Foreign Language Anxiety of EFL Elementary School Learners:A Case Study in Taipei County

• Main Authors: Guo-cheng Wu, 吳國成
• Other Authors: Yu-ching Chan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47597962586567250704

碩士 === 國立台北師範學院 === 兒童英語教育研究所 === 90 === While other studies of foreign language anxiety focused on either college or high school students level, this study, which appears to be the first study dealing with elementary school students, investigated the foreign language anxiety and related issues of EFL elementary school learners in Taiwan. This study used questionnaires, interviews, classroom observation, and document collection as the multiple data sources to explore learners’ foreign language anxiety in terms of anxiety level, its relationship with learning experiences and learning achievement, sources of language anxiety, anxiety-provoking situations, issues of lowering foreign language anxiety, and teachers’ awareness of language anxiety. As to the results obtained in the study, first, the analysis of the questionnaires showed that the foreign language anxiety tendencies of elementary school EFL students in Taiwan were rather obvious (total mean score and average mean of each item in Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale were 97.57 and 2.96 respectively). Six variables of English learning experiences were found that might affect learners’ anxiety level. The result from the questionnaires also corresponded to that of the previous studies which revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between foreign language anxiety level and English learning achievement. Second, through a combinational analysis of multiple data sources, low proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, competitiveness of games, anxious personality, and pressure form students themselves and parents were found to be the five sources of language anxiety. And tests, speaking in front of others, spelling, incomprehensible input, and speaking to native speakers were found to be the five anxious-provoking situations. In addition, both teachers and students in this study thought that the balance of instructional languages facilitated lowering foreign language anxiety. Finally, the study also found that teachers’ awareness of foreign language anxiety is insufficient. Based on the major findings, the implications of this exploratory study include: encouraging teachers to enrich their awareness of foreign language anxiety, carefully dealing with anxiety-provoking situations, encouraging teachers’ use of more comprehensible input, encouraging students’ participation in additional English activities, encouraging students to share their anxiety experiences, and encouraging parents’ involvement in their children’s English learning. Based on the findings and implications of this study, students, teachers, and parents can increase their awareness of foreign language anxiety. Accordingly, better ways of dealing with foreign language anxiety can be adopted, and an enjoyable and effective language-learning environment can therefore be developed.