oxford - anxiety and the language learner

Affect in Language Learning

Edited by JANE ARNOLD

Cambridge Language

Teaching Library

4 Anxiety and the language learner: new insights Rebecca L. Oxford

Introduction

True story number 1

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Ressa was enrolled in a graduate program in Russian at a famous university. She did not have a strong background in speaking Russian or in understanding spoken Russian, although her reading and writing were passable in the language. Ressa had expected that her graduate program would give her the strength that she lacked in speaking and listening. However, she discovered that the Russian graduate program was taught completely in English with an emphasis on literary analysis, except for the linguistics classes on Old Church Slavonic, which had very little to do with the modern Russian language. Ressa learned that at the end of the first two years of the graduate program, without once having used the Russian language in the classroom, each graduate student was required to stand up in front of a large group of professors and peers and present in flawless Russian a one-hour lecture on some aspect of Russian literature or linguistics. If a student failed in this task, he or she would be thrown out of the program. Ressa's worry began when she found out about that requirement. She did not want to make a fool of herself in front of a mass of professors, nor did she want to face the greatest humiliation: being involunta-rily released from the program. Her anxiety turned to terror; she started having nightmares about the lecture she was required to give. She gained weight and started feeling depressed as well as anxious. What she called her 'terror quotient' became so high that she quit the Russian program. She never told the professors why, and they never asked. By dropping out, she gave up possibilities of using Russian for a career.

4 A n x i e t y a n d t h e l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r

T r u e s t o r y n u m b e r 2

M a u r i c e s t u d i e d F r e n c h i n h i g h s c h o o l a n d m a d e a b o t c h o f i t ,

e a r n i n g f a i l i n g g r a d e s i n F r e n c h a l t h o u g h h e w a s a n h o n o r s

s t u d e n t i n a l l h i s o t h e r c l a s s e s . H e b e l i e v e d h e w a s a t o t a l

l a n g u a g e f a i l u r e . H e d i d n o t k n o w a t t h e t i m e t h a t h e h a d

a u d i t o r y p r o c e s s i n g p r o b l e m s . L a t e r , M a u r i c e n e e d e d t o l e a r n a

f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e t o g r a d u a t e f r o m c o l l e g e . B e c a u s e o f h i s v e r y

p a i n f u l e x p e r i e n c e s e a r l i e r i n h i g h s c h o o l F r e n c h a n d a n e w

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h i s a u d i t o r y d i f f i c u l t i e s , h e k n e w h e c o u l d n o t

l e a r n t h r o u g h c o n v e n t i o n a l m e a n s i n t h e u s u a l l a n g u a g e c l a s s -

r o o m . H i s o n l y h o p e , h e t h o u g h t , w a s s o m e k i n d o f n o n t r a d i -

t i o n a l i m m e r s i o n p r o g r a m . T h e r e f o r e , h e w e n t t o G u a t e m a l a t o

s t u d y S p a n i s h a t a w e l l - r e p u t e d l a n g u a g e i n s t i t u t e . H i s m a i n

g o a l w a s t o l e a r n t o s p e a k S p a n i s h w e l l e n o u g h t o p a s s a

p r o f i c i e n c y t e s t a t t h e u n i v e r s i t y b a c k h o m e . T h e s t a k e s w e r e

h i g h : I f h e d i d n o t p a s s o r d i n a r y c l a s s e s o r t h e l a n g u a g e t e s t , h e

c o u l d n o t g r a d u a t e . H e w a s a l r e a d y a n x i o u s w h e n h e a r r i v e d .

A s a v i s u a l l y - o r i e n t e d l e a r n e r w h o n e e d e d t o s e e t h i n g s w r i t t e n

d o w n , M a u r i c e b e c a m e i n c r e a s i n g l y f e a r f u l w h e n h e w a s p l a c e d

i n a m o s t l y - a u d i t o r y c l a s s i n G u a t e m a l a . H a l f w a y t h r o u g h t h e

c l a s s h e p a n i c l < e d , d e c i d i n g t h a t h e n e e d e d o u t s i d e h e l p . H e

q u i c k l y h i r e d t w o G u a t e m a l a n t u t o r s t o a s s i s t h i m . M a u r i c e ' s

a n x i e t y f i n a l l y d i m i n i s h e d , b e c a u s e h e w a s a b l e t o g e t t h e t u t o r s

t o w r i t e e v e r y t h i n g d o w n f o r h i m . W i t h t h e i r h e l p , h e f i n a l l y

l e a r n e d S p a n i s h w e l l e n o u g h t o p a s s t h e e x a m i n a t i o n . I f h e h a d

n o t a c t e d i n a p o s i t i v e w a y w h e n h e r e c o g n i z e d h i s g r o w i n g

a n x i e t y , M a u r i c e w o u l d h a v e f a i l e d t h e c r u c i a l e x a m i n a t i o n .

