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Student Reluctance to 1

Running head: STUDENT RELUCTANCE TO SPEAK FRENCH

Student Reluctance to Speak French:

Is it foreign language anxiety in the classroom?

Angie Collins

Action Research

Wright State University


Abstract

This research focuses on foreign language anxiety as a means to influence student reluctance to

speak in the target (foreign) language. This current study followed students in high school

French classes. The overall goal of this study was to identify possible reasons behind student

hesitation to speak French in these classes and to determine whether they are possibly related to

foreign language anxiety. The study also aimed to find practical ways in which to make students

feel more comfortable speaking French in class. The results cannot identify foreign language

anxiety as the main factor of student reluctance to speak French in these classes; but, based on

the research, foreign language anxiety appears to have some effect on the students’

communication.


Table of ContentsI. Chapter I………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Background Literature…………………………………………………………………….4Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………………………....…7Problem Statement………………………………………………………………………...7Research Questions………………………………………………………………………..8Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………………..8Pilot Study…………………………………………………………………………………9Data Collection Methods………………………………………………………………...11Data Analysis Methods…………………………………………………………………..11Significance of the Study………………………………………………………………...12

Limitations of the Study………………………………………………………………….13Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………..15

II. Chapter II………………………………………………………………………….…………..16

Literature Review………………………………………………………………………...16Relevance to Study ...……………………………………………………………………30Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………..31

III. Chapter III……………………………………………………………………………………31Research Ethic...……………………………………………………………………...…. 31Research Settings and People……………………………………………………………32Data Collection Methods………………………………………………………………...32Data Analysis Methods…………………………………………………………………..35Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………..37

IV. Chapter IV……………………………………………………………………………………37

Research Findings………………………………………………………………………..38Literature Relevant to Findings………………………………………………………….46Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………..47

V. Chapter V…………………………………………………………………………………….47Summary of the study……………………………………………………...…………… 47Recommendations……………………………………………………….……………… 49Personal Plan of Action………………………………………………….……………… 50Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………. 51

VI. Selected Bibliography………………………………………………………………………..53

VII. Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………. 56Appendix A: Pilot Study…………………………………………………………………56Appendix B: Pilot Study Survey/Questionnaire # 1…………………………………….. 67Appendix C: Pilot Study Questionnaire #2……………………………………………....68Appendix D: Baseline Survey/Questionnaire………………………………………….... 69


Appendix E: Post-Intervention Survey/Questionnaire…………………………………...70

Chapter I

In chapter one, I will introduce the reader to a few major literature sources that provide a

foundation of the study, the purpose of the study, the problem I have chosen to study, and my

research questions. I will review selected literature on foreign language anxiety that quickly

defines it, describes its causes and manifestations, and suggests resolutions to this problem. I will

also briefly mention the data collection methods that were used and the data analysis methods

used in my pilot study and action research. Lastly, I will discuss the limitations of the study and

its significance.

Background Literature

With an increased focus on strengthening academic content standards, oral communication,

among other forms of communication, is now emphasized to a greater extent in the foreign

language classroom (Office of Curriculum and Instruction, 2004). Thus, as an education student

studying to teach French, it is important for me to understand anxiety’s effects on student

communication in the classroom. This subject also holds significance for others; in fact, interest

into whether or not anxiety inhibits learning and performing in foreign languages has surfaced

since the 1960’s (Horwitz, 2001). To focus my research in this topic as it relates to classroom

communication and reluctance to speak in the target language, I divided my literary findings into

three themes that consist of: 1.) causes of foreign language anxiety in the classroom, 2.) the

effects of foreign language anxiety on learning and communicating, and 3.) methods to decrease

foreign language anxiety in the classroom. First of all, I must introduce the idea of foreign

language anxiety: Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope coined this term in a 1986 publishing to describe a


situation-specific anxiety that “…stems from the inherent inauthenticity associated with

immature second language communicative abilities” (Horwitz, 2001, p. 114).

As for the causes of foreign language anxiety in the classroom, many researchers attribute

this occurrence primarily to the requirements of speaking in the foreign language since students

often do not feel they possess the skills of self-expression in the target language. Horwitz,

Horwitz and Cope (1986) describe findings that identify both speaking and learning as anxiety

causing situations in the classroom. They also state that difficulties will arise in the classroom

due to the growing pedagogical trend of increasing communicative competence in the target

language. In fact, they identify speaking as the most frightening aspect of language learning to

the anxious student. MacIntyre (1995) also points out that speaking in the foreign language

promotes a stronger anxiety in class than the amount of anxiety aroused by simply learning the

language. Horwitz (2001) describes the idea that anxiety and fear result from speaking in the

foreign language because doing so entails “risk-taking” (p. 114) and the students are required to

consciously think about how to communicate in a language in which they are unsure of their

skills. Young (1991) also gives many other causes of language anxiety in the classroom. She

points to six potential categories of causes that include: “…1.) personal and interpersonal

anxieties; 2.) learner beliefs about language learning; 3.) instructor beliefs about language

learning; 4.) instructor-learner interactions; 5.) classroom procedures; and 6.) language testing”

(pg. 427).

With these possible causes of language anxiety in mind, it is important to examine how

anxiety manifests itself in the classroom through student communication. Rodriguez and Abrieu

(2003) point to a pattern in studies illustrating that foreign language anxiety and performance in

the language are moderately negatively correlated, even though the reasons for this are uncertain.


Horwitz et al. (1986) point to studies by Steinberg and Horwitz to illustrate the implication that

anxiety affects student communication in the classroom. Based on this study, they state that -“…

the more anxious student tends to avoid attempting difficult or personal messages in the target

language” (126). Also related to speaking in class, MacIntyre (1995) argues that foreign

language anxiety can cause problematic differences for individual students dealing with the

ability to learn and communicate in the foreign language. He explains that because anxiety

divides students’ attention, their learning and performance suffer. Young (1991) also gives many

manifestations of foreign language anxiety in the classroom; those related to classroom speaking

in the foreign language include stuttering, little participation in conversations, allowing silence

during conversations, short speaking periods in front of the class, avoiding or refusing to speak,

and giving short responses.

Given these manifestations of anxiety’s effects on foreign language communication in the

classroom, it is necessary to consider ways to decrease this anxiety in hopes of increasing student

target language communication. Utilizing relaxation techniques in the classroom seems to be a

common strategy for lowering foreign language anxiety (Horwitz et al., 1986; Young, 1991).

Horwitz et al. also suggest giving advice on “effective language learning strategies” (p. 131) as

well as employing behavior contracts and journaling. Horwitz (2001) later points to strategies for

teachers found in a study by Donley in 1997 that include “…not calling on individual students,

not teaching the language as a massive memorization task, and being sensitive to students’ out-

of-class obligations” (p. 120). Young also points out anxiety reducing strategies such as

encouraging student self-talk, discussing reasonable language use in the classroom, using

positive reinforcement, modeling student responses positively, and communicating that mistakes

are necessary for learning.


Overall, based on this literature, foreign language anxiety does seem to impact student

classroom target language communication. From these findings, speaking in the foreign language

seems to be one of the most intimidating classroom activities for anxious students. This anxiety

is evident in various student behaviors, but it especially appears through the avoidance of

speaking in the target language. With this idea in mind, the reviewed literature offers various

ideas to decrease foreign language anxiety in the classroom.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of my study is to examine student reluctance in the foreign language classroom

to speak in the target language. Specifically I want to examine whether or not students are

reluctant or anxious when using spoken French in the classroom. Also, I will inquire into what, if

any, factors might lead this. To do this, I will focus on the idea of foreign language anxiety

affecting students’ participation in speaking in the classroom. In today’s society where

communicative competence is increasingly important in learning a language, these concepts

become increasingly relevant. After all, without adequate practice in the classroom, will foreign

language students really become fluent in their target language? This topic is important for me to

examine since oral communication is such a crucial aspect of learning a foreign language.

