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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Students’ Level of Anxiety Towards Learning English as a Foreign Language: Students’ Perspectives
Author(s)
Amal Shehadeh AlNatour
Full-Text PDF
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DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2018.03.001
Affiliation(s)
Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to study the level of anxiety among Yarmouk University students in Jordan/Irbid and to investigate if there are any statistically significant differences in anxiety level attributed to gender. The sample of the study consisted of 280 students (150 females and 130 males) who were enrolled in English Language service courses Eng 99, Eng 101 in the second semester 2016/2017. The researcher adopted a scale to collect data and to achieve the goals of the study. The instrument had 33 items on required multiple choice answers with a five-point Likert scale. The results show that the participants generally had a feeling of anxiety in learning English. They experienced Test Anxiety and Fear of Negative Evaluation. Moreover, the results show that there are statistically significant differences in anxiety level attributed to gender in favor of male students. The researcher recommends conducting further studies that focus on developing anxiety free classroom environment during teaching English as a foreign or second language.
KEYWORDS
anxiety, English language learning, English 101, teaching foreign language, students’ perspectives
Cite this paper
References
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Andrade, M., & Williams, K. (2009). Foreign language learning anxiety in Japanese EFL university classes: Physical, emotional, expressive, and verbal reactions. Sophia Junior College Faculty Journal, 29, 1-24.
Arnold, J (Ed.). (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Arnold, J. (2000). Seeing through listening comprehension exam anxiety. TESOL Quarterly, 34(4), 777-786.
Aydin, B. (1999). A study of the sources of foreign language classroom anxiety in speaking and writing classes (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey).
Aydin, S. (2013). Factors affecting the level of test anxiety among EFL learners at elementary schools. E-international Journal of Educational Research, 4(1), 63-81.
Bailey, P., Daley, C. E., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1999). Foreign language anxiety and learning style. Foreign Language Annals, 32(1), 63-76.
Bensoussan, M., & Zeidner, M. (1989). Anxiety and achievement in a multicultural situation: The oral testing of advanced reading comprehension. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 14(1), 40-54.
Brown, H. D. (1973). Affective variables in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 23, 231-244.
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. New York: Pearson Education.
Campbell, C. M., & Ortiz, J. A. (1991). Helping students overcome foreign language anxiety: A foreign language anxiety workshop. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 153-168). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Chastain, K. (1975). Affective and ability factors in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 25(1), 153-161.
CHENG, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49(3), 417-446.
Cubukcu, F. (2007). Foreign language anxiety. Iranian Journal of Language Studies, 1(2), 133-142.
Daly, J. A. (1991). Understanding communication apprehension: An introduction for language educators. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 3-13). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dewaele, J. (2002). Psychological and socio-demographic correlates of communicative anxiety L2 and L3 production. International Journal of Bilingualism, 6(1), 23-38.
Ehrman, M. E., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 67-89.
Elkhafaifi, H. (2005). Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 89(2), 206-220.
Gai, F. P., & Yang, D. (2010). A study on college students’ anxiety to spoken English. Canadian Social Science, 6(2), 95-101.
Ganschow, L., Javorsky, J., Sparks, R. L., Skinner, S., Anderson, R., & Patton, J. (1994). Differences in language performance among high, average, and low-anxious college foreign language learners. The Modern Language Journal, 78(1), 41-55.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C., Day, J. B., & McIntyre, P. D. (1992). Integrative motivation, induced anxiety, and language learning in a controlled environment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14(2), 197-214.
Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 562-570.
Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.
Horwitz, E. K. (2000). It ain’t over til it’s over: On foreign language anxiety, first language deficits, and the confounding of variables. Modern Language Journal, 84, 256-259.
Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112-126.
Horwitz, E. K. (2009). Cultural identity and language anxiety: How self-concept and cultural expectations interact with performance in a second language. In P. CHENG and J. X. YAN (Eds.), Cultural identity and language anxiety (pp. 57-69). Guanxi, China: Guangxi Normal University Press.
