Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Korean as a Foreign Language in the United States

• Main Authors: Kim Young Joo, Julie Damron
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages 2015-01-01
• Series: Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages
• Subjects: Foreign Language Reading; Anxiety; Korean as a Foreign Language; uniqueness; Language process
• Online Access: http://www.ncolctl.org/files/Foreign-Language.pdf

The purpose of this study was to examine foreign language reading anxiety among college students who were studying Korean. It utilized three measures; (a) two anxiety scales, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS), (b) a background information questionnaire, and (c) reading performance scores. Results of the study showed that there was a significant discrepancy between foreign language reading anxiety among course levels, individual variables such as gender, course level, experience with Korea, etc. were predictors of foreign language reading anxiety, that reading anxiety and performance are positively correlated, and it reveals the major sources of foreign language reading anxiety among students learning Korean.