Problem Statement

Throughout my observations thus far of high school French classes, I have noticed that some

students are reluctant to speak in this language. The students often begin speaking or answering

in English rather than attempting to speak in French: it seems that this occurs especially when

they are uncertain of their responses’ correctness. Also, I have often had difficulties getting the

students to volunteer spoken responses in French (especially at the second-year level) during

speaking activities at the beginning of class. Rather than automatically speaking in English, these


students should at least try to communicate in French so that they can become comfortable using

the language. These behaviors seem strange to me since I know through my learning experiences

that communication in French is one of the best ways to become accustomed to speaking this

language.

Research Questions

With the mentioned observations in mind, I formulated the following questions to help me

examine this topic more thoroughly:

1. a. How many students are reluctant to speak French in the classroom?

b. Why are these students reluctant to speak French in the classroom?

c. Does foreign language anxiety affect student oral communication in the classroom?

If it affects communication, how does it do this?

d. What possible factors create anxiety for students in speaking French in the

classroom?

2. What are the effects of an anxiety-decreasing intervention on reducing student

reluctance to speak French in the classroom?

Definition of Terms

Communication, as is defined by the Office of Curriculum and Instruction (2004) through

the Academic Content Standards, deals with the goal to “Communicate in languages other than

English” (pg. 10). This incorporates goals for students to specifically “initiate and sustain

spoken, written or signed communication by providing and obtaining information, expressing

feelings and emotions, and exchanging opinions in culturally appropriate ways in the target

language” (pg. 10). For this research I focus on the spoken aspect of communication.


Horwtiz, Horwitz , and Cope (1986) quote a definition by Spielberger from 1983 and state

that “Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry

associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (p. 125). Horwitz (2001) later

refers to this same definition when she further explains Spielberger’s two types of anxieties that

consist of trait anxieties and state anxieties: a trait anxiety is a “relatively stable personality

characteristic while a state anxiety is seen as a response to a particular anxiety-provoking

stimulus…” (p. 113).

Horwitz (2001) points out that anxiety specifically affecting foreign language learning is

called “foreign language anxiety”. She describes foreign language anxiety as a state anxiety or

“situation-specific anxiety” (p. 113). Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) specifically describe

foreign language anxiety as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and

behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language

learning process” (pg. 128).

It is equally important to define an intervention strategy for the action research in order to

decrease anxiety in class and to hopefully increase the amount of participation in spoken French.

To help decrease anxiety in French class, I will conduct a class discussion on foreign language

anxiety. After the discussion the students will likely better understand foreign language anxiety

and its effects on foreign language learning in order to feel more comfortable speaking French in

class. Through this intervention the students displaying foreign language anxiety characteristics

should began to build more confidence for speaking French in knowing that they may not be the

only ones to feel this way.


Pilot Study

The purpose of my pilot study (see Appendix A) was to examine student reluctance to speak

French in the classroom and to inquire as to whether or not foreign language anxiety affected

this. The problems inspiring this study were that students often did not volunteer responses in

French during discussions in the classroom or that they spoke in English right away. The

baseline research questions that I focused on were as follows: a.) How many students are

reluctant to speak French in the classroom? b.) Why are these students reluctant to speak French

in the classroom? c.) Does foreign language anxiety affect student oral communication in the

classroom? If it affects communication, how does it do this? d.) What possible factors create

anxiety for students in speaking French in the classroom? My intervention question that I have

not yet studied was as follows: What are the effects of an anxiety-decreasing intervention on

decreasing the reluctance to speak French in the foreign language classroom?

To collect data for this pilot study I used various research methods including a survey, two

questionnaires and passive observation. I collected data on high school students in second and

third-year French at my practicum site in the fall of 2005. The students completed the survey and

first questionnaire on September 28 during five class periods. During these same periods, the

students completed the second questionnaire on October 3. I observed five chosen students for

about two weeks during these same times and at the same location.

To analyze data for this pilot study I organized the data by applying codes to the

questionnaires and field notes and by deriving percentages for survey answers: the survey

questions were also grouped by the codes for further comparison. The codes used were as

follows: personal and interpersonal anxieties, learner beliefs, instructor-learner interactions,

classroom procedures, as well as manifestations of foreign language anxiety. For simplicity in


this pilot study, I only analyzed data from one of the French classes, specifically, a second-year

class.

Overall, the results from this class were interesting. I found the recurring themes of

confidence in speaking abilities and anxieties dealing with speaking in front of a group (themes

related to personal anxieties and classroom procedures) to be strikingly important. These ideas

are possibly major factors contributing to student reluctance to speak French in this class. I could

not identify foreign language anxiety as the main factor of student reluctance to speak French in

class. Based on my research, it does appear to play an integral role in spoken communication for

some students.

Data Collection Methods

For my action research project I plan to use similar data collection methods as in my pilot

study with some minor adjustments. I will continue to use the survey and questionnaire (see

Appendix D) though I may need to revise some of the questions to ensure clarity. Also, I plan to

still observe students’ behavior when engaging in discussions using French. One data collection

method that I may add to these methods is the interview, probably conducted with foreign

language teachers as well as some students in order to get more detailed, personal input into this

topic. I am also considering a class discussion on feelings about anxiety and speaking French in

class as either a data collection method or an intervention.

Data Analysis Methods

To analyze the action research data I imagine that similar codes as were used in the pilot

study will suffice. So, I will continue with the same deductive codes for the field notes and

questionnaires (personal and interpersonal anxieties, learner beliefs, instructor-learner

interactions, classroom procedures, and manifestations of foreign language anxiety) as well as


finding percentages for the survey questions and comparing them in terms of the codes. I will,

however, keep my data analysis methods open for adding new ideas or codes that my surface

within the formal literature review.

Significance of the Study

As a future foreign language teacher the significance of my study is to help find a strategy to

make students feel more comfortable using spoken French in class. For me personally, the ideas,

reasons, and strategies discovered about this topic in my research should help me find ways to

decrease student anxieties of using an unfamiliar language in the classroom. From this study I

hope that as a first year teacher I will have a better grasp of why my students may feel

uncomfortable speaking French in class; also, I will be able to find ways to decrease this anxious

feeling amongst some of my students. This information is also invaluable to my cooperating

teachers in order to find ways of increasing student motivation and participation in speaking

French in class.

This study is important not only for me as a French teacher, but also for those people

instructing other languages as well. Too many times in the foreign language classroom teachers

must constantly remind their students to speak in the target language. Learning a language

requires much more than understanding grammar and format, in fact, it requires that students

actively use the language so that they build the knowledge to apply it to real world situations;

this skill is especially important since communicative competence and performance tasks are

stressed more and more in national foreign language academic standards.


The importance of this study also extends well beyond the classroom into the real world

because that is where students will use their linguistic abilities. Once we as educators are able to

create a classroom that encourages linguistic growth without anxieties about speaking in the

target language, students will gain confidence using the languages and, thus, apply their skills to

communicate in the real world. This goal proves especially significant in our growing society

where nations are more connected now than ever before through improving technology. So, the

results of this study are also significant to the students in these classrooms (as well as my future

students) since many of them will plan to travel to France or other Francophone countries in the

future.

