Exploring affective barriers in virtual exchange: the telecollaborative foreign language anxiety scale

Marta Fondo,Pedro Jacobetty

doi:10.21827/jve.3.36083

Marta Fondo, Pedro Jacobetty

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.3.36083

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Abstract

The technological revolution of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought about new learning scenarios as well as new professional requirements, such as the development of intercultural and Foreign Language (FL) skills. In this regard, Virtual Exchange (VE) projects provide students with learning opportunities through online social interaction and collaboration (Dooly, 2017); allowing authentic intercultural experiences for students who do not have the opportunity of travelling (O’Dowd, 2016) and promoting 21st-century skills development (Jager, Kurek, & O’Rourke, 2016). However, interacting online in the FL with a person from a different culture can entail an affective challenge for students and might give rise to Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). FLA is a dysphoric and situational anxiety suffered by one out of three FL students which inhibits communication and learning (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Due to the impossibility of finding an available tool to investigate the presence and effects of FLA in VE environments, the Telecollaborative FLA Scale (T-FLAS) was designed. This article presents the development of the T-FLAS, a 21-item questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale, aiming to provide researchers and practitioners with a tool to explore FLA in VE.

Highlights

The fast evolution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has stimulated globalisation processes increasing the urge of mastering foreign languages in professional and private life spheres
The results will inform on the main anxiety factors in Virtual Exchange (VE) resulting from the Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and provide the profiles of learners resulting from clustering the sample using the Telecollaborative FLA Scale (T-FLAS)’ PCA. 4.1
PCA results: T-FLAS items organised by dimensions The PCA indicated that three factors of the T-FLAS had an eigenvalue greater than one (Figure 3), which is the rule of thumb for identifying the number of factors

Summary

Introduction

The fast evolution of the ICT has stimulated globalisation processes increasing the urge of mastering foreign languages in professional and private life spheres. Online video and audio conferencing tools are especially beneficial as they increase learners’ contact with expert users of the target language to enhance FL skills beyond cultural and geographical boundaries, offering the learner an experience close to face-to-face communication (Cappellini & Rivens Mompean, 2015; Satar, 2016). In this line, Alonso-Belmonte and Vinagre (2017) state that “integrating telecollaboration practices in the L2 classroom becomes relevant in a globalised world in which individuals are expected to show awareness of cultural differences and to have the necessary skills to perform appropriately in different communicative settings” The platform closed at the end of 2017 as a result of the low activity and lack of funding

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Results

Conclusion