Humphries Language Anxiety

RebeccaHumphries:LanguageAnxietyinInternationalStudents
65
LanguageAnxietyinInternationalStudents:
Howcanitbeovercome?
REBECCAHUMPHRIES*
Abstract
The ability to communicate in more than one language is widely recognized as a desirable
skill, whether to further a career or merely for personal use. Consequently thousands
worldwidestudysecondlanguages,howevermanyfactorshinderthelearnersprogressand
levelofproficiencyintheirtargetlanguage.Thisstudyexploreslanguageanxiety,whichhas
showntohaveasubstantiallynegativeimpactonperformance.Thispaperarguesthatwhile
ithasbeenwidelystudied,thefocusofthevastmajorityofstudiesareclassroombasedand
focusontheinstructorsroleinloweringstudentsanxiety.Thisstudyfocusesonalargely
uninvestigatedaspectoflanguageanxiety:howstudentscanreducetheiranxietyoutsidethe
classroom in a targetlanguage speaking environment without instructors intervention. It
looks at a group of five Chinese students of English, assesses their levels of anxiety upon
enteringAustralia,askswhetherornotthishaschangedovertime,andinvestigateswhether
therewereanystrategiestheyemployedwhichhelpedtoalleviatetheinitialanxietytheyfelt
whenspeakingtonativespeakersofEnglish.Thefindingsindicatethatformingfriendships
helps todiminish the stress experiencedby second language students outside the language
classroom,becausebetweenfriends,thefearofnegativeevaluationisreducedandthelevelof
confidenceincreased.
1.Introduction
Youjusthavetoopenyourmouthandstartspeaking.
Howoftendolanguagelearnershearthissaidaboutspeakinginasecondlanguage?
You just have to do it. However, for many learners there is a genuine fear of
performing in the second language, a phenomenon known as (foreign or second)
language anxiety, which can be an enormous hurdle for learners. As one of the
participants in this study explained, I dont know how to not be nervous when
speak to native speakers. I tried to force myself in a native English speaking
environment,butfailed.Idonthavethecourage.
Withimmigration,opportunitiestostudyandtraveloverseas,andtheincreased
importance of political and economic alliances between nations, the ability to
communicatewithculturesotherthenonesownisanextremelyimportantskill.
Communication is defined as succeeding in conveying information, evoking
understanding (The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary, 2005). As humans, our
primary medium for communicating with each other is language. Mutual
understandingisimpossiblewhenpartiesdonotspeakthesamelanguage;therefore
learningthelanguageofthecultureinwhichyouwishtocommunicateisvital.For
this reason,whether for personal interest or in order to further a career, thousands
worldwidearecurrentlystudyingasecondlanguage.Howeverasnumerousstudies,
language teachers and researchers have shown, this is no simple task. There are
many issues involved with learning a language, such as motivation, age, aptitude,
GriffithWorkingPapersinPragmaticsandInterculturalCommunication4,1/2(2011),6577
66
attitude, personality, learning styles and affective factors. One particular area
addressed by many researchers (MacIntyre 1995; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope 1986;
Young 1991; Sparks & Ganschow 1995; and Aida 1994), falls under the umbrella of
affective factors or how the learner feels emotionally towards the language (Scovel
1991:16). This area is language anxiety. It is an important area of research firstly
because the research suggests that anxiety... may affect the quality of an
individuals communication or willingness to communicate (Young 1991:58), but
alsobecauseitaffectsalargenumberofstudentsinhigherinstitutions(Campbell&
Ortiz1991:159).
Thispaperwillfirstlyoutlinelanguageanxietyasdefinedintheliterature,plus
how and why it affects performance. Secondly it will discuss the focus of the
literaturethusfarandexplainhowthecurrentstudytiesintothisresearch.Thirdly,
the study conducted will be discussed in terms of the method, participants and
results. It will conclude by stating the studys indication that forming friendships
helpstoalleviatesomeofthestressexperiencedbysecondlanguagestudentsoutside
the language classroom, because between friends, the fear of negative evaluation is
reducedandthelevelofconfidenceincreased.
