The link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-rated English proficiency among Chinese learners

Jean-Marc Dewaele,Tsui Shan Ip

doi:10.14746/ssllt.2013.3.1.3

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence that both dimensions are inversely related as Foreign Language Learning contexts are full of ambiguities which may contribute to anxiety. However, the relationship between FLCA and SLTA has been under-researched. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap by investigating the link between SLTA and FLCA in English of 73 secondary school students in Hong Kong. They filled out an online questionnaire consisting of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995). Statistical analyses revealed that FLCA, SLTA and Self-rated English proficiency predict half of the variance in each other; in other words, students who were more tolerant of second language ambiguity were less anxious in their EFL classes and they also felt more proficient.

Highlights

Research on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) has been abundant in the last few decades (Ellis, 2008)
Pearson correlation analyses revealed that FLCA and Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are significantly and negatively correlated (r(72) = -.711, p < .0001) with high levels of FLCA corresponding to lower levels of SLTA, that is, the more tolerant of ambiguity the respondents were, the less anxious they reported being in their English classes
A one-way ANOVA revealed that language/dialect knowledge is unrelated to either SLTA (F = .16, df = 2, p = ns) or FLCA (F = .006, df = 2, p = ns)

Summary

Introduction

Research on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) has been abundant in the last few decades (Ellis, 2008) It has focused mainly on the link between FLA/FLCA and outcome variables in foreign language learning (FLL) (Lu & Liu, 2011). Much less research has considered the effect of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) on FLL achievement. The objective of the present study is to fill in the gap in SLA research by investigating the link between FLCA and SLTA in the Chinese English Foreign Language (EFL) setting. 125), which can negatively affect the classroom performance of FL learners They define FLCA as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviors related to classroom learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process” Students with high levels of FLCA have been found to be more likely to abandon the study of foreign languages (Dewaele & Thirtle, 2009)

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