T h e s e a r e t w o r e a l - l i f e e x a m p l e s o f l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y . I n t h e f i r s t s t o r y ,

R e s s a ' s a n x i e t y c a u s e d h e r t o d r o p o u t o f t h e p r o g r a m a n d l o s e a

p r o s p e c t i v e c a r e e r i n R u s s i a n . I n t h e s e c o n d s t o r y , M a u r i c e r e c o g n i z e d

h i s a n x i e t y a n d d i d s o m e t h i n g p o s i t i v e a b o u t i t . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , w h e n

l e a r n e r s e x p e r i e n c e l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y , R e s s a ' s r e a c t i o n - g i v i n g u p - i s

m o r e f r e q u e n t t h a n M a u r i c e ' s r e s p o n s e .

L a n g u a g e a n x i e t y i s f e a r o r a p p r e h e n s i o n o c c u r r i n g w h e n a l e a r n e r i s

e x p e c t e d t o p e r f o r m i n t h e s e c o n d o r f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e ( G a r d n e r a n d

M a c i n t y r e 1 9 9 3 ) . T h i s a n x i e t y i s l i n k e d d i r e c t l y t o p e r f o r m i n g i n t h e

t a r g e t l a n g u a g e , s o i t i s n o t j u s t a g e n e r a l p e r f o r m a n c e a n x i e t y ( G a r d n e r

a n d M a c i n t y r e 1 9 9 3 ; H o r w i t z , H o r w i t z a n d C o p e 1 9 8 6 ) . L a n g u a g e

a n x i e t y r a n k s h i g h a m o n g f a c t o r s i n f l u e n c i n g l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g , r e g a r d -

l e s s o f w h e t h e r t h e s e t t i n g i s i n f o r m a l ( l e a r n i n g l a n g u a g e ' o n t h e

s t r e e t s ' ) o r f o r m a l ( i n t h e l a n g u a g e c l a s s r o o m ) .

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4 Anxiety and the language learner

The importance of anxiety in language learning has led to significant research and discussion on the topic (Horwitz and Young 1991; Young in press; H. D. Brown 1994a; Gardner 1985; Oxford 1990a, 199ob; Reid 199 5 ). The purpose of the current chapter is twofold: to present an updated review of the research on language anxiety and to offer classroom implications based on research findings.

Research review

This section reviews research concerning whether language anxiety is a short-term state or a lasting trait, whether it is harmful or helpful, which factors correlate with language anxiety, and how anxiety can be identified in the language classroom.

State or trait Anxiety sometimes arises in response to a particular situation or event (situational or state anxiety), but it can be a major character trait. Language anxiety can start as transitory episodes of fear in a situation in which the student has to perform in the language; at this time, anxiety is simply a passing state. Ideally, language anxiety diminishes over time, as shown in studies of students learning French (e.g., Desrochers and Gardner 1981). However, language anxiety does not decrease over time for all students. If repeated occurrences cause students to associate anxiety with language performance, anxiety becomes a trait rather than a state (Gardner and Macintyre 1993). Once language anxiety has evolved into a lasting trait, it can have pervasive effects on language learning and language performance.

Harmful anxiety Though some language ,researchers assert that a posltlve mode of anxiety exists, most language research shows a negative relationship between anxiety and performance. The negative kind of anxiety is sometimes called 'debilitating anxiety', because it harms learners' performance in many ways, both indirectly through worry and self-doubt and directly by reducing participation and creating overt avoid-ance of the language. Harmful anxiety can be related to plummeting motivation, negative attitudes and beliefs, and language performance difficulties.

Gardner and Macintyre stated that the strongest (negative) correlate

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o f l a n g u a g e a c h i e v e m e n t i s a n x i e t y ( 1 9 9 3 ) . S t u d i e s s h o w t h e n e g a t i v e

c o r r e l a t i o n o f a n x i e t y w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g :

- g r a d e s i n l a n g u a g e c o u r s e s ( A i d a 1 9 9 4 ; H o r w i t z 1 9 8 6 ; T r y l o n g

1 9 8 7 ) ;

- p r o f i c i e n c y t e s t p e r f o r m a n c e ( G a n s c h o w , S p a r k s , A n d e r s o n , J a v o r s k y ,

S k i n n e r a n d P a t t o n 1 9 9 4 ; G a r d n e r , L a l o n d e , M o o r c r o f t a n d E v e r s

1 9 8 7 ) ;

- p e r f o r m a n c e i n s p e a k i n g a n d w r i t i n g t a s k s ( T r y l o n g 1 9 8 7 ; Y o u n g

1 9 8 6 ) ;

- s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e i n l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g ( M a c i n t y r e a n d G a r d n e r 1 9 9 1 ;

G a r d n e r a n d M a c i n t y r e 1 9 9 3 ) ;

- s e l f - e s t e e m , i . e . , t h e j u d g m e n t o f o n e ' s o w n w o r t h ( H o r w i t z , H o r w i t z

a n d C o p e 1 9 8 6 ; P r i c e 1 9 9 1 ; S c a r c e l l a a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 2 ) .

