English Anxiety Research Articles

A New Online and Offline Blended Teaching System of College English Based on Computer Internet Technology

Through the analysis and research of the multimedia teaching platform system based on computer Internet technology, this paper proposes constructing a network multimedia teaching platform system based on streaming transmission to realize the sharing of excellent teaching resources in colleges and universities and the development of education and teaching. The design and development of each module of the teaching platform are completed, and the realization technology of each module function is explained. We completed the design and implementation of some auxiliary functions of the teaching platform, including the system usage help module, resource search module, and online on-demand playback functions. After the experiment, we compare the changes of students’ English anxiety before and after the experiment and conduct interviews with them. The results show that the application of the Internet-based scaffolding teaching model in college English reading teaching can alleviate students’ English learning anxiety. Through interviews to understand students’ feedback and evaluation of the new teaching model, it was found that most students hold positive evaluations of the Internet-based scaffolding teaching model, believing that the new teaching model can stimulate students’ English learning enthusiasm and increase confidence in English learning.

헛소리의 전염과 치유로서의 풍자: 마리아 에지워스가 본 아일랜드 합병 시기의 영국 제국

Maria Edgeworth’s satire An Essay on Irish Bulls (1802) examines the socially constructed, discriminatory idea of “Irish Bull” to disseminate a fairer understanding of the Irish and thus to seek a true conciliation between England and Ireland after the 1800 Union. This article claims that Edgeworth, who considers prejudice against the Irish a major social ill at the time of the Union, presents her political satire as a means to correct this vice, whereby the imperial defense mechanism against the imagined Irish “contagion” is turned on its head. That is, Edgeworth’s political satire—which on the surface makes fun of the Irish linguistic idiosyncrasy manifest in so-called Irish Bull—makes clear that it is the contagious spread of the prejudice against the Irish, not the increased Irish presence within England, that harms the united English nation. Her satirical portrayal of the English keen to detect, isolate, and expel the Irish “intruders”—unless they prove to be productive members of the English empire—suggests that the prejudiced English are the ones who need to be corrected of their “bull,” and also conjures a link between such discriminatory treatment of the Irish and the antagonizing mechanism that characterizes Victorian narratives of contagion. Edgeworth emphasizes that the English anxiety against the Union and the consequent Irish influx has economic foundations. Accordingly, this article elucidates the essentially economic nature of the imperialist and racist defense mechanism, one that develops into systemic national control over troubles such as contagious diseases and poverty, increasingly associated with the Irish later in the mid-nineteenth century. As this article demonstrates, Edgeworth creatively adopts the 18th-century tradition of satire as medicine to anticipate and criticize the emerging imperial culture of defense, establishing herself as an author who connects the past and the future of the English imagination regarding contagion and Empire in the context of the Irish Union.

Can willingness to communicate, communication in English anxiety, behavioural inhibition and behavioural action predict perceived L2 fluency?

This study aimed to investigate whether and how willingness to communicate, communication in English anxiety, behavioural inhibition and action predict perceived second language (L2) fluency. The study also looked at whether L2 proficiency moderates the strength of relationships between these affective factors and L2 perceived fluency. One hundred learners of English were recorded while doing the Suitcase task (a monologic task) and were asked to complete a series of questionnaires and proficiency tests. Speech samples were then prepared for presentation to 26 experienced language teachers (and highly proficient users of English) as raters. Their task was to rate the speech samples in terms of perceived fluency. Results revealed that while willingness to communicate is a strong and positive predictor of perceived fluency, communication in English anxiety negatively predicts perceived L2 fluency. We also found that L2 proficiency does not seem to moderate the relationship between perceived fluency and willingness to communicate (WTC), but it does change the partial correlation figure for communication in English anxiety from r = −0.24 ( p = .013) to r = −0.38 ( p < .001). This variation suggests that less proficient L2 speakers’ perceived fluency could be more severely affected by communication in English anxiety.