2.LiteratureReview
2.1WhatislanguageAnxiety?
Anxietyisthesubjectivefeelingoftension,apprehension,nervousness,andworry
associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system (Horwitz 2001:113).
Anxietyhasbeenfoundtointerferewithmanytypesoflearninganditisonlylogical
thatthiswouldalsoapplytosecondlanguagelearning(Horwitz2001:113).In1994,
Gardner and MacIntyre defined language anxiety as the feeling of tension and
apprehension specifically associated with second language contexts, including
speaking, listening, and learning(Onwuegbuzie, Bailey & Daly 1999:218). This
definitionappearstobewidelyacceptedbyresearchers.
2.2Abriefhistoryoftheresearch:anxietyasfacilitatingordebilitating
Scholars, teachers and students alike have long considered the probability that
anxiety has an effect on language learning and performance (Horwitz, Horwitz &
Cope1986:1)buttherewasdisagreementastowhetheranxietyhelpedorhinderedit
(MacIntyre 1995:90). In 1977, Kleinmann split anxiety into two separate constructs,
facilitating and debilitating anxiety (Scovel 1991:18), with the former an asset to
performance and debilitating anxiety detrimental to performance (MacIntyre &
Gardner 1991:41). However, the earliest studies of this construct produced mixed
andoftenconfusingresults(Scovel1991:17;Aida1994:156).
In 1986, Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope introduced a new system for measuring
students anxiety. They called this test the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
Scale(FLCAS),whichconsistedofa33item,fivepointLikertscalesurvey(Horwitz,
Horwitz&Cope1986:129).Withthehelpofthisscale,thefindingsinthisareahave
beenfairlyuniform(Horwitz2001:114).Researchershavecometotheconclusionthat
alittleanxietycanbemotivatingandbeneficialinlanguagelearning,howeveronce
67
it passes a certain point it seriously impinges on the learners ability to focus,

resultinginpoorerperformance(Crookall&Oxford1991:141).
This assertion that it is largely debilitating has been corroborated by many
studies. Significant negative correlations between language anxiety and course
grades have been reported for languages such as Japanese, Spanish and French
(MacIntyre1995:91).Otherstudieshavealsoshownthatstudentswithhighlevelsof
debilitatinganxietytendtoavoidtryingtoproducecomplexorpersonalmessagesin
the target language (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope 1986:126). Thus, they prevent their
interlanguage from growing more complex and elaborate, stunting their language
acquisition and preventing their performance from improving. Therefore the
phenomenonisnowseenlargelyasdetrimentalratherthanfacilitatingtolanguage
learning.
2.3Attention,Selfperception,andLanguageAnxiety
One possible reason for the negative effect on performance has been proposed by
MacIntyre,NoelsandClment(1997:269):
Anxious learners may focus their attention on their perceived inadequacies, the
potential for failure, and the consequences of that imagined failure, rather than
concentrating on the task itself. As a result, because they divide their mental
resourcesandapplythemselveslesswelltothetaskathand,theirperformanceon
thetasksuffers.
ThecognitivecomponentofanxietywasidentifiedbyLiebertandMorris(quoted
inMacIntyre1995:91)asworry,whichconsistsofdistressingpreoccupationsand
concernsaboutimpendingevents.Ifstudentsareworriedaboutperforminginthe
second language, it means their processing capacity for the second language is
greatlyreduced,havingaseverelynegativeimpactonperformance.
Whatisthefocusofthisworry?Oftenitcentersaroundanotherformofanxiety
calledfearofnegativeevaluation,whichHorwitz,HorwitzandCope(1986)identified
as an anxiety which relates closely to language anxiety. Defined as apprehension
about others evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the expectation
that others would evaluate oneself negatively, fear of negative evaluation greatly
contributes to the worry students experience when trying to communicate in the
targetlanguage.
