Classroom Anxiety and Young Language Learners: Broadening the Scope of the Research Agenda

Ruben Correia, Portugal

Rúben Correia is an English teacher from Portimão. He was an undergraduate student in a teaching degree at the Algarve University. In 2003 starts his teaching career in the Portuguese public educational system in Lisbon and, at the same time, starts his Master’s degree at the FCSH – UNL. Currently, he continues teaching English (5th to 9th graders) and is a PhD student on English Didactic (FCSH). He is also a CETAPS member and TEALS team researcher.

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Introduction
My context
Defining the problem
Research on foreign language anxiety
Signs of anxiety in the classroom
Implications for classroom practice
Concluding thoughts
References

Introduction

Language learning anxiety and its importance for language acquisition has been continuously studied over the last three decades. Like Daubney (2010), I too think that “this surge in research has partly resulted from the significant interest resulting from the often controversial claims that anxiety is a decisive factor in learners’ success or otherwise in a foreign language” (p. 24). However, in Portugal, in terms of research, little or no significance has seemingly been given to the influence of anxiety on the learning process. The exception is the research undertaken by Daubney (2002) (2010) and Daubney and Sá (2008) (2012).

This paper aims at raising awareness of teachers in general and Portuguese teachers in particular of the influence that language anxiety might have within their classrooms, especially when it comes to speaking. I’ll narrow down my focus and give this skill due prominence, “since speaking in the target language seems to be the most threatening aspect of foreign language learning” and because “the current emphasis on the development of communicative competence poses particularly great difficulties for the anxious student” (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, p. 132).

From a personal perspective, rooted in both theoretical and empirical experience, I’ll tackle one of the most resonant issues concerning affective variables’ interference with the cognitive domain. Throughout this article, my intention is to help other teachers to gain insights on how foreign language anxiety influences the EFL classroom and how it manifests, and to put forward some suggestions that may contribute to mitigate anxiety and, a posteriori, boost students’ confidence.

My context

I’ve been an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher in Portugal for the past thirteen years. On average I teach six classes per year, 5th to 9th graders, whose ages usually range from ten to fourteen years old. Accordingly, this is the target group addressed in this paper. I am aware that the term ‘young learners’ often refers to 3- to 12-year-old learners, but for this article I will be referring to learners aged between 10 and 14. Notwithstanding this focus, the rationale presented here may also apply to slightly older students. It is common place to think about anxiety in learners in their late teens and early adulthood, comprising secondary levels or even higher education, due to developmental concerns and/or identity issues, which often translate into growing pains arising from how peers see them. Usually younger language learners are deemed to be less inhibited and more concerned about pleasing the teacher than worried with their classmates’ reactions to their participation in classroom activities. Given my own teaching experience, I am inclined to challenge this view and would like to suggest that future research could look into younger learners from a different perspective.

Over the years, I’ve come across many different students with divergent socioeconomic backgrounds and linguistic interests, which have a great influence on their global performance. Yet, quite intriguing for me though, especially at the beginning of my career, was realising that most of my pupils shared a common trait – permanent distaste for speaking in front of the rest of the class. Despite their level of overall competence in the remaining skills, the usual sentence said, using the L1 was and has been “I can’t speak English!” or even just a lowering of the head and no answer at all. Such a perennial behavioural pattern triggered my interest in understanding the reason underlying this phenomenon; more so, given the pervasiveness of the problem and the adverse effect it has on the students’ language acquisition ability. Though anxiety might influence speaking and overall language ability, it is important to encourage students to speak. Indeed, as Tsui (1996) has pointed out:

Although one should avoid making the sweeping generalization that talking equals learning, and forcing students to participate when they are not ready, one cannot deny that participation is very important in language learning. When students produce the language that they are studying, they are testing out the hypotheses which they have formed about the language. When they respond to the teacher’s or other students’ questions, raise queries, and give comments, they are actively involved in the negotiation of comprehensible input and the formulation of comprehensible output, which are essential to language acquisition. (p. 146)