Students’ Awareness on Speaking Anxiety in English for Specific Purpose Speaking Project

This study aimed at finding out students’ awareness of speaking anxiety and the type of speaking anxiety occurring in English for the Specific Purpose speaking project. The study employed a qualitative approach with a case study design and used questionnaires and interviews to collect the data. The study was conducted in one vocational school in Denpasar, with a total of 51 students participating. The data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. As a result, it was found that more than half of the students (58.82%) were being aware of their speaking anxiety during the voice recording. The panic attack and feeling worried become the type of anxiety that the students felt. In conclusion, the anxiety arose due to their lack of English language mastery and their fear of listeners’ comments toward their voice recording. Teachers and lecturers are required to support the students and motivate them to practice the language praxis.
 Keywords: English for Specific Purpose, Speaking Anxiety, Student’s Awareness

English foreign language teaching anxiety of Indonesian pre-service teachers of undergraduate internship program

Anxiety is a topic mostly investigated in the field of foreign language education. Unfortunately, the main focus of the studies on the aforementioned topic has primarily been provided in relation to anxiety suffered by students not teachers. Anxiety in speaking English while teaching has been proven to be a separate obstacle to the success of the language teaching and learning. This still happens to teachers who even have years of teaching experience. This study aims to investigate the English language teaching anxiety as experienced by the pre-service teacher at the department. The FLTA questionnaire consisting of 27 out of 45 items was adopted to collect data. Since this study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the questionnaire was distributed to the participants via email. The analysis was then made by implementing the qualitative descriptive approach and simple quantification to support the description. The results show that there were five factors of anxiety occur during the program. They were teaching inexperience, self-perception of language proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, lack of student�s interest, and difficulty with time management. These findings are expected to become a reference for the efforts of developing an internship preparation program.

The Power of Local Language Terms in Creating Humor in English Language Teaching

Abstract. Humor is regarded as an important aspect in English language teaching (ELT). Therefore, English teachers are expected to create humors in their teaching. Creating humor in ELT, however, is still regarded hard for Many English language teachers. Humor is related to personal capability. Although humor has been widely explored, there is still scarcity on investigating it from local language terms. Therefore, this study came to investigate how humor can be presented in the classroom through local language terms. This was a descriptive qualitative study carried out at Pharmacology Institute of Makassar. The subjects of this study were students at the first semester that had different local languages. The data were collected through classroom observation and in-depth interview. This current study reveals that local language terms have significant power to present humor in ELT. Humor that created from local language input has emotional impact on cheerful learning in the classroom. The local language terms have power to trigger emotional engagement and enthusiasm in learning English. In addition, they function to reduce the complexity and anxiety in learning English as foreign language. Keywords: Local Language Terms, Humor, Emotional Engagement, Cheerful Learning.

Senior High School Students’ Anxiety and Performance in Learning English

This study focused on the anxiety and performance of the students in learning English specifically in speaking. It sought to find out anxieties and its causes that affect their English performance in terms of inter-language phonology, grammar and meaning system. The study covered the use of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) that measure the English learners’ anxiety levels while learning English in the classroom. The respondents of the study were the selected Grade 12 senior high school students from the selected public schools in Maguindanao Division, Philippines. Descriptive-correlational survey method was used in the study.
 The findings show that English language speaking anxiety does exist among Senior High School students in Maguindanao Division and their level of anxiety in learning English is high. It is further concluded that students’ anxiety levels in speaking English in terms of inter-language phonology, inter-language grammar and inter-language meaning system contributed to students’ performance in learning in English.

EFL Islamic Elementary Students’ Anxiety in Learning English

This study investigates elementary school students’ anxiety over learning English, the influential factors of their anxiety, and the teacher’s strategies to reduce their anxiety. Anchored in a mixed research method, 75 fifth grade students at SDIT Robbi Rodhiyah in Curup, Bengkulu, Indonesia were involved as the sample for quantitative investigations into their learning anxiety levels and the influential factors of their anxiety. In addition, one English teacher was recruited as the qualitative subject to be interviewed on the teacher’s strategies to reduce students’ anxiety. The quantitative investigations deployed the FLCAS questionnaire developed by Horwitz, and the qualitative investigation conducted interviews with the English teacher. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze questionnaire data, and an interactive model was undertaken to analyze interview data. The results revealed that the students were at a high level of English learning anxiety. Their anxiety stemmed from some factors such as anxiety over tests, fear of negative evaluation, and communication apprehension. In efforts to help students cope with and reduce their English learning anxiety, the teacher applied some strategies such as relaxation, music and laughter, self-encouragement, and additional considerations resting upon students’ to help them reduce their anxiety.

