Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
TL;DR: In this paper, anxiety is defined as the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system, which impedes the ability to perform successfully in a foreign language class.
Abstract: teachers of foreign languages. Many people claim to have a mental block against learning a foreign language, although these same people may be good learners in other situations, strongly motivated, and have a sincere liking for speakers of the target language. What, then, prevents them from achieving their desired goal? In many cases, they may have an anxiety reaction which impedes their ability to perform successfully in a foreign language class. Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system.2 Just as anxiety prevents some people from performing successfully in science or mathematics, many people find foreign language learning, especially in classroom situations, particularly stressful.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an account of the linguistic, communicative, and social psychological variables that might affect one's "willingness to communicate" and suggest potential relations among these variables by outlining a comprehensive conceptual model that may be useful in describing, explaining and predicting L2 communication.
Abstract: Why do some students seek, while others avoid, second language (L2) communication? Many language teachers have encountered students high in linguistic competence who are unwilling to use their L2 for communication whereas other students, with only minimal linguistic knowledge, seem to communicate in the L2 whenever possible. Despite excellent communicative competence, spontaneous and sustained use of the L2 is not ensured. A colleague, who teaches a L2 and whose L2 competence is excellent, is well known to avoid “like the plague” L2 communication in social settings. A related observation is that many learners have noticed that their willingness to communicate (WTC) varies considerably over time and across situations. Our aim in this article is twofold. First we wish to provide an account of the linguistic, communicative, and social psychological variables that might affect one's “willingness to communicate.” As demonstrated in the text below, and examination of WTC offers the opportunity to integrate psychological, linguistic, and communicative approaches to L2 research that typically have been independent of each other. We view the WTC model as having the potential to provide a useful interface between these disparate lines of inquiry. Our second goal is to suggest potential relations among these variables by outlining a comprehensive conceptual model that may be useful in describing, explaining, and predicting L2 communication. In an effort to move beyond linguistic or communicative competence as the primary goal of language instruction, this article represents an overt attempt to combine these disparate approaches in a common theme, that is, proposing WTC as the primary goal of language instruction.
1,533 citations
Cites background from "Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety"
...particularly detailed ones have been offered by Hymes (1972a), Brown and Fraser (1979), and Biber (1994)....
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TL;DR: The authors examined some of the more specific cognitive processes that may be involved in language acquisition in terms of a three-stage model of learning: Input, processing, and output, and developed a new anxiety scale to measure anxiety at each of the stages.
Abstract: Previous research has shown language anxiety to be associated with broad-based indices of language achievement, such as course grades. This study examined some of the more specific cognitive processes that may be involved in language acquisition in terms of a three-stage model of learning: Input, Processing, and Output. These stages were represented in a set of nine tasks that were employed to isolate and measure the language acquisition stages. A new anxiety scale was also developed to measure anxiety at each of the stages. Generally, significant correlations were obtained between the stage-specific anxiety scales and stage-specific tasks (e.g., output anxiety with output tasks) suggesting that the effects of language anxiety may be both pervasive and subtle.
1,126 citations
Cites background from "Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety"
...nature, representing more subtle effects of language anxiety (Horwitz et al., 1986)....
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...This may explain why anxious students have trouble comprehending long sentences (Horwitz et al., 1986)....
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...For example, it has been reported that anxious language students study more than relaxed students but their achievement does not reflect that effort (Horwitz et al., 1986; Price, 1991)....
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...Students who report “freezing” on tests (Horwitz et al., 1986) claim that the material has been learned but that their test,performance does not reflect that learning....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined relations among L2 learning and L2 communication variables in the Japanese English as a foreign language context using the WTC model and the socioeducational model as a framework.
Abstract: Willingness to communicate (WTC) is emerging as a concept to account for individuals’ first language (L1) and second language (L2) communication. This study examined relations among L2 learning and L2 communication variables in the Japanese English as a foreign language context using the WTC model and the socioeducational model as a framework. A L2 communication model was constructed and tested using AMOS version 4.0, with a sample of 297 Japanese university students. In the model, a latent variable, international posture, was hypothesized to capture the general attitude toward the international community and foreign language learning in Japan. From structural equation modeling, it appeared that international posture influences motivation, which, in turn, influences proficiency in English. Motivation affected self-confidence in L2 communication which led to willingness to communicate in a L2. In addition to this indirect path, a direct path from international posture to WTC in a L2 was significant. The model’s fitness to the data was good, which indicates the potential for using the WTC and other constructs to account for L2 communication.
1,019 citations
TL;DR: The authors discuss the best techniques for learning a language, the "right" age to begin language study, and the nature of the language learning process are the subject of airline magazine articles, Sunday supplement advertisements, and cocktail party smalltalk.
Abstract: liefs about how languages are learned.1 Definite viewpoints on the best techniques for learning a language, the "right" age to begin language study, and the nature of the language learning process are the subject of airline magazine articles, Sunday supplement advertisements, and cocktail party small-talk. Many people apparently believe, for example, that second language fluency can be obtained with relatively little effort. In the course of a review of the time
988 citations
TL;DR: For instance, this paper found that learners need to adopt attitudes and strategies that pay off in terms of low anxiety, high motivation, and ultimately in the ability to convey information and communicate ideas and feelings.
Abstract: given to language learners and their perspectives, motivations, beliefs about language learning, learning styles, learning strategies, and language anxieties.1 Regardless of method, we know that learners need to adopt attitudes and strategies that pay off in terms of low anxiety, high motivation, and ultimately in the ability to convey information and communicate ideas and feelings. One of the current challenges in second and foreign language teaching is to provide students with a learner-centered, low-anxiety classroom environment. In our push to create such an environment we need to consult
964 citations
Cites background from "Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety"
...Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (22) were the first to treat foreign language anxiety as a separate and distinct phenomenon particular to language learning....
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...stemming from personal and interpersonal issues in the language learning context have been related to communication apprehension (11; 22; 50), social anxiety (50), and anxiety specific to language learning....
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...26), avoiding activities in class, coming unprepared to class, acting indifferent, cutting class, putting off taking the foreign language until the last year, crouching in the last row, and avoiding having to speak in the foreign language in class (22)....
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...(22), Koch and Terrell, Price, and Young (50)....
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...(22) offer additional descriptions of anxiety-related behaviors particular to the foreign language classroom setting....
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TL;DR: In this article, evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that informal and formal environments contribute to different aspects of second language competence, the former affecting acquired competence and the latter affecting learned competence, and a distinction must be made between informal environments in which active language use occurs regularly and those in which language use is irregular.
Abstract: While some studies indicate that adults can efficiently utilize informal linguistic environments for second language acquisition, other studies suggest that the classroom is of greater benefit. This conflict is resolved in three ways. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that informal and formal environments contribute to different aspects of second language competence, the former affecting acquired competence and the latter affecting learned competence. Second, a distinction must be made between informal environments in which active language use occurs regularly and those in which language use is irregular. Finally, data is presented that suggests that the classroom can be used simultaneously as a formal and informal linguistic environment, a result that is consistent with reports of success with language teaching systems that emphasize active language use.
303 citations
43 citations