1

Keep Calm & Enjoy English: Reducing Anxiety among Japanese learners of
English

Ella Alhudithi
Jenny Stetson-Strange
Lauren Porter

Colorado State University

For this paper, I contributed to the literature review, materials development (specifically the syllabus and classroom
methods), and made edits throughout the document.
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Rationale

This project studies the effects of anxiety on Japanese English as

a Foreign Language (EFL) learners because the high levels of anxiety

experienced by these students cannot be ignored. Japanese learners of

English experience immense anxiety to perform well in English classes in

order to be accepted into the highly competitive Japanese universities. Sadly,

this anxiety sometimes leads to suicides by Japanese students (Arthur &

Linda, 1990). High levels of anxiety contribute negatively to performance in

the classroom, so it is pertinent to understand this anxiety and create

activities and pedagogical contributions that can help reduce it (Robinson,

2002). This will not only benefit the health and overall well-being of the

students, but will also help them achieve their overall goal of doing better in

school.

Because anxiety is hard to be defined due to numerous factors, it is

important to identify what can be considered symptoms of anxiety in

different domains of learning the English language. According to Robinson

(2002), anxiety can be manifested in four areas: academic, cognitive, social,

and personal. In other words, any level of anxiety that negatively affects a

students performance or well-being in their academic work, cognitive

abilities, social abilities, or on a personal level, will be considered anxiety.

Additionally, although anxiety can lead to improved performance for some

individuals, it is largely understood to be a negative influence on learners

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abilities to acquire the target language (TL) and effectively communicate in

the TL (Leichsenring, 2010).

The aim of this project is to synthesize and understand recent second

language acquisition (SLA) research on anxiety in order to create

pedagogical materials that can be implemented in classrooms of Japanese

English language learners (ELLs) to reduce their anxiety. These pedagogical

materials are inspired by the input, interaction, and output hypothesis as

well as considerations from the individual differences of anxiety that can

affect the students individually in academic, cognitive, social, and personal

domains. An additional goal is to provide numerous examples of activities as

well as their adaptations and considerations that can easily be transferred

from this project into the classroom.

Finally, it is important to determine the level of anxiety of the Japanese

learners in order to better address and create an action plan to reduce

anxiety in the classroom. For this reason, the Forging Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

(FLCAS) (see Appendix C), developed by Horwitz and Cope, is used in the project to determine

the Japanese learners level of anxiety. The scale includes 33 sentences that measure the level of

anxiety as well as factors that lead to increased anxiety in learners in the classroom.

Literature Review

Four Areas of Language Anxiety

To define anxiety, it is important to address the four main aspects that

cause anxiety for language learners: academic, cognitive, social, and

personal (Robinson, 2002).

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Academic. In Robinsons book Individual Differences and Instructed

Language Learning, a study by Sparks and Ganschow reveals that native

language (NL) differences within the boundaries of linguistic classifications

can contribute to students poor performances in the classroom (2002). In

other words, linguistic NL and target language (TL) dissimilarities are

connected differently within each learner (2002). This leads each learner to

attribute linguistic classifications differently in the TL, which can lead to poor

performance by the learner (2002). This may also lead to different stages or

points of achievement for each learner, depending on how he/she associates

the dissimilarities of the NL and TL (Robinson, 2002).

In Individual Differences and Instructed Language Learning, MacIntyre

and Gardner expanded upon the study by Sparks and Ganschow, and the

MacIntyre and Gardner study revealed the same outcome- anxiety does in

fact produce meager outcomes within the classroom and by the learner

(Robinson, 2002). Additionally, Bailey & Nunans (1996) Voices from the

Classroom reveals that learners who have below average English aptitude in

the classroom are prone to anxiety.

Cognitive. A model presented by Tobias (Robinson, 2002) was

introduced to see whether or not anxiety effects cognitive learning; in other

words, if it disrupts a learners cognitive capacity to produce in the English

language effectively. Two groups were used during this study: one group was

presented with a video camera in the classroom during and while the

learning session was going on (2002). The second group, the control group,
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did not have a video camera during the learning session (2002). The first

group, which was presented with a video camera, was disrupted by the video

camera (2002). This caused anxiety and low performance in the classroom; it

can be inferred that the anxiety caused the low performance (2002). Anxiety

does perform an important, albeit negative, role in cognitive ability and

performance in the classroom (2002). On the other hand, the control group

did not appear to be affected during this study (2002).

Social. For a learner to realize that he or she must or should

communicate in a foreign language and understanding that communication

will indeed be required in the classroom at some point in time creates a

colossal amount of anxiety within their mental state (Robinson, 2002). L2

learners are continually learning their foreign language, so having them

communicate in a language they are continually acquiring will lead to

anxiety (Bailey & Nunan, 1996). In other words, any type of communicating

in a TL will cause reticence, self-consciousness, fear, or even panic (Bailey

& Nunan, 1996, p. 156).

Personal. Anxiety is actually aggravating because learners may have

the sophisticated thoughts and emotions of an adult, but the language of a

child in which to express them (Robinson, 2001, p. 67). In other words,

learners may feel inferior, or lose confidence in their ability to learn and

communicate effectively in an L2. Personal emotions learners may display in

their learning of an L2 include: fear of making mistakes in front of their

peers, not wanting to communicate in class for fear of making a mistake,

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teacher dissatisfaction, and lack of confidence in general (Bailey & Nunan,

1996). Lius (2012) article, Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety and

Perceived Competence in Learning Strategy Use, discusses errors within the

learners L2, and if the learner feels as if their performance is weak, this will

attribute to anxiety as well as errors in their L2 (p. 84).