T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y a n d l a n g u a g e p e r f o r m a n c e

i s n o t s i m p l e . Y o u n g ( 1 9 9 1 ) e x p l a i n e d t h a t s o m e t i m e s l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y

i s n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d t o o n e s k i l l a n d n o t a n o t h e r . G a n s c h o w , S p a r k s ,

A n d e r s o n , J a v o r s k y , S k i l l e r a n d P a t t o n ( 1 9 9 4 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t h i g h

a n x i e t y m i g h t b e a r e s u l t o f l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g p r o b l e m s r a t h e r t h a n t h e

c a u s e .

H e l p f u l a n x i e t y

S o m e r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t e d t h a t l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y w a s a c t u a l l y ' h e l p f u l '

o r ' f a c i l i t a t i n g ' i n s o m e w a y s , s u c h a s k e e p i n g s t u d e n t s a l e r t ( S c o v e l

1 9 7 8 ) . H e l p f u l a n x i e t y h a s b e e n s h o w n i n a f e w s t u d i e s t o b e r e l a t e d t o :

- h i g h l a n g u a g e p r o f i c i e n c y a n d s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e a m o n g a h a n d - p i c k e d

g r o u p o f e x c e l l e n t l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s ( E h r m a n a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 5 ) ;

- o r a l p r o d u c t i o n o f d i f f i c u l t E n g l i s h s t r u c t u r e s a m o n g n a t i v e A r a b i c -

s p e a k e r s a n d S p a n i s h - s p e a k e r s ( K l e i n m a n n 1 9 7 7 ) ;

- g o o d g r a d e s i n l a n g u a g e c l a s s e s f o r s t u d e n t s i n r e g u l a r F r e n c h ,

G e r m a n , a n d S p a n i s h c l a s s e s b u t n o t f o r s t u d e n t s i n a u d i o l i n g u a l

c l a s s e s ( C h a s t a i n 1 9 7 5 ) .

L a n g u a g e r e s e a r c h e r s h o l d d i f f e r e n t v i e w s a b o u t t h e e x i s t e n c e o r

s i g n i f i c a n c e o f h e l p f u l a n x i e t y . H o r w i t z ( 1 9 9 0 ) s t a t e d t h a t a n x i e t y i s

o n l y h e l p f u l f o r v e r y s i m p l e l e a r n i n g t a s k s , b u t n o t w i t h m o r e c o m p l i -

c a t e d l e a r n i n g s u c h a s l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g . Y o u n g ( I 9 9 2 ) i n t e r v i e w e d

l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g e x p e r t s R a r d i n , O m a g g i o H a d l e y , T e r r e l l a n d

K r a s h e n a b o u t t h e i r v i e w s o n t h e h e l p f u l n e s s o f l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y .

R a r d i n r e s p o n d e d t h a t a p o s i t i v e a s p e c t o f a n x i e t y o p e r a t e s a l l t h e t i m e ,

b u t w e o n l y n o t i c e w h e n a n e g a t i v e i m b a l a n c e o c c u r s . O m a g g i o H a d l e y

s u g g e s t e d t h a t a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f t e n s i o n m i g h t b e u s e f u l f o r l a n g u a g e

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o f l a n g u a g e a c h i e v e m e n t i s a n x i e t y ( 1 9 9 3 ) . S t u d i e s s h o w t h e n e g a t i v e

c o r r e l a t i o n o f a n x i e t y w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g :

- g r a d e s i n l a n g u a g e c o u r s e s ( A i d a 1 9 9 4 ; H o r w i t z 1 9 8 6 ; T r y l o n g

I 9 8 7 ) ;

- p r o f i c i e n c y t e s t p e r f o r m a n c e ( G a n s c h o w , S p a r k s , A n d e r s o n , J a v o r s k y ,

S k i n n e r a n d P a t t o n 1 9 9 4 ; G a r d n e r , L a l o n d e , M o o r c r o f t a n d E v e r s

1 9 8 7 ) ;

- p e r f o r m a n c e i n s p e a k i n g a n d w r i t i n g t a s k s ( T r y l o n g 1 9 8 7 ; Y o u n g

1 9 8 6 ) ;

- s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e i n l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g ( M a c i n t y r e a n d G a r d n e r 1 9 9 1 ;

G a r d n e r a n d M a c i n t y r e 1 9 9 3 ) ;

- s e l f - e s t e e m , i . e . , t h e j u d g m e n t o f o n e ' s o w n w o r t h ( H o r w i t z , H o r w i t z

a n d C o p e 1 9 8 6 ; P r i c e 1 9 9 1 ; S c a r c e l l a a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 2 ) .