Adults typically perceive themselves as reasonably intelligent, sociallyadept
individuals. These assumptions are rarely challenged in the native language;
however, the situation when learning a foreign language stands in marked
contrastBecausecomplexandnonspontaneousmentaloperationsarerequired
inordertocommunicate[inthetargetlanguage]atall,anyperformanceintheL2
is likely to challenge an individuals selfconcept as a competent communicator
andleadtoreticence,selfconsciousness,fear,orevenpanic(Horwitz,Horwitz&
Cope1986:128).
Selfperceptionplaysakeyroleinstudentsapproachestolearninganduseofa
secondlanguage(Foss&Reitzel1991:131).Elevatinganindividualsselfperception
and selfconfidence is extremely important if they are to be expected to initiate
68
conversation, therebypracticingand improving their language and becoming more

effective communicators. Hence many studies have been conducted investigating
howstudentsanxietycanbereduced.
2.4Focusoftheresearchtodate
An examination of the current literature on language anxiety reveals that the
majority of the studies have been classroombased, focusing on the relationship
between language anxiety and interactions between the students and the teacher
(Arnold & Brown 1999:65). They examine the ways in which teachers can reduce
students language anxiety in the classroom so that the student can learn more
effectively. The FLCAS proposed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) is an
extremelypopularscaleformeasuringanxiety.Itsnameofcourseindicatesthatthe
focusisonlanguageanxietyinsidetheclassroomandtheaccompanyingdiscussion
focuses in part on pedagogic implications. The research in this area seems to have
remained focused on this particular angle of study. Studies by Aida (1994);
MacIntyreandGardner(1991);Horwitz,HorwitzandCope(1986);KochandTerrell
(1991);andPrice(1991)stresstheimportanceoftheteachersroleandwhatcanbe
done to minimize language anxiety in the classroom, with the overall conclusion
beingthatitistheresponsibilityoftheinstructor.
AnimportantstudytomentioninfurtherdetailwasconductedbyPrice(1991).
Sheinterviewedhighlyanxiousstudentsandfinishedbyaskingthemiftheyhadany
ideas as to how language classes could be made less stressful (Price 1991:106). A
frequentlymadeobservationbythestudentswasthatitwouldbelessintimidatingif
the instructor was more friendly and encouraging, rather than an authority figure
(Price 1991:107). Further to this, the role of friendship will be discussed in a
subsequentsection.
This notion of its being primarily the instructors responsibility to lower
students anxiety in the classroom is intuitively reasonable, considering that the
instructorplaysacentralroleintheactivitiesandatmosphereintheclassroom.For
foreign language students (i.e. learners of a language not primarily spoken in the
countryofstudy),thisisnotsuchanissuebecausetheirprimaryorsometimesonly
sourceofcontactwiththelanguageisthroughtheirclasses.
However for second language students (i.e. learners of the language of the
country in which they are studying) as soon as they leave the classroom, they face
numerous situations in which there is no teacher to mediate or lower their anxiety
whenhavingtocommunicateinthetargetlanguage.Thereseemstohavebeenvery
little research done on this particular aspect of language anxiety. Therefore the
researcher has chosen to follow this line of investigation with two particular
questionsinmind:
1. Do second language students experience language anxiety outside the
classroom?
2.Iftheydoexperiencelanguageanxiety,whathelpsthemtoovercomeit?
Andisthereanythingthattheythemselvescandotoovercomethisfear?
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3.TheStudy
3.1Participants
The participants in this study consisted of five Chinese students of English: three
femalesandtwomalesbetweentheagesof19and29,withameanageof24.Allof
thesubjectsbeganstudyingEnglishaftertheage of17, their native languagebeing
MandarinChinese.TheyhadbetweentwoandeightyearsformalstudyofEnglish
and had spent between three months and six years in Australia, the average being
justoverthreeyears(m=3.05).
