Erik Kaufhold

Contributing Factors of Foreign Language Anxiety in the Advanced Korean ESL Classroom

Erik Kaufhold

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributing factors that lead to Foreign Language Anxeity (FLA) in the advanced Korean ESL classroom. This study used 73 Korean middle school students ages 10-16 to analyze the contributing factors. Results were collected using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) of Horwitz et al. This scale revealed that these students anxieties are contributed to three factors: communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. Also, the survey results showed that anxiety was distributed relatively evenly among each contributing factor. This study concludes with a discussion and a conclusion on the effects on future practice.

Erik Kaufhold Since English education was first introduced in Korea in 1883 through the creation of the countrys first language school to train interpreters, English has remained one of the most popular languages among students to study (Eun-gyong, K. 2008). Korean students choose to study English in order to get into a top university in South Korea or abroad, or to get a good job someday. Parents of Korean students mirror this belief of English being the pathway to prosperity so much so that Koreans spend about 15 trillion won ($15.8 billion) on English learning per year (Eun-gyoung, K. 2008). This investment, as well as the competitive nature of the education system in South Korea, may lead to anxieties in the classroom among students when learning English as a foreign language. According to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) is defined as feelings of anxiety in the context of the foreign language classroom (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1991a, 1991b, 1994). Although there are many contexts that create anxiety for L2 (second language) students in the foreign language classroom, speaking and listening are the two areas that tend to create the most anxiety even among high-level students (Ewald, 2007; Horwitz, 1996; Toth, 2009, 2011). Previous studies examining language anxiety in the classroom show that there are overall three contributing factors that include: communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation (Horwitz, Horwitz, Cope, 1986). Even though there have been studies among Asian EFL students in China, Taiwan, and Japan, etc., there has not been much research done on language anxieties that Korean EFL students face. It will be useful as an educator to understand what some of the 3

Erik Kaufhold strongest anxieties among the three contributing factors Korean students face in order to form and influence current pedagogy. The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the contributing factors that lead to anxiety for Korean students that are learning English. The research question is: What are the contributing factors for Korean students that lead to anxieties when learning English?

Background and Rationale Having anxiety towards learning a foreign language is a problem that can affect students in many areas. Research on the scope as well as the effects of foreign language anxiety (FLA) is extensive. This research has helped identify what exactly FLA is and it has helped instructors learn how to identify and try to reduce FLA. This study sought to identify factors that contribute to foreign language anxieties. This is

a broad topic that has lead to many new understandings on the issue of students, at all levels and abilities, apprehensions towards learning a new language. Beginning foundations on Foreign Language Anxiety Perhaps the most used study that has served as a basis for subsequent research in the area of language anxiety is that of Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope (1986). Horwitz, et. al. (1986) claimed that there were three areas of foreign language anxiety: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Horwitz, et. al. (1986) created the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and had 75 English learners of Spanish answer this survey to test the theory. Their findings revealed that not only did students show anxieties in each of the three aforementioned areas, but that foreign language anxiety is, a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from 4

Erik Kaufhold the uniqueness of the language learning process (Horwitz, et. al. 1986 p.128). The results from their survey showed that anxious students are common in the foreign language classroom, at least for beginning students. Furthermore, this study laid the foundation for teachers to acknowledge the existence of distinct foreign language anxieties. MacIntyre, & Gardner .(1994), expanded on the ideas put forth by Horwitz et. al. (1986) on foreign language anxiety, but addressed the problem of understanding what are the subtle cognitive effects of foreign language anxiety. Their study aimed to provide a more complete analysis and understanding by examining several stages: input, output and processing (Tobias, 1979, 1986). The Tobias model they used provided a distinction between the different stages so that the effects of anxiety can be more fully explained. Input showed the learners first experience with a given stimulus; processing involved the cognitive organization, storage and collection of the material; output involved the production of previously learned material (MacIntyre, P.D., & Gardner R.C., 1994). MacIntyre & Gardner (1994) used 97 students from a first-year credit course in French. They only used students with English as their native language. The authors created three scales that focused on the stages mentioned in the Tobias (1986) model as well as used several language anxiety scales. The authors also used the students course grade to measure actual achievement and proficiency. The students were tested in two stages. First, they were given the language scales along with a French achievement test. Then, the students were tested individually on tasks that focus on Tobias (1986) several stages of learning.

