scholarly journals Foreign language anxiety levels in Second Life oral interaction

ReCALL ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabela Melchor-Couto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Oral Interaction ◽  
Positive Effect

AbstractVirtual worlds have been described as low anxiety environments (Dickey, 2005), where students may feel “shielded” behind their avatars (Rosell-Aguilar, 2005: 432). The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of the Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) levels experienced by a group of participants who used the virtual world Second Life for oral interaction (VW Group). The data gathered was compared to that of a group of students who completed similar oral interaction activities in the traditional classroom (CR Group). The quantitative and qualitative data analysed indicates that the FLA levels of the VW Group decreased as weeks went by and that they were lower than those experienced by the CR Group. The anonymity afforded by the VW had a positive effect on some of the students, who reported increased self-confidence and decreased nervousness. However, the students’ comments suggest that this anonymity may wear off once they feel they know their interlocutor. Anonymity may not be the only reason to explain the decrease in FLA.

scholarly journals Second Life: A Virtual Environment to Reduce Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Gloria Sánchez Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Affective Factors

Second language acquisition (SLA) is a complex construct in which not only cognitive factors play a crucial role, but also affective ones. In the last decades, the analysis of affective factors in second (L2) and foreign language (FL) learning has gained prominence. Research has shown a strong correlation between language learning and aspects such as personality, motivation, attitude, or anxiety, to name but a few (e.g., Gardner, 2020; Hewitt & Stephenson, 2011; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989). The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) levels could be lessened using Virtual Worlds (VWs) such as Second Life (SL) for language teaching. This investigation compares the FLA levels of an Experimental Group (EG), which completed three activities through SL, with a Control Group (CG), which completed the same activities in the traditional classroom. Results indicate that the FLA levels of participants in the EG decreased as lessons went by in comparison with those participants in the CG. Moreover, findings suggest that the confidence of those participants working in SL increased as time went by. This boost in learners’ confidence could be attributed to the crucial role played by anonymity in VWs.

scholarly journals Remedying Foreign Language Anxiety through CLIL? A mixed-methods study with pupils, teachers and parents

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Mathea Simons ◽  
Claudio Vanhees ◽  
Tom Smits ◽  
Karen Van De Putte
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Measurement Results ◽  
Important Challenge ◽  
Context Data ◽  
Teachers And Parents

<div data-canvas-width="30.450735457166097">Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) is an important challenge for language learning. In Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), subjects are taught in a language that is not the learners’ mother tongue; a context that could reduce FLA. This study analyzes whether CLIL can positively influence FLA and which characteristics determine its presence in a CLIL context. Data were collected from 225 pupils, their parents and teachers in Flemish-speaking Belgium. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied, with pre- and post-measurement. Results indicate that CLIL can indeed positively influence FLA. Pupils experienced growth in their self-confidence to use the foreign language. Their teachers observed more active participation, especially from more silent and less proficient pupils. The parents also noticed an increase in communicative attitudes. We found eight variables to have an influence. The foreign language used in CLIL appeared to have the most important influence besides the pupils’ interest in language learning and their personality traits, extraversion and agreeableness</div><div> </div>

scholarly journals Variations in motivation, anxiety and boredom in learning English in Second Life

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Kruk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Second Year ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Motivation ◽  
Learning English

The article presents the results of a study whose main aim was to investigate the changes in motivation, language anxiety and boredom in learning English in Second Life. The sample consisted of 16 second year students of English philology. The study was conducted over the period of a summer semester. During that time the participants in the study were asked to use Second Life and practice English there in their own time. The data were obtained by means of a background questionnaire and session logs and subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results show that the students declared quite a high level of motivation to learn English in Second Life, a low level of anxiety and a relatively low level of boredom. In addition, the findings of the study revealed that both the reported motivation as well as the experience of boredom fluctuated over time. In contrast, the levels of foreign language anxiety declared by the subjects remained almost unchanged. Possible causes of such fluctuations are offered.

The Complexities of Digital Storytelling

2017 ◽  
pp. 343-360
Author(s):  
Peter Gobel ◽  
Makimi Kano
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Digital Storytelling ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Task Planning ◽  
Ict Skills ◽  
Planning Condition ◽  
Topic Time ◽  
Positive Effect

This chapter describes a pair of studies investigating factors involved in task-based learning using digital storytelling. In Study 1, the stories were analyzed using the factors of topic, time, medium, and reported technological proficiency. Student attitudes towards the tasks were gauged using a questionnaire that measured perceived task cost and value, engagement with the task, and expectancy for success on future tasks. In Study 2, three mid-task planning conditions were introduced and a questionnaire was administered to see student attitudes towards various modes of mid-task planning. The results of Study 1 suggest that digital storytelling can be incorporated into EFL classes to reduce foreign language anxiety, to provide greater opportunities to use English, and to foster ICT skills. The results of Study 2 suggest that students favor a teacher-led planning condition, and that this planning condition had a positive effect on student attitudes towards the project (value and cost).

scholarly journals Virtual world anonymity and foreign language oral interaction

ReCALL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabela Melchor-Couto
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Efficacy Beliefs ◽  
Personality Profiles ◽  
Oral Interaction

AbstractIn recent years, a considerably high number of research studies have looked into the use of virtual worlds (VWs) for language learning. A number of authors have hypothesised about the effects of anonymity when foreign language interactions are conducted via VWs. This study addresses the effect that the anonymity experienced in VW interaction may have on participants that present different affective profiles. The participants are 18 students (five male, 13 female) aged between 19 and 20 years old and registered in a Spanish undergraduate degree at the University of Roehampton (London). They were involved in four tandem oral interaction activities in the VW Second Life with a group of native Spanish students from the Universidad de Cádiz (Spain). A mixed-methods research design with quantitative and qualitative data was applied. Data were collected about the participants’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) levels, self-efficacy beliefs, and psychological profile (introvert/extrovert). Participants were also asked to answer three open-ended questions about how they felt during the interaction in the VW. The results obtained reveal a strong relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and the anonymity effect experienced by students, although no correlation was found between the participants’ FLA levels or personality profiles and their experience of the anonymity afforded by the VW.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Student Interpreters’ Learning Outcomes: Implications for the Theory and Measurement of Interpretation Learning Anxiety

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-Nan Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Exam Scores

Although anxiety has been documented as an important variable in both interpretation performance and second language acquisition, there has been virtually no research on the interconnections between the anxiety reactions induced by these two cross-linguistic / cultural endeavors. A review of the literature on anxiety and interpretation performance finds that most of the existing studies have treated the anxiety induced by interpretation as a transfer of other general types of anxieties, such as trait anxiety, without considering the probable role of second language anxiety in interpretation performance. In order to determine the role of foreign language anxiety in 213 Chinese-English interpretation students’ learning outcomes, which were indexed by the participants’ mid-term exam scores and semester grades, this study employed Spielberger’s (1983)Trait Anxiety Inventoryto measure the students’ trait anxiety, while utilizing Horwitz, Horwitzet al.’s (1986)Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale(FLCAS) to measure the participants’ foreign language anxiety. Results of correlation analyses showed that a) trait anxiety was not related to either mid-term exam scores or semester grades, b) foreign language anxiety was significantly and negatively associated with both outcome measures, c) after controlling for the effect of trait anxiety, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and interpretation learning outcomes remained significant, and d) a vast majority of theFLCASitems had significant and negative associations with both outcome measures. Implications for developing a theory of and a measurement instrument for interpretation learning anxiety are suggested.

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