Limitations of the Study

As holds true in any study, one must expect awareness of some limitations. It is important to

consider these limitations since my results may not coincide with the results of a similar study: it

is important to keep in mind that each study brings with it a certain degree of varying factors.

Pilot Study Limitations

The first limitations in this study are the small number of students studied as well as the

geographical location. For the pilot study I distributed the survey and questionnaire to around

one hundred students (five classes), but for simplicity purposes, I only analyzed the surveys,

questionnaires, and field notes from one second-year French class containing twenty-two

students. So, my findings may not apply to a larger group. Also, these students live in a very

affluent area, so this could have some effect on their experience with foreign languages; for

instance, they may have increased travel opportunities abroad or parents who speak foreign

languages. So, my findings may not apply to a group in a lower social economic status because


the students and their parents may not have had as much travel experience or opportunities to use

French.

Another limitation to consider is the students’ level of French studied. In the pilot study I

only focused my data analysis on students in second-year French. It would be interesting to

analyze the data from students in third-year French as well as collect more data from all levels of

the language: doing so will help to find whether or not the number of years of French studied

seems to influence the anxiety level associated with using the language. So, my findings may not

apply to higher levels of French where the students have studied the language longer and are

probably more comfortable with their teacher and classmates.

Action Research Limitations

The first limitations to consider in the action research study are geographical: these students

live in a rural area that is not as affluent as the suburban area in the pilot study. Because of this,

the students (and their parents) may have less hope of traveling abroad or even using a foreign

language. This idea of a lower social economic status may influence the students’ ideas about

foreign languages as well as their experiences using them. However, it is important to keep in

mind that not all of the students in this study may find themselves in a lower social economic

status as those of the pilot study: some of these students may also have increased travel

opportunities abroad or parents who speak foreign languages.

Another limitation to consider is the students’ level of French studied. In the pilot study I

only focused my data analysis on students in second-year French. In this study I focus on all

levels of French up through third-year. I chose not to include data from the fourth-year French

class because I did not find any problems with the students cooperating to speak French in class.

For this reason, my pilot study may differ greatly from the action research study. I am hoping to


find whether or not the number of years of French studied seems to influence the anxiety level

associated with using the language.

Finally, another idea to keep in mind for both the studies is the idea that these findings may

have little meaning outside of foreign languages. Since I focus on foreign language anxiety and

its effects on speaking, teachers in subject areas outside of foreign languages may not greatly

benefit from these findings. They may, however, find some importance in methods to reduce

classroom anxiety, especially in, for example, a math class where students may feel the subject

material is similar to speaking a foreign language. So, my findings may not apply to every

subject outside of foreign languages since most students studying other subjects feel comfortable

communicating in English.

Chapter Summary

Overall, this proposal gives a synopsis of my pilot study project as well as a glimpse into my

action research project dealing with foreign language anxiety and speaking French in the

classroom. I briefly reviewed some previous research and writings on foreign language anxiety

that define it, describe its causes and manifestations, and suggest resolutions to this problem.

With this literature as a base, the purpose of this study was to examine anxiety’s effects on the

reluctance to speak in the target language in class. This topic stems from classroom problems

where students often do not volunteer answers in the foreign language or often do not even

attempt to speak in French.

I explain my plan to further investigate this problem on a larger scale by using the same

research questions and the same (or slightly modified) data collection and analysis methods.

These will consist of a survey, a questionnaire and passive observation while possibly adding or

modifying other data collection and analysis strategies. To analyze data I will continue with the


same deductive codes applied to the questionnaire responses and field notes as before (personal

and interpersonal anxieties, learner beliefs, instructor-learner interactions, classroom procedures,

and manifestations of foreign language anxiety) to compare with the survey results.

Lastly, I also explained the significance and limitations of the study. Most importantly, I am

confident that this action research project will prove significant to educators and students alike. It

will be important for foreign language teachers in order to find ways of ultimately increasing

communicative competence and performance tasks in the classroom. This can be accomplished

by enquiring about means to increase the comfort level for students in speaking in the target

language in class. Doing so will help to foster the linguistic skills required for real-world

applications of the spoken target language.

Chapter II

In chapter two, I will provide a thorough review of relevant literature on foreign language

anxiety. To do this I will focus in-depth on the areas of introducing the concept, former research

methods and general findings, causes and effects of foreign language anxiety, and methods to

decrease this anxiety. Lastly, I will show how this literature is relevant to the important aspects

of my study.

Literature Review

The basis for foreign language instruction is changing into a more communicative approach.

With an increased focus on strengthening academic content standards, oral communication (as

well as other forms of communication) is now emphasized to a greater extent in the foreign

language classroom (Office of Curriculum and Instruction, 2004). With this idea in mind, it is

important for teachers to understand anxiety’s effects on student second language

communication in the classroom: a concept called foreign language anxiety. Interest in whether


or not anxiety inhibits learning and performing in foreign languages has surfaced since the

1960’s (Horwitz, 2001). To focus research on this topic as it relates to classroom communication

and learning, it is important to consider the following themes: 1.) introducing foreign language

anxiety, 2.) foreign language anxiety research methods and general findings 3.) causes of foreign

language anxiety, 4.) foreign language anxiety’s effects on learning and communicating, and

5.) methods and techniques to decrease foreign language anxiety.

Introducing Foreign Language Anxiety

The issue of anxiety proves to be an important aspect of foreign language instruction since

recent literature suggests that there is a particular anxiety associated with language learning

(Young, 1991). First of all, to introduce this topic, one must briefly identify the concepts of

anxiety and, specifically, foreign language anxiety. Spielberger’s definition from 1983 states that

“Anxiety is the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated

with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (cited by Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986, p.

125). Horwitz (2001) later refers to this same definition when further explaining Spielberger’s

two types of anxieties: trait anxieties and state anxieties. A trait anxiety is described as a “. . .

relatively stable personality characteristic while a state anxiety is seen as a response to a

particular anxiety-provoking stimulus . . . .” (p. 113).

Horwitz (2001) describes the idea of anxiety, when applied specifically to foreign language

learning, as foreign language anxiety. Horwitz et al. (1986) point out that many people find the

situation of learning a foreign language to be stressful, especially when it is in a classroom

setting. They coined the term “foreign language anxiety” in 1986 to describe the situation-

specific (state) anxiety that “. . . stems from the inherent inauthenticity associated with immature


second language communicative abilities” (Horwitz, 2001, pp 112-114). They further describe

foreign language anxiety as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and

behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language

learning process” (Horwtiz et al., 1986, p. 128). Thus, Horwitz et al. classify foreign language

anxiety a situation specific anxiety (as cited by Han, 2003). This classification differs from other

researchers’ views.

In considering foreign language anxiety, it is equally important to understand its relationship

with communication apprehension. MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, and Donovan (2002, p. 140)

further describe foreign language anxiety as communication apprehension in the second

language, where communication apprehension is “…an individual’s level of fear or anxiety

associated with either real or anticipated communication with others…” Unlike the view of

Horwitz et al. (1986) where foreign language anxiety is a state anxiety, they consider this

concept to encompass a trait anxiety.

Foreign Language Anxiety Research Methods and General Findings

Given this introduction to foreign language anxiety, it is necessary to further consider some

methods used to conduct research about this topic. First of all, it is important to note some of the

tools created to measure foreign language anxiety. In 1975 Gardner and Smythe created the

French Class Anxiety Scale and in 1979, Clément, Gardner, and Smythe created a French Use

Anxiety Scale. These are just some tools, among others, in use to measure foreign language

anxiety (Horwitz, 2001). Likewise, Horwitz et al. (1986) introduced a similar survey called the

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) in order to measure this phenomenon.