T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y a n d l a n g u a g e p e r f o r m a n c e

i s n o t s i m p l e . Y o u n g ( 1 9 9 1 ) e x p l a i n e d t h a t s o m e t i m e s l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y

i s n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d t o o n e s k i l l a n d n o t a n o t h e r . G a n s c h o w , S p a r k s ,

A n d e r s o n , J a v o r s k y , S k i l l e r a n d P a t t o n ( 1 9 9 4 ) s u g g e s t e d t h a t h i g h

a n x i e t y m i g h t b e a r e s u l t o f l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g p r o b l e m s r a t h e r t h a n t h e

c a u s e .

H e l p f u l a n x i e t y

S o m e r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t e d t h a t l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y w a s a c t u a l l y ' h e l p f u l '

o r ' f a c i l i t a t i n g ' i n s o m e w a y s , s u c h a s k e e p i n g s t u d e n t s a l e r t ( S c o v e l

1 9 7 8 ) . H e l p f u l a n x i e t y h a s b e e n s h o w n i n a f e w s t u d i e s t o b e r e l a t e d t o :

- h i g h l a n g u a g e p r o f i c i e n c y a n d s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e a m o n g a h a n d - p i c k e d

g r o u p o f e x c e l l e n t l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s ( E h r m a n a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 5 ) ;

- o r a l p r o d u c t i o n o f d i f f i c u l t E n g l i s h s t r u c t u r e s a m o n g n a t i v e A r a b i c -

s p e a k e r s a n d S p a n i s h - s p e a k e r s ( K l e i n m a n n 1 9 7 7 ) ;

- g o o d g r a d e s i n l a n g u a g e c l a s s e s f o r s t u d e n t s i n r e g u l a r F r e n c h ,

G e r m a n , a n d S p a n i s h c l a s s e s b u t n o t f o r s t u d e n t s i n a u d i o l i n g u a l

c l a s s e s ( C h a s t a i n 1 9 7 5 ) .

L a n g u a g e r e s e a r c h e r s h o l d d i f f e r e n t v i e w s a b o u t t h e e x i s t e n c e o r

s i g n i f i c a n c e o f h e l p f u l a n x i e t y . H o r w i t z ( 1 9 9 0 ) s t a t e d t h a t a n x i e t y i s

o n l y h e l p f u l f o r v e r y s i m p l e l e a r n i n g t a s k s , b u t n o t w i t h m o r e c o m p l i -

c a t e d l e a r n i n g s u c h a s l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g . Y o u n g ( I 9 9 2 ) i n t e r v i e w e d

l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g e x p e r t s R a r d i n , O m a g g i o H a d l e y , T e r r e l l a n d

K r a s h e n a b o u t t h e i r v i e w s o n t h e h e l p f u l n e s s o f l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y .

R a r d i n r e s p o n d e d t h a t a p o s i t i v e a s p e c t o f a n x i e t y o p e r a t e s a l l t h e t i m e ,

b u t w e o n l y n o t i c e w h e n a n e g a t i v e i m b a l a n c e o c c u r s . O m a g g i o H a d l e y

s u g g e s t e d t h a t a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f t e n s i o n m i g h t b e u s e f u l f o r l a n g u a g e

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learning, but she refused to term this tension 'anxiety'. Likewise, Terrell preferred to call such tension 'attention' rather than 'anxiety'. Krashen contended that there is no helpful aspect to anxiety in language acquisition, which almost by definition requires that anxiety be zero, but that helpful anxiety might exist for language tasks in formal language learning situations. Clearly, the jury is still out concerning the existence of helpful anxiety.

Correlates of language anxiety Correlates of language anxiety range from highly personal (such as

self-esteem) to procedural (such as classroom activities and methods).

