Foreign Language Anxiety in Young Learners: How It Relates to Multiple Intelligences, Learner Attitudes, and Perceived Competence

Abstract

This study explores language anxiety in young EFL students and how it relates to two other major learner variables, multiple intelligences (MI) and learner attitudes. Participants included 216 fifth and sixth graders from two elementary schools, and the findings indicate that the subjects experienced a fair amount of language anxiety. An analysis of student responses revealed that their top five worries were: (1) failing English courses, (2) feeling that other students have a better English speaking ability, (3) feeling that other classmates have better English performance, (4) being called on in English class, and (5) not being prepared in advance when the teacher asks questions. The results illustrate two major components of foreign language anxiety: general worry over language class performance and little confidence in speaking ability. Further, language anxiety was found to be significantly and negatively related to all variables studied. In order of decreasing association, these variables included: perceived English ability, learning attitude, years of taking extracurricular English lessons, length of studying the language, and MI. Out of the three major learner variables, language anxiety appeared to have a much stronger link with learning attitude than with MI. A more in-depth statistical analysis revealed that the anxiety of students classified as having low- and mid-level positive attitudes (lowest 25% and middle 50%, respectively) did not differ significantly. Nevertheless, students with high-level positive attitudes (top 25%) had significantly lower language anxiety than their counterparts. The implications of these results are discussed in this study.