The Effect of Anxiety in an EFL Classroom

According to Bailey and Nunan, it is important to prevent anxiety in the

classroom and understand the importance of filtering appropriate teaching

materials to reduce anxiety (1996). A Japanese learner shared his story in

the tough environment of learning English in Japan:

Cos my classmates also not speak upthey affect me very

muchSometimes I really frightenI am afraid my classmate

will laughI think my English level is not good, so I am shy to

talk EnglishI hate English very much because I think English is

quite difficult to learnEducational system is stressfulbecause

many people if fail in Englishthey effect (sic, affect) their life.

Many influences cause traction when it comes to language anxiety and

are relative to the individuals internal and external state of mind; therefore,

behavioral, cognitive, psycholinguistic, physical, and sociolinguistic factors

play a significant role in language anxiety in the classroom, which influences

the learners abilities to perform (Liu, 2013).

There are multiple issues that apply and contribute to anxiety in a

Japanese language classroom that are culturally acceptable to the Japanese,

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but produce sizeable amounts of anxiety in the learner. There is a large

amount of teacher talk in the classroom, which lends to very little

communicative effort by the learners (Bailey & Nunan, 1996). Leichsenring

(2001) goes on to say and confirm that teachers in Japan speak often in a

high school classroom and leave little room for student-talk.

Learning in a Japanese classroom is submissive and learners are not to

give their opinion in class (Pite, 1996). This leads to increased anxiety in the

learners. To further this, teachers require perfection when communicatively

speaking in the classroom; hence, greater amounts of anxiety influence the

learners communicative abilities (Pite, 1996).

Japanese Anxiety Learning English in an EFL Context

Anxiety, in a foreign language classroom, is defined by MacIntyre and

Gardner as a factor that influences learners acquiring of an L2, recalling the

language they are learning, and effectively communicating in the foreign

language (Leichsenring, 2010). Confucian Heritage countries, primarily

Korea, Japan, and China, are considerably more anxious when it comes to

classroom learning (Leichsenring, 2010).

Pite (1996) explains that the level of anxiety is a significant factor in

predicting whether or not a learner will be successful in their L2 or English

language class. To explain further, Lalonde and Gardner reveal motivation

leads to anxiety that influences self-perception of proficiency, which can

finally influence performance, presumably negatively (Pite, 1996, p. 4).

Before a learner produces the language communicatively, their cognitive

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mind processes what they are learning; therefore, anxiety may prohibit all

ability to learn and understand as well prevent communication in a

classroom (Kota, 2005). There are many factors that cause anxiety in a

Japanese language classroom. First of all, learners fear oral skits, or

presentations, which always causes anxiety (Kota, 2005). As well, Japanese

students fear being called upon in the classroom, which often happens (Kota,

2005). Another very important factor that produces anxiety within the

learner is the high school university exam. Pressure is placed upon the

learner from a young age to succeed and pass the exam, which determines if

a learner will attend university or not (Pite, 1996).

The Role of the Teacher

A teachers negative response to an incorrect answer may affect a

learners anxiety and contribute to poor performance. Teachers should also

recognize that silence (non-speaking from the learner) does not indicate the

absence of L2 acquisition (Bailey & Nunan, 1996). As Bailey & Nunan (1996)

state, each learner may process differently; some may analyze the question

for a period of time before being able to answer correctly. Silence should be

tolerated in the classroom. If a teacher does not permit silence, a students

self-confidence may be undermined (Bailey & Nunan, 1996).

Input, Interaction, and Output Hypothesis

The roles of input, interaction, and output in learning a second

language have been acknowledged in second language acquisition research.

Today, the importance of input is recognized as a result of being a great tool

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to improve the students linguistic knowledge. Interaction and output are

also important to consider, as they affect the second-language acquisition

process as well.

Input. Introducing students to input that they can understand is

essential for second language learning. According to Krashen, the acquisition

of a second language occurs once second language learners receive

messages that they can comprehend and understand (1985).

The input hypothesis highlights the benefits of using the target

language (TL) in the classroom by providing plenty of opportunities for

comprehensible input (i +1), especially if students are not exposed to the TL

outside the classroom. Comprehensible input is defined as one step beyond

the students current language status in order to lead learners to continue

progressing their language abilities and skills (Gass, 1997). After a second

language learner receives comprehensible input, he/she will be able to build

the linguistic competence and be able to speak the second language and

communicate effectively (Gass, 1997). Therefore, speech should not be

taught directly since the ability to speak a second language comes after the

acquisition (Gass, 1997). According to Krashen, if learners are exposed to

enough input, it will help them to understand and acquire the necessary

grammar (1985).

According to Corder, there is a difference between input and intake

since input represents what is available to the learners whereas intake refers
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to what is internalized by the learner (1967). Beebe (1985) argues that

second language learners should not be passive recipients of comprehensible

input from native speakers; they should be active participants in choosing

the models of the target language they prefer in order to acquire the right

stuff according to their values and needs.

Interaction. The input, interaction, and output hypothesis suggests

that the learning of a second/foreign language occurs during the circle of

input, output, and interaction (Gass & Mackey, 2006). The language that the

learner encounters is considered the input; the language that the learner

produces is considered to be the output; and the means that the learner

makes to request clarification, attempt a response, and obtain feedback is

the interaction (Gass & Mackey, 2006).

Learning might take place during interaction since it is known to be an

attention-drawing device for an unknown part of a language (Gass, 1997).

Thus, if the production of the target language is not going well, the second

language speakers are going to receive indications that consist of a

sequence of negotiations with the interlocutor. The negotiation facilitates the

learning of a second/foreign language by drawing attention to areas that

need to be changed or developed (Gass, 1997).

