POSITION PAPER

Name: John Paul L. Manayon

Section: 1F
Course: BSIT
Schedule: TTH 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

I completely agree with the study, on "Learner Variables and Language Anxiety in Communication;
The Case of University Students in the Philippines." It's crucial that language educators focus on
addressing language anxiety as it plays a role in language learning. In the context De Costas
research (2015) emphasizes the importance of tackling language anxiety in settings. Various studies
have highlighted how anxiety negatively impacts students’ cognitive processes and performance
including works by Yim (2014) Matsuda and Gobel (2004) and Trang, Moni and Baldauf (2012).
Successful language acquisition hinges on reducing anxiety levels while fostering motivation and
self-confidence as noted by Herrera and Murry (2005). Krashens Affective Filter hypothesis.
Moreover, examining this research sheds light on the nature of language anxiety encompassing
elements like communication phobia, test related stress and fear of failure (Horwitz, Horwitz &
Cope 1986). The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) devised by Horwitz et al. In
1986 serves as a tool, for measuring language anxiety levels.
Also, learner attributes that greatly impact anxiety levels include gender, exposure to English
outside of the classroom, and self-perceived ability (Richmond & McCroskey, 1998; Onwuegbuzie
et al., 2000). It is important to investigate gender differences in language anxiety in the Philippine
context, even if studies on these differences have produced opposite outcomes (Rezazadeh &
Tavakoli, 2009; Faber, 2012). Analyzing the effects of self-perceived ability and exposure to
English outside of the classroom on anxiety levels might also shed light on how best to manage
language anxiety.