Self -esteem Self-esteem is a self-judgment of worth or value, based on feelings of efficacy, a sense of interacting effectively with one's own environment. Efficacy implies that some degree of control exists within oneself. Unsuccessful language learners often have lower self-esteem than suc-cessful language learners (Price 1991). Whether this affects their overall self-esteem or only their situational self-esteem partly depends on how important language learning is to the individuals involved. Self-esteem is vulnerable when the learner perceives himself or herself as very competent in the native language and totally inadequate or limited in the target language (Price 1991). Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (r986) noted that foreign language learning can cause a threat to self-esteem by depriving learners of their normal means of communication, their freedom to make errors, and their ability to behave like normal people. Among highly anxious language students, those with high self-esteem might handle their anxiety better than those with low self-esteem, resulting in better performance. Like anxiety, self-esteem can be a trait (an inherent personality characteristic) or a state (related to a particular situation). A person can feel good about himself or herself globally or generally, yet at the same time experience low self-esteem in a particular situation or environment (Scarcella and Oxford 1992).

Tolerance of ambiguity Tolerance of ambiguity is the acceptance of confusing situations. Second language learning has a great deal of ambiguity about meanings, referents and pronunciation, and this can often raise language anxiety. Therefore, a degree of ambiguity-tolerance is essential for language learners. Students who are able to tolerate moderate levels of confusion


a r e l i k e l y t o p e r s i s t l o n g e r i n l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g t h a n s t u d e n t s w h o a r e

o v e r l y f r i g h t e n e d b y t h e a m b i g u i t i e s i n h e r e n t i n l e a r n i n g a n e w l a n g u a g e

( C h a p e l l e a n d R o b e r t s I 9 8 6 ) .

R i s k - t a k i n g

S t u d e n t s w h o a r e h i g h l y a n x i o u s a b o u t t h e f r e q u e n t a m b i g u i t i e s o f

l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g o f t e n s u f f e r r e d u c e d r i s k - t a k i n g a b i l i t y . I t i s m o r e

u s e f u l f o r l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s t o t a k e m o d e r a t e b u t i n t e l l i g e n t r i s k s , s u c h

a s g u e s s i n g m e a n i n g s b a s e d o n b a c k g r o u n d k n o w l e d g e a n d s p e a k i n g u p

d e s p i t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f m a k i n g o c c a s i o n a l m i s t a k e s , r a t h e r t h a n t a k i n g

n o r i s k s a t a l l o r t a k i n g e x t r e m e , u n i n f o r m e d r i s k s ( O x f o r d I 9 9 0 a ,

I 9 9 o b ; H . D . B r o w n I 9 9 4 a ) . L a n g u a g e s t u d e n t s w h o f e a r a m b i g u i t y o r

w h o s e s e l f - e s t e e m i s l o w , f r e q u e n t l y ' f r e e z e u p ' , a l l o w i n g t h e i r i n h i b i -

t i o n s t o t a k e o v e r c o m p l e t e J y ( B e e b e I 9 8 3 ) . D e c r e a s e s i n r i s k - t a k i n g

f r e q u e n t l y o c c u r w h e n s t u d e n t s f e e l e x t r e m e d i s c o m f o r t i n t h e l a n g u a g e

c l a s s r o o m ( E l y I 9 8 6 ) . S t u d e n t s w h o a v o i d r i s k s a r e s t a l l e d b y a c t u a l o r

a n t i c i p a t e d c r i t i c i s m f r o m o t h e r s o r b y s e l f - c r i t i c i s m t h a t t h e y t h e m -

s e l v e s s u p p l y . W h e n t h e y d o n o t h a v e e n o u g h p r a c t i c e , t h e i r l a n g u a g e

d e v e l o p m e n t b e c o m e s s e r i o u s l y s t u n t e d .

C o m p e t i t i v e n e s s

U s i n g d i a r y s t u d i e s o f l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s , B a i l e y ( I 9 8 3 ) a s s e r t e d t h a t

c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s c a n l e a d t o l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y . T h i s h a p p e n s w h e n

l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s c o m p a r e t h e m s e l v e s t o o t h e r s o r t o a n i d e a l i z e d s e l f -

i m a g e , w h i c h t h e y c a n r a r e l y a t t a i n . S c a r c e l l a a n d O x f o r d ( I 9 9 2 ) a g r e e d

t h a t c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s c a n r e l a t e t o l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y b u t s u g g e s t e d t h a t

t h i s l i n k d o e s n o t o c c u r i n a l l s t u d e n t s . S o m e s t u d e n t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e

i n c o m p e t i t i v e c u l t u r e s , t h r i v e o n c o m p e t i t i o n . T h e e m o t i o n a l i m p o r t o f

c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s f o r a g i v e n i n d i v i d u a l d e p e n d s o n t h e l e a r n i n g s t y l e

p r e f e r e n c e s o f t h e s t u d e n t , t h e p r e c i s e n a t u r e o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n , a n d

t h e d e m a n d s a n d r e w a r d s o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t .