When both non-native and native speakers of English are willing to

work on any conversational difficulty and recognize the aspects of message

transmission and reception, the negotiation of meaning occurs (Gass, 1997).

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Through the negotiation of meaning, learners can gain additional information

and focus their attention on aspects of the target language (Gass, 1997). The

role of negotiation relies on providing learners with positive evidence,

negative evidence, and opportunities for modified output (Ellis, 1999).

According to Chaudron, positive evidence provides the negotiation of

meaning that occurs in naturalistic conversations (1988). This type of

feedback is considered to be authentic input since it consists of descriptive

information about the produced utterances (1988). In contrast, negative

evidence relies on providing the learners with information about what is

possible in the target language or which strings of utterances are not

grammatically correct (Long, 1996). Due to the different types of feedback, a

number of SLA research has investigated the type of feedback that is mostly

effective for short and long-term L2 instruction (Norris & Ortega, 2000).

According to Gass, positive evidence is the most obviously necessary

requirement for learning. One must have exposure to the set of grammatical

sentences in order for learning to take place (2003).

Output. Some linguists view the output as a way to practice what has

been learned previously by second language learners, but not as an

important part of the learning stages (Gass, 1997). For other linguists, the

output helps the second language learners to acquire the accurate use of

grammar during production, thus, it is a part of the learning mechanism

(Gass, 1997).
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According to Swain, learners might modify utterances that they have

heard before or form new ones whenever they are pushed during the

production of the target language, which is known as comprehensible or

pushed output (1985). Thus, the concept of output does not represent the

product of the language learning, but also the process of acquiring a second

language (Hinkel, 2005).

Hinkel (2005) states that the function of the output in second language

learning can be summarized into three functions that make learning take

place. The first function is triggering which is defined as when learners have

the awareness of correcting their errors and work on their language skills

during their production of the target language (2005). Second, the

hypothesis testing function, which is when learners receive feedback

regarding their production and reflect over the uses of the target language

(2005).

According to Swain, the best way to test the learner's linguistic

knowledge is through their production of the target language, including the

oral explanation of a concept and the written ideas of utterances that have

not been used before (1985). Lastly, the metalinguistic function, which is

considering the output as a tool for expressing and visualizing ideas to make

learners aware of them and have the linguistic knowledge of them (Hinkel,

2005).
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The following section will describe how these theories of second

language acquisition can be translated into the classroom. Presented below

are basic guidelines and foundations for pedagogical material development

and selection that will reduce anxiety. Additionally, appropriate classroom

activities are presented below.

Materials Development

Syllabus Selection and Theoretical Foundation

To slowly reduce anxiety in the Japanese classroom, teachers should be

informed on how to properly encourage specific lessons and adaptations

geared toward communicating effectively and lessening the learners

anxiety. Based on research about what causes anxiety in Japanese learners,

the best methods for these classrooms to lessen anxiety are: Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT), Content-Based Instruction (CBI), Task-based

Language Teaching (TBLT), and Total Physical Response (TPR). These

methods are appropriate because they allow for the positive encouragement

of students, facilitate learning, and create an atmosphere of security.

Additionally, it is important to choose an appropriate syllabus type for the

course. A task-based syllabus would allow for the teacher to choose

meaningful activities to help with everyday English skills, but could also allow

for more flexibility in the course design in case the teacher feels it necessary

to spend more or less time on certain skills, topics, or tasks than originally

designed. This section will describe each method and how it was used in the

development of pedagogical materials.

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The Communicative Language Teaching method (CLT) is a good

platform to use when designing a course to reduce anxiety, because it

encourages communicating competently and functionally, instead of

focusing on step-by step language and grammatical skills that may take rigid

forms in instruction and assessment. CLT also has a flexibility to it (Larsen-

Freeman & Anderson, 2011). This means that, in a broad sense, CLT looks

different in various settings, but the flexibility is a plus in that it can aid the

teacher in adapting class materials and class focus in response to the rising

and falling anxiety by the students. CLT also encourages student interactions

in pairs, small groups, and as a whole group.

As Bailey and Nunan (1996) suggested, it is important to encourage

and facilitate peer support to lessen anxiety. Bailey and Nunan (1996) also

write that it is important to foster a good teacher-student relationship; CLT

focuses on the teacher as a facilitator who tolerates errors and understands

them as a part of development (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011). The use

of authentic materials is also emphasized in CLT, and authentic materials can

be scaffolded to become meaningful comprehensible input for the learners.

For example, the emphasis that CLT puts on using games to give purpose to

language exchanges (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011) was considered

when designing and/or including in this paper the fly swatter game, baseball

game, and running dictations, for example. Additionally, those activities

allow the students to make errors, so the instructor can informally assess the
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students as they play with their group in order to foster positive teacher-

student relationships.

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is another method that falls

under the strong version of CLT (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011).

Students are given tasks to complete, and therefore must communicate in

order to complete these tasks. The teacher can oftentimes replace a quiz or

a test by giving students a variety of tasks to complete, and assessing them

informally on their ability to complete these tasks. Removing a test

component reduces anxiety, and can also provide motivation for the

students because they are doing tasks that prepare them for the real world.

There is also great variety with TBLT, from opinion-gap tasks, unfocused

tasks, focused tasks, reasoning-gap tasks, and others. (Larsen-Freeman &

Anderson, 2011). This allows the teacher flexibility in designing tasks for the

students. The reasoning-gap tasks, along with others, also allow for the use

of comprehensible input in the classroom, which is another important part of

second language acquisition. TBLT was especially considered when designing

the smell game, emailing a professor activity, and the Ted Talk activity. In

each case, instead of being formally quizzed or tested, students are required

to complete a task or share an opinion.