These Likert scale questions examine student attitudes for measuring the “scope and severity” of

foreign language anxiety among many languages (p. 129). The scale seems effective as Horwitz


(2001) points out a consistent moderate negative correlation between the FLCAS and second

language achievement (measured by final grades) in studies using this scale as well as other

means of measuring second language anxiety.

Also interesting to consider are other ideas about this research, such as specific languages

studied and level of study. For example, Rodriguez and Abrieu (2003) raise the issue of whether

or not certain languages foster foreign language anxiety or if it remains invariable when any

second language is paired with the native language. Interestingly, Von Wörde (2003) points out

that in his study among foreign language anxiety in French, Spanish and German, student

perspectives pointed to French as the most anxiety provoking language, with German placing

second.

The level of foreign language studied is also important in foreign language anxiety research.

Horwitz (2001) illustrates studies showing the idea that the level of language learning does

negatively correlate to foreign language anxiety (e.g., a higher level of study yields lower foreign

language anxiety); however, she mentions that the studies she reviewed only examined college or

university level students, so this relationship in younger students still requires further study in

order to make age and developmental comparisons. Similar findings include research conducted

by MacIntyre and Gardner (as referenced by Ganshow & Sparks, 1996) and Levine (2003); these

studies imply that as exposure to and proficiency in a foreign language increase, anxiety actually

decreases.

Not all researchers agree that anxiety decreases as exposure to the language (e.g., years

studying it or time spent in a target country) increases. On the other hand, some studies (Casado

& Dershiwisky, 2001; Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley, 1999; Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley,

2000) have shown that students in the beginning levels of a foreign language tend to have lower


levels of foreign language anxiety compared with those students in higher levels. Sometimes it

seems that more confidence coincides with younger students in lower levels of study and more

language apprehension is apparent in older students in higher language levels. Speculations

about the cause of this trend deal with the ideas of more second language use in the classroom

(by the teacher and students) as well as learning and using finer and more complex grammar

rules. With these research inconsistencies, Von Wörde (2003) points out that more research is

still needed to confirm the relationship between these variables. All of these general research

findings are important to consider as foreign language anxiety research expands.

Another interesting correlation noted among students with foreign language anxiety is

perfectionism. Gregerson and Horwitz (2002) investigated this topic and believe that foreign

language anxiety may be a result of perfectionism in some students. Though little is known about

foreign language anxiety’s relationship with other personality traits, this study tried to find

perfectionist characteristics in anxious learners that do not exist (or are less dominate) in non-

anxious learners. Interestingly, this study concluded that those students identified to be

perfectionists were very similar to students identified as anxious in that they often became

distraught over mistakes and viewed their mistakes are more important than they were. This

correlation between perfectionism and foreign language anxiety may be useful later on for

finding strategies to help anxious students.

Causes of Foreign Language Anxiety

It is also important to consider possible causes of this classroom language learning

phenomenon. As for its causes, many researchers attribute this occurrence primarily to the

requirements of speaking in the foreign language since students often do not feel they fully

possess the skills of self-expression in the target language. Horwitz et al. (1986) describe


findings that identify both the acts of speaking and learning a foreign language as anxiety

causing situations in the classroom. They also imply that difficulties will arise in the classroom

due to the growing pedagogical trend of increasing communicative competency in the target

language. In fact, they identify speaking as the most frightening aspect of language learning to

the anxious student. Horwitz (2001) highlights the idea that anxiety and fear result from speaking

in the foreign language because doing so entails “risk-taking” and that anxiety also results since

the students are required to consciously think about how to communicate in a language in which

they are unsure of their skills (p. 114).

Other researchers also support similar ideas that speaking in the target language is anxiety

provoking. MacIntyre (1995) suggests that speaking in the foreign language promotes a stronger

anxiety in class than the amount of anxiety aroused by simply learning (e.g. passively learning)

the language. A study by Kim in 1998 exemplifies this idea: among Asian students learning

English as a foreign language, those that were in a reading based class were less anxious than

those in a conversation class (cited by Horwitz, 2001). Another study by Onwuegbuzie, Bailey,

and Daley (1999) supports this idea by suggesting that most students become very anxious when

made to speak in the target language in front of the class. Han (2003) references the ideas of

Horwitz et al. that three main factors cause foreign language anxiety: communication

apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety. He also refers to a study by Phillips

in 1992 that implies an inverse relationship between foreign language anxiety and oral test

performance. Thus, he concludes that this classroom phenomenon focuses mainly on the acts of

oral and communicative performances in second language learning.

Aside from speaking in the target language, other causes of foreign language anxiety exist.

For example, Von Wörde (2003) states that along with speaking, listening activities are also


among the highest anxiety provoking foreign language classroom activities. Also, Horwitz

(2001) points to a 1998 study by Palacios that researched foreign language anxiety and

classroom climate. Overall, she reports that this study found a relationship between classroom

climate and levels of foreign language anxiety. Of the variables considered, the strongest one

linked with student anxiety consists of the “. . . perceived level of teacher support” (p. 119).

Specific variables identified in this study as decreasing levels of student anxiety are “. . . levels

of affiliation among learners, lack of competition, and clear task orientation” (p. 119).

Young (1991) also gives many other causes of language anxiety in the classroom. She points

to six potential categories of these causes that include: “. . . 1.) personal and interpersonal

anxieties; 2.) learner beliefs about language learning; 3.) instructor beliefs about language

learning; 4.) instructor-learner interactions; 5.) classroom procedures; and 6.) language testing”

(p. 427).

As Young (1991) describes it, the personal and interpersonal causes of anxiety are most

often seen through low self-esteem and classroom competitiveness: when students compare

themselves with others in the classroom or with a non-realistic image of how they should

perform. These sources of anxiety also relate to a student’s belief that his or her language skills

are weak; thus, the student worries about what others think. A study by Cheng, Horwitz, and

Schallert (1999) supports this idea: they found a high correlation between students’ perceived

language proficiency and anxiety levels. Specifically, in this study of Taiwanese students, the

students’ self perceptions about their foreign language skills (as opposed to their actual foreign

language skills) seemed to be better predictors of their anxiety levels.

Young’s learner beliefs anxiety category deals with the different “. . . practices learners

believe are important for successful language learning” (1991, p. 428). She states that correct


pronunciation is one of the most popular of these student beliefs in second language learning.

Other examples of important perceived aspects of language learning include “. . . vocabulary,

classroom conjugation, communication, the memorization of grammar . . .” as well as other

beliefs (p. 428).

Language anxieties stemming from instructor beliefs about language teaching deal with the

social atmosphere created by the instructor. Some specific examples in this category are teacher

beliefs about correcting students (e.g. how and when to do this) as well as the student pairings

and interactions (e.g. working in groups or not) and the belief that some intimidation is necessary

as a motivator (Young, 1991). This idea follows the thoughts of Brown, who in 1984 mentioned

this similar idea. He stated that too much foreign language classroom anxiety can be harmful to

learning, but some anxiety is needed to stimulate the motivation to learn (cited by Omaggio-

Hadley, 2001). Also included in this category is the teacher-student relationship: specifically,

whether or not a teacher should be, for example, a coach, facilitator, guide, or “drill-sergeant”

(Young, 1991, p. 428). Overall, this teacher-created atmosphere can greatly affect a student’s

anxieties about learning the target language.