Erik Kaufhold MacIntyre & Gardner (1994) found that anxious students have difficulties with keeping verbal items in short-term memory, which may explain why anxious students have trouble understanding longer sentences. This also showed why anxious students have a smaller number of verbal statements enter the processing stage. Furthermore, this study showed that anxious students need extra time to recognize even the simplest items and that this input and processing time needs to increase when the language becomes more complex. The authors also showed that anxious students were not able to translate a passage as well as more relaxed students and high-anxiety students had difficulties making inferences from more literary works, such as poetry. Continuing with processing, MacIntyre & Gardner (1994) found that anxious students took more time to study words and complete a test because language anxiety disturbs encoding and recall (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991). Moreover, the authors found that even though high-anxiety students tended to study longer and take more time to complete the test, they received lower scores than more relaxed students. However, when the high-anxiety students were tested again, neither processing nor output anxiety were significantly correlated with the time taken to complete the test (MacIntyre & Gardner 1994, p. 298). These results showed that anxious students were able to show high levels of achievement if given enough time to study. In sum, the study from MacIntyre & Gardner (1994) supported previous studies done showing a correlation between language anxiety and measures of performance (Gardner, 1985; Horwitz et. al., 1986; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989, 1991). This study also showed that the combined effects of all three stages, input, output and processing influenced students. The result of these three stages showed

Erik Kaufhold that anxious students had a smaller base of second language knowledge and had more difficulty showing that knowledge. Further examining Foreign Language Anxiety Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, , and Daley, (1999) also examined foreign language anxieties, but addressed the problem of the fact that enrollment and participating in a foreign language class, which is becoming a requirement for undergraduates, can be an intimidating experience for some students. Since anxiety can affect a students acquisition of a language (Horwitz et. al., 1986; Macintyre & Gardner, 1989, 1991), Onwuegbuzie, et.al. (1999), wanted to investigate the correlations of foreign language anxiety that have not received attention as well as those that have already been believed to be predictors of foreign language anxiety. Their research question was whether foreign language anxiety varied at different levels within the foreign language curriculum at the college level. They included examining not only demographic factors, but factors that dealt with a students self-perceptions such as, perceived intellectual ability, perceived scholastic competence, perceived self-worth, and expected final course average for current language course. They also measured a few other areas that create self-perceptions like social interdependence and study habits. Onwuegbuzie, et.al. (1999) had 210 students take total of six different instruments: the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, Self-Perception Profile for College Students, the Social Interdependence Scale, the Academic Locus of Control Scale, the Study Habits Inventory, and the Background Demographic Form. The students were given the questionnaires with the six packets during the fourth week of their semester and were instructed to complete and return the instruments in 7

Erik Kaufhold two weeks. The results from these instruments showed that foreign language anxiety correlated significantly with the following variables: age, previous history of visiting foreign countries, prior high school experience with foreign languages, expected overall average for language course, perceived creativity, perceived intellectual ability, perceived scholastic competence, perceived job competence, perceived appearance, perceived social acceptance, perceived level of humor, perceived selfworth, cooperativeness, value placed in competitive learning and individualism. Their results showed that students with the highest levels of foreign language anxiety tended to have at least one of these characteristics: older, high academic achievers, never visited a foreign country, no high school experience taking a foreign language, low expectations of their foreign language course grade, negative perception of selfworth or scholastic competence. Another major finding of the Onwuegbuzie, et. al., (1999) study was that three aspects of self-perception were found to be predictors of foreign language anxiety: students expectations of their overall achievement in foreign language courses, perceived self-worth, and perceived scholastic competence. This supports the finding of Gynan (1989) and Horwitz (1988) that beliefs about foreign language learning can be a source of anxiety. Furthermore, their results suggested that certain students are at risk of having foreign language anxiety and it is important that instructors recognize and identify these at risk students, as well as try to lessen the students feelings of inadequacy, confusion and failure by providing positive experiences to counteract the anxiety (Onwuegbuzie, et. al. 1999 p. 232). Kitano (2001) focused on the problem that speaking lends towards a students anxiety when learning a foreign language. This was an issue since the current focus 8

