The ‘unforgettable’ experience of foreign language anxiety

• Authors: Morana Drakulić
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has long been recognized as a factor that hinders the process of foreign language learning at all levels. Among numerous FLA sources identified in the literature, language classroom seems to be of particular interest and significance, especially in the formal language learning context, where the course and the teacher are often the only representatives of language. The main purpose of the study is to determine the presence and potential sources of foreign language anxiety among first year university students and to explore how high anxiety levels shape and affect students’ foreign language learning experience. In the study both the questionnaire and the interviews were used as the data collection methods. Thematic analysis of the interviews and descriptive statistics suggest that most anxiety-provoking situations stem from the language classroom itself.

Keywords

EN

foreign language anxiety, language classroom, subjective experience, teacher

• Publisher: Fundacja Pro Scientia Publica
• Journal: Journal of Education Culture and Society
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 120-128

Dates

published

2020-01-03

Contributors

author

Morana Drakulić

• Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Rijeka, Sveučilišna avenija 6, Rijeka, Croatia

References

• Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s Construct of Foreign Language Anxiety: The Case of Students of Japanese. Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155-168.
• Ay, S. (2010). Young Adolescent Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety in Relation to Language Skills at Different Levels. The Journal of International Social Research, 3(11), 83-91.
• Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In Cooper, H. (Ed.), The Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Chan, D.Y., Wu, G. (2004). A Study of Foreign Language Anxiety of EFL Elementary School Students in Taipei County. Journal of National Taipei Teachers College, 17(2), 287-320.
• Drakulić, M. (2013). Foreign Language Teacher Competences as Perceived by English Language and Literature Students. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 1, 158-165.
• Gardner, R.C. (1986). Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. Town: Edward Arnold.
• Gardner, R.C., MacIntyre, P.D. (1993). A Students’ Contribution to Second Language Learning. Part two: Affective Variables. Language Teaching, 26(1), 1-11.
• Hasan, D.C. (1998). An Exploration of Interrelationships among Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety, Their Perception on Teachers’ Classroom behaviour and Students’ Achievement in Learning English as a Foreign Language. Paper presented at the AARE Annual Conference, Adelaide.
• Horwitz, E.K. (1986). Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.
• Horwitz, E.K., Hortwitz, M.B., Cope, J.A. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 125-132.
• Liu, H., Chen, T. (2013). Foreign Language Anxiety in Young Learners: How It Relates to Multiple Intelligences, Learner Attitudes, and Perceived Competence. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(5), 932-938.
• MacIntyre, P.D. (1995).How Does Anxiety Affect Second Language Learning? A Reply to Sparks and Ganschow. TheModern Language Journal,79(1), 90-99.
• MacIntyre, P.D., Gardner, R.C. (1991). Methods and Results in the Study of Anxiety and Language Learning: A Review of the Literature. Language Learning, 41(1), 85-117.
• Mihaljevic, J. (1991). Attitudes Towards the Teacher as a Factor in Foreign Language Learning. Studia Romanica et Anglica Zagrabienensia, 36-37, 143-152.
• Mihaljević Djigunovic, J.(2002). Strah od stranog jezika: kako nastaje, kako se očituje i kako ga se osloboditi [Foreign language anxiety: how it originates, how it manifests and how to get rid of it]. Zagreb: Naklada Ljevak.
• Phillips, E.M. (1992).The Effects of Language Anxiety on Students' Oral Test Performance and Attitudes. The Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 14-26.
• Price, M.L. (1991).The Subjective Experience of Foreign Language Anxiety: Interviews With Highly Anxious Students. In: E. K. Horwitz, D. J. Young (Eds.), Language Anxiety: From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications(pp. 101-108). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Scovel, T. (1978). The Effect of Affect on Foreign Language Learning: A Review of the Anxiety Research. Language Learning, 28(1), 129-142.
• Sparks, R.L., Granschow, L. (1991).Foreign Language Learning Differences: Affective or Native Language Aptitude Differences? The Modern Language Journal, 75(1), 3-16.
• Sparks, R.L., Granschow, L. (1993).The Impact Of Native Language Learning Problems on Foreign Language Learning: Case Study Illustrations of the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 77, 58-74.
• Wörde,v. R. (2003). Students' Persepective on Foreign Language Anxiety. Inquiry, 8(1), 1-15.
• Young, D.J. (1991). Creating a Low-Anxiety Classroom Environment: What Does Language Anxiety Research Suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426-437.

Identifiers

DOI

10.15503/jecs20151.120.128