It is also true that anxiety may be seen as a positive influence on students’ performance, which has led to considerable debate amongst scholars and researchers alike. Scovel (1978), in his seminal paper on anxiety, discusses facilitating anxiety – one that motivates for the learning task at hand; and debilitating anxiety – one that affects short-term memory and encourages avoidance of the learning task. Bailey (1983) suggests that “in formal instructional settings, if […] anxiety motivates the learner to study the target language, it is facilitating. On the other hand, if it is severe enough to cause the learner to withdraw from the language classroom […] anxiety is debilitating” (p. 96). Although recognizing Bailey’s rationale, I would advocate a slightly different view. Given the nature of speaking, namely the exposure it requires from the student, spoken production and/or interaction may often prompt a debilitating anxious state that exerts a negative influence on the classroom’s dynamics. Speaking in particular tends to activate what Cheng, Horwitz and Schallert (1999) address as language-skill-specific anxiety, which has a bearing on low self-confidence and self-efficacy – the students’ beliefs in their capabilities to achieve expected performance levels. If the students have a low self-perception of their own worth, they are likely to feel anxious and be unsuccessful.

Defining the problem

EFL teachers face a distinct, but common, problem in their classrooms – getting students to actively engage in spoken production and/or interaction. Single word answers like “Yes” or “No”, avoidance of participation, a nod of the head or just an awkward smile seem to be common features of many EFL environments around the world. Even very capable learners in the remaining skills tend to circumvent L2 communication situations. Like Tsui, I think “that when students are unresponsive, it is possible that they are affected by language learning anxiety rather than simply being unmotivated or incompetent” (1996, p. 165).

Speaking seems to be the skill that by far most exposes the students’ sense of self. The fear of making mistakes in front of peers and being subjected to potential general mockery or laughter, and the frustration caused by the inability of expressing oneself clearly in the same way as using one’s mother tongue, hinders learners’ willingness to communicate and participate. Thus, language anxiety is deemed as “possibly the affective factor that most pervasively obstructs the learning process” (Arnold & Brown, 1999, p. 8). A decrease in self-confidence, self-efficacy and motivation, combined with high levels of anxiety, lead to a high “affective filter”, an emotional barrier postulated by Krashen (1981) (1982), which students generate subconsciously when they feel vulnerable and which undermines the language acquisition process. When the affective filter is triggered, the learner becomes unreceptive to the language input presented. Even if he or she understands what has been said the barrier precludes input from reaching the part of the brain responsible for language acquisition. In pedagogical terms, besides comprehensible input, students need classrooms conducive to low affective filters. Affective variables play a significant role in increasing or reducing the learners’ willingness to communicate, and may transform them into more reticent L2 speakers.

Research on foreign language anxiety

The more I taught, the more I became interested in speaking anxiety. Considering the problem and context discussed above, I realised I needed to understand what was happening with my students in order to help them and myself. As well as being interesting, this area of study proved to be extremely valid in my attempt to explore the reasons why students didn’t want to communicate or avoided to communicating in English. I’m aware that we, as language teachers, have many linguistic problems to attend to. Though, I’m also aware of the corollary that growth of emotional competence will have on our students’ speaking ability. We must envision both learners and language learning holistically.

Bearing in mind my professional interest in developing learners’ oral proficiency, the question of how to tackle and lessen negative feelings towards this specific skill naturally arose. The endeavour, then, was identifying the root of the problem as well as finding ways to cater to the students’ needs.

In the literature, some suggestions are put forward by researchers. For Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) “any performance in the L2 is likely to challenge an individual's self-concept as a competent communicator and lead to reticence, self-consciousness, fear, or even panic” (p. 128), which means that the source of the pupils’ anxiety comes from their self-perception of ability. In a similar fashion, Young (1991) argues that “students who start out with a self-perceived low ability level in a foreign or second language are the likeliest candidates for language anxiety […]” (p. 427). According to Kitano (2001), the “speaking skill is usually the first thing that learners compare with that of peers, teachers, and native speakers” (p. 550). By comparing their skills against other speakers, particularly more fluent speakers, low self-confident students will only aggravate their frustration and self-doubt. Often students end up in a state of complete vulnerability and communication apprehension.