Erik Kaufhold on foreign language development is more on oral skills. Kitano believed that it is vital to identify the sources of anxiety so that teachers will be able to prevent it, respond to it appropriately and help. Kitano looked at the fear that students have of negative evaluation and their self-perception of speaking ability in the target language (TL). The questions Kitano posed for this study were: Is the anxiety level of an individual college-level Japanese learner related to his or her dispositional fear of negative evaluation? Is the anxiety level of an individual college-level Japanese learner related to the self-perception of his or her speaking ability in Japanese? Do fear of negative evaluation and self-perception of speaking ability in Japanese interact or relate to the anxiety level of individual Japanese learners? (p. 551). Kitano (2001) used 212, ranging from beginner to advanced, students enrolled in a Japanese language course at two major universities. Each student took a 70-item multiple choice survey that contained a background questionnaire, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Japanese Class Anxiety Scale, and three kinds of selfrating of Japanese speaking (Self-Rating Can-Do Scale, Self-Rating for the Current Level of Study and Self-Rating Expected Perception by the Japanese). Kitano (2001) found a positive correlation for his first question in that an increased fear of negative evaluation lead to an increase in a students anxiety in the classroom. Also, Kitano found that the level of a student as well as experience living in Japan influenced the relationship between class anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. For question two and three, however, Kitano found no significant correlation. However, Kitano found that male students anxiety levels were higher when they judged their performance to be less competent whereas female students had no such relationship. 9

Erik Kaufhold Kitanos (2001) findings of the fear of negative evaluation being a source of anxiety was consistent with Horwitzs (1986) findings. Kitano also found that this anxiety levels varied with the participants level and experience. Kitano also addressed the fact that students even at the advanced level showed signs of anxiety and explained the reasons for such anxiety may have to do with the increased difficulty of the language as well as the students own expectations of themselves coupled with the advanced students being more aware of the mistakes that they make when expressing themselves. The teachers at the advanced level were considered to be another source of anxiety for the advanced level (Kitano). Kitano found that since the teachers at the advanced levels are not as generous with praise as well as stricter when it comes to following complex areas of the language (i.e. grammar rules and using more advanced lexicon) then this may lead to more anxieties among students. In order to address this, Kitano believed that teachers should respond appropriately to students fear of negative evaluation and that these students with anxieties may need more time to respond as well as more positive reinforcement. Matsuda and Gobel (2004) addressed the issue of the variables that may predict the performance of students in an ESL class. The authors specifically looked at the variables of gender, proficiency and exposure to the target culture (overseas experience) and wanted to know if these variables can be predictors of performance (Matsuda and Gobel 2004). Their research questions were: What effect does overseas experience have on theoretical constructs of foreign language class anxiety (FLCA) and foreign language reading anxiety (FLRA)? What effect does gender have on theoretical constructs of foreign language class anxiety (FLCA) and 10

Erik Kaufhold foreign language reading anxiety (FLRA)? What variables and anxiety factors can be accurate predictors of overall predictors of performance? (Matsuda and Gobel, 2004, p. 24).

