The relationship between second language competence and willingness to communicate: the moderating effect of foreign language anxiety

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Li Zhou ◽  
Yiheng Xi ◽  
Katja Lochtman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Willingness To Communicate ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
The Relationship

Foreign and second language anxiety

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine K. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
The Relationship

The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested scholars, language teachers, and language learners themselves. It is intuitive that anxiety would inhibit the learning and/or production of a second language (L2). The important term in the last sentence is ‘anxiety’. The concept of anxiety is itself multi-faceted, and psychologists have differentiated a number of types of anxiety including trait anxiety, state anxiety, achievement anxiety, and facilitative-debilitative anxiety. With such a wide variety of anxiety-types, it is not surprising that early studies on the relationship between ‘anxiety’ and achievement provided mixed and confusing results, and Scovel (1978 – this timeline) rightly noted that anxiety is ‘not a simple, unitary construct that can be comfortably quantified into ‘high’ or ‘low’ amounts’ (p. 137). Scovel did not, however, anticipate the identification in the mid-1980s of a unique form of anxiety that some people experience in response to learning and/or using an L2. Typically referred to as language anxiety or foreign language anxiety (FLA), this anxiety is categorized as a situation-specific anxiety, similar in type to other familiar manifestations of anxiety such as stage fright or test anxiety.

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.

scholarly journals Exploring the Relationship Between Foreign Language Anxiety, Gender, Years of Learning English and Learners’ Oral English Achievement Amongst Chinese College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Hualan Tan ◽  
Zhilong Xie
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Achievement ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Learning English

English serves as a bridge of communication for the people from all over the world as it plays an increasingly crucial role in the process of globalization. In accordance with English curriculum standards issued by the Ministry of Education in 2011, the ultimate goal of English language discipline is to communicate. But over these years, China’s English education has been difficult to get out of the dilemma of “Dumb English”. When facing the real oral communication situations, students are still too nervous to speak with a great deal of fluency and accuracy. Therefore, the present study aims to explore the relationship between English language anxiety, gender, years of English learning and final oral English achievement by inviting 41 English major freshmen of foreign language departments of Nanchang Business College. For this purpose, this study adopts a reliable Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz and Cope (1986) to measure students’ anxiety. The results reveal that anxiety levels between males and females are similar; there is also no significant difference among years of learning English; however, a significantly negative correlation between college students’ foreign language anxiety and their oral English learning achievement was found.

scholarly journals AGE, GENDER AND GRADE EFFECT ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY AMONG CHILDREN

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Selami Aydin ◽  
Leyla Harputlu ◽  
Şeyda Savran Çelik ◽  
Özgehan Uştuk ◽  
Serhat Güzel
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Turkish Children ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Adult Language Learners ◽  
Subject Variables ◽  
The Relationship

The number of studies on the relationship between certain demo- graphic variables, age, gender and grade, and the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context regarding adult and young learners is fairly limited, whereas the findings obtained from prior studies did not reach a consensus on the influences of FLA, and studies mainly focused on adult language learners rather than young learners. This study aims to explore the effect of age, gender and grade differences on FLA and its types, communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation and test anxiety, among Turkish children who learn English as a foreign language. The participants were 494 children enrolled at primary and secondary schools. The data collection tools were a background questionnaire interrogating the variables mentioned and the Children’s Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (CFLAS). After computing the reliability coefficient of the scale and total variance, independent samples t-test and ANOVA were used to see the relationships between the levels of FLA and its types and subject variables, age, gender, and grade. The results showed that age, gender, and grade constitute significant differences regarding FLA and its types, when several items in the CFLAS were considered. In the light of findings, several practical recommendations are listed. 

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