Although this article does not report on empirical research, informal conversations (using the L1) noted down after class for the past couple of years with students showing signs of distress, point out a correspondence with the line of reasoning presented by Horwitz et al., Young and Kitano. As a starter, after a brief explanation on what we were about to talk, I always asked students “Don’t you like English?”, followed by several other questions specifically anxiety-related like “Do you worry about making mistakes?”. I realized that a vast majority of pupils is fond of learning English, nevertheless I also perceived a deepen dread associated to speaking tasks. Invariably, the conversations finished with me reassuring the student. At first, I was looked at with distrustful eyes, however when the students steadily understood I meant what I said – that I would be supportive, would not correct mistakes in front of the class and would not allow mockery – they began to show signs of improvement.

Signs of anxiety in the classroom

Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s (1986) seminal paper was the study that helped me understand my students. It can do the same for other teachers, considering its twofold nature – not only does it conceptualize speaking anxiety, but also serves as a useful measurement tool to identify anxious foreign language learners. Common psycho-physiological symptoms associated with anxiety include “apprehension, worry, even dread. They have difficulty concentrating, become forgetful, sweat, and have palpitations. They exhibit avoidance behaviour such as missing class and postponing homework” (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, p. 126). To measure students’ anxiety levels, the authors developed a 33-item, 5-point Likert-scale type questionnaire, named the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Yet, after one or two try-outs I realized the FLCAS does not exactly fit comfortably with young language learners because, on the one hand it is too formal and time-consuming, and on the other hand this age group cannot quite yet grasp the full meaning of the statements. Although I acknowledge that originally the FLCAS was designed having adult learners in mind. My advice, then, would be use it yourselves as teachers to help you better interpret the behaviour of a particular pupil. Answer the questionnaire based on the pupil’s behavioural pattern and decide if he/she is struggling with language anxiety. The statements that best help me identify anxiety are: “It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my language class”; “I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my language class”; and “I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak the foreign language” (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, pp. 129-130). Another possibility is asking students about how they felt doing certain speaking activities in the classroom. The replies may reveal indications of anxiety. For example “tenho vergonha de falar em Inglês” (I’m embarrassed to speak in English); “Inglês é a disciplina que me deixa mais nervoso/a” (English is the subject I feel most nervous); or even “tenho medo de errar porque os outros podem gozar comigo” (I’m afraid of making mistakes because my classmates may laugh and mock me).

The natural reaction for teachers experiencing similar situations in Portugal and abroad is asking – How do we recognize the presence of speaking anxiety in our classrooms? To try to simplify a complex process, I would say you just have to know what the signs are. Knowing those behavioural kinesics, the “trained eye” might be able to sort out which students may be experiencing anxiety symptoms. Oxford (1999) indicates the following as signs to be taken into account:

• General avoidance: “Forgetting” the answer, […] low levels of verbal production, lack of volunteering in class, seeming inability to answer even the simplest questions.
• Physical actions: Squirming, fidgeting, playing with hair, nervously touching objects, stuttering or stammering, displaying jittery behaviour, […].
• Physical symptoms: Complaining about headache, […] feeling unexplained pain or tension in any part of the body.
• Other signs […]: social avoidance, conversational withdrawal, lack of eye contact, hostility, […] image protection or masking behaviours (exaggerated smiling, laughing, nodding, joking), failing to interrupt when it would be natural to do so, […] self-criticism (I am so stupid). (p. 66)

Teachers ought to be attentive to these indicators in order to help students cope with tasks that are anxiety-provoking. Otherwise the language learning experience will be dramatically unpleasant.

Implications for classroom practice

Once the anxiety signs are identified, the challenge is to provide our students with a reduced-anxiety classroom environment. Oxford (1999) yields broad useful suggestions to foster low-anxiety levels that can be adapted to young language learners:

• Help students understand that language anxiety episodes can be transient;
• Boost self-esteem and self-confidence of students […] by providing multiple opportunities for classroom success in the language;
• Encourage moderate risk-taking […];
• Be very clear about classroom goals and help students develop strategies to meet those goals;
• Give students permission to use the language with less than perfect performance;
• Encourage students to relax through music, laughter or games;
• Give rewards that are meaningful to students and that help support language use. (p. 67)

