Language Learner Anxiety

My research question is the following: what could be the reasons of language learner anxiety, how does it affect language learning and how can it be reduced? I chose this question because language learner anxiety is a common phenomenon and it definitely affects learning in a bad way. People who suffer from it may perform more poorly than they are capable of.  That is why it is essential to identify the exact reasons of language learner anxiety and to find a way to reduce it. I found three interesting articles in connection with my research question. The articles fully cover my research question: they deal with the definition of foreign language anxiety, its sources, its effects and suggestions of reducing it.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.

The first article suggests that foreign language anxiety is a specific anxiety reaction, but similar to other anxieties in its symptoms. An anxious foreign language learner may experience apprehension, worry, and dread, difficulties with concentrating, sweat, and palpitation. Studies indicate that anxious students tend to avoid more complex sentences in the target language, so it can be concluded that anxiety may affect communication strategies.

Students can also develop certain behaviours connected to foreign language anxiety, for example, they can keep skipping foreign language classes. The reverse can also happen, when the anxious learners study more and more to enhance their performance, but due to anxiousness they constantly fail. Anxious language learners usually believe that they cannot speak until they can express themselves correctly, and it prevents them from communication. Krashen suggests that anxiety also makes learners unreceptive to language input.

 There are three types of anxieties related to performance: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. In 1983, anxiety of language learners at the University of Texas was examined by the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). The results showed that students felt extremely self-conscious when speaking in public in a foreign language. They were also afraid of not understanding everything the teacher says to them, and considered it as a failure. Learners reported that they found language learning uniquely difficult and overwhelming compared to other subjects, which proves that foreign language anxiety is a distinct phenomenon and not just a composition of other anxieties.

The article ends with suggestions for educators in order to reduce learner anxiety. The first one is to acknowledge that foreign language anxiety exists, and a seemingly unmotivated or indifferent student may actually be an anxious learner. Second, teachers should try to reduce stress by changing the content of foreign language learning.

This article clearly defines foreign language anxiety and gives useful information on its causes. It also demonstrates its negative effects on learning very well. However, the suggestions of reducing anxiety are very brief and to some extent trivial. I am interested in more specific examples for anxiety-releasing techniques.

Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T. J. (1999). Foreign Language Reading Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 83, 202–218.

This article is about foreign language reading anxiety. There are two aspects of reading with a great potential eliciting anxiety: unfamiliar scripts and writing systems and unfamiliar cultural material. Thus, reading anxiety may be different from general foreign language anxiety, as it depends on the target language.

The article examines foreign language reading anxiety in three target languages as they all have a different writing system: French, Russian and Japanese. In the research, students participated in first-semester French, Japanese and Russian courses. During the 11^th week of the semester, students were asked to complete the FLCAS and the FLRAS (Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale). The results proved that reading anxiety is indeed distinguishable from general foreign language anxiety, but strongly related to it: students with higher level of general foreign language anxiety also had higher levels of foreign language reading anxiety, and vice versa. It also turned out that reading anxiety has a negative effect on grades.

The results showed that general foreign language anxiety is independent from the target language, while in the case of reading, levels of anxiety were significantly different: the most anxiety provoking was Japanese, then French, then Russian. Unsurprisingly, students experienced higher levels of anxiety when feeling that their target language is relatively difficult to read. Similarly to general language learner anxiety, reading anxiety can be provoked by the fact that students want to understand every single word, and they get upset when they cannot. In order to help students suffering from reading anxiety, teachers have the same options as in the case of general anxiety: help students to cope with anxiety-provoking situations and make the learning content less stressful.

This article gives a very interesting example on language learner anxiety, which many people may never even think of. This kind of anxiety can be just as unpleasant as fear from oral performance and testing, so it is very important to help those who suffer from it in order to enhance their effectiveness in language learning. However, my research question rather focuses on general language learner anxiety. This article is useful as additional information, but does not give full and satisfactory answer to what I am interested in.

Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a Low-Anxiety Classroom Environment: What Does Language Anxiety Research Suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75, 426–439.

This article suggests that there are six sources of language anxiety: personal and interpersonal anxieties, learners’ unrealistic beliefs about language learning, instructor beliefs about language teaching, instructor-learner interactions, anxiety over classroom procedures, and language testing.

Anxiety can manifest itself in students in different ways. Leary offers three categories of behaviour arising from social anxiety: arousal-mediated responses, which are the side-effects of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system; disaffiliative behaviour which includes any actions that reduce social interactions; and image-protection behaviour (smiling, nodding etc.).

In order to reduce language learner anxiety, Foss and Reitzel suggest helping students recognize their fears about language learning by verbalizing them. Another technique is to draw an anxiety graph which helps pinpoint the highest level of anxiety in a given interaction. Students may also need to participate in some support groups with a counsellor, where they can do relaxation exercises and practice self-talk. Teachers should also assure students that less than fluent language ability is also valuable. The role of the teachers is also important: it is beneficial if he or she considers himself or herself rather a facilitator than a ‘drill sergeant’. It is also significant for educators to give students more positive reinforcement, and to be friendly and patient. Instructors are also encouraged to do more pair works and games with students in order to reduce anxieties connected to classroom procedures.

This article is probably the most informative from the three. It gives a detailed list of the sources of foreign language anxiety and clearly represents its manifestations as well. Those teachers who would like to create an ideal classroom environment can definitely learn from this article, as it suggests several useful techniques for reducing language learner anxiety caused by any kind of sources.