Horwitz, E. K., & Young, D. (Eds.). (1991). Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Horwitz, E. K., Tallon, M., & LUO, H. (2010). Foreign language anxiety. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties (pp. 95-115). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Jackson, J. (2002). Reticence in second language case discussions: Anxiety and aspirations. System, 30(1), 65-84.
Kelly ,W. E. (2002). Anxiety and the prediction of task duration: A preliminary analysis. The Journal of Psychology, 136(1), 53-58.
Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the college Japanese language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85, 549-566.
Kuru Gonen, S. I. (2005). The sources of foreign language reading anxiety of students in a Turkish EFL context (M.A. thesis dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskisehir).
LIU, H., & CHEN, T. (2013). Foreign language anxiety in young learners: How it relates to multiple intelligences, learner attitudes, and perceived competence. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(5), 932-938.
LIU, M. (2007). Anxiety in oral English classrooms: A case study in China. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(1), 119-137.
MacIntyre, P. D. (1995). How does anxiety affect second language learning? A reply to Sparks and Ganschow. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 90-99.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and second language learning: Toward a theoretical clarification. Language Learning, 39(2), 251-275.
Matsuda, S., & Gobel, P. (2001). Quiet apprehension: Reading and classroom anxieties. JALT Journal, 23(1-2), 227-247.
Na, Z. (2007). A study of high school students’ English learning anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal, 9(3), 22-34.
Oh, J. (1992). The Effects of L2 reading assessment methods on anxiety level. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 172-176.
Ohata, K. (2005). Potential sources of anxiety for Japanese learners of English: Preliminary case of interviews with five Japanese college students in the US. TESL-EJ, 9(3), 2-23.
Oxford, R. (1999a). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights (pp. 58-67). In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R. (1999b). “Style wars” as a source of anxiety in language classrooms. In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 216-237). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
Palacios, L. M. (1998). Foreign language anxiety and classroom environment: A study of Spanish university students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas, Austin).
Pappamihiel, N. E. (2002). English as a second language students and English language anxiety: Issues in the mainstream classroom. Research in the Teaching of English, 36, 327-355.
Petridou, A., & Williams, J. (2007). Accounting for aberrant test response patterns using multilevel models. Journal of Educational Measurement, 44(3), 227-247.
Price, M. L. (1991). The subjective experience of foreign language anxiety: Interviewers with highly anxious students. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory to research to classroom implications (pp. 101-108). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Rachman, S. (1998). Anxiety. Hove, East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T. J. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 83(2), 202-218.
Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28(1), 129-142.
Sellers, V. D. (2000). Anxiety and reading comprehension in Spanish as a foreign language. Foreign Language Annals, 33(5), 512-521.
SHI, Y, Z., & LIU, Z, Q. (2006). Foreign language reading anxiety and its relationship to English achievement and gender. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 29, 59-65.
Spielberger, C. D. (1972). Anxiety as an emotional state. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research (Vol. 1, pp. 3-19). New York: Academic Press.
Spielmann, G., & Radnofsky, M. L. (2001). Learning language under tension: New directions from a qualitative study. The Modern Language Journal, 85(2), 259-278.
Subaşı, G. (2010). What are the main sources of Turkish EFL students’ anxiety in oral practice? Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 1(2) 29-49.
Tsiplakides, I., & Keramida, A. (2009). Helping students overcome foreign language speaking anxiety in the English classroom: Theoretical issues and practical recommendations. International Education Studies, 2(4), 39-44.
VanPatten, B., & Glass, W. (1999). Grammar learning as a source of language anxiety: A discussion. In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 89-105). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
Vogely, A. J. (1998). Listening comprehension anxiety: Students’ reported sources and solutions. Foreign Language Annals, 31(1), 67-80.