Foreign Language Anxiety among advanced students The authors (Matsuda and Gobel, 2004) used 252 students from three different classes (1st year students, 2nd year students and 3rd year students) majoring in English at a large university in Kyoto. The proficiency level of the students was from highbeginner to high intermediate. The authors used the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz, 1986) and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) (Saito et. al., 1999). Both of these instruments were translated into Japanese and an additional question asking whether or not the student studied the target language (TL) overseas or lived overseas where the TL is spoken was added to the questionnaires. The FLCA was administered in the students 8th week and the FLRAS was administered in the 10th week. Matsuda and Gobel (2004) found that students with overseas experience showed lower anxiety in speaking English, which contrasted the Kitano (2001) study. The authors also found that gender was not found to have an effect on overall general/reading anxieties and low self-confidence in speaking/reading English (Matsuda and Gobel 2004). However, the authors found that gender was a predictor for performance for first year students. Liu (2006) addressed the problem of whether or not the anxiety level of Chinese EFL learners at different levels affected their ability to process information in 11

Erik Kaufhold English. Liu (2006) studied the extent that students experience anxiety in the English oral classroom, the differences in anxiety among students at different proficiency levels, the activity the students felt most anxious in and if there was any change in student anxiety in different classroom activities over the term. Liu (2006) used 547 first year undergraduate non-English majors enrolled in English listening and speaking courses. To collect the data, Liu (2006) used the FLCAS, a background questionnaire, teacher observations, reflective journals, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The author collected all of this information during the students first term for a period of 14 weeks. Liu (2006) found that one third of the students to be anxious in oral English classrooms. However, the students reported and were observed to be more relaxed when speaking English in pair-work and group discussions. This anxiety of speaking came from the students fear of negative evaluation, which has been shown to be a consistent anxiety among students studying a foreign language (Horwitz, 1986, Kitano 2001). Liu also found that few students were willing to volunteer to respond to the teacher during class. Also, during pair work, the more nervous/anxious students would speak less during discussions and spent more time listening. Moreover, these more anxious students reported an increase in anxiety when asked to make presentations or when asked to answer questions (Liu). These anxieties would increase especially if the students were unprepared. However, Liu found that these students became less anxious when they were given more opportunities and chances to speak. Liu also found that with the more proficient students seemed to be less anxious as well as more confident when speaking and more supportive of each other.

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Erik Kaufhold Toth (2009) addressed the problem of the rise in anxiety for more advanced learners of English since the findings were inconsistent (Onwuezbzie, Bailey, & Daley 1999, Kitano 2001). Toth (2009) continued to explore the pervasiveness of foreign language (FLA) anxiety among university students majoring in English as well as what students felt contributed to their FLA. Toth (2009) used 117 first year English majors. Each student took the Hungarian language version of the Horwitz et. al. (1986) FLCAS. In order to find out what the students felt contributed to their anxieties the following open-ended question was used: according to surveys, many language learners feel embarrassed, tense or even anxious when communicating in a foreign language. What do you think the reasons may be for this phenomenon? (Toth 2009 p. 228). Toth (2009) showed that FLA is not limited to just beginning or intermediate second language (L2) learners. Toth believed that anxieties among higher-level foreign language students are due to the expectations towards by their instructors and their own personal expectations. These findings support the results of Kitano (2001) in regards to higher-level students still having a fear of negative evaluation. Moreover, Toth found that the advanced EFL students felt that things such as instructional practices, classroom atmosphere, instructor qualities, teacher attitudes towards learners, methods of error correction and other teacher behaviors were seen as factors that affect how much anxiety L2 learners feel. The results from the openended question regarding what the students felt contributed to their anxieties in the foreign language classroom showed that instructors do have some control over how intense anxiety may be even though some anxiety is prevalent in studying a language as well as some personalities may be prone to experiencing foreign language anxieties (Toth). 13