3.2Method
The method chosen for conducting this study was a quantitative and qualitative
crosssectionalsurvey.Thesurveywasanonymousandwasadaptedfromoneused
in a study by Canessa on whether nonnative foreign language teachers also
experiencedlanguageanxiety(Canessa2006:329).Thismethodwaschosenbecause
within the timeconstraints given to complete this assignment and the equipment
available, it was considered the most effective method of gaining the necessary
information.Ananonymoussurveywasalsochosenbecausesomeindividualsmay
nothavefeltcomfortabletalkinginaninterviewabouttheirstruggleswithlanguage
anxiety. Also taking into account that the participants were all Chinese, it was
considered that the importance in Chinese culture of saving face may come into
play when speaking about personal struggles. Therefore writing responses
anonymouslyonapapersurveywithnoidentifyinginformationwasthoughttobe
lessconfrontingandwouldperhapsfacilitatemorehonestandopenresults.
Thesurveyconsistedoffoursections(seeAppendix),thefirstofwhichcovered
theparticipantsbasicbackgroundinformation.
Section 2 consisted of 14 items, in a similar manner to the FLCAS, designed to
ascertaintheleveloflanguageanxietyexperiencedbythesubjectsupontheirarrival
inAustralia.Theparticipantswereaskedtothinkbacktotheirarrivalandrateona
fivepoint Likertscale (Canessa2006:10) whether ornottheyagreed withthe given
statements.Theprincipleforascertaininganindividualsanxietyscoresinthisstudy
was the same as those used in Canessas study and Horwitz, Horwitz and Copes
FLCAS.Eachparticipantsanxietyscorewasderivedbytotallingtheratingsofthe14
items;responsestonegativelywordedstatementswerereversedandrecoded,sothat
ahighscorealwayscorrespondedtohighanxietyinthelearner(Aida1994:158).
Section3requestedthelearnertoconsiderwhetheranyoftheiranswerstothe
statementsintheprevioussectionhadchangedduringtheirtimeinAustralia.Itthen
askedthemtowritethereasonsforanychangeorlackthereof.
The final section asked the participants if they had experienced nervousness
when interacting with native speakers outside of their English classes and if so,
whethertherewereanystrategiestheyusedtohelpthemovercometheirfear.
4.Results
Inanswertothefirstquestion,theresultsofthisstudyindicatedthatthisgroupof
second language did experience at least some language anxiety outside the
70
classroom.Table1showsthestudentsscoresonthelanguageanxietyscaleoutofa
highestpossiblescoreof70.
Student
A
B
C
D
E
Score
58
55
31
47
56
Table1:StudentsLanguageAnxietyScores
Inanswertothesecondquestion,howstudentscanovercomelanguageanxiety
outsidetheclassroom,onestudentsanswersindicatedthatencouragementfromthe
native speaker was important. Student As response to item five in section three,
states, When speaking the target language, I could get so nervous I would forget
thingsIknewThisstudentreportedthatoriginallytheyagreedwiththisstatement,
but that they get over nervous and shy by peoples encouragement and hard
working. This indicates that when a native speaker encourages the student, as
arguedbyotherresearchers,selfconfidencegrows,meaninganxietydiminishes.
Whilstonlyonestudentdirectlyreportedthatencouragementhelpedhim/herto
feel less nervous, the surveys suggested that all the students used strategies which
helped facilitate the forming of friendships with native speakers. A friend is
commonly seen as someone who can be trusted and who sympathizes, encourages
andsupports.Inthissituation,thereisareducedfearofnegativeevaluationbecause
of the assumption that one is not going to be judged. Instead, a friend will
sympathizewithapersonsplightandhelphim/her.Theyaremucheasiertotalkto
thanatotalstranger,and,accordingtothestudybyPrice(1991),studentssaidthey
find it less stressful inside a language classroom if the teacher is more of a friend.
Thisimplication,thatstudentsfinditeasiertopracticeandusetheirsecondlanguage
withfriends,perhapsexplainswhythestudentsinthisstudyusedstrategieswhich
helpedfacilitatetheformationoffriendshipswithnativespeakers.Thewaytheydid
this was by putting themselves in situations where, if they were going to form
friendships,itwouldbewithnativespeakersofEnglish.