Portraying EFL Students Individual Different in Learning English

The objectives of this research are to find out the low and high achiever students’ individual differences in learning English . in this study, the researcher used qualitative methods study.The population and the subject of this research were consisted of three low achiever student and three high achiever student at TBI which are the total number six students. In this study, the researcher took purposive sampling and the instrument used is interview. The individual differences consisted of age, sex, aptitude, motivation, learning styles, learning strategies, personality. The data showed that the low achiever student motivation is to obtain sarjana degree, use more cognitive strategies, preffer to study with friend, choose the extrovert way in learning, use to fight with the inhibition, and having the anxiety in learning English. while the high achiever wanted to be the native like, using less cognitive strategies, preffer to study alone, use the introvert way in acquiring language, and let the inhibition win. There some similarities between both student such as they couldnt comprehend the material in relatively shortime, they plan monitor and evaluate their English, like to watch english stuff and listen to song to improved their English, they both prefer learning with the phsycally activities involved, like solving problem while learning English, their confidence built by their experienced in learning English and the last their prefer the democratic classs than the traditional one because the same reason.

University student strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English

This article has been prepared to report a quantitative study that revealed the strategies of students of English major and non-English major to cope with anxiety in the learning of English as a foreign language, including the description of student anxiety in learning English and strategies to cope with English learning. The respondents consisted of 173 students from English major and 173 students from non-English major of a private university in North Sulawesi Province. The validated adapted constructs of the questionnaire, namely strategies and anxiety, were originally proposed by He and Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope respectively. The research findings showed that both English major and non-English major students had no significant difference in their strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English and in their level of anxiety in learning English. However, there were four strategies to cope with anxiety in learning English which significantly contributed to the anxiety in learning English as a foreign language.

Vocational High School’s Students Motivation and Anxiety in Learning English at EFL Context

English is difficult to study by foreign language students especially Vocational High School’s students because English has its own language structure which is different with Bahasa Indonesia’s language structure which is more complicated. As a result, students are not interested in learning English and they have anxieties in learning English. For example, feeling afraid of negative feedbacks of their participation in English class, feeling anxiety towards the, communication during English class, feeling terrified towards assessment in English class [1]. However, not at all students only have anxieties, some students also have motivation to learn English. There are two kinds of motivation, which are intrinsic and extrinsic. In this research, the writer uses descriptive qualitative method. The subject of this study was the first-grade students of SMK Negeri 4 Malang which consist of 35 students from X DG E class. The writer used two instruments which were questionnaire and interview for 4 selected students. The result of the questionnaire showed that the students intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was “high” with variable mean was 2.910. It was supported the result of interview; they intrinsically feel happy to learn English and they extrinsically learn English to pass the exam. Meanwhile, the finding of this research showed that the students’ anxiety was “low” with the variable mean was 2.427. It was supported the result of interview, that they do not feel anxious towards English class. Therefore, it suggests the students to maintain their motivation and eliminate anxiety in order to improve the students’ achievement in learning English.

The Use of Digital Media as a Strategy for Lowering Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language

In the modern era, the use of English now being spreading and penetrated to many fields, including educational field. Thus, learning a foreign language, particularly English is needed by students or learners. However, there are personality factors such as anxiety, that may give either good or bad influences. Therefore, strategy in learning is needed to help the learners encountering their learning process. Various strategies can be used in learning a foreign language. This study discusses about the role of digital media in helping lowering learners’ anxiety in learning foreign language especially English. Several studies are found and have conducted their analysis concerning the use of digital media such as social media, video games, video and audio, in foreign language learning. The results of the review show that digital media which offers low pressure to its users is advantageous and can be effectively used to help the learners in comprehending English so that they feel less anxiety and be more confident in learning and using English as a foreign language.