Erik Kaufhold Mak (2011) examined the role of speaking anxiety in class. The authors main goal was to find ways to reduce speaking in-class anxiety with Chinese ESL students. Mak wanted to find out what are the contributing factors that lead to the in-class speaking anxieties of Chinese ESL first-year university students in Hong Kong. The author used 313 randomly picked students from a Hong Kong university that were taking a compulsory English course. Mak carried out his research in three phases: the pilot, the quantitative phase (questionnaire) and the qualitative phase (semistructured interviews, discussion and participant observation). Mak (2011) found that factors contributing to L2 learning speaking anxieties are: speech anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, discomfort when speaking with native speakers, negative attitudes towards the English class, negative self-evaluation, fear of failing the class/consequences or personal failure, speaking in front of the class without preparation, being corrected when speaking, inadequate wait time from the instructor, not being allowed to use their first language in an L2 language class (Mak, p. 210). This study provided evidence that students fear of negative evaluation is an important factor that leads to speaking in-class anxiety. Furthermore, Mak stated that, teachers need to respond to students linguistic and affective needs by changing the environment to make it more comfortable (p. 211). Mak also found that being corrected by peers when speaking and using students mistakes as a teaching point were anxiety creating and that using students errors should only be used when focusing on accuracy and not when a student is just trying to express himself or herself (Mak). Toth (2012) wanted to test finding of previous studies and identify the differences between high and low anxious EFL students. In order to do find out what 14

Erik Kaufhold these differences are, the author had the students observed by a group of raters and had students converse with native speakers. Toth wanted to find the specific differences between high and low-anxious students oral performance in terms of the assessment criteria of raters, which consisted of the following: task performance, effectiveness of communication, fluency, grammatical resource, lexical resource and pronunciation. The author also wanted to find out how the raters assessment of high and low anxious students performance compared with the native speakers impression for the following: overall proficiency, task performance, interaction skills and depth of answers (Toth). Finally, the author wanted to discover how the native speakers as conversation partners perceived the high and low- anxious students. Toth (2012) used 16 English major students that were selected from a total of 117 students through purposeful sampling. These 16 students were identified based on the Hungarian version of the FLCAS to be the 8 most anxious and 8 least anxious students. The participants took part in a semi-formal and one one-on-one conversation with raters and with native speakers. Each interview consisted of three stages (Toth). The students were given three tasks to measure spontaneous communication, argumentative and interpretive skills (Toth). While the students performed these tasks with a native speaker, raters listened to the conversation on audio and rated the students performance. Also, a questionnaire was given to the native speakers so that they could provide their impression of the high versus the low participants. Toth (2012) found that compared with low-anxious students, high anxious students were found by the raters and the native speakers to be less able to communicate spontaneously, present their views or argue about a controversial topic 15

Erik Kaufhold and describe and interpret an ambiguous situation. Furthermore, the high-anxious students were found to show a poorer ability to communicate easily (Toth, 2012 p. 1171). These students were judged to be less fluent in their speech, there vocabulary and grammar were thought to be limited and their pronunciation and intonation was shown to be worse than low-anxious students. This study found that students with high anxiety were likely to get poorer results on oral exams as well as seem less fluent, less effective and overall less competent conversation partners (p. 1176). Its evident from the history behind examining foreign language anxieties that not only is foreign language anxiety a distinct type of anxiety, but it is also prevalent among all levels of L2 learners. Furthermore, the research suggests that not only does FLA affect a students performance in class and on exams, that there are also subtle effects of anxiety. These issues have been shown among students from different countries studying a second language, but there is little research on the effects of FLA among advanced Korean students studying a second language. Results from understanding the anxieties that Korean students may face will help inform and influence instructors practice. Participants Participants were 73 advanced level Korean ESL students from two different English academies in Seoul. The majority of the participants were female, with a female male ratio of 43:30 (58.9% female). The age range of these participants was from 10-16 years old and these participants were chosen for this study through convenience sampling.