For example, Student A reported, I went to a local school to study instead of
goingtoalanguageschoolwhichhaslotsofstudentsfrommycountry.Aschoolis
not merely a place where one is bombarded with information; it is also a social
setting.Thisstudentchoseasituationwhereitwouldbeeasiertoformfriendships
withnativespeakersbecausemostofthestudentsintheschoolwouldnotspeakthe
studentsnativelanguage.Soineffect,thisstudentwouldbeforcedtomakefriends
andconversewithnativespeakers.
StudentBreported,Itriedtogotochurchwithnativespeakers.Thengradually
I am not sonervous talking to them in English. A church is not merely a place of
religion;itisalsoasocialandrelationalsetting.Manychurcheshaveareputationfor
beingfriendly,sopeoplewhoinrealityhavenointerestinreligionoccasionallygo
merely for the networking and social interaction. This student has selected a
situationwhereintheoryitwouldbeeasytoformfriendshipswithnativespeakers
andwhereitwouldbenecessarytocommunicateinEnglish.
This opinion is echoed by Student C, who reported, I think the most efficient
way to overcome feeling nervous is to interact with as more native speaker as
possible. For example joining uni clubs, going to church, watching TV, etc. This
71
student also stresses the importance of cultural knowledge, giving an example of

Westernerslikingeyecontactwhenconversing,thisnotbeingthecaseintheChinese
context and hence causing stress for the Chinese student when interacting with
westerners.Thesimplestwaytogetculturalinformationwouldbethroughafriend
fromthatculturewhocouldexplainittoyou.
Student D further corroborated this pattern of forming friendships by the
statement that she was meeting language partners. Griffith University has a
systemoffindingalanguagepartnertohelpstudentslearntheirtargetlanguage.It
isanonlinenoticeboardonwhichstudentsstatethelanguagethattheycanofferand
thelanguagetheyarelearning.Thentheytrytofindsomeonewhoisintheinverse
situation.Theymeetasoftenasdesiredandshareeachotherscultureandpractice
the languages. Students form a friendship with the other person based on their
interest in each others culture and language. Also, because both parties are still
learning, there may not be as much fear of negative evaluation, meaning it may be
easiertousethetargetlanguage.
Student E has spent four years in Australia and is still extremely nervous. I
dont know how to not be nervous when speak to native speakers. I tried to force
myself in a native English speaking environment, but failed. I dont have the
courage. This student is a salient example of why more detailed and indepth
research needs to be conducted in this area. Why has this student not been able to
overcomehis/herfearofspeakingtopeople?Theresultsofthissurveypointtowards
formingfriendshipswithnativespeakersasaprimarywayofloweringanxiety,but
forsomethismaybesimplerthanothers.Otheraffectivefactorssuchasmotivation
andpersonality,forexample,playakeyroleinanindividualswillingnesstogoout
oftheirwaytomeetnewpeopleandpracticethetargetlanguage.
5.Limitations
An obvious limitation of this study is that it was conducted in the students target
language instead of their native language. This means the participants could have
hadsomeproblemswithunderstandingthequestionsinthesurveyorinexpressing
themselves.
Anotherlimitationisthatthissurveycallsonmemory.Inthesurveythesubjects
were asked to think back to their arrival in the targetlanguage country. For one
subject that time was only three months but for others it was between two and six
years. Retrospect alters opinions and perceptions, and gaps can occur when calling
on a persons memory. Using two surveys, one when they arrived and one several
monthsoryearslaterwouldquitepossiblyrevealdifferentresults.
Another limitation of this study was its small scale. A very small sample was
takenandforanyconclusivefindingsamuchlargersamplewouldbeneeded.Also
thesurveyitselfwasnotindepthintermsofthequestionsaskedandthefactorsof
personality type (e.g. introvert vs extrovert) were not taken into account, which
couldhavebeenvaluable.
