Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-55).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Supervisor: Elaine K. Horwitz. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis will generate new insight into the study of classroom language anxiety and its method of analysis in current SLA discourse. Drawing heavily from Horcoff, Horcoff and Cope’s seminal paper “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety” (1986), the conceptualization of analysis proposed and its accompanying instrument of analysis, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), will be reevaluated. The conceptualization of anxiety presented by Horwitz et al. defines foreign language (FL) anxiety as being unique to the FL learning classroom and being distinct in its emphasis on the self-perceptions and beliefs associated with this setting. Furthermore, the learners who experience anxiety are argued to be identifiable through their degree of anxiety and share similar characteristics. This conceptualization has been well received in SLA and has been widely employed in much of the FL learning research in the past two decades. Due to identity theory advancements in SLA however, this conceptualization of FL anxiety deserves to be reexamined. Employing poststructuralist identity theories (see Norton, 2000; Blackledge & Pavlenko, 2001; Block, 2007), FL learning anxiety will be reconceptualized to consider the dynamic nature of the learner’s unique identity and views of other languages. A paradigm will be proposed, linking FL anxiety, identity and language belief together in a mutually constitutive relationship. A qualitative meta-analysis (Schmenk, 2002) will be conducted, examining current FL anxiety research in an effort to determine the assumptions, both implicit and explicit, made concerning notions of FL learning anxiety and identity. Implications of the proposed paradigm for the learner and instructor will finally be presented in an effort to introduce a discussion of the benefits of reconceptualizing FL learning.

The main purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) Anxiety Scale based on a sound theoretical model of CFL Anxiety. Furthermore, the study attempted to discuss the influence of background variables on CFL Anxiety and the relationships between CFL Anxiety and other learning variables such as motivation, self-perceived language achievement, etc.. A total of 428 students studying Chinese in two U.S. universities participated in the study. Based on the results of item analysis, the researcher retained 16 items in the final CFL Anxiety Scale. EFA performed on responses to the 16 items from the 245 participants at the southwestern university yielded three factors: CFL Speaking Anxiety, Listening Anxiety, and Reading & Writing Anxiety. These results provided evidence for the construct validity of the CFL Anxiety Scale. Correlation analyses between the 16- item CFL Anxiety Scale and other related measures showed that the CFL Anxiety Scale had high convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity. The internal consistency reliabilities of the final 16-item CFL Anxiety Scale and its three subscales (i.e., Speaking, Listening, and Reading & Writing Anxiety scales) performed on responses from the 428 participants yielded Cronbach’s Alphas of .898, .837, .802, .and 875. ANOVA and MAVOVA analyses revealed that heritage-learning status and proficiency level had significant effects on CFL Anxiety, CFL Speaking Anxiety, Listening Anxiety, and Reading & Writing Anxiety. Heritage learners with Chinese language background were significantly less anxious than heritage learners without Chinese language background and non-heritage learners. Advanced learners experienced significantly lower levels of CFL Anxiety than elementary and intermediate learners. In addition, seven variables: age, perception of difficulty of Chinese, motivation in learning Chinese, self-perceived language learning abilities, self-perceived achievement in the Chinese class, self-expectations in the Chinese class, and perception of importance of Chinese were found to be significantly correlated with CFL Anxiety, and altogether explained 33.2%, 20.5%, 14.8%, and 33.1% of variances in CFL Anxiety, Speaking Anxiety, Listening Anxiety, and Reading & Writing Anxiety respectively. / text