S o c i a l a n x i e t y

S o c i a l a n x i e t y c a n i n c l u d e s p e e c h a n x i e t y , s h y n e s s , s t a g e f r i g h t , e m b a r -

r a s s m e n t , s o c i a l - e v a l u a t i v e a n x i e t y a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n a p p r e h e n s i o n

( L e a r y I 9 8 3 ) . S o c i a l a n x i e t y o c c u r s a l o n g w i t h t h e p r o s p e c t o r a c t u a l

p r e s e n c e o f i n t e r p e r s o n a l e v a l u a t i o n . P e o p l e w h o a r e h i g h l y c o n c e r n e d

a b o u t o t h e r s ' e v a l u a t i o n s o f t h e m - a n d w e m i g h t a s s u m e t h e s e t o b e

p e o p l e w i t h s h a k y s e l f - e s t e e m a n d / o r s t r o n g e x t e r n a l l o c u s o f c o n t r o l

( t h e l e a r n e r ' s b e l i e f t h a t h i s o r o w n p e r f o r m a n c e i s c o n t r o l l e d b y

6 3


external factors) - tend to act in ways that minimize the likelihood of negative assessments. These people are more likely to avoid or with-draw from social situations in which others might view them negatively. When they relate to others, they often fail to take the initiative or participate only minimally in conversations (Aida 1994). In the lan-guage classroom, this is observable in behaviors such as keeping silent, responding only when necessary, being passive, and avoiding class entirely. Communication apprehension is defined as a person's level of anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons (McCroskey 1984). People who suffer from communication apprehension are more reluctant to converse or interact with others; therefore, they tend to avoid communication or withdraw from it as soon as possible. McCroskey, Payer and Richmond (1985) and Foss and Reitzel (1988) observed communication apprehension in ESLIEFL classrooms.

Test anxiety Test anxiety can be part of social anxiety, particularly in an evaluative situation where the student is asked to communicate in the target language. However, test anxiety can occur in noncommunicative situa-tions, too. Test anxiety is 'the tendency to become alarmed about the consequences of inadequate performance on a test or other evaluation' (Sarason 1984), regardless of whether the fears are realistic. Students with test anxiety frequently experience cognitive interference (Sarason 1984) and have a difficult time focusing on the task at hand (Aida 1994).

Identity and culture shock Identification with a language group or target culture implies that the learner is an insider, a member of the 'club' of French, Spanish, German or Chinese speakers. Young ( 1992) suggested that anxiety is lower (that is, the affective filter is reduced) if a student feels such identification, and anxiety is higher if the student does not identify with the language group. Paradoxically, for other learners anxiety can arise because of over-identification with the language group and the concurrent feeling of loss of personal identity. This idea is similar to Guiora's ( 1972) theory of language ego and Clarke's (1976) theory of clash of consciousness.

Anxiety about losing one's own identity can be part of culture shock. Culture shock is defined as 'a form of anxiety that results from the loss of commonly perceived and understood signs and symbols of social intercourse' (Adler 1987:25). Culture shock can involve some or all of


t h e s e s y m p t o m s : e m o t i o n a l r e g r e s s i o n , p h y s i c a l i l l n e s s , p a n i c , a n g e r ,

h o p e l e s s n e s s , s e l f - p i t y , l a c k o f c o n f i d e n c e , i n d e c i s i o n , s a d n e s s , a l i e n a -

t i o n , a s e n s e o f d e c e p t i o n , a p e r c e p t i o n o f ' r e d u c e d p e r s o n a l i t y ' , a n d

g l o r i f i c a t i o n o f o n e ' s o w n n a t i v e c u l t u r e . H o w e v e r , i f h a n d l e d e f f e c -

t i v e l y , c u l t u r e s h o c k c a n b e c o m e a c r o s s - c u l t u r a l l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t y

i n v o l v i n g i n c r e a s e d c u l t u r a l a w a r e n e s s , i n c r e a s e d s e l f - a w a r e n e s s a n d

r e i n t e g r a t i o n o f p e r s o n a l i t y ( A d l e r 1 9 8 7 ) .

B e l i e f s

R e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e b e l i e f s o f b o t h l e a r n e r s a n d i n s t r u c t o r s a r e

l i n k e d t o l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y ( a n d p o s s i b l y t o l e a r n e r p e r f o r m a n c e

t h r o u g h i n s t r u c t o r s ' c l a s s r o o m p r o c e d u r e s a n d s t u d e n t s ' r e s p o n s e s t o

t h o s e p r o c e d u r e s , d i s c u s s e d l a t e r ) . F o r e i g n l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r s i n

H o r w i t z ' s ( 1 9 8 8 ) s t u d y b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e y s h o u l d b e a b l e t o s p e a k w i t h

g r e a t a c c u r a c y a n d a n e x c e l l e n t a c c e n t , l a n g u a g e l e a r n i n g c o n s i s t s

m a i n l y o f t r a n s l a t i o n f r o m E n g l i s h , t w o y e a r s i s l o n g e n o u g h t o b e c o m e

f l u e n t , a n d s o m e p e o p l e c o u l d l e a r n l a n g u a g e s m o r e e a s i l y t h a n o t h e r s .