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6.Conclusions
Research in the area of language anxiety outside the classroom, in the target
languagespeaking environment, is an extremely important but severely
underdeveloped area of research. It has been proven that production suffers when
studentsarenervous,meaningthattheyarelesseffectivecommunicators,lowering
their morale. It is a vicious cycle which needs to be broken, but far more research
needstobeconductedonhowthismightbeachieved.Thisexaminationofaminute
sample of Chinese students indicates that friendships with native speakers are
essential to lowering a nonnative speakers anxiety and that students can facilitate
thereductionoftheirownanxietylevelsbyseekingtoformfriendshipswithnative
speakers.Howevernoteverynativespeakerencounteredbythenonnativespeaker
will be cordial with them; they may have some bad experiences, which have also
beenshowntoimpactonlanguageanxiety.Thereforemoreresearchonthewaysin
which students can lower their own anxiety levels is vital, because there will not
alwaysbeateachertomediate.
*Authornote
Rebecca Humphries is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and
Applied Linguistics at Griffith University. She is interested in the areas of
interculturalcommunication,pragmaticsandsecondlanguageteaching.Sheisalso
fascinatedbydifferentculturesandlanguages;herparticularregionsofinterestare
China,surroundingAsiancountriesandEurope.
Contactemail:Rebecca.Humphries@student.griffith.edu.au
References
Aida,Yukie.1994.ExaminationofHorwitz,Horwitz,andCopesConstructofForeign
LanguageAnxiety:theCaseofStudentsofJapanese.TheModernLanguageJournal78:155
168.
Arnold,Jane,andH.DouglasBrown.1999.InAffectinLanguageLearning,ed.byJaneArnold.
Cambridge.CambridgeUniversityPress
Campbell,Christine,andJoseOrtiz.1991.HelpingStudentsOvercomeForeignLanguage
Anxiety:aForeignLanguageAnxietyWorkshop.InLanguageAnxiety:FromTheoryand
ResearchtoClassroomImplications,ed.byElaineHorwitzandDollyYoung,Englewood
Cliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
Canessa,Lorena.2006.ForeignLanguageAnxiety:aCloseLookatNonnativeForeign
LanguageTeachers.InResearchasaToolforEmpowerment:TheoryInformingPractice,ed.
byDavidSchwarzer,MelanieBloom,andSarahShono.Greenwich,Conn.:Information
AgePublishing.
Crookall,David,andRebeccaOxford.1991.DealingwithAnxiety:SomePracticalActivities
forLanguageLearnersandTeacherTrainees.InLanguageAnxiety:FromTheoryand
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Cliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
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Foss,Karen,andArmedaReitzel.1991.ARelationalModelforManagingSecondLanguage
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Linguistics21:112126.
Horwitz,Elaine,MichaelHorwitz,andJoannCope.1986.ForeignLanguageClassroom
Anxiety.TheModernLanguageJournal70:125132.
Koch,April,andTracyTerrell.1991.AffectiveReactionsofForeignLanguageStudentsto
NaturalApproachActivitiesandTeachingTechniques.InLanguageAnxiety:FromTheory
andResearchtoClassroomImplications,ed.byElaineHorwitzandDollyYoung
EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
MacIntyre,Peter.1995.HowDoesAnxietyAffectSecondLanguageLearning?AReplyto
SparksandGanschow.TheModernLanguageJournal79:9099.
MacIntyre,Peter,andRobertGardner.1991.AnxietyandSecondLanguageLearning:Toward
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Implications,ed.byElaineHorwitzandDollyYoung.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
MacIntyre,Peter,KimberlyNoels,andRichardClment.1997.BiasesinSelfRatingsof
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Price,MaryLou.1991.TheSubjectiveExperienceofForeignLanguageAnxiety:Interviews
withHighlyAnxiousStudents.InLanguageAnxiety:FromTheoryandResearchtoclassroom
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Scovel,Thomas.1991.TheEffectofAffectonForeignLanguageLearning:aReviewofthe
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74
Appendix:Questionnaire
Note:Thissurveyiscompletelyanonymous.Yournamewillnotbepublishedinthe
paperorpresentation.