As far as instructor-learner interactions are concerned, Young (1991) summarizes that this

potential cause of language learning anxiety as “the manner in which a teacher corrects a

student’s use of the target language” (p. 429). It also includes ideas such as student’s concerns

about responding incorrectly in front of classmates and simply “. . . looking or sounding dumb”

(p. 429). Von Wörde’s (2003) study findings exemplify this category of anxiety causes: his study

on students’ perspectives implied that anxiety is caused when students worry about their

teacher’s and peers’ evaluation of their second language speaking skills. Also, his study found

that anxiety reportedly occurs when teachers interrupt students to correct their pronunciation


(making them to lose focus in mid-speech) and when teachers call on students in a row to

respond orally.

The causes of anxiety in Young’s classroom procedures category deal with the inevitable act

of “. . . having to speak in the target language in front of a group” (1991, p. 429). It also includes

other activities such as performing skits, oral quizzes, or being called on to answer a question.

This cause of anxiety manifests in some students since it is often required to practice speaking in

the target language in class. As mentioned earlier, speaking activities are among some of the

most anxiety provoking in the classroom. Related to this topic, Cheng et al. (1999) report that of

the anxiety provoking variables studied in their research, concerns about the speaking course

grade possessed higher correlations with anxiety than concerns about writing in the foreign

language.

Finally, Young (1991) explains how language testing can also lead to foreign language

anxiety in the classroom. She states that the level of evaluation as well as the ambiguity of the

evaluation or test format lead to this. Students may also develop anxieties leading to foreign

language anxiety when they take tests that examine material other than what was emphasized in

class.

Another variable, possibly affecting foreign language anxiety in the classroom, deals with

the level of a student’s native language skills. Ganschow and Sparks (1996) developed the

Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis stating that differences in one’s native language skills

affect foreign language performance. Thus, in considering the causes of foreign language

anxiety, one should also take into account first language skills since the two seem related.

Though there was some inconsistency among the anxious subjects in this study, overall the

results generally suggest that the more anxious students have lower first language abilities.


Similar to the level of a student’s native language skill, another possible cause of foreign

language anxiety may be a student’s prior experience with the language. As one might expect,

Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, and Daley (1999; 2000) report that prior experience with foreign language

in high school seems to help students feel more comfortable in college level classes than those

students never taking a foreign language. In fact, they found more anxiety among college

students not having taken foreign language in high school.

Effects on Learning and Communicating

With these possible causes of language anxiety in mind, it is important to examine how

anxiety manifests itself in the classroom. Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, and Daley (2000) further

exemplify foreign language anxiety’s manifestations during the three learning stages (input,

processing, and output). At the input level students may constantly ask the teacher to repeat

phrases or students may have to reread passages several times. At the processing level students

may lack the abilities to understand messages and to learn new vocabulary. Finally, at the output

level, students may show little ability to write or speak in the foreign language.

MacIntyre (1995) argues that foreign language anxiety can cause problematic differences for

individual students dealing with the abilities to learn and communicate in the foreign language.

He explains that because anxiety divides students’ attention, their learning and performance

suffer. MacIntyre, Noels, and Clément (1997) describe a 1994 study by Macintyre and Gardner

where this idea was demonstrated through the findings that anxiety interfered with students’

abilities in the areas of input, processing, and production of the second language. They also

mention that one specific distracter from learning a foreign language is when students who are

anxious tend to focus on their “perceived inadequacies” and imagine the effects of their self-

expected failures; thus, they have difficulty focusing on learning in class (p. 269).


Similarly, Horwitz et al. (1986) point to studies by Steinberg and Horwitz to illustrate the

implication that anxiety affects the amount of student oral and written communication in the

classroom. Based on this study, they state that “. . . the more anxious student tends to avoid

attempting difficult or personal messages in the target language” (pp. 126-127). This leads to

shorter speeches and compositions from the anxious student. They also exemplify some of the

common problems that students with foreign language anxiety encounter. Specifically, they

mention that these students often encounter difficulties in understanding the content of a foreign

language message as well as distinguishing its sounds and structures. These students tend to

develop misconceptions leading them to not want to speak in the target language unless they can

do so correctly; likewise, they may also develop misconceptions leading them to believe that it is

unacceptable to guess unknown words in the target language.

Still other observable classroom manifestations of foreign language anxiety exist. Young

(1991) gives many examples related to speaking in the foreign language such as stuttering, little

participation in conversations, allowing silence during conversations, short speaking periods in

front of the class, avoiding or refusing to speak, and giving short responses. Von Wörde (2003)

exemplifies some physical attributes of foreign language anxiety that include headaches, clammy

hands, cold fingers, shaking, and sweating. He also mentions some behavioral manifestations

such as hiding from the teacher, losing patience, skipping class, and sleeping in class. Horwitz et

al. (1986) also mention the idea of procrastinating on foreign language homework as a

manifestation of this classroom phenomenon. Identifying these symptoms leads to the idea of

methods used to decrease foreign language anxiety in the classroom.

Methods and Techniques to Decrease Foreign Language Anxiety


In order to apply these findings to the classroom, one must also consider ways to decrease

foreign language anxiety in hopes of increasing student target language communication.

Utilizing relaxation techniques in the classroom seems to be a common strategy for lowering this

anxiety (Horwitz et al., 1986; Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley, 1999; Young, 1991). Horwitz et

al. (1986) also suggest giving advice on “effective language learning strategies” as well as

employing behavior contracts and journaling (p. 131). Horwitz (2001) later points to strategies

for teachers found in Donley’s 1997 study that include “. . . not calling on individual students,

not teaching the language as a massive memorization task, and being sensitive to students’ out-

of-class obligations” (p. 120).

Anxiety reducing strategies seem important in managing foreign language anxiety in the

classroom. Young (1991) exemplifies some anxiety reducing strategies to use n the classroom.

These include practices such as encouraging student self-talk, discussing reasonable language

use in the classroom, using positive reinforcement, modeling student responses positively, and

communicating to the students that mistakes are necessary for learning. Onwuegbuzie et al.

(1999) also give similar examples for reducing anxiety. They suggest using mental imagery,

relaxation therapy, and meditation to decrease anxiety. As far decreasing test anxieties, they

suggest not giving timed tests and testing listening and spoken performance separately from the

written exam. As other means of decreasing foreign language anxiety, they mention facing this

issue together in class. This can be accomplished by journaling in the native language about

related experiences with and thoughts on foreign language anxiety as well as discussing these

issues and related concerns as a group.

As perfectionism and foreign language anxiety appear to be related with many of the same

manifestations, Gregerson and Horwitz (2002) suggest that the same techniques that help


perfectionists can be useful for students with foreign language anxiety. Since both perfectionists

and anxious students have difficulties accepting errors, one useful strategy (similar to Young’s

suggestion) is to simply emphasize the idea in class that errors are a normal part of the learning

process; thus they are acceptable in second language learning. Also, another useful strategy is to

identify these students’ misconceptions about language learning and help them understand

realistic expectations for language use and language learning.

Classroom activities are another way to decrease the foreign language anxiety amongst

students. Many ideas exist that can help give the atmosphere a fun and warm environment to

foster learning. Two activities that Nascente (2001) suggests to help identify and deal with

foreign language anxiety are The Agony Column (where students write to each other about their

problems and receive advice) as well as Anxiety Raising Situations (where students brainstorm

instances of foreign language anxiety in class and rank them with group members.) Both of these

activities help to create a community in which the students see that others may feel similarly;

these activities also require that students use their foreign language skills in a non-threatening

manner to find solutions to decrease their anxiety.