S o m e o f t h e s e b e l i e f s w e r e e x t r e m e l y u n r e a l i s t i c a n d l e d t o l a n g u a g e

a n x i e t y . M a n y l a n g u a g e t e a c h e r s m a i n t a i n t h e b e l i e f t h a t t h e y s h o u l d b e

d i r e c t i v e , a u t h o r i t a r i a n a n d e v e n i n t i m i d a t i n g a n d t h a t t h e y m u s t

c o r r e c t e v e r y e r r o r . H o w e v e r , t h e s e b e h a v i o r s c a n l e a d t o l a n g u a g e

a n x i e t y ( Y o u n g 1 9 9 1 ) .

C l a s s r o o m a c t i v i t i e s a n d m e t h o d s

K o c h a n d T e r r e l l ( 1 9 9 1 ) f o u n d t h a t m o r e t h a n h a l f o f t h e i r s u b j e c t s

r e p o r t e d o r a l s k i t s a n d o r a l p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n f r o n t o f t h e c l a s s a s t h e

m o s t a n x i e t y - p r o d u c i n g a c t i v i t i e s a n d t h a t o r a l q u i z z e s a n d b e i n g c a l l e d

o n t o r e s p o n d o r a l l y w e r e a l s o a n x i e t y - p r o d u c i n g . S i m i l a r r e s u l t s w e r e

f o u n d b y H o r w i t z a n d Y o u n g ( 1 9 9 1 ) a n d Y o u n g ( i n p r e s s ) . Y e t s p e a k i n g

t a s k s a r e n o t t h e o n l y a n x i e t y t r i g g e r s . F o r s o m e l a n g u a g e s t u d e n t s ,

w r i t i n g , r e a d i n g o r l i s t e n i n g c a n a l s o c r e a t e f e a r , d e p e n d i n g o n t h e

s t u d e n t ( s e e H o r w i t z a n d Y o u n g 1 9 9 1 ; S c a r c e l l a a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 2 ) .

S o m e t e a c h i n g m e t h o d s , s u c h a s C o m m u n i t y L a n g u a g e L e a r n i n g , c a n

r e d u c e l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y f o r m a n y l e a r n e r s ( S a m i m y a n d R a r d i n 1 9 9 4 ) .

I n s t r u c t o r - l e a r n e r i n t e r a c t i o n s

M a n y r e s e a r c h e r s r e l a t e l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y t o i n s t r u c t o r - l e a r n e r i n t e r -

a c t i o n s ( H o r w i t z , H o r w i t z a n d C o p e 1 9 8 6 ; K o c h a n d T e r r e l l 1 9 9 1 ;

P r i c e 1 9 9 1 ; S c a r c e l l a a n d O x f o r d 1 9 9 2 ; Y o u n g 1 9 9 0 ) . H a r s h e r r o r

c o r r e c t i o n , r i d i c u l e a n d t h e u n c o m f o r t a b l e h a n d l i n g o f m i s t a k e s i n f r o n t

6 s


of a class are among the most important instructor-learner interaction issues related to language anxiety. An important aspect of instructor-learner interaction has frequently been overlooked: style conflicts between teachers and students. Teacher-student learning style conflicts have been shown to relate to lower grades for students and to contribute to stress in the classroom (Oxford, Ehrman, and Lavine 1991).

Ways to identify language anxiety Teachers and researchers might sometimes be able to infer language anxiety through tests of general anxiety. However, this practice is not recommended (Gardner and Macintyre 1993) because researchers view language anxiety as a specific phenomenon that is better assessed directly. A number of instruments exist, the best known of which is the 'Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale' or FLCAS, by Horwitz (r986). The FLCAS was developed to capture the specific anxiety reaction of a student to a foreign language situation. This instrument integrates three related anxieties - communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation - but is more than the sum of these parts (Aida 1994; Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1986). Language anxiety is often readily observable even without an instrument like the FLCAS. However, behaviors vary across cultures, and what might seem like anxious behavior in one culture might be normal behavior m another culture. The following are likely signs of language anxiety.

- General avoidance: 'Forgetting' the answer, showing carelessness, cutting class, coming late, arriving unprepared, low levels of verbal production, lack of volunteering in class, seeming inability to answer even the simplest questions.