Section1:Backgroundinformation
Countryoforigin:__________
Age:__________
Gender(putanXbeside):MaleFemale
NativeLanguage(s):_______________________
TargetLanguage:_________________________
Howmanyyearsofformal(classroom)studyofthetargetlanguagehaveyouhad
andwhatishighestlevelachieved?
________________________________________________________________
Howmuchtimehaveyouspentinatargetlanguagespeakingcountry(forexample
twomonthsinAustralia,listalloccasions)
____________________________________________________________________
WasimprovingyourEnglishaprimaryreasonforcomingtoAustralia?________
Whileintargetlanguagespeakingcountry,howmuchcontactdidyouhavewith
nativespeakers?(PleaseinsertanXnexttotherelevantanswer)
____agreatdealofcontact
____somecontact
____onlyoccasionalcontactforsurvivalpurposes
Howwouldyoudescribeyourcommandofthetargetlanguage?(pleaseinsertanX
nettotherelevantanswer)
____nearnative
____adequateformostofmyneeds
____adequateformostofmyneedsalthoughIoftenhavedifficultyexpressing
myselforunderstandingnativespeakers
____Iusuallyhavedifficultyexpressingmyselforunderstandingnativespeakers
75
Section2:Whenyoufirstarrived
ThinkbacktowhenyoufirstarrivedinAustralia.Howdidyoufeelaboutthe
followingthings?(PleaseinsertanXintherelevantbox.)
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Neither
Agree
Nor
Disagree
1ItfrightenedmewhenIdidnt
understandwhatsomeoneissayinginthe
targetlanguage.
2Ididnotworryabouttakingacourse
conductedentirelyinthetargetlanguage.
3Iwasafraidthatnativespeakerswould
noticeeverymistakeImade.
4Iwaspleasedwiththeleveloftarget
languageproficiencyIhadachieved.
5Whenspeakingthetargetlanguage,I
couldgetsonervousIwouldforgetthingsI
knew.
6Ifeltoverwhelmedbythenumberof
rulesyouhavetolearninordertospeakthe
targetlanguage.
7Ifeltcomfortablearoundnativespeakers
ofthetargetlanguage.
8IneverfeltquitesureofmyselfwhenI
wasspeakingthetargetlanguageinfrontof
nativespeakers.
9Iwasnotnervousspeakingthetarget
languagewithfellowstudents.
10Ididntworryaboutmakingmistakes
inthetargetlanguage
11Ispokethetargetlanguagewellenough
totutorothers.
12IgotnervouswhenIdidntunderstand
everywordanativespeakersaid.
13IfeltconfidentwhenIspokethetarget
language
14Ialwaysfeltthattheotherstudents
spokethetargetlanguagebetterthanIdid
Section3:Now
AreanyofyouranswersdifferentnowthatyouhavebeeninAustraliaforawhile?
Whydoyouthinkthishaschanged?(Pleaseansweryesorno.Ifyes,writeyour
reasonsnexttothenumber.Ifnowriteanyreasonsforwhyithasnotchanged)
1__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
76
2__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
6__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
7__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
8__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
9__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
10_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
11_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
12_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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77
13_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
14_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Section4
IfyouwerenervousaboutinteractingwithnativespeakersofEnglish,werethere
anystrategieswhichyouusedtohelpyourselfovercomethisfear?(E.g.didyou
purposelyputyourselfinasituationwhereyouwereforcedtocommunicatein
English?DidyouonlytalktonativespeakersofEnglishabouttopicsyouknewwell?
Didyougetatutor?)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Thankyousomuchforyourhelpbyparticipatinginthisstudy.

Humphries Language Anxiety

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Humphries Language Anxiety

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RebeccaHumphries:LanguageAnxietyinInternationalStudents

it passes a certain point it seriously impinges on the learners ability to focus,

conversation, therebypracticingand improving their language and becoming more

student also stresses the importance of cultural knowledge, giving an example of

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