This thesis will generate new insight into the study of classroom language anxiety and its method of analysis in current SLA discourse. Drawing heavily from Horcoff, Horcoff and Cope’s seminal paper “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety” (1986), the conceptualization of analysis proposed and its accompanying instrument of analysis, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), will be reevaluated. The conceptualization of anxiety presented by Horwitz et al. defines foreign language (FL) anxiety as being unique to the FL learning classroom and being distinct in its emphasis on the self-perceptions and beliefs associated with this setting. Furthermore, the learners who experience anxiety are argued to be identifiable through their degree of anxiety and share similar characteristics. This conceptualization has been well received in SLA and has been widely employed in much of the FL learning research in the past two decades. Due to identity theory advancements in SLA however, this conceptualization of FL anxiety deserves to be reexamined. Employing poststructuralist identity theories (see Norton, 2000; Blackledge & Pavlenko, 2001; Block, 2007), FL learning anxiety will be reconceptualized to consider the dynamic nature of the learner’s unique identity and views of other languages. A paradigm will be proposed, linking FL anxiety, identity and language belief together in a mutually constitutive relationship. A qualitative meta-analysis (Schmenk, 2002) will be conducted, examining current FL anxiety research in an effort to determine the assumptions, both implicit and explicit, made concerning notions of FL learning anxiety and identity. Implications of the proposed paradigm for the learner and instructor will finally be presented in an effort to introduce a discussion of the benefits of reconceptualizing FL learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Eleni Pappamihiel, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Middle and Secondary Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 14, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 183 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Research has shown that language anxiety often hampers performance in spoken communication. However, research has also shown that students experiencing anxiety are helped significantly when teachers adopt cooperative and/or collaborative teaching strategies, two different approaches to group work. This study examines whether or not English teachers in Sweden, working in the context of upper-secondary school, actually perceive these strategies to be as helpful as research shows. It was hypothesized that English teachers employ the two approaches. To explore this topic and hypothesis, three semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results proved the initial hypothesis to be correct since all three teachers who participated use collaborative and cooperative teaching strategies and find them helpful, confirming research findings in other educational contexts; however, collaborative teaching strategies are less common than cooperative strategies. The results are discussed, and it is suggested that it is best if the teachers make the group formations since it facilitates the group work which in turn optimizes the teaching strategies employed and yields improved results for students with language anxiety. The results also showed that it is suggested that teachers not only assess the learners as a whole group, but also the learners individually.

This study investigates the relationships between foreign language anxiety (FLA), motivation and achievement in EFL-learners in secondary and tertiary education. Research previous to 2009 generally reaches the conclusion that learners with more motivation have less FLA and higher achievement, and learners with more FLA have lower motivation and achievement. The present study synthesises eight studies from late 2009 to 2020, and it was found that although six studies are generally in accordance with the earlier research, they disagreed with one another concerning what motivational and FLA subscales were most related. Some differences in the conclusions of the studies are theorised to be due to the different motivational constructs the studies focused on. All studies also failed to show a cause-and-effect relationship between any of the variables or agree on the extent to which they were related. This suggested the advantage of looking at the variables as part of a dynamic system, in which all the variables affect one another, and the relationships are constantly changing. Further research was suggested in the area of FLA to identify its factors and which learners suffer from it.

This study examines how second language (L2) English learners differ in their amount of language anxiety across three communication tasks: a formal academic speaking test, an informal casual interaction with a classmate during an activity in pairs, and a formal interview with an unfamiliar native speaker. It also addressed whether and how their language anxiety across the three tasks affected their accuracy, comprehensibility, and rate of speech. Thirty-seven intermediate-high L2 English learners participated in the three communication tasks. They also completed a general language anxiety questionnaire and three anxiety inventories--one before each task. Results demonstrated that the speaking exam caused more anxiety than the other two tasks. This anxiety had a positive correlation with both accuracy and comprehensibility, but not speech rate. The anxiety caused by the native speaker activity was found to have a correlation with comprehensibility, but nothing else. Finally, the anxiety caused by the pair activity did not have a significant relationship with any variable. It was also found that the participants' speech rate was higher in the native speaker activity than the pair activity, but that there was no significant difference in speech rate, or any other factor, between the exam and the other two activities. The results of the current study suggest that anxiety has a demonstrable effect on the way people speak. Higher anxiety was more likely to produce significant effects on one or more aspects of the participants' speech, including more comprehensible and accurate speech.