SPEAKING ANXIETY IN EFL CLASSROOM: CATEGORIES AND FACTORS

English is as foreign language for Indonesian students. Hence, they often find the anxiety in learning speaking. This study investigated the categories and factors of students’ anxiety in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. This is a case study. It was conducted at IAIN Kudus, especially in speaking classes of the second semester students, English Education Department (EED) in the academic year of 2018/2019. For obtaining the data, the researcher used observation of the class interaction and interview. Based on the analysis, there were two results. The speaking anxiety categories found in EFL classrooms are trait, state, and specific-situation anxiety. And, factors that cause the speaking anxiety are cognitive, affective, and performance factors.

The role of graduate students’ learning strategies in reducing their English medium instruction avoidance: the mediation effect of language anxiety

ABSTRACT In Asia, in order to keep up with internationalization, the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) course has become a phenomenon in higher education. In turn, EMI literature has increasingly focused on the role of instructor’s pedagogy in reducing students’ negative response to EMI courses. Additionally, we further explore, from the students’ perspective, whether students can reduce their anxiety about learning in English by adopting varied learning strategies while reducing their avoidance of EMI courses. A questionnaire survey was conducted in spring 2018; 208 postgraduate students from 15 different EMI courses in the School of Business Administration of a Taiwanese University participated in this study. We used partial least-squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to explore the relationship between learning strategies, English anxiety, and EMI avoidance, while regarding English proficiency as a controlled variable. The results indicate that English anxiety has a positive relationship to EMI avoidance; critical thinking has a negative relation to English anxiety; effort regulation has a negative relation to EMI avoidance, and English anxiety mediates the relationship between critical thinking and EMI avoidance. General principles are drawn from these findings and are discussed as they apply to the teaching of EMI classes.

Validity and reliability of the MD Anderson dysphagia inventory in English and Chinese in head and neck cancer patients.

Patient-reported outcome measures are important in assessing the impact of dysphagia on quality of life. Our aim was to adapt and examine the cultural validity and reliability of a swallowing-related quality of life measure, the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI), in English and Chinese, with head and neck cancer patients. We adapted the MDADI to Chinese through formal forward-backward translation. Sixty-six head and neck cancer survivors completed the MDADI, Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL) questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in English or Chinese. Swallowing status was scored on the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS). Seventy-four percent (n = 49) of participants completed a repeat administration of the MDADI for test-retest reliability analysis. The MDADI showed high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α , 0.82≤α≤0.94), and test-retest reliability in both English (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.81) and Chinese (ICC = 0.72). Criterion validity was established through moderate to strong correlations with relevant SWAL-QOL domains. Convergent validity was determined by significant correlations to the HADS and FOIS. Divergent validity was determined by nonsignificant association to the SWAL-QOL Sleep domain. The MDADI also presented as hypothesised to most known-group theoretical constructs. The MDADI showed good psychometric properties in English and Chinese. This avails a reliable and psychometrically valid MDADI for Chinese speakers.

Psychosocial factors of patients with venous leg ulcers and their association with healing

Objectives: To identify psychosocial factors present in patients with venous leg ulcers and the association that these factors have in the healing of venous leg ulcers. Methods: An integrative review of the quantitative studies in MEDLINE, Scielo and Cochrane Library databases, between 2008 and 2019, using the keywords, psychosocial factors, venous ulcer, wound healing, anxiety and depression in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Results: sixteen studies were included. The psychosocial factors present in patients with venous ulcers were depression, anxiety, feelings of helplessness, subjective well-being, self-esteem, loneliness and spirituality. Stress, a negative perception of venous ulcer, living alone and severe experience of symptoms such as pain and depression have statistically significant associations with longer periods of healing. Conclusions: Depression is one of the most frequently measured factors and present in this population. The available evidence on the association of psychosocial factors with the healing of venous ulcers is low.

