Investigating Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Among Yemeni University EFL Learners: A Theoretical Framework Development

Amr Abdullatif Yassin,Norizan Abdul Razak

doi:10.5539/elt.v11n10p38

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the level of foreign language anxiety experienced by Yemeni University EFL students. Although many scales have been developed to measure the level of anxiety, each scale investigates anxiety in one skill except Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) which investigates anxiety mainly in speaking and listening. The current study developed a new scale called Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLAS) which fused the three scales with modifications in order to investigate the level of anxiety in the four skills. This scale scored .807 in Cronbach&rsquo;s Alpha Validity test. The participants are 155 Yemeni University students and the results of the analysis revealed that 13% of the students experienced high level of anxiety, 69% experienced moderate level of anxiety, and 18% experienced low level of anxiety. The general level of anxiety among Yemeni university EFL students is moderate as they score 138 out of 240.

Highlights

Learning English as a foreign language is not an easy task as students encounter different difficulties
The current study developed a new scale called Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLAS) which fused the three scales with modifications in order to investigate the level of anxiety in the four skills
The main objective of this study is to investigate the level of foreign language anxiety among Yemeni university EFL students and it aims to answer the following question: What is the level of foreign language anxiety among Yemeni university EFL students?

Summary

Introduction

Learning English as a foreign language is not an easy task as students encounter different difficulties. These difficulties can be divided into three factors namely learner factors, teacher factors and language factors (Brown, 2007). Anxiety is one of the psychological aspects which hinder students from improving their skills when learning English as a second or foreign language (Yamat & Bidabadi, 2012; Ali & Fei, 2016; Razak, Yassin, & Maasum, 2017). Researchers have conducted studies on different variables and many of the researchers over the past decades focused on anxiety and its role in the process of second language acquisition Horwitz, & Cope, 1986; Cheng, 2002; Argaman & Abu-Rabia, 2002)

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Conclusion