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Erik Kaufhold Method Anxiety was measured using the Horwitz et. al (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (questionnaire in Appendix). This scale is made up of thirty-three items, with each item answered on a five-point likert scale with responses ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The possible range of scores from this score is 33-165. Thus, the higher the score the student had from this survey, the higher the overall anxiety. This scale was used since it was specific to this situation, can be divided into different factors and has shown consistent and meaningful results (MacIntyre and Gardner 1991). Furthermore, this scale has shown to be valid and reliable (a=93) (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1991, Toth, 2009). Instructors at both academies administered the instrument during the fourth week through the sixth week of the term. Students were told to answer the questions in regards to their English classes and were also reminded that the term foreign language on the scales questionnaire referred to English. Students were also verbally given definitions of difficult terms on the scale. Results from the survey were scored and divided using a three-factor model. The first factor represented a students communication apprehension (Horwitz et. al. 1986) and consisted of items 1, 4, 9, 14, 15, 18, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32, (e.g. I feel very self-conscious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students). The second factor was labeled test anxiety (Horwitz et. al. 1986) and consisted of items 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, (e.g. The more I study for a language class, the more confused I get). The third factor contained items 2, 7, 13, 19, 23, 31, and 33 and was labeled as fear of negative evaluation (e.g. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak the foreign language). Since 17

Erik Kaufhold items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 18, 22, 28, 32 were negatively worded (e.g. I would probably feel more comfortable around native speakers of the foreign language) the score was reversely scored on the Likert scale. From this scale, students were grouped according to the degree of anxiety they showed. Descriptive statistics were run to examine the item means, their total FLA scores, the frequency of items with 4 or 5 ratings, and the items with the highest means, which all are suggestive of high levels of anxiety. The method used in this study would help show contributing factors of anxiety according to the three factors previously mentioned, as well as how considerable language anxiety was to advanced students. Results Descriptive statistics for item ratings and FLA scores are given in Tables 1 and 2. By looking at the average item-rating (M=2.47) and the corresponding FLA score (M=81.58), the participants of this study can be described as slightly anxious, with relatively low anxiety. Furthermore, the actual range of scores as well as the standard deviation shows that this group was particularly homogenous when it came to each item-rating. However, the difference between the actual range of the FLA score was considerable between the most anxious and the least anxious student, with the former scoring 116 and the latter scoring 44.

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Erik Kaufhold Table 1: Descriptive Statistics for FLA Scores

MEAN 2.47 81.58 ST DEV 0.321 16.399 ACTUAL RANGE 2.05-3.21 44-116

ITEM RATING FLA TOTAL

Table 2: Distribution of Participants according to FLA Score

Item Rating 1. NON-ANXIOUS 2. SLIGHTLY ANXIOUS 3. CONSIDERABLY ANXIOUS 4. VERY ANXIOUS FLA TOTAL SCORE 33-66 67-99 100-132 133-165 N 12 52 9 0 PERCENTAGE 16.40% 71.23% 12.73% 0%

Table 2, shows that individuals were classified according to their FLA scores as (1) non-anxious (having a score of 33-65), (2) slightly anxious (scores between 67-99), (3) considerably anxious (scores between 100-132), and (4) very anxious (scores between 133-165). As Table 2 shows, a total of 71.23% of the participants were categorized as being slightly anxious while 16.40% fell into the non-anxious category and 12.73% were categorized as considerably anxious. The fact that 83.69% of the participants fell into the slightly anxious or very anxious category required a deeper analysis as to which individual items created the most anxiety as well as which contributing factor created the most anxiety. Tables 3, 4, and 5 show which factor causes the most anxiety as well as which individual item creates anxiety among the participants. Table three shows that of the three contributing factors, communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, fear of negative evaluation (M=2.503) was the primary cause of anxiety among participants. However, the other two factors, communication 19

Erik Kaufhold apprehension and test anxiety had means that were close to the primary contributing factor of anxiety. Communication apprehension had a mean score of 2.471 whereas test anxiety had a score of 2.456. This shows that the participants of this group would more likely experience anxiety with certain items according to each contributing factor. This makes sense since the means and the standard deviation of each contributing factor were relatively close.

