scholarly journals An Investigation into Emotional Intelligence, Foreign Language Anxiety and Empathy through a Cognitive-Affective Course in an EFL Context

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Rouhani
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Empathy Scale ◽  
Intelligence Scores

Emotional intelligence, as concerned with how an individual recognizes and regulates his or her emotions, has been in limelight quite recently. The present study seeks to fill a small gap in the literature on emotional intelligence, together with foreign language anxiety and empathy. To this end, short literary readings are used in a cognitive-affective reading-based course to see how emotional intelligence, foreign language anxiety and empathy are affected. Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2002) Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Cooper's (1996/1997) EQ-Map, Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope's (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Test (FLCAS) and Caruso and Mayer's (1998) Multi-Dimensional Emotional Empathy Scale (MDEES) were administered to 70 Iranian EFL undergraduate students in a pretest posttest quasi-experimental design. MANOVA and ANCOVA were conducted. The results revealed that the cognitive-affective reading-based course in which literary readings were used significantly improved the subjects' emotional intelligence scores from the MSCEIT measure as well as empathy (MDEES) scores, but significantly decreased their foreign language anxiety (FLCAS) scores. The pedagogical implications for learners, teachers, educators and materials developers are presented.

scholarly journals Multilingualism and Foreign Language Anxiety: the case of Saudi EFL Learners

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias Bensalem
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Arabic Version ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Efl Context ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

The present study focuses on the link between foreign language anxiety (FLA), self-perceived proficiency, and multilingualism in the under-explored EFL context of Saudi Arabia. Ninety six Arabic learners of English (56 males, 40 females) answered the Arabic version of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLACS; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). The analyses revealed that Saudi multilinguals suffered from low to moderate levels of FLA with female participants experiencing more anxiety than their male counterparts. Multiple regression analyses revealed that gender and self-perceived proficiency explained over a quarter of variance in FLA. Furthermore, the study did not find any role of experience abroad in predicting FLA.

scholarly journals ESP SPEAKING STRATEGIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN HIGHER EDUCATION CLASSROOM

1970 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 181-203
Author(s):  
Милевица Десимир Бојовић
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
High Anxious ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Anxious Group

The study examines the undergraduate students’ perceived use of foreign language speaking strategies, their levels of foreign language anxiety, and the potential relationships between them. Two instruments were used in the study—Inventory of Speaking Strategies in a Foreign Language, based on the instrument Strategy Inventory in Foreign Language Learning, and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. The results showed that students’ overall perceived use of speaking strategies in English as a foreign language for specific purposes was frequent. The findings also revealed that the students’ foreign language anxiety was at a medium level; individual performance anxieties remained at the same medium levels. A few differences were found between the low-anxious and high-anxious groups on the speaking strategy use: the former uses circumlocutions and synonyms when stuck with a word in English more frequently while the latter is paying attention more often when someone is speaking in English. The results also suggest that the medium-anxious group uses gestures when unable to think of a word during a conversation in English less frequently than the low-anxious group.

scholarly journals The Correlation among EFL Learners’ Test Anxiety, Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Achievement

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilek Cakici
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Achievement ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom ◽  
Text Anxiety ◽  
One Year

<p class="Default">The main aim of this study was to investigate the correlation among test anxiety (TA), foreign language anxiety (FLA) and language achievement of university preparatory students learning English as a foreign language. The sample of the research consisted of 301 (211 females, 90 males) attending a one-year EFL preparatory school at Ondokuz Mayıs University, School of Foreign Languages. The TAI (Test Anxiety Inventory) developed by Spielberger (1980), FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) developed by Horwitz (1986) and the students’ language achievement scores were used to collect data. In addition, this study aimed to determine the effect of gender on both TA and FLA. The findings of the study revealed that there was no relation between students’ TA and their language achievement. It was also found a significant positive correlation between students’ TA and FLA. Besides, the result demonstrated that there was a significant reverse correlation between students’ FLA and their language achievement. Following t-test results, it was found out that females exhibited higher mean scores than males in both TAI and FLCAS. Finally, certain suggestions were set for EFL teachers to reduce text anxiety and language learning anxiety in foreign language classroom settings.</p>

scholarly journals FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN STUDENT LEARNING

