Anxiety in English Language Learning: A Case Study of English Language Learners in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Language anxiety as a specific aspect of language acquisition has occupied a great body of research for the past few decades. In this study, the level of foreign language anxiety among English language learners was investigated. This study was carried out with a quantitative research design using a survey methodology to collect data about the participants' language anxiety. The sample of the study included 100 university students from the college of Education at Princess Nora University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The participants were randomly selected. For this research study, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) was used to collect the research data. Based on the findings of the study, several implications are highlighted.

Writing Anxiety Among Saudi Female Learners at Some Saudi Universities

“…According to Sadiq (2017), previous studies have revealed that language anxiety can hinder foreign language production and performance. Furthermore, language anxiety has long been considered as an obstacle in language learning.…”

“…The results showed that Saudi EFL learners are demotivated and very anxious toward learning English as a foreign language. Sadiq (2017) mentioned that language anxiety can be experienced in writing, reading, listening, or speaking and it can affect learners' attitudes negatively toward writing skill. In addition, language anxiety has been considered as an important factor that influences language learner's success or failure.…”

Affective Variables from the Applied Linguistics Perspective: A Study of the Saudi Undergraduate Students Majoring in English Language

“…On the Saudi context, there are few studies (e.g. Alkaabi, 2016;Alrabai and Moskovsky, 2016;Moskovsky and Alrabai, 2009;Sadiq, 2017) that highlighted the relationship between the affective variables as mentioned in this study and the acquisition or learning l2 (EFL/ESL). Elaborating on some of them will be useful in this concern.…”

“…In addition to some other resources were drawn upon them (e.g. Alkaabi, 2016;Ebrahimi & Heidarypur, 2016;El-Shahawy, 2017;Nafi, et al, 2016;Sadiq, 2017).The AVQ included 24 statements designed to collect data related to the four affective variables (i.e. motivation, attitude, willingness to communicate and self-confidence) of the current study and their correlation with the participants' English language acquisition.…”

Validación y Confiabilidad de la versión francesa de la escala de ansiedad lingüística "Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale" y aplicado a estudiantes franceses: Revisión del análisis de Horwitz y Cope, Aida y Pérez y Martínez.

“…Varios autores remarcan (Alibec & Sirbu, 2017;Sadiq, 2017;Argaman & Abu-Rabia, 2002;Delicado, 2010;Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986;MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991;Liu, 2007), tanto en la línea de los estudios sobre ansiedad-situación como sobre ansiedad-tarea, que los alumnos padecen mayores niveles de ansiedad cuando se encuentran frente a una situación o tareas de realización que movilizan sub-competencias lingüísticas relacionadas con la escucha, pero sobre todo con el habla ya que "la esencia del aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera es la transmisión de mensajes conversacionales apropiados y personalmente significativos a través de sistemas fonológicos, sintácticos, semánticos y sociolingüísticos que no dominan" (Young, 1999: XII). En la clase de lengua extranjera la ansiedad se puede considerar bien como un estímulo temporal motivador o bien como algo estresante de carácter más duradero que el alumno siente cuando realiza o lleva a cabo una tarea.…”