Table 3: Scores According to Anxiety Factors

Mean 2.503 2.471 2.456 St Dev 1.059 1.083 1.074

Fear of Negative Evaluation Communication Apprehension Test Anxiety

Table 4: Items with the Highest Means

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Table 5: Items with the Highest Frequency of 4 or 5 Ratings

Table four shows the individual items with the highest mean. As can be seen from this table, the participants showed that their anxieties were spread out according to each variable. The participants showed anxiety towards fear of negative evaluation in items (7) thinking that students are better at language than the participant, (23) feeling that other students speak better than the participant and (33) getting upset when the teacher asks questions without being prepared. For test anxiety, the participants showed a slight anxiety towards items (22) feeling pressure to do well, (8) being at ease during language class, (10) worrying about the consequences of failing and (6) thinking about unrelated things during class. Lastly, for communication apprehension, the participants showed anxiety towards items (30) feeling overwhelmed by the language rules, (24) feeling self-conscious in front of other students, (1) never feeling quite sure of self when speaking and (29) getting nervous when the student doesnt understand what the teacher is saying. Table 5 has much of the same items, but items (15) getting upset when the student does not understand what the teacher is correcting and (16) being anxious about class even 21

Erik Kaufhold after preparing for class were shown to have a high frequency of 4 or 5 scores. This suggests that even though these two items were not included in Table 4, they are still important items to be considered. Furthermore, the top four items in Table 4 and Table 5 each deal with a certain contributing factor of language anxiety. For example, in Table 4 item 22 deals with test anxiety, item 7 deals with fear of negative evaluation, item 8 with test anxiety and item 30 deals with communication anxiety. For Table 5 there is also item 22, 7 and 8 at the top with item 1, dealing with communication apprehension, rounding out the list.

Discussion This study investigated the three contributing factors of language anxiety, communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, using Horwitz et. al. (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. The results of this study support the findings made by Toth (2009) in that FLA is not only for beginners, but is also evident in advanced students. The following paragraphs summarize the results. This study was conducted with average advanced ESL Korean middle school students so the findings may be generalized to other Korean ESL students in this location. As a result, language instructors consider that anxiety towards learning English is something that should be addressed in the advanced foreign language classroom. In fact, the instructor can still control the level of FLA in the classroom

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Erik Kaufhold by using pedagogy that creates a relaxed atmosphere and that is sensitive to a learners needs. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research This study was limited in ways that may create foundations for future research. First, the sample of participants used were primarily in middle school at grades 7, 8, 9. Future research could include students at the high school level as well in order to see if those contributing factors towards FLA decreases, stays the same or increases when a student reaches high school. Moreover, the wording on some of the survey questions lead to some confusion, so future research may benefit if the instrument used is translated into their native language. These findings also show the need for future research to see if there are any correlations between contributing factors of language anxiety. Also, more mixedmethods research is needed in order to understand exactly why students feel anxiety towards certain components on the FLCAS. Conclusion This study has shown that anxiety is not only restricted to those beginning foreign language students. Also, even if the student has years of experience and a high proficiency towards the foreign language, this does not mean that this student will always show confidence in using that language. Toth, Zs. (2009) states that, Advanced L2 (second language) learners may indeed be more proficient in the language and more experienced as measured in years, however, the expectations towards them including their own personal expectations as L2 speakers, are also higher. This statement is supported by this study since the participants showed slight 23

Erik Kaufhold anxiety towards all three contributing factors and the top anxiety the students had dealt with a factor where the participants would be evaluated heavily in (i.e. fear of negative evaluation).

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Erik Kaufhold Appendix

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125 132.

1. I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my foreign language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

2. I don't worry about making mistakes in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

3. I tremble when I know that I'm going to be called on in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

4. It frightens me when I don't understand what the teacher is saying in the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

5. It wouldn't bother me at all to take more foreign language classes. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

6. During language class, I find myself thinking about things that have nothing to do with the course. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

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7. I keep thinking that the other students are better at languages than I am. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

8. I am usually at ease during tests in my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

9. I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

10. I worry about the consequences of failing my foreign language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

11. I don't understand why some people get so upset over foreign language classes. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

12. In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

13. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

14. I would not be nervous speaking the foreign language with native speakers. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

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31. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

32. I would probably feel comfortable around native speakers of the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

33. I get nervous when the language teacher asks questions which I haven't prepared in advance. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly disagree nor disagree

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