Sources of Second Language Anxiety and the Benefits of Instructor Intervention

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of second language anxiety, a psychological phenomenon which stems primarily from communicative and attitudinal aspects of language learning. This paper identifies six potential sources of second language anxiety, defining these for the development of an anxiety measure. Three sources from the communicative aspect include communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Three sources from the attitudinal aspect are operationally defined: mistaken beliefs, like/dislike, and approach/avoidance. The cognitive dissonance approach is used as an intervention for handling the anxious learner. This study reveals: 1.) many students experience strong anxiety; 2.) students hold incorrect beliefs about language learning; 3.) intervention is helpful in lessening oral performance apprehension; 4.) anxious learners aim to avoid embarrassment, and prefer passive learning methods.