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Effects of Language Anxiety on Three Proficiency‐Level Courses of Spanish as a Foreign Language
Author(s) -
MarcosLlinás Mónica,
Garau Maria Juan
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2009.01010.x
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychology , foreign language anxiety , foreign language , language proficiency , language assessment , developmental psychology , second language attrition , scale (ratio) , on language , clinical psychology , mathematics education , comprehension approach , language education , linguistics , physics , philosophy , quantum mechanics , psychiatry
This article investigates the effects of language anxiety on course achievement in three foreign language proficiency levels of Spanish, namely, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Participants completed the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and a background questionnaire. Results showed that language anxiety actually differed across proficiency levels. In the present study, advanced learners showed higher levels of anxiety than beginning and intermediate learners. In addition, there was an interrelation between language anxiety and course achievement. However, students with high levels of anxiety did not necessarily exhibit lower course achievement in comparison to students with low levels of language anxiety, as concluded in previous studies. Furthermore, there was a medium level of language anxiety among most participants, with no significant effect on course achievement.