- Physical actions: Squirming, fidgeting, playing with hair or clothing, nervously touching objects, stuttering or stammering, displaying jittery behavior, being unable to reproduce the sounds or intonation of the target language even after repeated practice. Physical symptoms: Complaining about a headache, experiencing tight muscles, feeling unexplained pain or tension in any part of the body. Other signs which might reflect language anxiety, depending on the culture: overstudying, perfectionism, social avoidance, conversational withdrawal, lack of eye contact, hostility, monosyllabic or noncom-mittal responses, image protection or masking behaviors (exaggerated smiling, laughing, nodding, joking), failing to interrupt when it would be natural to do so, excessive competitiveness, excessive self-effacement and self-criticism ('I am so stupid').

66


C l a s s r o o m i m p l i c a t i o n s

A f t e r d i a g n o s i n g a n x i o u s b e h a v i o r , l a n g u a g e t e a c h e r s c a n a c t t o r e d u c e

a n x i e t y , d e p e n d i n g o n s t u d e n t s ' n e e d s a n d c u l t u r a l b a c k g r o u n d .

T e a c h e r s c a n u s e a n y o r a l l o f t h e f o l l o w i n g s u g g e s t i o n s f o r d i m i n i s h i n g

l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y .

- H e l p s t u d e n t s u n d e r s t a n d t h a t l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y e p i s o d e s c a n b e

t r a n s i e n t a n d d o n o t i n e v i t a b l y d e v e l o p i n t o a l a s t i n g p r o b l e m .

- B o o s t t h e s e l f - e s t e e m a n d s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e o f s t u d e n t s f o r w h o m

l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y h a s a l r e a d y b e c o m e a l o n g - t e r m t r a i t b y p r o v i d i n g

m u l t i p l e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r c l a s s r o o m s u c c e s s i n t h e l a n g u a g e .

- E n c o u r a g e m o d e r a t e r i s k - t a k i n g a n d t o l e r a n c e o f a m b i g u i t y i n a

c o m f o r t a b l e , n o n - t h r e a t e n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t .

- R e d u c e t h e c o m p e t i t i o n p r e s e n t i n t h e c l a s s r o o m .

- B e v e r y c l e a r a b o u t c l a s s r o o m g o a l s a n d h e l p s t u d e n t s d e v e l o p

s t r a t e g i e s t o m e e t t h o s e g o a l s .

- G i v e s t u d e n t s p e r m i s s i o n t o u s e t h e l a n g u a g e w i t h l e s s t h a n p e r f e c t

p e r f o r m a n c e .

- E n c o u r a g e s t u d e n t s t o r e l a x t h r o u g h m u s i c , l a u g h t e r o r g a m e s .

- U s e f a i r t e s t s w i t h u n a m b i g u o u s , f a m i l i a r i t e m t y p e s .

- H e l p s t u d e n t s r e a l i s t i c a l l y a s s e s s t h e i r p e r f o r m a n c e .

- G i v e r e w a r d s t h a t a r e m e a n i n g f u l t o s t u d e n t s a n d t h a t h e l p s u p p o r t

l a n g u a g e u s e .

- P r o v i d e a c t i v i t i e s t h a t a d d r e s s v a r i e d l e a r n i n g s t y l e s a n d s t r a t e g i e s i n

t h e c l a s s r o o m .

- E n a b l e s t u d e n t s t o r e c o g n i z e s y m p t o m s o f a n x i e t y a n d i d e n t i f y

a n x i e t y - m a i n t a i n i n g b e l i e f s .

- H e l p s t u d e n t s p r a c t i c e p o s i t i v e s e l f - t a l k ( s e l f - e n c o u r a g e m e n t ) a n d

c o g n i t i v e ' r e f r a m i n g ' o f n e g a t i v e o r i r r a t i o n a l i d e a s .

U s i n g s u g g e s t i o n s s u c h a s t h e s e , t e a c h e r s c a n e n a b l e s t u d e n t s t o d e a l

m o r e e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y . W h e n t e a c h e r s h e l p t h e i r

s t u d e n t s r e d u c e l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y , s i t u a t i o n s s u c h a s R e s s a ' s a n d

M a u r i c e ' s c a n b e h a l t e d b e f o r e b e c o m i n g f u l l - b l o w n d i s a s t e r s . S t u d e n t s

l i k e R e s s a a n d M a u r i c e - a n d m a n y o t h e r s - c a n b e s p a r e d t h e p a i n o f

s e v e r e l a n g u a g e a n x i e t y a n d c a n e x p e r i e n c e w h a t i t m e a n s t o s u c c e e d i n

t h e l a n g u a g e c l a s s r o o m .

6 7

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