Although it would not be the main method driving the course design,

Total Physical Response is a great way to engage students. Through games

and activities that include physical motion, the teacher can change the

energy of the room and help learners connect kinesthetically to what they
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are learning. As Larsen-Freeman and Anderson (2011) writes, TPR was

developed in order to reduce the stress people feel when they are studying

other languages (p. 109). TPR encourages students to interact, but does not

force them to speak out loud, which often causes anxiety for these Japanese

learners. TPR is very present in the C or U for noun activity, baseball game

activity, and running dictations. The goal was to incorporate kinesthetic

learning, via TPR, into the classroom to help change the energy of the room

and reduce stress. Specifically in the C or U for noun activity, the students do

not have to speak, which is helpful, because speaking usually increases

anxiety.

Content-Based Instruction is also a good model for this classroom

because the teacher can incorporate content that is relevant and interesting

to the students. This can help relax them and make class more fun. CBI is a

strong version of the Communicative Approach to teaching, meaning that

language is acquired through communication (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson,

2011). It is also referred to as a top-down approach, where learners use the

language in order to learn it. Acquiring language through communication and

negotiation is an integral part of the Input, Interaction, and Output

Hypothesis. The emphasis on communication and content can be achieved

by using games and interactive models. For example, the teacher could

facilitate communication in small groups with content that the students

enjoy, such as American culture.

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As Beebe (1985) suggests, learners should be active participants in

choosing examples of the target language that they would like to learn; for

example, in a high-school course, students will not be able to choose all of

the material, but allowing them to study topics that are relatable and

enjoyable to them, and then adapting that authentic material to the lesson,

can be helpful. In the materials for this project, students learn content in a

variety of the activities. For example, with the Fly Swatter game, the teacher

can choose content-specific vocabulary. Ted Talks are all related to a certain

topic that help to increase their knowledge.

As far as syllabus design is concerned, an analytic syllabus is preferred

over a synthetic syllabus. An analytic syllabus is designed and organized to

help students learn a language for the purposes specific to the students,

instead of organized by linguistic units (Larsen-Freeman & Anderson, 2011).

More specifically, a teacher could use a task-based syllabus, which is

organized around the different tasks and activities that learners complete in

English. As mentioned before, the teacher can use a variety of tasks, and

organizing a syllabus around tasks will add variety to the classroom. Instead

of focusing on the testing of linguistic components, the teacher can use tasks

to teach and informally assess learners competencies in a variety of skills.

Materials Design

Here are some helpful tips for teachers in a classroom to prevent

anxiety ongoing: accept a variety of answers from students, encourage peer

support in the classroom, continually have the class do group work together,
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and encourage and foster a great relationship with your students (Bailey &

Nunen, 1996). Ehrman & Dornyei (1998) state in their book, Interpersonal

Dynamics in Second Language Education, that group work produces

coherence within a classroom setting as well as continued acceptance from

the teacher toward his/her class.

Reducing anxiety of Japanese learners when acquiring the listening,

speaking, reading, and writing skills of English language is the ultimate goal

in designing the pedagogical materials. These activities and materials are

intended for Japanese EFL high school students who hope to be enrolled into

Japanese universities. These students experience high levels of anxiety due

to many factors including the universities admission requirements, family

involvement, culture, and the challenge of learning a second language.

After analyzing the needs of this project, it is necessary to identify not

only the linguistic functions including morphology, syntax, phonology,

lexicon, phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics besides the teaching

instructions that are inspired by the input, interaction, output hypothesis to

design and carry out the designed activities, but also the non-linguistic

conditions that are required for successful application and performance of

these activities. The non-linguistic factors that are taken into consideration

during the design of the activities are the needs of the students, the level of

proficiency, the instructional setting, the age of the students, and the

motivation in order to lower the Japanese learners anxiety and have better

growth in learning the English language.

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It is important to design activities that serve the Japanese high school

learners needs regarding learning the English. They are spending a great

deal of time to learn their foreign language in order to obtain an

undergraduate degree at Japanese universities and get a better job

opportunity. Thus, the developed activities serve the role of learning English

as a foreign language for academic purposes- see Appendix A for activities.

Another important aspect that is considered in developing the

pedagogical materials is the instructional setting. To reduce the anxiety, it

important to consider the seating arrangement in the classroom in order to

help the students to establish relationships with their peers and not feel that

they are put in the spot. Forming the class in shapes of small circles, large

circles, and two seats next to each other instead of lines for seating, are

good considerations to reduce anxiety. Those arrangements will increase the

Japaneses involvement in performing the activities. Therefore, a lot of the

developed activities are designed to be performed with a partner, small

group, or large group.

Since the Japanese are studying at high school, taking into

consideration their age and developmental stage is beneficial in order to

develop activities that get their attention and interest, which enable them

not only to be motivated and reduce their anxiety, but also easily connect to

the concept of the given task in order to improve their language skills

effectively. As a result, the themes of the materials are based on topics that
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attract the attention and interest of teenage Japanese learners. One example

is social media.

Another aspect that is considered in designing the materials is the role

of input, interaction, and output in the classroom. It is important to design

activities that have different sources of input whether from the teacher,

classmates, audio, video, guest speaker, and others to move from short-term

comprehension to long-term acquisition. In order to provide the needed

quality of input, it is necessary to provide comprehensible input that is not

too hard or too easy for the Japanese learners in introducing and carrying out

the activities. This will enable the Japanese learners to be more motivated to

learn and comprehend the target language since over explaining the tasks

indicates low expectations. For this reason, the ACTFL Guidelines standards

of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are applied to determine the

suitable level of proficiency for each developed activity in order to carry out

those developed pedagogical materials perfectly.

