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.

Integrating cross-cultural interaction through video-communication and virtual worlds in foreign language teaching programs: is there an added value?

ReCALL ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Canto ◽  
Kristi Jauregi ◽  
Huub van den Bergh
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Web Communication ◽  
Experimental Group

AbstractOrganizing and implementing telecollaboration projects in foreign language curricula is not an easy endeavour (Belz & Thorne, 2006; Guth & Helm, 2010), as pedagogical, organizational and technical issues have to be addressed before cross-cultural interaction sessions can be carried out (O'Dowd & Ritter, 2006; O'Dowd, 2011). These issues make many teaching practitioners reluctant to try to integrate telecollaboration in their teaching, as they are more aware of the burden such initiatives might impose than of the benefits they might have for language learners.Within the European project NIFLAR1 we have tried to study the added value that integrating synchronous collaboration projects through video-web communication or Second Life might have in language learning. The study presented in this paper measures the oral communicative growth of language students, who were allocated at random to one of three research conditions: (1) the VC experimental group carried out interactions with native peers through video-web communication; (2) the SL experimental group carried out the same tasks with native peers in Second Life and (3) the control group performed the tasks face to face with classroom peers and had no opportunity to interact with native experts. Communicative growth was measured by comparing oral pre- and post-tests across conditions. Results show significant differences, the experimental groups outperforming the control group.

scholarly journals JALT2015 Conference Article: On Emotions in Foreign Language Learning and Use

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Classroom

Emotions are at the heart of the foreign language learning process. Without emotion, boredom would reign and very little learning would take place. I report on some recent work that has investigated the role of emotion in the foreign language classroom, both positive (foreign language enjoyment) and negatives ones (foreign language anxiety). It seems that both learners and teachers play a crucial role in managing emotions in the classroom. I also report on the difficulties associated with the communication of emotions in a foreign language and on their relative absence in foreign language course books and during classes. This leaves learners ill-prepared to recognise and express emotions appropriately in a foreign language, which is an essential part of sociopragmatic competence. 外国語学習過程の中心には「感情」がある。感情がなければ飽きるのも早く、学びも限られてしまう。本論では、外国語の授業で感情が果たす肯定的な（例：外国語学習の楽しみ）および否定的な（例：外国語学習不安）役割について報告する。そして最近の研究を基に、いかに学習者と教員双方がクラスでの感情のコントロールに深くかかわっているかを考察する。また、外国語で感情を伝えることの難しさについても触れ、外国語の教科書や授業で感情表現が扱われることの少なさが、社会語用論的能力の主な要素である感情表現の理解不足につながっていることを指摘する。

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 INDONESIAN STUDENTS’ STRATEGIES TO COPE WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Nur Hafiz Abdurahman ◽  
Muhammad Ainur Rizqi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
English Departments ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Stimulated Recall

Previous research reports that foreign language anxiety (FLA) is one of the affective factors exerting influence on foreign language learning. Myriad studies have examined how foreign language learners cope with foreign language anxiety. However, few studies have addressed the particular moments when students feel the most anxious and how they cope with this anxiety. The present study aims to (1) identify specific moments when students feel the most anxious; (2) investigate their coping strategies, and (3) recognize the changes in the strategies used by the students during specific moments in their language learning. In so doing, a stimulated recall was carried out among five university students from non-English departments who had to conduct presentations in English. The findings show that they displayed different levels of anxiety, which resulted in several accidents during the presentation. The participants with a high anxiety level tended to utilize monotonous coping strategies. This study implies that teachers need to take into account their students’ anxiety levels before they commence a new term or semester. When encountering highly anxious students, they can introduce the learners to alternative strategies to cope with anxiety.

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.

Young Children’s Foreign Language Anxiety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jieun Kiaer ◽  
Jessica M. Morgan-Brown ◽  
Naya Choi
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Psychosocial Wellbeing

This book presents original research on the effects of foreign language anxiety (FLA) on young language learners. It includes suggestions for alleviating FLA and encouraging foreign language enjoyment which will ultimately facilitate more effective language learning and support children’s psychosocial wellbeing.

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 The Plight in Foreign Language Learning in Tunisian Context: Classroom Language Assessment v.s Foreign Language Learning Anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Leila Najeh Bel’Kiry
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Classroom Language

The assessment of language proficiency from a psycholinguistics perspective has been a subject of considerable interest. Many literatures are devoted for the explanation of certain psychological phenomena related to first language acquisition and foreign language learning like language disorders/impairments, critical/sensitive period and language anxiety. This paper sheds the light on foreign language anxiety, which is in my conviction the hardest problem that concerns the foreign language learner as well as the teacher. The origin of this conviction is that foreign language anxiety hampers learner performance on one hand, and on the other hand effects, negatively, the classroom language assessment which in turn sharpens learner’s anxiety more and more. There is a significant negative correlation between foreign language anxiety and classroom language assessment. Three issues are to be tackled in this paper: (i) The implication of ‘anxiety’ as a psychological issue in foreign language learning, (ii) classroom language assessment in Tunisian schools and (iii) the relation between foreign language anxiety and classroom language assessment.

scholarly journals The impact of contemplative practices on foreign language anxiety and learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily E. Scida ◽  
Jill E. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Classroom Climate ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Contemplative Practices ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact

This study looked at the impact of the integration of contemplative practices on foreign language anxiety, positive and negative affect, self-efficacy, classroom climate, and language learning in students enrolled in an advanced intermediate Spanish language course in the USA. Data included pre- and post-test surveys, exam scores to measure learning outcomes, student interviews, and course evaluations. In the contemplative group, students engaged in brief 10-minute contemplative practices once a week, while the non-contemplative group followed the same syllabus but was not exposed to contemplative practices. Analysis of the data showed no significant differences in foreign language anxiety, self-efficacy or affect between the non-contemplative and contemplative groups at post-test but significantly higher scores on classroom climate measures in the contemplative group. Significantly higher grades were found on course exams for students in the contemplative group. Analysis of the pre-/post-survey data revealed a significant decrease in foreign language anxiety in both groups over the semester but not for affect or self-efficacy. This study extends the existing research on contemplative practices to a new context—affect and learning in foreign language courses.

scholarly journals REDUCING STUDENTS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN SPEAKING CLASS THROUGH COOPERATIVE LEARNING

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Susidamaiyanti Susidamaiyanti
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Affective Filter ◽  
Speaking Skill

One of the challenges in teaching English as a foreign language to students in Indonesia is the existence of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) that are faced by students at any level of education. FLA has hindered the students in mastering English, especially in Speaking Skill, it is shown by their performances in the class which are too nervous, shy, unwilling to participate and lack of confidence.Gardner and McIntyre,(1987) stated that FLA negatively impacts the quality of learning and is a critical factor in learners’ success or failure in learning a foreign language. Based on the aforementioned statements, it means reducing students’ language anxiety can enhance their overall learning experience and improve motivation and achievement.Thus, for many years, some researchers have attempted to find the most suitable techniques and methods to help students overcome this problem. Some of which is by providing them a conducive learning environment, the culture of caring and of course, a non-threatening atmosphere in the classroom. For that reason, this paper isintended to propose a technique to reduce the students’ anxiety; that is cooperative learning. By using cooperative learning, it is expected that it can overcome this problem, as this technique offers a good language-learning environment in which the process of learning dealing with cooperativeness rather than competitiveness. This is in line with Krashen (1982). He, through his Affective Filter Hypothesis, contends that one of the factors of language acquisition to happen is in a low-filter language-learning environment.

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