Williams, K. E., & Andrade, M. R. (2008). Foreign language learning anxiety in Japanese EFL university classes: Causes, coping, and focus of control. Foreign Language Teaching, 5(2), 181-191.
Young, D. J. (1990). An investigation of students’ perspectives on anxiety and speaking. Foreign Language Annals, 23(6), 539-553.
Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426-439.
Young, D. J. (Ed.). (1999). Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 216-237). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
ZHAO, N. (2007). A study of high school students’ English learning anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal, 9(3), 22-34.
Aly, J. (1991). Understanding communication apprehension: An introduction for language educators. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 3-13). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Andrade, M., & Williams, K. (2009). Foreign language learning anxiety in Japanese EFL university classes: Physical, emotional, expressive, and verbal reactions. Sophia Junior College Faculty Journal, 29, 1-24.
Arnold, J (Ed.). (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Arnold, J. (2000). Seeing through listening comprehension exam anxiety. TESOL Quarterly, 34(4), 777-786.
Aydin, B. (1999). A study of the sources of foreign language classroom anxiety in speaking and writing classes (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey).
Aydin, S. (2013). Factors affecting the level of test anxiety among EFL learners at elementary schools. E-international Journal of Educational Research, 4(1), 63-81.
Bailey, P., Daley, C. E., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1999). Foreign language anxiety and learning style. Foreign Language Annals, 32(1), 63-76.
Bensoussan, M., & Zeidner, M. (1989). Anxiety and achievement in a multicultural situation: The oral testing of advanced reading comprehension. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 14(1), 40-54.
Brown, H. D. (1973). Affective variables in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 23, 231-244.
Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. New York: Pearson Education.
Campbell, C. M., & Ortiz, J. A. (1991). Helping students overcome foreign language anxiety: A foreign language anxiety workshop. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 153-168). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Chastain, K. (1975). Affective and ability factors in second language acquisition. Language Learning, 25(1), 153-161.
CHENG, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49(3), 417-446.
Cubukcu, F. (2007). Foreign language anxiety. Iranian Journal of Language Studies, 1(2), 133-142.
Daly, J. A. (1991). Understanding communication apprehension: An introduction for language educators. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 3-13). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Dewaele, J. (2002). Psychological and socio-demographic correlates of communicative anxiety L2 and L3 production. International Journal of Bilingualism, 6(1), 23-38.
Ehrman, M. E., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 67-89.
Elkhafaifi, H. (2005). Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 89(2), 206-220.
Gai, F. P., & Yang, D. (2010). A study on college students’ anxiety to spoken English. Canadian Social Science, 6(2), 95-101.
Ganschow, L., Javorsky, J., Sparks, R. L., Skinner, S., Anderson, R., & Patton, J. (1994). Differences in language performance among high, average, and low-anxious college foreign language learners. The Modern Language Journal, 78(1), 41-55.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C., Day, J. B., & McIntyre, P. D. (1992). Integrative motivation, induced anxiety, and language learning in a controlled environment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 14(2), 197-214.
Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 562-570.
Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.
Horwitz, E. K. (2000). It ain’t over til it’s over: On foreign language anxiety, first language deficits, and the confounding of variables. Modern Language Journal, 84, 256-259.
Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112-126.
Horwitz, E. K. (2009). Cultural identity and language anxiety: How self-concept and cultural expectations interact with performance in a second language. In P. CHENG and J. X. YAN (Eds.), Cultural identity and language anxiety (pp. 57-69). Guanxi, China: Guangxi Normal University Press.
Horwitz, E. K., & Young, D. (Eds.). (1991). Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Horwitz, E. K., Tallon, M., & LUO, H. (2010). Foreign language anxiety. In J. C. Cassady (Ed.), Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties (pp. 95-115). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Jackson, J. (2002). Reticence in second language case discussions: Anxiety and aspirations. System, 30(1), 65-84.
Kelly ,W. E. (2002). Anxiety and the prediction of task duration: A preliminary analysis. The Journal of Psychology, 136(1), 53-58.
Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the college Japanese language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85, 549-566.
Kuru Gonen, S. I. (2005). The sources of foreign language reading anxiety of students in a Turkish EFL context (M.A. thesis dissertation, Anadolu University, Eskisehir).
LIU, H., & CHEN, T. (2013). Foreign language anxiety in young learners: How it relates to multiple intelligences, learner attitudes, and perceived competence. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(5), 932-938.
LIU, M. (2007). Anxiety in oral English classrooms: A case study in China. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 3(1), 119-137.
MacIntyre, P. D. (1995). How does anxiety affect second language learning? A reply to Sparks and Ganschow. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 90-99.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and second language learning: Toward a theoretical clarification. Language Learning, 39(2), 251-275.
Matsuda, S., & Gobel, P. (2001). Quiet apprehension: Reading and classroom anxieties. JALT Journal, 23(1-2), 227-247.
Na, Z. (2007). A study of high school students’ English learning anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal, 9(3), 22-34.
Oh, J. (1992). The Effects of L2 reading assessment methods on anxiety level. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 172-176.
Ohata, K. (2005). Potential sources of anxiety for Japanese learners of English: Preliminary case of interviews with five Japanese college students in the US. TESL-EJ, 9(3), 2-23.
Oxford, R. (1999a). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights (pp. 58-67). In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language learning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R. (1999b). “Style wars” as a source of anxiety in language classrooms. In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 216-237). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
Palacios, L. M. (1998). Foreign language anxiety and classroom environment: A study of Spanish university students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas, Austin).
Pappamihiel, N. E. (2002). English as a second language students and English language anxiety: Issues in the mainstream classroom. Research in the Teaching of English, 36, 327-355.
Petridou, A., & Williams, J. (2007). Accounting for aberrant test response patterns using multilevel models. Journal of Educational Measurement, 44(3), 227-247.
Price, M. L. (1991). The subjective experience of foreign language anxiety: Interviewers with highly anxious students. In E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory to research to classroom implications (pp. 101-108). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Rachman, S. (1998). Anxiety. Hove, East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T. J. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 83(2), 202-218.
Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28(1), 129-142.
Sellers, V. D. (2000). Anxiety and reading comprehension in Spanish as a foreign language. Foreign Language Annals, 33(5), 512-521.
SHI, Y, Z., & LIU, Z, Q. (2006). Foreign language reading anxiety and its relationship to English achievement and gender. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 29, 59-65.
Spielberger, C. D. (1972). Anxiety as an emotional state. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Anxiety: Current trends in theory and research (Vol. 1, pp. 3-19). New York: Academic Press.
Spielmann, G., & Radnofsky, M. L. (2001). Learning language under tension: New directions from a qualitative study. The Modern Language Journal, 85(2), 259-278.
Subaşı, G. (2010). What are the main sources of Turkish EFL students’ anxiety in oral practice? Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 1(2) 29-49.
Tsiplakides, I., & Keramida, A. (2009). Helping students overcome foreign language speaking anxiety in the English classroom: Theoretical issues and practical recommendations. International Education Studies, 2(4), 39-44.
VanPatten, B., & Glass, W. (1999). Grammar learning as a source of language anxiety: A discussion. In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 89-105). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
Vogely, A. J. (1998). Listening comprehension anxiety: Students’ reported sources and solutions. Foreign Language Annals, 31(1), 67-80.
Williams, K. E., & Andrade, M. R. (2008). Foreign language learning anxiety in Japanese EFL university classes: Causes, coping, and focus of control. Foreign Language Teaching, 5(2), 181-191.
Young, D. J. (1990). An investigation of students’ perspectives on anxiety and speaking. Foreign Language Annals, 23(6), 539-553.
Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426-439.
Young, D. J. (Ed.). (1999). Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 216-237). Boston: McGraw-Hill College.
ZHAO, N. (2007). A study of high school students’ English learning anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal, 9(3), 22-34.