As for the role of interaction and output during the activities, the

teacher needs to involve students and allow them to negotiate the meaning

as much as possible to express their thoughts and ask questions in order to

develop their linguistic knowledge of the target language. It is important to

encourage the students to talk in pairs and groups and have a safe

environment to ask questions to their teacher.

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In a similar aspect, it is important to consider the type of feedback that

benefits the Japanese learners the best. For this reason, it would be

beneficial if the Japanese learners receive positive evidence rather than

negative evidence for the feedback. This will lead the learners to have long

time language acquisition instead of short one since it enables them to have

a naturalistic setting in learning, which has been proven to be more effective

according to a large number of SLA researchers.

Assessments and Adaptation of Materials

The assessment is developed to measure the Japaneses abilities and

skills in English as a foreign language. According to Toth, formal assessment

is known to make students oftentimes stressed and unable to perform well in

the test (2010). As a result, this type of assessment is avoided for the

designed activities in order to meet the overall goal of this project, which is

creating activities that reduce the Japaneses anxiety and lead them to

acquire and develop their linguistic abilities of English effectively to join a

university in Japan. For this reason, informal assessment, which is also known

as authentic or alternative assessment, is considered to be the tool that

measures the Japaneses development in learning the English language.

The informal assessment has been defined as a form of assessment

where students complete real-world tasks. These tasks demonstrate a

meaningful application of knowledge and skills that are essential to complete

the task (Mueller, 2014). Through using alternative assessment while the

Japanese learners perform the designed activities, it will help the teacher not
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only to track the ongoing progress of their students, but also to target

specific areas that need to be worked on as well as adapt new instruction

and strategies that lower the level of anxiety and facilitate the learning for

the Japanese learners.

The designed materials will be monitored through the teachers

observation, peer-reflection, and students self-assessment. There are many

types of informal assessment that will take place during the activities

including Task Based Assessment and Academic Skills Assessment. For

instance, Japanese learners can be assessed based on their performance on

interviewing each other during the class or listening to a TED talk and writing

a report about their thoughts.

It is important to provide a comfortable environment that makes the

students relaxed in order to help them do well on the informal assessments.

To address the challenge of grading the alternative assessment, it is

beneficial to create and use a grading rubric that has different criteria for

measuring the learners linguistic aspects of the target language to be

evaluated according to its specific standards.

Adaptation of Materials

The developed materials are flexible and can be adapted to suit the

Japanese learners learning needs in English as a foreign/second language.

These activities can be used for a variety of language skills, learning styles,

and multiple intelligences. All the materials have learning objectives that can

be easily modified to fit any other language objective. Those developed

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activities are going to help teachers to empower their Japanese learners to

become independent learners, motivated to learn, and develop their English

language skills. The themes of those activities are specifically selected to

gain the young learners attention in order to make them engaged to perform

them. Therefore, the adapting of those materials will make them effective to

any language classroom for students who experience anxiety.

However, the process of adapting the materials is usually handled by

teachers more than students. Therefore, there are a number of important

factors that teachers who deal with the Japanese learners of English as a

second/foreign language need to consider when applying the language

materials. Based on the research studied, the following are important

considerations for adapting the activities to reduce Japaneses anxiety and

improve their performance in learning English:

Table 1

Considerations When Creating Activities

Reduces Anxiety Increases Anxiety

Small group work Presentations

Games Being called on randomly/forced to

speak
Positive teacher feedback and Negative/harsh teacher feedback
negotiation

Make students feel cared Formal assessments and quizzes

for/emotionally supported
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Informal assessments Being singled out

Creating a sense of community

Table 2

Materials Outline

Name of Activity Level of Proficiency Focus/Skill

Baseball Pronunciation Low to High Speaking and

Game Intermediate Listening

Mailing an Imaginary Mid Intermediate to Writing

Professor Low Advanced

Would You Shape C or Low, Mid, High Listening and

U? Beginners speaking

What Does Ted Say? High Intermediate to Writing, Listening,

Mid Advanced and speaking

No, Apple picking Mid Intermediate Reading, Listening,

Again! Low Advanced and Speaking

Fly Swatter Game High Beginner to Low Listening

Advanced

Smell Game Mid Intermediate to Writing and Speaking

Low Advanced
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Running Dictations High Beginner to Low Listening, Speaking,

Advanced reading, and Writing

It is important to provide a positive environment where the Japanese

learners feel comfortable in classroom, in order to have the needed condition

that leads to successful language learning. Taking into consideration the

factors that increase anxiety in order to avoid it in classrooms is essential in

order to empower the Japanese learners to develop their language skills. In a

similar manner, it is necessary for language teachers to provide the teaching

instructions in positive and supportive way. These instructions will help the

Japanese learners to reduce the level of their anxiety and establish a great

relationship with their teachers. As a result, this will encourage them to have

better focus on what is being taught as well as asking whatever questions

that come across their minds regarding the target language.

Conclusion

Because anxiety levels are so high in Japan, extended research or

knowledge about anxiety on the part of the teacher could aid them in helping

to reduce anxiety. Hopefully this project helps teachers understand more

about anxiety and how to reduce it in the classroom, and also provides

practical application of this knowledge in the form of the activities described.

 26

If a teacher is prepared and adds creativity to his/her lesson plans, he/she

can change the dynamic of the classroom.

Appendix A

Materials that Reduce Anxiety for Japanese Learners of English

Appendix A-1

Activity Name: Baseball Pronunciation Game

Goals/Objectives: To assist students in speaking and hearing the

difference between the phonemes /l/ and /r/.
This activity will also allow for creativity and
lessen anxiety in the classroom.