Along the idea of classroom activities, Von Wörde (2003) also gives many ideas of a variety

of activities to reach students of various learning styles and preferences. Similar to Nascente, he

also suggests making the classroom a friendly community environment. To do this, students can

partake in group activities and study groups inside and outside of class. Also, they can attend

foreign language movies, lunches, and language clubs. To help decrease anxiety one can make

the class a fun environment by employing performance strategies such as skits, plays, and games.

(Doing this may take pressure off of some students since they will work and perform together

rather than individually.)


The idea of using the native language in class to help reduce anxiety is somewhat

controversial in the foreign language classroom. Even though the goal of foreign language study

is to communicate using another language, Von Wörde (2003) mentions using English to clarify

ideas or meaning and to give homework. Specifically, he states to post homework on the board

and repeat the directions in English. Levine (2003) supports a similar idea by stating that the

native language does have a purpose in the foreign language classroom. He describes that one

should not use the native language to decrease anxiety, but that an instructor should leave a place

in the classroom for the native language so as not to create unnecessary anxiety by forbidding its

use. Overall, he states that the classroom should be bilingual and that students should strive to

use the target language: they should have an active role in deciding the “bilingual norms” (p.

355). Overall, an important idea to remember in decreasing foreign language anxiety in the

classroom is that its early detection will prove beneficial in creating interventions for students at

various degrees of anxiety (Sanchez-Herrero & Sanchez, 1992).

Summary

Overall, based on this literature, much research has been accomplished in search of the

causes, manifestations, and classroom implications of foreign language anxiety among second

language learners. This topic impacts student classroom target language communication and

learning, even if it is only for some students. From the current findings, speaking in the foreign

language seems to be one of the most intimidating classroom activities for anxious students.

Foreign language anxiety is evident in various student behaviors; however, it especially appears

through the avoidance of speaking in the target language. With this idea in mind, the reviewed

literature offers various practical methods to identify foreign language anxiety and to decrease

this phenomenon in the classroom.


It is important to remember that the current research is still in its infancy, especially when

considering foreign language anxiety’s effects on high school-aged and younger students. So,

this topic seems to warrant further research, especially given today’s increased emphasis on

communicative competency and linguistic performance in foreign language classrooms. Even if

foreign language anxiety does not appear to affect all students, it is still of interest since all

students need to actively practice the target language in order to truly learn to communicate

using it.

Relevance to Study

This literature is clearly relevant to this study for many reasons. First of all, the literature

reviewed for this study was crucial to my base understanding of foreign language anxiety. It

discusses in-depth the perceived causes and effects of foreign language anxiety while suggesting

solutions to decrease this occurrence in the classroom. I found Young’s (2001) information on

foreign language anxiety (the basis for my deductive codes of analysis) to be extremely useful in

organizing my research data.

Also, the literature appears relevant to this study since my topic deals specifically with

speaking in a foreign language in class. Throughout the literature I have found as a recurring

theme that speaking in the foreign language seems to be one of the most intimidating classroom

activities for anxious students. As the literature suggests, foreign language anxiety especially

manifests itself through the avoidance of speaking in the target language. These findings in the

literature coincide with my inquiry.

Also, the literature is relevant to my study since part of the data analysis may focus on

the general relationship between foreign language anxiety and the level of French studied. Some

researchers such as Horwitz (2001), MacIntyre and Gardner (as referenced by Ganshow and


Sparks, 1996), and Levine (2003) feel that the relationship hold a negative correlation. Other

researchers such as Casado & Dershiwisky (2001), Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley (1999) and

Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, & Daley (2000) feel that there is a positive correlation. With these

conflicting ideas, I am curious about the trends within my research.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter I provide a detailed review of relevant literature on foreign language anxiety.

To do this I focus on the areas of introducing the concept, former research methods and general

findings, causes and effects of foreign language anxiety, as well as methods to decrease this

anxiety. Lastly, I show how this literature is relevant to the important aspects of my study: this

literature was especially relevant in the forming of deductive codes and in the recurring theme

that speaking in the foreign language seems to be one of the most intimidating classroom

activities for students with foreign language anxiety.

Chapter III

In chapter three, I will begin by telling the reader about the research ethic and setting. I will

discuss in detail the data collection methods used consisting of surveys, questionnaires, and

participation grades for the action research (why chosen, the context when used, any

problems/unexpected successes in their use.) I also will discuss in detail the data analysis

procedure used and the codes found to be most useful.

Research Ethic

Research ethics in this study include informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity. First

of all, I obtained permission from my cooperating teacher to use the participation grades

anonymously in the research. Furthermore, before conducting the surveys and questionnaires

with each class, I told the students that anyone not wishing to participate did not have to. Along


with this, I clearly explained to the students that the purpose of this study was for my action

research project.

To ensure confidentiality and anonymity, when the students finished the surveys and

questionnaires I was careful to store them at school that day out of view before taking them

home that evening. As far as anonymity is concerned, even though I asked for the students’

names on the surveys/questionnaires for my usage, I explained that they did not have to put their

names on the surveys/questionnaires if they did not wish to do so. Finally I was faithful to the

promise that no one else besides me would see any of the information that may lead to identify

the students. For these reasons, I will not provide any names that may identify the students,

teachers, or buildings in this study.

Research Settings and People

I conducted the research for this study during the winter and spring of 2006 in a public high

school (grades 9-12) situated in a rural community. During the 2005-2006 academic year the

enrollment rate was 519 students. The racial and ethnic composition of the students attending

this school was very homologous: in fact, it consisted of about 98% Caucasian, .2% African

American, .2% Asian American, .2% Hispanic American and .6% multiracial. Other

demographics of this school imply that it is economically and academically stable. In this school

the average teaching years for staff is about 17 and there are approximately 20 students per

teacher. The attendance during the 2004-2005 academic year was 96% and the percentage of

economically disadvantaged students was 11.


Data collection and intervention methods were modified at this school since I did not have

the time available to passively observe students and take field notes. Baseline data was collected


in this study through three means: student surveys, questionnaires and participation grades.

(Participation grades replaced the passive observation from the pilot study.) The data were

collected on high school students in first through third-year French at the internship site. These

students range from grades nine through twelve. The data are spread across five different classes

consisting of two sections of first-year French, two sections of second-year French and one

section of third-year French. The baseline data collection methods were to obtain an idea of

student feelings about speaking French in class as well as a record of students’ actual

participation in speaking French in class through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative means.

o Survey : There were a total of 100 students that completed the baseline survey (see

Appendix D). This survey was conducted on January 13, 2006 during all five of the

respective class periods for first through third-year French. Through the survey I tried to

collect data to understand my research questions by asking how the students feel about

different aspects of speaking French in class. Ideas for constructing the survey questions

were taken from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, &

Cope, 1986).

o Questionnaire : There were a total of 97 students responding to the baseline

questionnaire (see appendix D). This questionnaire was also conducted at the same time

as the survey on January 13, 2006. This question at the end of the baseline data survey

asked the students about possible contributing factors to their usual

uncomfortable/nervous or usual comfortable feelings when speaking French in class.

o Participation Point Grades: Participation point grades (documents of speaking in

French) were taken on all students in the five classes at the midterm point and final

grading point of the third quarter. Midterm participation grades were calculated on


February 19, 2006 for the French II and French III classes as well as on February 21,

2006 for the French I classes. The final third quarter grades were calculated on March

24, 2006 for all classes. The points are managed by the teacher who hands out slips of

paper (resembling Euros) that the students must sign and turn in after answering general

conversational French questions in class. The final participation grades consist of a class

average (the mean) that each student must receive to obtain full credit.

