Changes in and Effects of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Listening Anxiety on Chinese Undergraduate Students' English Proficiency in the COVID-19 Context.

Meihua Liu,Renqing Yuan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.670824

Abstract

The present longitudinal survey study explored changes in and effects of foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and listening anxiety (FLLA) on Chinese undergraduate students’ English proficiency over a semester in the COVID-19 context. A set of 182 matching questionnaires was collected from first-year undergraduate English as a foreign language learners at two time points of a 16-week semester. Analyses of the data revealed the following major findings: (1) the participants experienced high levels of FLCA and FLLA both at the beginning and end of the semester, neither of which changed significantly during the semester, (2) FLCA and FLLA were highly positively related to each other, (3) FLCA and FLLA significantly predicted students’ self-rated proficiency in listening and speaking English, and (4) confidence in using English, efforts and motivation to learn English and interaction with instructors and peers mediated FLCA and FLLA to exert effects on students’ self-perceived proficiency in listening and speaking English. These findings indicate that the learning environment is critical in influencing the levels of and changes in FLCA and listening anxiety and that these two types of foreign language anxiety are serious issues in the pandemic foreign language learning context.

Highlights

Foreign language anxiety is a negative side of emotion related to second/foreign language learning (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1994) and has received considerable attention from researchers in the field (MacIntyre, 2017)
foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA) seemed to have a greater effect on self-rated proficiency in speaking English than did foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on self-rated proficiency in listening English
The present study investigated changes in and effects of FLCA and listening anxiety on Chinese undergraduate students’ English proficiency over a semester in the COVID-19 context

Summary

Introduction

Foreign language anxiety is a negative side of emotion related to second/foreign language learning (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1994) and has received considerable attention from researchers in the field (MacIntyre, 2017). As a specific type of foreign language anxiety, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) has been widely researched and proved to be predominantly negatively associated with second/foreign language learning processes or outcomes (e.g., Horwitz et al, 1986; Young, 1986; Aida, 1994; Gregersen and Horwitz, 2002; Botes et al, 2020; Gregersen, 2020; Liu, 2006; Liu and Jackson, 2008). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale With a reliability score of 0.947 in phase 1 and 0.949 in phase 2, this 33-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was adapted from that developed by Horwitz et al (1986), primarily aiming to measure students’ anxiety levels in English language classrooms, as done in similar studies (e.g., Hurd and Xiao, 2010; Liu and Xiangming, 2019; Xiangming et al, 2020). Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale Achieving a reliability score of 0.896 in phase 1 and 0.905 in phase 2, the 20-item Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) used in the present study was adopted from that used in Zhang (2013), aiming to measure respondents’ English listening anxiety.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion