Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom
anxiety. The Modern language journal, 70(2), 125-132.

This article explains how the process of learning a foreign language can be a
source of anxiety, how specific situational anxiety is different from a diagnosed
anxiety disorder and how anxiety becomes an obstacle to an efficient EFL learning.
It also mentions the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, how it was
created and how the items help to determine if a learner suffers from FLCA and
how severe it is.

This article seems to be the basis of the topic I want to research on (the Horwitz
last name is mentioned in a high amount of FLCA-related academic works, as well
as being the creators of the FLCAS), it’s useful as an accurate, well-studied
definition of what FLCA actually is.
 Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a Foreign
Language Anxiety Scale
Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a
Foreign Language Anxiety Scale. TESOL Quarterly,20(4), 559-562.
doi:10.2307/3586535

This article briefly explains how the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale has been
used in undergraduate students to measure their levels of FLCA and work upon
the results obtained from it. There is an explanation of how the scale was created
and how it helps professionals to work on FLCA more effectively.

This article can be used to prove how valid and reliable the FLCAS is since I will be
using it during my research. The explanation on how it was made helps to see
what other factors have to be taken into account when talking about FLCA.
 An Investigation into Spanish EFL Learners’ Anxiety
Martínez Agudo, J. (2013). An investigation into spanish EFL learners’
anxiety. Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada, 13 (3), 829-851.

This action research shows the work that was done with 208 students in Spain
whose FLCA was assessed and analyzed in order to show what were the main
sources of anxiety in that specific population. It focuses slightly more on what
areas specifically were the cause of the anxiety the students felt.

This work is more closely related with what I have planned to do, since it involves
people with Spanish as an L1 learning English as an L2, so there might be a
correlation between the results found on this research and the results I might find.
It could be a reliable source to compare and contrast how FLCA appears on
different degrees as it is product of human behaviors and attitudes.
 An Investigation of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and its
Relationship with Students’ Achievement
Awan, R., Azher, M., Anwar, M. N., & Naz, A. (2010). An Investigation Of Foreign
Language Classroom Anxiety And Its Relationship With Students Achievement. Journal of
College Teaching & Learning (TLC),7(11). doi:10.19030/tlc.v7i11.249

This investigation works with anxiety as a cause of poor language learning; because of this,
students were assessed to find out what the main causes of their anxiety were, and how
these causes lowered the students’ achievement in class, showing a negative correlation
between test results and a high degree of FLCA. It ends up with a suggestion to make the
students’ environment in the classroom more motivating in order to help the anxiety levels
decrease.

This investigation leans more towards test anxiety, and how it is an important element to
consider when talking about FLCA. I can work with the mentioned suggestions to prepare
a good teaching strategy to work with my planned population.
Examination of University Students’ Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety
Karatas, H., Alci, B., Bademcioglu, M., & Ergin, A. (2016). Examination of
University Students’ Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 232, 396-402.

This studio sets to discover if the educational background from university students
has any influence in the level of FLCA they have. After using questionnaires to
obtain the desired response, it was discovered that the educational background
related to English had nothing to do with the results of the FLCA that was applied.
However, it was discovered that there is a correlation between the level of anxiety
and the language level of the student.

The studio has helped me consider factors I hadn’t considered before, such as
what the language level has to do with the level of FLCA, so I’ll be aware to look
out for that detail when I choose my population. Besides, it helps me discard
factors such as scholar background and years spent learning the L2 since it has
been proven there is no correlation between these facts and FLCA.
 The Challenge of Teaching English to Adult Learners in Today’s
World

Cozma, M. (2015). The Challenge of Teaching English to Adult Learners in

Today’s World. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, pp.1209-1214.

This article discusses the cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics of

adult learners of a second language, using a qualitative methodology in which the
researcher interviewed several experienced teachers who have taught both
children and adult learners, in order to acquire personal statements as to what the
characteristics of adult learners are and what are the challenges in teaching adults
a second language. Besides, the article includes important factors and elements
that a teacher must take into account when teaching adult learners, in order to
provide a better atmosphere in the classroom and an effective interaction with the
learners.

This article is useful for my research because it mentions the attitudinal

characteristics of adult learners, which are the subject of my research. Besides,
there is an explicit mention of anxiety in the classroom and a new concept,
(“impostor syndrome”), both of them related to the feeling of insecurity and lack of
self-esteem in the classroom. It can help me prepare the strategies for the adult
learners in addition to how it helps to explain basic concepts of my research
(classroom anxiety and adult learners).