Foreign Language Anxiety among Korean Students at Keimyung College University in Daegu, South Korea

Abstract

This paper investigated the foreign language anxiety among students frequenting the Global Zone at Keimyung College University (KMCU) in Daegu, South Korea. Needed linguistic data were obtained from KMCU students (N=216; n=140) using Horwitz’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), which was later translated to the Korean language to hasten reading comprehension. The sample size was determined using Yamane’s Formula. The subsequent analysis found no significant relationship between language anxiety and those collective variables on age, sex, and relative point/period where subject students started learning or speaking English. Horwitz et al. (2016) described three contributing factors of language anxiety: communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and fear of negative evaluation. The descriptive method and Pearson Chi-Square are used to analyze the data. The data show the level of language anxiety experienced by KMCU students frequenting the Global Zone. In general, the overall anxiety level of the same subject-respondents is interpreted to be “moderate.” These findings propose the need to integrate a new approach that engages non-native speakers in meaningful and stress-free classroom interactions that focus more on fluency than the accuracy of linguistic expressions in learning English as a Foreign Language.