Post-intervention data were also collected in this study through the same means: student

surveys, questionnaires and participation grades. This data were collected on the same French

classes as the baseline data. The purpose of the post-intervention data was to compare baseline

findings to the intervention results to observe changes of the chosen focus students (two students

per level) showing signs of foreign language anxiety. This comparison would measure the results

after the intervention of a foreign language anxiety class discussion conducted on May 22 for

French III and on May 30 for French I and French II.

o Survey : There were a total of 82 students that completed the intervention survey (see

Appendix E). This survey was conducted on May 26, 2006 for the French III class and

on June 2, 2006 during the French I and French II classes. The purpose of this survey

was to understand changes in student attitudes concerning speaking French in class.

o Questionnaire : The questionnaire (see Appendix E) consisted of an open-ended

response question at the end of the intervention data survey. There were a total of 79

students that responded to this extended response question. This revised question was to

discover whether or not the students’ feelings changed about speaking French in class or

about foreign language anxiety in general. The question was also designed to inquire

specifically how their feelings changed, if applicable.


o Participation Grades : Participation point grades were taken on all students in the five

classes at the midterm point and final grading point of the fourth quarter. Midterm

grades were calculated for all five classes on April 28, 2006. The final quarter grades

were calculated June 1, 2006 for the French I and French III classes and on June 2, 2006

for the French II classes. The intervention participation grades were to document any

change in students’ participation in speaking French in class due to the intervention.

Consistency in collecting post-intervention data, however, proved problematic due to time

constraints and absences. Time did not allow me to conduct the language anxiety discussion as

early as hoped: since the seniors had already finished the school year (and because of other

student absences) the number of students participating in the post-intervention data collection is

fewer than the baseline data. Also, since the intervention occurred near the end of the quarter,

these participation grades do not accurately reflect effects of the intervention. However, the data

may still be useful in identifying non-participatory behaviors in students’ French speaking habits.


The data were organized by applying deductive codes to the questionnaires and by deriving

percentages for survey answers and participation grades. Because the average for each class

varied, I calculated the percentage of students receiving full credit in order to compare all

classes. The survey questions were also grouped by the deductive codes for further comparison

with the questionnaires and individual participation grades. For simplicity in this study, I

grouped the data by French level rather than by individual classes: specifically, I analyzed data

from the French III class and grouped both French I sections together and both French II sections

together rather than analyzing data for five classes.


In order to look for patterns of causes of anxiety according to these students, I classified the

student questionnaires and compared them to the survey percentages for each class. The baseline

questionnaires and survey stem percentages were thus classified and compared according to the

following deductive codes based on Young’s (1991) description of some of the sources of

language learning anxiety. These sources of anxiety used for comparing the data can be

summarized as follows:

o Personal and Interpersonal issues : This source of anxiety is most often seen through

low self-esteem and classroom competitiveness, such as when students compare

themselves with others in the classroom or with a non-realistic image of how they

should perform. These issues also relate to believing that language skills are weak and

worrying about what others think.

o Learner beliefs - This source of language learning anxiety deals with the different “…

practices learners believe are important for successful language learning” (Young,

1991, p. 428). Young states that pronunciation is one of the most popular of these

student beliefs for learning a language. Other examples of these practices include “…

vocabulary, classroom conjugation, communication, the memorization of grammar…”

(p. 428) as well as other beliefs.

o Instructor-learner interactions : This potential cause of language learning anxiety can be

summarized as “the manner in which a teacher corrects a student’s use of the target

language. It also includes a student’s concerns about responding incorrectly in front of

classmates and simply “…looking or sounding dumb” (Young, 1991, p. 429).

o Classroom procedures : This cause of anxiety deals with “…having to speak in the

target language in front of a group” (Young, 1991, p. 429). It also includes activities


such as performing skits, oral quizzes, or being called on to answer a question. In this

category, I also included the idea of classroom atmosphere.

Finally, I needed to select focus students from each French level in order to examine the

effects of the foreign language anxiety discussion intervention. To do this I compared the third

quarter participation points to decipher which students were below the total points for the

midterm and final grades. Narrowing down the selection to the students with low participation

grades, I compared the questionnaire and survey responses to choose two students from each

section that answered the questions showing characteristics of anxiety. Also, in order to examine

the intervention effects on these students, I compared their baseline survey and questionnaire

responses to their answers on the post-intervention surveys and questionnaires to see if there

were any noticeable changes in their attitudes.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter I described the research setting and discussed information pertaining to

baseline and intervention data. I described in detail the data collection methods used: these

include student surveys, questionnaires and participation grade archives. I also discussed in detail

the data analysis procedures used: these include applying deductive codes to the survey stem

responses and questionnaire responses, deriving percentages for survey answers and participation

grades, and selecting six focus students (two students from each French level) for further post-

intervention study. I then compared these students’ participation grades and intervention survey

and questionnaire responses to notice any possible changes in attitude.

Chapter IV

In chapter four, I will present my findings as answers to the research questions dealing with

speaking French in class and foreign language anxiety. I will discuss these findings and show


their connection with the literature on foreign language anxiety presented in chapter two. Also, I

will illustrate these findings by providing data excerpts.

Research Findings

To begin answering my research questions, I applied survey data and participation grades to

address the following question: How many students are reluctant to speak in French? To begin

with the survey data, I found that in all three levels of French, more students do not feel that they

participate in spoken activities by speaking French (see Figure 1). The results of student

perceptions about not speaking more French during class activities were especially interesting for

the French III class where students ideally should speak more French.

Figure 1: These three pie charts show the percentages of student responses to the survey

statement # 2: “During spoken activities, I participate by speaking French more often than

English” (see Appendix D)


To cross-reference these student perceptions about the amount of documented spoken

French, I compared the survey data with the participation point grades (see figure 2). The

participation point results show that for French I, 54% and 64% of the students received full

credit for participating in spoken French for midterm and final grades, respectively. In French II

these respective percentages were 61% and 53%. Also, in French III the percentages calculated

to 80% representing both the midterm and final full credit participation grades.

Figure 2: This graph shows the class percentages of students receiving full credit on the

participation points (for speaking French) during third quarter.


Overall, I found that students’ perspectives and the documented grade archives are

contradictory. Judging by these data results, it appears that student perspectives concerning the

amount of French spoken in class are underestimated given the participation grades. By looking

at the participation points, one can decipher that approximately 40 to 50 percent of these French I

students, 20-30 percent of these French II students, and 20 percent of these French III students

did not receive full credit for speaking French in class. Even though it may be difficult to find the

exact number, judging by the amount of students not receiving full participation credit (as shown

in figure 2), reluctance to speak French is of concern since communication is a necessary aspect

of foreign language study.

Next, I relied on comparing baseline survey and questionnaire responses in order to

address the following questions: Why are these students reluctant to speak French in the


classroom? What possible factors create anxiety for students in speaking French in the

classroom? To find meaning for my research questions behind the survey responses, I classified

each stem statement according to the deductive codes. After comparing survey stem percentages

and questionnaire responses with these codes, I found that the most dominate codes appearing in

all three levels of French categorized into “personal and interpersonal issues” followed by

“learner beliefs.”

