Language Anxiety in a Further Education Context

Abstract

As an educator with twenty years’ experience in one foreign language, as well as a learner of several others, the present writer has observed how strongly L2 acquisition and use may be affected by the anxiety which can accompany the process of learning. While apprehension frequently occurs in educational domains, it seems to be particularly prevalent in FL acquisition. This is largely attributable to the fact that language learning is a personal process, closely connected to the learner’s ego. Foreign language learners endeavour to express themselves authentically with the limited resources at their command. Chapter One describes socio-affective variables such as student motivation, attitudes, beliefs, self-esteem, self-efficacy and inhibition. Chapter Two describes emotions experienced by foreign language students and the phenomenon of unwillingness to communicate. Chapter Three analyses FL anxiety. Sources, manifestations and language anxiety effects are presented as well as the role of anxiety in all aspects of foreign language learning, i.e. grammar, vocabulary pronunciation, speaking, listening, reading and writing. Possibilities for reducing apprehension related to each component are put forward. An important part of the chapter is the relationship between anxiety and what happens in the classroom. The empirical part of the thesis aims to investigate foreign language anxiety and its stability in the further education context in Poland. Chapter Four deals with quantitative data while Chapter Five features qualitative data analysis. The chapter includes extracts from student narratives and action points for improving the researcher’s teaching in order to ensure that it is not anxiety-provoking.