The anxiety-proficiency relationship and the stability of anxiety: The case of Chinese university learners of English and Japanese
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Date
2015-03
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Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu
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Abstract
Adopting a longitudinal design, this study investigates the effects of foreign
language anxiety on foreign language proficiency over time within English and
Japanese learning contexts. It also explores the stability of anxiety in English
and Japanese over time and the stability of anxiety across English and Japanese. Chinese university students (N=146), who were simultaneously learning Japanese and English, participated in this study. Data were collected twice over a 2-month interval, using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale,
the English Proficiency Scale, and the Japanese Proficiency Scale. Results
showed that anxiety changes had a significantly negative, but weak, correlation with the development of overall proficiency and the proficiency in sub-
skills such as reading or speaking, for both English and Japanese, suggesting
the interference of anxiety with proficiency levels. Anxiety in Japanese tended
to decrease significantly over time, but no significant change was found for English. Furthermore, no significant difference between anxiety in Japanese
and English was found at either testing time.
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Keywords
oreign language anxiety, foreign language proficiency, stability, Chinese university students, longitudinal study
Citation
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2015, vol. 5, no. 1, pp.41-63