Language Anxiety in English Learning

袁雪

Abstract：This paper aims to discuss the language anxiety in English learning from the following two aspects： the definition of anxiety and the effects of language anxiety. Meanwhile， it provides some pedagogical implications to college English teachers and learners.

Key words：Language anxiety； English teaching； English leaning

I.Introduction

It is commonly observed that some people can learn a foreign or second language better and faster than any other people. The reason of this variation is because of the individual learner differences. In the field of second language acquisition， individual differences may include some factors， such as motivation， anxiety， age， beliefs， personality and aptitude and so on. Among these factors， anxiety is considered to be more unstable variable as the result of learning experience. Studies in the aspect of anxiety have found that there is an inverse relationship between anxiety and language achievement in second language learning.

II.Language Anxiety

1. The Definition of Language Anxiety

Language anxiety can be defined as “the feeling of tension and apprehension specifically associated with second language contexts” （MacIntyre & Gardner， 1994： 284）. Horwitz and Cope defined anxiety as “a state of uneasiness and apprehension or fear caused by the anticipation of something threatening” （1986：45）. Horwitz et al. conceptualize foreign language anxiety as“a distinct complex of self-perceptions， beliefs， feelings， and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from uniqueness of language learning process” （1986： 31）.

2. Effects of Language Anxiety

Educational psychologists involved in researching language anxiety are concerned with the relationship between anxiety and L2 achievement. The results of different researches on language anxiety will be showed in the following table. The correlation between language anxiety and second language learning is negative in these researches. MacIntyre and Gardner （1994） have stated that empirically validated results showing a facilitating role of language anxiety in L2 learning have not been observed very often.

1.Implications to College English Teachers

Firstly， teachers should try to establish a friendly and stable relationship between students and them. As we all know that the learners emotional learning can be influenced by the relationship between teachers and students. The relationship between teachers and students is better， the lower levels of anxiety the students will be at. To the contrary， if teachers and students relationship is unfavorable， students learning anxiety will be triggered. Hence， it is necessary for teachers to shape their better image. They should be knowledgeable， noble and respectable. They should not only respect and trust their students， but also encourage them when their students are shy or anxious.

Secondly， teachers should have various modes of teaching style to make students feel being motivated and less anxious. They could adopt different teaching methods to make learners learn English more efficiently. Traditional grammar translation method cannot be regarded as the only teaching method in English class. There are some other teaching approaches could be used such as Task-based Approach， visual method， student-centered teaching method and so on.

2.Implications to English Learners

Firstly， students should have a strong confidence. With strong confidence， students will believe that they are able to purchase their goals and are capable to make their dreams come true. When they have a stronger confidence， their motivation can be stimulated， their levels of anxiety can be reduced， and their ability to take charge of their own learning can be improved. For English learners， the self-confidence is more important， they must learn to face defeat， establish self-confidence despite the failure. In addition， students can also do some preview before the class. After the review， they will have more confidence in English class so that they can have a better performance in English. That will help learners to be less anxious.

Secondly， students should set up their learning goals from the two aspects： short-term goals and long-term goals during the English learning process. In order to reach both goals， students should work out feasible goal for the near future （short-term goals）， and directional long-dated goal （long-term goal）， according to the goal of their college and major and combining with their actual ability.

References

[1]Aida， Y. （1994）. Examination of Horwitz， Horwitz，and Copes construct of foreign language anxiety： The case of students of Japanese [J]. The Modern Language Journal， 78， 155-168.

[2]Horwitz， E. K. （2001）. Language anxiety and achievement [J]. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics， 21， 112-126.

[3]MacIntyre， P.D.， & Gardner， R. C. （1989）. Anxiety and second-language learning： Toward a theoretical clarification [J]. Language Learning， 39（2）， 251-275.