Korean EFL College Students’ Use of Self-regulatory Strategies for Anxiety in English Learning

Abstract

The present study examines Korean college students’ anxiety factors and their usage of self-regulatory strategies for coping with English learning anxiety. This study employs three measures: a background questionnaire, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, and the FLA Self-regulatory Strategy Scale. Two-hundred and one freshmen were assigned to low-, mild-, and high-anxiety groups based on their anxiety levels. The findings of the study reveal that the communication apprehension factor was the main attributor for English learning anxiety, followed by the evaluation anxiety factor, and then the discomfort factor. There were significant differences in relation to self-regulatory strategy use among groups. Learners in the low-anxiety group showed more frequent use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies than the high-anxiety group while both the low- and mild-anxiety groups employed more social strategies than the high-anxiety learners. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications for L2 language teaching and learning are suggested.