Considering the needs of young learners between 10 and 14 years of age and the rationale offered in the previous sections, I would say that the two core aspects of speaking anxiety, i.e., self-perceptions of linguistic ability and fear of making mistakes, must be tackled in a clearly defined manner. My strategy to address the former is proving the learners’ negative beliefs wrong, by tailoring speaking activities which are achievable and conducive to the students’ success, making them feel secure (work in small groups or in pairs), followed by positive reinforcement and finished with a reward for effective communication, while deemphasizing grammar rules and forms. I often send written messages to the parents praising the learner’s good performance. By doing so confidence is boosted and so is their willingness to communicate. As for the latter, class cohesion is key. Explain to the class that “mistakes are part of the language learning process and that mistakes will be made by everyone” (Young, 1991, p. 432). Assist students to identify with one another in a process of “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes”, allowing empathy to flourish. In classes involving speaking activities, especially the most stressful ones like role-plays or presentations, I always do a “Class Meeting” as a way to address concerns together, as a group and to promote sharing of feelings/thoughts towards speaking. An additional backup strategy I adopt is “Taking Turns”. If any given student attempts to mock his/her classmate I ask the derider to take the speaker’s place to help him focus on the classmate’s feelings and relate to his peer. Thus, potential mockery is controlled and trust between peers will be steadily built. Although it might take some time and patience, I (strongly) believe that a supportive environment amongst fellow classmates is a crucial factor in reducing classroom anxiety.

Concluding thoughts

Whether we are aware of it or not, speaking anxiety is an ever-present phenomenon in the language classroom. It can develop into a serious problem with severe pedagogical repercussions if not acknowledged, assessed and approached effectively. As Horwitz et al. (1986) point out, “if we are to improve foreign language teaching at all levels of education, we must recognize, cope with, and eventually overcome, debilitating foreign language anxiety as a factor shaping students' experiences in foreign language learning” (p. 132).

Creating low-anxiety atmospheres conducive to low affective filters is a slow process, yet necessary to promote interest and motivation in learning a foreign language. Remember that not all students who are unwilling to communicate and seem intentionally unresponsive to your stimuli, may in fact be concealing a heightened dread of speaking-related activities based on self-misconceptions of spoken ability. The challenge is understanding the roots of such behavioural patterns and then helping students to progressively adopt a different attitude. To make anxious students feel more comfortable, teachers should be patient, friendly, show a good sense of humour, encourage spoken production and/or interaction, accept mistakes as a natural part of the language learning process and be understanding towards students’ needs and individuality. In a nutshell, when facing students displaying high levels of anxiety, try to foster a relaxed classroom environment, design activities aimed at success, dispel students’ negative beliefs and enhance bonds of trust between peers, as well as with yourself.

References

Arnold, J., & Brown, H. D. (1999). A Map of the Terrain. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in Language Learning (pp. 1-24). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bailey, K. (1983). Competitiveness and Anxiety in Adult Second Language Learning: Looking at and through the Diary Studies. In H. Seliger & M. Long (Eds.), Classroom Oriented Research in Second Language acquisition (pp. 67-102). Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers .

Cheng, Y.-S., Horwitz, E., & Schallert, D. (1999). Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components. Language Learning, 49(3), 417-446.

Daubney, M. (2002). Anxiety and Inhibitive Factors in Oral Communication in the Classroom: A study of third year English Language specialists at the Catholic University in Viseu. Mathésis, 11, 287-309.

Daubney, M. (2010). Language Anxiety in English Teachers during their Teaching Practice. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Aveiro.

Daubney, M., & Sá, H. A. (2008). Rethinking Anxiety: The case of Pre-service Language Teachers During their Teaching Practice. TTED & TEA Newsletter IATEFL, 5-9.

Daubney, M., & Sá, H. A. (2012). On Managing Anxiety in Foreign Language Learning: Developing Emotional Literacy on the Practicum. Intercompreensão, 119-136.

Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.

Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the College Japanese Language Classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85(4), 549-566.

Krashen, S. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Oxford, R. (1999). Anxiety and the Language Learner: New Insights. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in Language Learning (pp. 58-67). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Scovel, T. (1978). The Effect of Affect on Foreign Language Learning: A Review of the Anxiety Research. Language Learning, 28(1), 129-142.

Tsui, A. (1996). Reticence and Anxiety in Second Language Learning. In K. Bailey & D. Nunan (Eds.), Voices from the Language Classroom (pp. 145-167). Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Young, D. (1991). Creating a Low-Anxiety Classroom Environment: What Does Language Anxiety Research Suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426-439.

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