will be anxiety-free; however, teachers should be aware of trying to minimize the anxiety in the classroom to strengthen language learning efficiency.

For further research, there is a need for empirical evidence concerning how effective anxiety reducing techniques are in second language learning classrooms.