Learners' Perceptions of How Anxiety Interacts With Personal and Instructional Factors to Influence Their Achievement in English: A Qualitative Analysis of EFL Learners in China

Yan, Jackie Xiu; Horwitz, Elaine K.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00437.x

Cited by 302 publications

(253 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Respondents in previous research also mentioned their favourable attitudes towards the language anxiety in their English learning (e.g., Trang, Baldauf & Moni, 2013). However, the fact that the majority of respondents (5 out of 7) in this study held a negative attitude towards their anxiety elaborates on the findings claimed by Trang et al (2013), which echoes the pervasive harmful functions of anxiety indicated by a great deal of studies (e.g., Aida, 1994;Chen & Lin, 2009;Elkhafaifi, 2005;MacIntyre & Doucette, 2010;MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994a;Pappamihiel, 2002;Sellers, 2000;Woodrow, 2006;Yan & Horwitz, 2008).…”

Section: Effects On Speaking Performancementioning

confidence: 48%

Chinese Students’ English-speaking Anxiety in Asking Questions in the MSc TESOL Classroom

Wang¹,

Roopchund²

2015

IJELT

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This study explores the nature of anxiety in asking questions in class from the perspective of seven Chinese learners of English (ESL), with reference to their self-reflective accounts of emotional difficulties encountered in a UK university setting. Through the use of an in-depth semi-structured qualitative interview format, this study identified the effects, sources, and coping strategies pertaining to these learners' anxiety in asking questions in class. This anxiety exerts compound effects on respondents with respect to their mind, body and actual speaking performance. A series of factors contributing to this anxiety are reported by respondents, which can be categorised as 1) personal and interpersonal anxiety; 2) learner beliefs about English language learning; 3) role of instructors; 4) students' personality; 5) students' educational and cultural background; and 6) time for asking questions. Effective strategies for coping with this anxiety reported by respondents mainly consist of 1) preparation; 2) self-encouragement; 3) peer seeking; 4) relaxation; 5) practice; and 6) ignoring others' negative evaluations. Recommendations for EFL/ESL instructors mainly concern 1) instructors' awareness of students' language anxiety 2) instructors' attitudes towards students' questions 3) instructors' feedback to students' questions 4) instructors' classroom management. Recommendations for EFL/ESL learners are almost the same as those strategies respondents reported. This study has enriched the understanding of foreign language anxiety from the perspective of foreign language classroom speaking anxiety in asking questions in class. Future research should check the effectiveness of the coping strategies reported in this study and look into other aspects of foreign language speaking anxiety.

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Section: Effects On Speaking Performancementioning

confidence: 48%

Chinese Students’ English-speaking Anxiety in Asking Questions in the MSc TESOL Classroom

Wang¹,

Roopchund²

2015

IJELT

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“…Language learners who experienced language anxiety will lead them to feeling of worried about failing. Yan and Horwitz (2008) conducted a study to examine the factors associated with students' anxiety in language learning in China and founded that comparison with peers, learning strategies, and language learning interest and motivation were the most immediate factors. Another study conducted by Woodrow (2006) to examine the correlation between anxiety and language performance among EFL learners who attended English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses.…”

Section: Language Anxietymentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Sadiq¹

2017

ELT

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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.

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“…Since then, studies on foreign language anxiety have been flourishing, using the FLCAS, or other scales, or other datacollecting instruments such as diaries, journals, interviews, and observations [6,8,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The studies have revealed that foreign language anxiety, though sometimes facilitating [11,12,19,20], is predominantly debilitating in SL/FL learning [2,3,7,9,10,12,15,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Exploration of Foreign Language Anxiety and English Learning Motivation

Huang

2011

Education Research International

178

110

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Perceived to be two important affective variables, anxiety and motivation have been found to be highly correlated to second/foreign language acquisition. In order to examine the relationship between foreign language anxiety, English learning motivation, and performance in English, the present study investigated 980 undergraduate students from three universities in China who answered a 76-item survey. Analyses of the data revealed that (1) the respondents generally did not feel anxious in English and were moderately motivated to learn English, (2) foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly negatively correlated with each other, and (3) both foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation were significantly correlated with students' performance in English. Among the scales, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCAS), intrinsic motivation (IntrinM), instrumental motivation (InstruM), fear of being negatively evaluated (FLCAS1), and interest in foreign languages and cultures (IFLC) proved to be powerful predictors for the latter.

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Learners' Perceptions of How Anxiety Interacts With Personal and Instructional Factors to Influence Their Achievement in English: A Qualitative Analysis of EFL Learners in China

Cited by 302 publications

References 45 publications

Chinese Students’ English-speaking Anxiety in Asking Questions in the MSc TESOL Classroom

Chinese Students’ English-speaking Anxiety in Asking Questions in the MSc TESOL Classroom

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

An Exploration of Foreign Language Anxiety and English Learning Motivation

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