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (102) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Asta Lileikienė ◽  
Lina Danilevičienė
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Low Achievement ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Foreign Language Classroom ◽  
The University ◽  
Research Analysis

Background. Anxiety includes uncomfortable feelings when learning or using the new language. It continues to exist in the university foreign language classroom as well. A number of foreign language students report feeling anxious about language learning. Research aim was to investigate the foreign language anxiety (in our case, English as a foreign language, EFL) in the classroom context at tertiary level in relation to its effect on foreign language acquisition as well as to design recommendations of how to reduce or exclude foreign language anxiety from the university foreign language classroom. Methods. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by E. K. Horwitz, M. B. Horwitz, and Cope (1986) was used. The questionnaire consisted of 5 statements about the respondents’ general background and 33 statements which were evaluated on the Likert scale from 1 to 5 by the research participants. The research sample involved 200 first and second year students of Lithuanian Sports University . Results. The research analysis revealed that the respondents generally felt anxious speaking in the language class, making mistakes and being corrected by the teacher, worrying about the consequences of failing foreign language class and speaking with native speakers. The correlation between the students’ level of knowledge and their feeling of anxiety was established: students of lower level (A2 and B1) tended to feel higher levels of anxiety. Moreover, female participants of this study exhibited higher levels of foreign language anxiety. Conclusions. Foreign language anxiety proved to be a powerful predictor for demotivation in foreign language learning and impeded the acquisition of foreign languages. The research analysis revealed that the majority of younger respondents demonstrated a higher degree of anxiety. The more mature the students were, the more confident they felt in EFL classes. It was found that female students felt higher level of anxiety in learning English as a foreign language than male students. They were more inclined to hesitate and felt anxious in the language classroom, while male undergraduates were more confident and had a greater ability to cope with the feelings of anxiety and nervousness. Students with higher knowledge of English language (level B2) showed lower levels of anxiety and felt more confident in language class. A large number of failures was observed at the pre-intermediate and lower intermediate (A2/B1) levels. Therefore, the learners with high anxiety often got low achievement and low achievement made them more anxious about learning.

scholarly journals The ‘unforgettable’ experience of foreign language anxiety

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-128
Author(s):  
Morana Drakulić
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
First Year University

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.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Communicative Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Atta M. Hamamorad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Communicative Performance ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Efl Students

The current study investigates foreign language anxiety among Kurdish EFL students and its consequences on their communicative performance. An investigative quantitative approach was used to conduct this study. A Total number of two hundred (200) EFL learners with different language proficiency levels from three different universities; University of Halabja and Sulaimani university in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and University of Kurdistan in Iran, were selected to participate in this study. For the purpose of obtaining necessary information and data, a face-to-face assessment, in small groups of 4 was conducted during students’ class time in which their communicative performance based on accuracy, fluency, vocabulary, and pronunciation was evaluated and recorded. Additionally, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire was adapted and the target population were requested to respond to the statements presented in the questionnaire. The findings of the research taken from a structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that all components of Communicative Performance were in a negative and significant correlation with anxiety.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Individualism-Collectivism Culture: A Top-Down Approach for a Country/Regional-Level Analysis

SAGE Open ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402110691
Author(s):  
Michiko Toyama ◽  
Yoshitaka Yamazaki
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Normative Score ◽  
Level Analysis

This study explored how foreign language anxiety in class relates to individualism-collectivism culture. Additionally, to serve as a guideline for foreign language anxiety assessment, the study determined a normative score of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), which is well known and frequently applied for foreign language anxiety examination. After conducting a literature search identifying 106 studies in 35 countries/regions, a top-down approach was used to analyze aggregate FLCAS mean scores by country/region and examine relationships between the FLCAS score and the rating of individualism-collectivism cultural dimension from Hofstede’s cultural index. This relationship was significant for higher education institutions but insignificant for all institutions and for elementary to high schools. The FLCAS normative score was 94.82, slightly lower than the theoretical midpoint of 99. The findings have implications for educators, since university/college/graduate students in countries/regions with stronger collectivism had higher foreign language anxiety.

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