Level of Proficiency: Low to High Intermediate.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Application Time: 25 minutes

Skills/Focus: Speaking and Listening

Materials: Various words using /l/ and /r/

 27

Procedures:
1. Move all desks against the wall.

2. Create a baseball field.

3. Split class into two teams and have them name their team after a baseball

team (most of them used a Japanese team).

4. Create multiple questions revolving around vocabulary, grammar, spelling,

and pronunciation.

5. The teacher is the pitcher and asks the questions.

6. Pitch away!

7. If student gets question wrong, they get a strike and then can phone a

friend on their team to help.

8. If they get it right, they can hit the ball and run to first. The team in the

outfield can try and get them out.

Adaptations/Considerations:

This game can utilize various other skills such as Reading and Writing.

All levels of students in Elementary, Middle, and High school can play this

game. This activity could assess where the students are within the

curriculum as well. The teacher can focus on several skills during this activity

and observe their output whether they comprehend the materials presented

in class.
 28

Appendix A-2

Activity Name: Mailing an Imaginary Professor at a University

Goals/Objectives: Reduce the Japanese students level of anxiety and

make them motivated to learn.

Develop the students skills in English writing.

Level of Proficiency: Mid Intermediate to Low Advanced

Preparation Time: 3 minutes

Application Time: 12 minutes

Skills/Focus: Focus on writing with integrating skills of listening &

speaking.

Materials: Laptop, Internet, and email address.

Procedures:
 29

1. Teacher explains the concept of the activity by saying imagine that you are

interested in attending a course at university as a guest student. You need to

send an email to the professor who teach that course to ask for a permission

to attend the class for one day. In your email, you need to mention the

professor, the course that you are interested in, the reason for your interest,

request an attendance, and introduce yourself.

2. Each two students will work together to write a formal email for the

professor.
3. After each two students write the email, the teacher will ask each pair of

students to send their emails to each other along with the teachers email.
4. Each group will pretend that they are the professor and respond to other

groups email.
5. Teacher will write a feedback for each group at the end that will send to their

emails the next day.

Adaptations/Considerations: It is helpful to use a tool that learners

already familiar with to reduce the level of their anxiety and give them

confidence to produce in the target language. Any other application or

software that the learners are used to will be great, like blogs. It is important

to pair the students who have a similar level of proficiency together in order

to insure that each one is contributing in writing forms that serve the future

needs.
 30

Appendix A-3

Activity Name: Would you shape C or U for this noun?

Goals/Objectives: Reduce the Japanese students level of anxiety and

make them motivated to learn.
Get the learners to recognize the singular and plural
forms of nouns.

Level of Proficiency: Low, mid, & high Beginners

Preparation Time: 4 minutes

Application Time: 10 minutes

Skills/Focus: Listening & Speaking

Materials: PowerPoint slides, projector, and computer.

 31

Procedures:

1. Teacher will present flash cards for number of nouns to the student all

together.
2. The students have to figure out if the nouns are countable or uncountable

individually.
3. After giving a student enough time to think, the teacher will show one flash

card at a time.
4. Students will model the shape C if they think it is countable or shape U if

they think it is uncountable with their hands.

5. The teacher will select a student who has the right shape to stand and model

the shape with her/his hands, so other students can know the noun type.
6. If it is countable, the teacher will ask each two students to write in their mini

white board the plural of that noun.

7. The teacher will pick a group who got the right spelling to stand and show

their plural noun to the rest of the class.

Adaptations/Considerations: It is helpful to test the students

understanding of a particular rule in a friendly environment to reduce the

learners anxiety. This will help the teacher to assess it the students

demonstration of the rule. Meanwhile, this will help the learners to receive

the opportunities to practice a grammatical rule. It would be helpful if it is

applied through only body movement after the oral introduction of the

activity, so all students will comfortable to model them.

 32

Appendix A-4

Activity Name: What Does Ted Say in his Talk?

Goals/Objectives: Reduce the Japanese students level of anxiety and

make them motivated to learn.
Develop their abilities of listening & speaking for
listening for main ideas and specific information.
Improve their writing skills in writing a summary and
personal reflection.

Level of Proficiency: High Intermediate Mid Advanced

Preparation Time: 4 minutes

Application Time: 40 minutes

Skills/Focus: Writing, Listening, and Speaking

 33

Materials: Internet, Laptop, Printer, Headphones, Papers

Procedures:

1. The teacher introduces the TED TALK web to the students.

2. The teacher asks each two students to have laptops that the teacher

brought.
3. The teacher asks each pairs of students to talk for five minutes with her/his

partner to find a shared interest.

4. Each two students will search the TED website to find a video that they both

are interested in to listen to.

5. The students will discuss their ideas about the Ted Talk video that they

listened to for seven minutes.

6. Each pair will write an outline about the main ideas of the video.
7. Each group will use the outline to write a summary.
8. Each group will write a reflection for the main ideas that are mentioned in

the summary.

Adaptations/Considerations: Being able to listen to authentic materials

really enables the learners to understand the production of native speakers

well since it does not have aspects of foreigner talk. Using any other

software that has short videos about different topics would serve the purpose

of this activity. Depending on the level of the students, the teacher needs to

ensure that the recorded videos match the learner's level. It is helpful to the

high school students to get to listen to semi lectures to transition into

studying in college smoothly. This will help them not only to increase their

language about different aspects, but also to be independent of their

learning which is an important component of studying in a university.

 34

Appendix A-5

Activity Name: No, Apple Picking Again Story!

Goals/Objectives: Reduce the Japanese students level of anxiety and

make them motivated to learn.
Develop their abilities of listening & speaking.
Use their critical thinking skills.

Level of Proficiency: Mid Intermediate Low Advanced

Preparation Time: 7 minutes

Application Time: 20 minutes

Skills/Focus: Reading, Listening, and Speaking

 35

Materials: Papers

Procedures:

1. The teacher organizes the seats of the class into three circles.
2. The teacher gives circle of students a number of sentences.
3. The teacher tells the students to figure out the sequence of these sentences

to form a story about a stolen iPhone in Tokyo to get the teenage students

attention.
4. The students work together to figure out the sequence of the story by

discussing the possible events that took place.

5. After having an agreement with group members about the story sequence,

each group of students will be asked to think about possible reasons for

Apple picking.
6. After discussing the reasons with their group, the students will be asked to

think about possible punishment that they will give for apple pickers.

Adaptations/Considerations: Having themes of stories that are related to

the students interests really helps them to develop their reading

comprehension skills. Thus, any other theme that is easy for all students to

comprehend would be great. Doing the reading in form of segments with

groups really empower them to express their ideas and increase their

language abilities besides reducing the level of anxiety. It is important to

form each group with similar level of proficiency, so the lower level students

will not be dominated by the higher ones.

 36

Appendix A-6

Activity Name Fly Swatter Game

Goals/Objectives: Practice listening skills with vocabulary, minimal

pairs, or pronunciation

Level of Proficiency: High Beginner to Low Advanced

Preparation Time: 0-5 minutes

 37

Application Time: Variable (5-25 minutes)

Skills/Focus: Listening

Materials: Whiteboard and markers; fly swatter

Procedures:
1. Words are written on the whiteboard in columns (example: two columns of

three words each for a total of six words).

2. The class is divided into two groups teams. The class can choose their

team names for fun and to increase competition.

3. These teams form two lines starting at the whiteboard.
4. The person at the front of the line for each team is handed a fly swatter.
5. The teacher calls out the name of the word (or definition, etc. see

considerations) and the team that uses their fly swatter to hit the correct

word on the board wins a point.

6. The first person to go hands the fly swatter to their next teammate in line

and moves to the back of the line.

Considerations: This activity requires zero to very little prep by the teacher.

It is also an easy way for the teacher to informally assess students listening

skills and/or vocabulary knowledge. It is a fun activity for the students and

can be adapted to work on a variety of listening skills. The game can be

adapted to include work on minimal pairs, vocabulary, etc. The teacher can

merely say the word (when working on minimal pairs), give a definition

(when working on vocab), or give antonyms or synonyms, depending on the

level. For example, Japanese students often struggle with the minimal pairs

/l/ and /r/ (Swan & Smith, 2001), so this game could target that structure.
 38

Appendix A-7

Activity Name: Smell Game

Goals/Objectives: Create a relaxing environment for writing.

Improve writing fluency.

Level of Proficiency: Mid Intermediate to Low Advanced

 39

Preparation Time: 2 minutes

Application Time: Variable (5-15 minutes)

Skills/Focus: Writing, Speaking (if adapted)

Materials: Ground coffee, paper, music (if adapted)

Procedures:
1. The teacher brings in a baggie of ground coffee.
2. The students each get out a piece of paper.
3. Pass around the bag and smell the coffee, silently writing down whatever

comes to mind. This can be memories, stories, emotions, and others.

Whatever the smell triggers.

4. They can write silently, working on fluency, for a time amount chosen by the

teacher.

Considerations/Adaptations: The teacher can bring in different

substances that produce different smells. For example: coffee, tea,

cinnamon, cumin, etc. Depending on the location/culture, different smells

might trigger more or less memories or emotions. The teacher may choose

to play soothing music while the students write. Time can be adapted based

on level. The students can also be asked to share their writing in small

groups or pairs to work on speaking skills.

Appendix A-8

Activity Name: Running Dictations

 40

Goals/Objectives: Practice all four skills and negotiation of

meaning. Change the energy of the room by
having students get out of their seats.

Level of Proficiency: High Beginner to Low Advanced

Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes

Application Time: 10-25 minutes

Skills/Focus: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing

Materials: Paper, Tape

Procedures:
1. The teacher prepares dictations on pieces of white printer paper. For

example, the teacher can write (or type) the same three sentences on

multiple pieces of paper, depending on the class size.

2. The teacher tapes these papers on the wall around the room.
3. The students pair up. Each team must run to a designated paper taped to

the wall in order to read the sentence, then run back to their partner to

dictate it. Partners switch roles after each sentence.

4. At the end, the teacher can write the correct answers on the board, or

display the answers on an overhead (if available).

Adaptations/Considerations: The teacher can write different sentences

depending on the level, or to incorporate different or new vocabulary related

to the unit. The pairs can switch roles after each sentence, or after the three

sentences, if the teacher has prepared more. The teacher can either ask

students to share their correct answers, have them jigsaw to review, or

display the correct answers on the overhead. These dictations can be reused
 41

to do comprehension checks with vocabulary, or as writing or conversational

prompts later. Additionally, the students must work on negotiation of

meaning when dictating a sentence to their peer, which has been

demonstrated as an integral piece of the input, interaction, and output

hypothesis.
 42

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=ED537603

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 45

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Appendix B

ACTFL Performance for Language Learners

Range Beginning Intermediate Advanced

Domains Communicates Communicates Communicates

information on information and information and
very familiar expresses own expresses self
topics using a thoughts about with detail and
variety of words, familiar topics organization on
phrases, and using sentences familiar and some
sentences that and series of new concrete
have been sentences. topics using
practiced and paragraphs.
memorized.
Functions Presents simple, Expresses own Produces
basic information thoughts and narrations and
on very familiar presents descriptions in all
 46