Understanding Second Language Anxiety: Feedback from ESL Learners in TVET

Anxiety in language classrooms has been acknowledged by local scholars as detrimental to Malaysian learners' English proficiency. Part of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions' mission is to provide immediate workforce of holistic and great communicators. However, language learning anxiety lent support to the poor English performance among learners and is misaligned with the vision by the government as stipulated in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education). The blueprint was developed in 2013 to keep the education system in line with the global trends to help prepare Malaysian youth to survive in the rapidly-changing future. One of highlights is the government's aspiration for high bilingual proficiency among the people. Thus, understanding the types of anxiety in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms is pertinent to customised efforts for pedagogical intervention. Adapting the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), the current study aims to investigate the factors of learning anxiety in ESL classrooms among 236 respondents from various TVET institutions from the Southern states of Malaysia. The questionnaire was distributed online with the items reflective of three types of anxiety in ESL classrooms: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Findings of the study indicated that the respondents suffered from anxiety across the components which confirm the perpetual concern by educators over the reasons why most Malaysian learners still grapple with English proficiency despite years of learning it in formal settings. The study also revealed interesting insights from a psychological perspective by reporting constant anxiety about speaking and presenting in the presence of an audience as well as anxiety when receiving negative feedback from teachers and peers. Implications of the study for practice, subsequent research, and policy are presented with some recommendations for future research to mitigate language anxiety in ESL classrooms.

English Language Anxiety: A Case Study on Undergraduate ESL Students in Malaysia

The level of foreign language anxiety and the factors leading to the English anxiety level among English students were explored using a sequential mixed method with semi-structured interviews and survey. The interview was the main research tool to learn about students’ coping strategies in dealing with English language anxiety, while the survey was aimed to provide additional information to support the qualitative data. The questionnaire and the interview questions were adapted from Horwitz et al.’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). The participants of the study (11 interviewees and 33 questionnaire respondents) were selected purposively from the “Basic English” of a private university students in Malaysia. Analysis of the findings revealed that the students’ of Basic English were “slightly anxious” because of Fear of Negative Evaluation (m=3.16), “slightly anxious” about Communication Apprehension (m=3.07), “slightly anxious” about tests (Test Anxiety, m=3.02), and “not very anxious” about being in the Basic English class (m=2.9). Therefore, overall, the students were “slightly anxious”. The most common coping strategies used by Basic English students were “enquiring friends and lecturer”, “referring to sources such as Google and dictionaries”, “self-helping”, “self-motivation”, “positive thinking”, “shifting focus”, “doing revision”, “listening and understanding”, “self-reflect”, “trying to perform”, “calming down”, “acceptance, exercise”, “taking time to think”, “entertainment”, and “land laugh back to hide embarrassment”. Language educators are advised to prioritize their students’ social and emotional needs by removing or lessening the obstacles and challenges that the students go through when learning English by creating relaxed and non-threatening setting for the teaching and learning.

Investigating English Language Classroom Anxiety And Its Relation To The Achievement Of Iraqi Upper Secondary School Students

Investigating English Language Classroom Anxiety And Its Relation To The Achievement Of Iraqi Upper Secondary School Students

Self-efficacy and Anxiety in Learning English as a Foreign Language: Singing in Class Helps Speaking Performance

Learning is a process that involves both cognitive and affective components and that requires appropriate educational strategies. The present study investigates the links between self-efficacy and anxiety in second language learning, and the effectiveness of the singing songs teaching strategy upon students’ speaking performance. In particular, we tested whether singing songs in class during English lessons affects the relationship between self-efficacy, anxiety and performance in a group of Italian high school students learning English as a second language (N = 132; age ranging 16-19 years). The data were collected through a production task in which the vocabulary extension, the number of words, and the fluency of speech were coded and calculated as a general indicator of students’ linguistic competence. In addition, students were asked about their use of singing as an educational activity during English lessons. Results of bootstrapping analyses confirmed our prediction that foreign language self-efficacy is correlated to performance, through the mediation of anxiety. Our results also showed that the use of a singing songs strategy moderates the association of low self-efficacy to anxiety and performance, thus suggesting its plausibility as a positive pedagogical tool in second language learning activities. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.