scholarly journals An Empirical Investigation of Foreign Language Anxiety in Pakistani University

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Illahi Bux Gopang ◽  
Sanaullah Ansari ◽  
Ume Kulsoom ◽  
Abdullah Laghari
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Group Interviews

This study aimed to investigate foreign language anxiety at tertiary level in Pakistan. It adopted a mixed methods approach. Firstly, foreign language anxiety scale was employed as a research tool for data collection. In addition, the focus group interviews were also conducted to have in depth understanding of anxiety under investigation. Data were randomly collected from 100 participants (Male= 94; Female= 6) from different disciplines who were enrolled to learn English at Lasbela University, Baluchistan. The findings of this study indicate anxiety of participants in learning English language. Specifically, participants were reported more anxious in test anxiety which was rated high by students with total (Mean= 40.5; SD= 7.00), second, communication apprehension is rated with (Mean= 28.8; SD= 5.22) and last but not least is fear of negative evaluation with (Mean= 23.7; SD= 5.93). In focus group interviews, this study frequently recorded some factors such as poor academic background, fear of taking tests in English, fear of making mistakes and fear of evaluation from teachers which maximize the level of anxiety among the participants. This study suggests some pedagogical strategies which may be considered learning and teaching practices at university level education. Among the strategies, most frequently discussed in interviews were teachers should create rapport among students especially with those who are inactive and passive in learning classroom and they should respect students’ feelings and emotions in front of other peers in class These strategies tend to help teachers to minimize anxiety level of participants in classroom. 

scholarly journals Review of Foreign Language Anxiety Relationship with Language Achievement of EFL Students in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Akram Alsaleem
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Achievement ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
The Impact

This study is conducted to evaluate learning and teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) since English is still treated as a foreign language. Despite the prevailing high-level anxiety in Saudi learners of the English language, there are limited researches available to study the impact of language anxiety on the achievement of the student in a particular language. This literature search study explored the underlying causes and impacts of foreign language anxiety (FLA) and then studied these impacts on the language achievement of Saudi students in EFL classrooms in KSA. Credible academic researches and conference papers are critically reviewed in the context of the relationship between foreign language anxiety and language achievement of EFL students in Saudi Arabia. The findings of the review revealed that government initiatives and exposure to globalization in Saudi Arabia, students are encouraged to get expertise in English through EFL courses. However, the review of literature demonstrated that Saudi students experience anxiety while learning English as an unknown language. Additionally, the level of understanding in students of FLA negatively affected their accomplishment. Therefore, the collaborative strategies in classrooms are needed with complete participation of language instructors and favourable environment with positive competition building strategies encourage EFL students to enhance learning. 

scholarly journals LANGUAGE CAMP IN MALAYSIA: ASNAF STUDENTS’ NEEDS AND PERCEPTION

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-295
Author(s):  
Nur Yasmin Khairani Binti Zakaria ◽  
Maslawati Mohamad ◽  
Fazilah Idris
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Addie Model

Purpose of the study: This study aims to identify Asnaf students’ needs in language learning and their perception of the implementation of the language camp module that had been developed by researchers using the ADDIE model Methodology: In-depth analysis of focus group interviews with Asnaf students was conducted, and the data obtained were analysed thematically according to several categories Main Findings and Novelty: The findings of this study revealed that students believed that their anxiety was lowered when they were given the opportunity to cooperate with their friends in a fully immersive and fun English language learning context Applications of this study: The modules and the findings of this study could be used by any English language educators to conduct English language camps especially to Asnaf children who stay in charity homes.

scholarly journals English Language Student-Teachers Developing Agency Through Community-Based Pedagogy Projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson Hernández Varona ◽  
Daniel Felipe Gutiérrez Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Public University ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Journal Entries

This paper presents a narrative inquiry study on agency development in student-teachers of an English language teacher program at a public university in the south of Colombia. Our goal was to understand how student-teachers develop agency when narratively inquiring their community by planning and conducting community-based pedagogy projects on issues they found pertinent to investigate. The data were gathered through semi-structured focus group interviews, individual journal entries, and video-recorded talks about their inquiries. As a conclusion, we acknowledge that certain social and narrative practices such as interacting within their inquiry groups, interacting with their communities, voicing their communities’ necessities, and acting upon the inquired necessities facilitated developing agency and contributed to rethinking their roles as transformative members of their communities.

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 English Language Anxiety of Tertiary Level Learners in Bangladesh: Level and Sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Abdullah Al Mamun
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Peer Pressure ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Tertiary Level

The prime objectives of this study were to unveil the level of anxiety and the sources of English language anxiety of the tertiary level students of Bangladesh. Through a questionnaire survey using Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. (1986), the study found that most of the tertiary level learners have high anxiety of English as a foreign language. Based on an exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis and varimax rotation (Kaiser Normalization), a four-factor (communication anxiety, comprehension and test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and lack of anxiety) solution emerged. Following a close analysis of the EFA and other established valid models, the study found that six components, namely, speaking anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, peer pressure/social-image anxiety, comprehension-related anxiety, negative attitude towards class, and test anxiety were the main sources of anxiety, which need to be addressed for alleviating the anxiety of the students.

scholarly journals FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN UNIVERSITY LEARNING: SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS ENGAGED IN SPORTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (112) ◽  
pp. 26-33
Author(s):  
Asta Lileikienė ◽  
Lina Danilevičienė
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
Study Programs

Background. Research aimed at the analysis of self-perceptions of students of foreign language anxiety in the classroom context in relation to its effect on foreign language acquisition. It focused on foreign language, as a skill needed for versatile education, which would lead to a successful career in sports or would aid in pursuing health enhancing leisure activities later in life. Methods. The qualitative approach of research was adopted in this study. Twenty subjects involved in the study programs as Sports Coaching at the Lithuanian Sports University and Medicine at the University of Health Sciences participated in the research. A semi-structured interview was conducted by the researchers based on 10 open-ended questions about foreign language anxiety. Results. Although the perceptions of students’ own English language competence were found to be an important source of anxiety for the interviewed students, most of the respondents perceive the necessity of trying to cope with stress and anxiety themselves. In addition, instructors appeared to be creating the feeling of relaxation rather than being the anxiety-provoking ones in the classroom. Conclusion. Awareness of the fact that FLA really exists and appears to be an obstacle for students’ academic achievement needs to be acknowledged. To address this issue, collaboration rather than competition must be implemented as a tool in classes for further advancement in learning. Therefore, these measures might help to reinforce self-esteem and achieve better results in the foreign language classroom and, thus, in the overall goal of studies in the student learning process.

scholarly journals Motivational Factors in the Acquisition of Welsh in Poland

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Rosiak ◽  
Michael Hornsby
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Catholic University ◽  
Welsh Language ◽  
Group Interviews

Abstract For some years now, Welsh has been taught as a foreign language outside Wales, most especially in other Celtic countries, central Europe – and Poland. The first courses were established in the Catholic University of Lublin in the 1980s, and this provision has expanded over the years to include a Celtic language specialisation within the Faculty of English at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. Relying at first on teachers from Wales to provide instruction in Welsh, the Centre for Celtic Studies is increasingly producing new, competent speakers/users of Welsh among the Poles. An obvious question to be asked concerns motivational issues – why, on the eastern edges of the European Union, are there people willing to put the effort into learning a language from the far west of Europe, when they have, in some cases, little contact with regular users of Welsh? Through the use of focus group interviews, the present study attempts to discover what motivates Polish students to study Welsh in a context of limited direct contact with the speakers of the language and limited, indirect access to Welsh language and culture.

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. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document