topics by information and major time

producing words, personal frames on familiar
list, notes, and preferences on and some
formulaic familiar topics by unfamiliar topics.
language using creating with May show
highly practiced language emerging
language. primarily in evidence of the
May show present time. ability to provide
emerging May show a well-supported
evidence of the emerging argument,
ability to express evidence of the including detailed
own thoughts and ability to tell or evidence in
preferences. retell a story and support of a point
provide of view.
additional
description.
Contexts/ Creates messages Creates Creates messages
Content in some messages in fully and
personally contexts relevant effectively in
relevant contexts to oneself and contexts both
on topics that others, and ones personal and
relate to basic immediate general. Content
biographical environment. areas include
information. May show topics of personal
May show emerging and general
emerging evidence of the interest
evidence of the ability to create (community,
ability to create messages on national, and
messages in general interest international
highly practiced and work-related events) as well as
contexts related topics. work related
to oneself and topics and areas
immediate of special
environment. competence.
May show
emerging
evidence of the
ability to create
messages in more
abstract content
 47

areas.
Text Type Produces words Produces Produces full
and phrases and sentences, series paragraphs that
highly practiced of sentences, are organized and
sentences or and some detailed.
formulaic connected
questions. sentences.
Language Produces Control of Control of high-
Control memorized language is frequency
language that is sufficient to be structures is
appropriate to the understood by sufficient to be
context; limited audiences understood by
language control accustomed to audiences not
may require a language accustomed to
sympathetic produced by language of
audience to be language language
understood. With learners. With learners. With
practice, polish, practice, polish, practice, polish,
or editing, may or editing, may or editing, shows
show emerging show emerging evidence of
evidence of evidence of Advanced-level
Intermediate-level Advanced-level control of
language control. language control. grammar and
syntax.
Vocabulary Produces a Produces Produces a broad
number of high vocabulary on range of
frequency words variety of vocabulary
and formulaic everyday topics, related to topics
expressions; able topics of of personal,
to use a limited personal interest, public, and
variety of and topics that community
vocabulary on have been interest, and
familiar topics. studied. some specific
vocabulary
related to areas of
study or
expertise.
Communicat May use some or May use some or May use some or
ion all of the all of the all of the following
Strategies following following strategies to
 48

strategies to strategies to communicate and

communicate, communicate maintain
able to: and maintain audience interest,
1. Rely on a audience able to:
practiced format. interest, able to: 1. Demonstrate
2. Use facial 1. Show an conscious efforts
expressions and increasing at self-editing and
gestures 3. awareness of correction 2.
Repeat words 4. errors and able Elaborate and
Resort to first to self-correct or clarify 3. Provide
language 5. Use edit 2. Use examples,
graphic phrases, synonyms, or
organizers to imagery, or antonyms 4. Use
present content Simplify cohesion,
information 3. Use known chronology and
6. Rely on language to details to explain
multiple drafts compensate for or narrate fully
and practice missing 5. Circumlocute
sessions with vocabulary
feedback 4. Use graphic
7. Support organizer 5.Use
presentational reference
speaking with resources as
visuals and notes appropriate
8. Support
presentational
writing with
visuals or
prompts.
Cultural May use some Uses some Uses cultural
Awareness memorized culturally knowledge
culturally appropriate appropriate to the
appropriate vocabulary, presentational
gestures, expressions, and context and
formulaic gestures. increasingly
expressions, and Reflects some reflective or
basic writing knowledge of authentic cultural
conventions. cultural practices and
differences perspectives.
related to written
 49

and spoken
communication.

Appendix C

A Scale for Measuring Anxiety in Language Learning

Scales Alway Someti Nev

s mes er
1. I never feel quite sure of myself when I am
speaking in my foreign language class.
2. I don't worry about making mistakes in
 50

language class.
3. I tremble when I know that I'm going to be
called on in language class.
4. I frighten me when I don't understand what the
teacher is saying in the foreign language.
5. It wouldn't bother me at all to take more foreign
language classes.
6. During language class, I find myself thinking
about things that have nothing to do with the
course.
7. I keep thinking that the other students are
better at languages than I am.
8. I am usually at ease during tests in my
language class.
9. I start to panic when I have to speak without
preparation in language class.
10. I worry about the consequences of failing my
foreign language class.
11. I don't understand why some people get so
upset over foreign language classes.
12. In language class, I can get so nervous I forget
things I know.
13. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my
language class.
14. I would not be nervous speaking the foreign
language with native speakers.
15. I get upset when I don't understand what the
teacher is correcting.
16. Even If I am well prepared for language class, I
feel anxious about it.
17. I often feel like not going to my language class.
18. I feel confident when I speak in foreign
language class.
19. I am afraid that my language teacher is ready
to correct every mistake I make.
20. I can feel my heart pounding when I'm going to
be called on in language class.
21. The more I study for a language test, the more
confused I get.
22. I don't feel pressure to prepare very well for
 51

language class.
23. I always feel that the other students speak the
foreign language better than I do.
24. I feel very self-conscious about speaking the
foreign language in front of other students.
25. Language class moves so quickly I worry about
getting left behind.
26. I feel more tense and nervous in my language
class than in my other classes.
27. I get nervous and confused when I am
speaking in my language class.
28. When I'm on my way to language class, I feel
very sure and relaxed.
29. I get nervous when I don't understand every
word the language teacher says.
30. I feel overwhelmed by the number of rules you
have to learn to speak a foreign language.
31. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at
me when I speak the foreign language.
32. I would probably feel comfortable around
native speakers of the foreign language.
33. I get nervous when the language teacher asks
questions which I haven't prepared in advance.