Foreign Language Anxiety

In the 21st century, learning a new language is an essential need to keep up with the
world. Thanks to innovations and technology, humankind can travel all around the world or
communicate on social media. Besides, employers want to hire employees which know more
than one language. That is why it is enormously important to learn a new language besides
the mother tongue. A great number of impacts can be stated why learning a new language is
necessary. Nevertheless, when it comes to the learning process and using that language
effectively, it can be ominous and compeller for individuals in several ways. The most
stringent one is having anxiety. While learning a new language, some particular factors can
cause anxiety.

The first cause of having anxiety while learning is the lack of self-confidence. It can
be said that self-confidence is people’s approach to their abilities and knowledge. People with
low self-confidence have a tendency to see themselves as inadequate or underestimate
themselves as regards their capabilities. In the language learning stage, these people can think
that they are not qualified enough for a foreign language. Moreover, low self-confidence can
make the learners think that other learners such as their classmates or peers are better.
Therefore, they can experience a high level of weakness, nervousness and stress which
eventually can create foreign language anxiety.

Secondly, the fear of failure and evaluation have a great impact on developing foreign
language anxiety. Many language learners feel a great level of fear about making mistakes
and as a result of this, being judged. “Language learners expressed great concern over the
accuracy of their statements” (Onwuegbuzie & Bailey & Daley, 1999). It can be also seen in
the students who try to speak with an outstanding accent. Foreign language anxiety can show
up since these students who are mostly perfectionists can feel a lot of pressure and
uneasiness.

The last cause of learning language anxiety can be traumatic experiences. While
learning a language, making irrational mistakes and getting corrected by the teacher can make
students feel terrible. Also, if students experience harsh criticism from teachers who do not
have a sense of empathy, they can feel awful. The humiliation in front of classmates can turn
into trauma for the learners, and learners can associate this trauma with the target language.
When it comes to the language, learners can feel fear and panic, and consequently, language
anxiety can be seen.
 Although the factors that affect the anxiety level in language learners can vary from
person to person, there are three main causes of foreign language anxiety which are low self-
confidence, the fear of failure and criticism and traumatic experiences. Similar to its causes,
the effects of learning language anxiety can vary. However, two causes can be mostly seen in
language learners with anxiety.

Firstly, foreign language anxiety can cause larger communication problems outside
the classroom. Anxious language learners can avoid communicating in both foreign and
native languages, even if they are not in a language class. In other words, communication
apprehension in the native language besides foreign language can occur due to the overstress
that anxious learners have to deal with. As a result, they tend to be quieter and more
introverted in their social lives. In the long run, this stress, fear and worry can turn into social
anxiety disorder involving uneasiness while attending social gatherings or even talking to
people.

The second effect of language anxiety is low participation in language classes.

Kralova and Petrova (2017) report that language learners can behave as if they are sick and
they can miss the classes because of their anxiety. These behaviors may negatively affect
students’ language learning process. On the other hand, learners with anxiety who cannot
skip the classes are likely to attend the classes unwillingly, and reluctant learners might
change their perceptions of the target language as the lessons are like torture for anxious
learners, for this reason, they can become distant with the target language or foreign
languages.

It is claimed that even though foreign language learning can be seen as a requirement
in today’s world, knowing foreign languages is advantageous in terms of many ways.
However, since language learning requires a great deal of time and effort, anxiety can show
up while learning a new language. Foreign language anxiety can be the result of a lack of
self-confidence, the fear of failure and evaluation and traumatic experiences. As a
consequence of the anxiety in the language learning process, communication apprehension
and low participation can be observed.
 References

Kralova, Z., & Petrova, G. (2017). Causes and consequences of foreign language
anxiety. XLinguae Journal, 117.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C. E. (1999). Factors associated with foreign
language anxiety. Psycholinguistics, 221.