Foreign language anxiety of an Ecuadorian polytechnic university’s English undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis research aimed to identify the levels of stress students experience, the different sources that generate them and the relationship between the stress levels and the students' gender.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods design was used, focusing on the quantitative stage. The qualitative section was designed to obtain supporting information. 86 Ecuadorian undergraduate polytechnic students enrolled in an English course took part in this study. Quantitative data are obtained using the Telecollaborative Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (T-FLAS), while online interviews supply insight from students.FindingsThe present research identified four types of anxiety related to emergency remote teaching (ERT). Communication anxiety is one of them that has also been found in regular foreign language classes (Horowitz et al., 1986). However, the actual contribution is regarding the other three sources of ERT-related anxiety: Online interaction anxiety, ERT anxiety and technology anxiety. Also, it was identified that girls experience higher anixety levels than men do.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study is the T-FLAS, a tool that has not been widely used. However, as Fondo and Jacobetty (2020) reported, other papers have made use of this novel tool. Another limitation to this research is the number of participants; although it is not very small, it might not be considered large enough for generalization purposes. Also, this study was limited by its scope, which only looked at the relationship between the students' genders and anxiety levels.Practical implicationsFirst, this researcher recommends that language departments use the survey at the beginning of each semester. That way, there will be a clear idea of the sources of anxiety students are experiencing, and measures can be taken to lower those anxiety-causing factors. Also, this study shows students experiencing a high level of anxiety when they are required to interact with their peers using a foreign language. Thus, supplying practice through guided discussions and role-plays should allow learners to reduce their anxiety levels and perform better during these kinds of exchanges in the short term.Social implicationsAnother issue reported by this study is the feelings of uneasiness when turning cameras on to do an exercise or taking quizzes and exams, as learners feel like their classmates and teachers are invading their homes. It is recommended that the Student Welfare Department of the educational institutions deal with this and other issues. They can design intervention, relaxation and yoga programs for students who are feeling anxious to help them lower those feeling and allow them to have better interactions in class during these times of remote learning.Originality/valueThis paper's originality lies in the fact that it looks at anxiety from the point of view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the move it had to be made to the digital realm. It identifies three factors that are new and related 100% to emergency remote teaching–learning. It is also valuable as it is looking at data emerging for a South American country, as data are scarce from this continent and especially from Ecuador.

Foreign Language Anxiety and Individualism-Collectivism Culture: A Top-Down Approach for a Country/Regional-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.

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

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.

“POR QUE NÃO JOGO TUDO PRA CIMA E ABANDONO DE VEZ O APRENDIZADO EM INGLÊS?” REFLEXÕES E ENTENDIMENTOS SOBRE A ANSIEDADE DE LÍNGUA ESTRANGEIRA / “Why don’t I throw it all to the wind and give up learning English once and for all?” Reflections and understandings about foreign language anxiety

A ansiedade de língua estrangeira (ALE) vem sendo amplamente investigada como um dos fatores de ordem afetiva que mais negativamente interfere no processo de ensino-aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras e causa sofrimento emocional aos aprendizes e usuários dessas línguas (HORWITZ, 1986, 2010). Este estudo de caso de cunho qualitativo em andamento, se insere na área da linguística aplicada e no arcabouço ético, teórico e metodológico da Prática Exploratória (ALLWRIGHT, 1991, 2003). A pesquisa tem como objetivos apresentar os sentimentos de um aprendiz adulto que se considera ansioso em relação à aprendizagem e uso da língua inglesa, seus puzzles sobre a sua vivência na língua inglesa e entendimentos (co)construídos em um encontro ocorrido na plataforma RNP, no qual foi realizada uma conversa exploratória. Dos quinze puzzles criados pelo participante, onze foram selecionados para a análise interpretativa. O aporte teórico que embasa a pesquisa inclui a conceituação, a tipologia e os instrumentos de aferição da ALE, assim como a sua relação com a Prática Exploratória, que traz em seu cerne princípios e propósitos. Os dados mostram que o aprendiz apresenta sentimentos negativos em relação à aprendizagem e ao uso da língua inglesa condizentes com a literatura sobre a ALE. O percurso reflexivo trilhado durante a conversa exploratória sobre os puzzles criados pelo participante nos trouxe entendimentos sobre esses sentimentos negativos e sobre como algumas características da sua personalidade podem interferir na sua qualidade de vida enquanto aprendiz e usuário da língua inglesa.