To illustrate this, baseline survey statements 3 and 4 (see Appendix D) were classified as

“personal and interpersonal issues” while statement 6 was classified as “learner beliefs.” The

most surprising of these three survey responses was the percentage found with statement 4

regarding the desire to speak in English if the students may make mistakes speaking French (see

figure 3.) The higher percentage for the French III class possibly alludes to the idea found in the

literature that students studying a foreign language for a longer period of time feel more anxiety

than those in lower levels of the language.

Figure 3: This graph shows the percentage of students in each level of French that answered

with “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” to the statement: “I would rather speak in English if I feel I

will make mistakes in French.”


Furthermore, in considering the baseline questionnaire responses, the most specific common

worries that surfaced in these categories were as follows: many French I students were bothered

by faulty pronunciation and what classmates think of their mistakes; many French II student

responses focused on faulty pronunciation, appearing stupid to classmates, and others teasing

them because of mistakes; and many French III students responses focused on faulty

pronunciation and lacking fluency in French (see table 1)

Table 1: This table gives sample baseline questionnaire responses (see Appendix D) from

each French level in the dominating codes of “Personal and Interpersonal issues” and “Learner

beliefs.”

Sample Baseline Questionnaire Responses


French level Personal/Interpersonal issues Learner Beliefs

I“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because I don’t know French very well.”

“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because I don’t know how to pronounce something.”

II

“My normal anxious feeling comes from looking less intelligent than others sometimes. Often time it’s not a problem.”

“I feel uncomfortable because I feel that I may not be able to use good pununciation [pronunciation] when answering a question.”

III

“When I speak French I feel nervous because I’m not very fluent in this subject and I have trouble understanding some of it.”

“The factors that contribute to my anxiety in speaking French are that my pronunciation is often wrong.”

These common patterns in student responses at all levels of study proved interesting: all levels of

French seemed concerned with causes of anxiety dealing with the codes of “Personal and

Interpersonal issues” and “Learner beliefs.” Interestingly, as Young (1991) implied for most

anxious students, incorrect pronunciation seemed to also be a popular response for these

students.

Finally, I compared the baseline and post-intervention responses (see tables 2 and 3) of the

six focus students in order to consider the following questions: Does foreign language anxiety

affect student communication in the classroom? If it affects communication, how does it do this?

What are the effects of an anxiety-decreasing intervention on decreasing the reluctance to speak

French in the foreign language classroom? As mentioned earlier, the chosen anxiety- decreasing

intervention was a class discussion on the causes and effects of foreign language anxiety in the

classroom as well as the students’ feelings on improving the problem.


Table 2: This table shows the baseline survey responses (see Appendix D) and post-

intervention survey responses (see Appendix E) of the of the 6 chosen focus students. (Notice

that students from each French level are referred to as “student A” and “student B.” So, students

A and B from French I are represented with FR1-A and FR1-B, and so on.)

Focus Student Baseline Survey Responses

Stem FR1-A FR1-B FR2-A FR2-B FR3-A FR3-B1 U U U A SA SA2 D D U D SD SD3 U A A U SD U4 A SA A A SA SA5 D A U SD A D6 A A A A SA SA7 A U A A A U

Focus Student Post-Intervention Survey Responses

Stem FR1-A FR1-B FR2-A FR2-B FR3-A FR3-B1 A U A A A A2 SD A D SD D SD3 A D SA SD U A4 A D SA U D SA5 A D A SD A D6 A A SA U SA SA7 A A U SA SA U

Table 3: This table shows the baseline questionnaire responses (see Appendix D) and post-

intervention questionnaire responses (see Appendix E) to the of the 6 chosen focus students.

Focus Student Questionnaire Responses


Student Baseline Post-Intervention

FR1-A

“I normally feel uncomfortable because I have never spoke this language before and I’m not comfortable with something I’m not sure on 100%.”

“My views on language anxiety is that I feel nervous speaking foreign language”

FR1-B

“”I don’t like people to hear me make mistakes, because I feel uncomfortable even though they make mistakes too.”

“Yes, because we are all beginners and learning a new language at this age is difficult.”

FR2-A

“I sometimes I feel uncomfortable due to the fact that my peers may judge me. I like to speak French at home or with my friends, just like joking around.”

“I still have anxiety. I still feel that people are judgmental.”

FR2-B “I don’t like French or any foreign language so I don’t enjoy speaking anything other than English.”

“I don’t know. I’ll always be nervous about speaking French.”

FR3-A

“I feel uncomfortable speaking French because I don’t know how to say things or answer questions in complete sentences”

“Yes, I feel as long as no on laughs or the teacher doesn’t make you feel stupid that more people will participate. I feel that a lot of students have foreign language anxiety because of the other kids in class and the teacher. They are just afraid of feeling stupid.”

FR3-B“Just feel I do not know the language well enough to speak it”

“My views have not changed, foreign language anxiety is a problem for me that is why I am not taking French next year, I just don’t understand the language.”

In response to the last research questions (Does foreign language anxiety affect student

communication in the classroom? If it affects communication, how does it do this?) these

students seem to demonstrate qualities of foreign language anxiety in many of their responses to

the survey and questionnaires. Also, these students, as noted earlier, had participation points


below the class average. In fact, during the third and fourth quarters, students FR1-A and FR1-B

never received full credit for participation points; students FR2-A and FR3-A received full credit

only once; and students FR2B and FR3-B only received full credit twice (see table 4).

Table 4: This table shows whether or not the focus students received full credit for

participation points during the third and fourth quarters. * Note that student FR3-A was excluded

from the final fourth quarter participation grade because this student finished school early with

the seniors before the class totals could be entered.

Meeting Full Participation Scores for Speaking French

QTR 3 QTR 4

Students Midterm Final Midterm FinalFR1-A No No No NoFR1-B No No No NoFR2-A Yes No No NoFR2-B Yes No No Yes

FR3-A* No No Yes N/AFR3-B No Yes No Yes

Given these results, it seems that foreign language anxiety at least affects student communication

in class to some degree in this class by preventing these students to participate in spoken French

to the fullest degree.

It is necessary, however, to keep in mind that these students only show signs of this anxiety.

Foreign language anxiety is difficult to determine without also considering other factors such as

motivation and overall academic performance. Thus, the data for these six students is

inconclusive as to whether or not they actually have foreign language anxiety.


In response to the intervention question (What are the effects of an anxiety-decreasing

intervention on decreasing the reluctance to speak French in the foreign language classroom?) it

seems that after the intervention discussion, students FR1-B and FR3-B may understand foreign

language anxiety a little better based on their post-intervention questionnaires. These two

students’ attitudes also seem to have changed based on their post-intervention responses to

survey statement 4. After the intervention, it seems that their attitudes appear more open to speak

French in class knowing that they may make mistakes. As far as participation grades to

document any changes in student behavior, the data are also inconclusive due to the fact that the

intervention occurred at the end of the school year.

Literature Relevant to Findings

The literature holds relevance to my findings in two ways. The first deals with the

suggestion for a class discussion to decrease anxiety in the classroom. Specifically, the literature

suggests discussing foreign language anxiety and realistic ideas of language learning with the

students. As an intervention strategy this seemed to somewhat help the attitudes of two students;

specifically, their attitudes implied that they seemed more comfortable with making mistakes in

spoken French after holding the discussion. Their post-intervention survey responses changed

from an attitude of speaking English to avoid making mistakes in French to an attitude more

open to making mistakes in attempting to speak French.

Also, the other relevant aspect of the literature in my findings deals with Young’s (1991)

causes of language anxiety. Using her codes to organize the student responses proved very

helpful. Also, the students’ responses about causes of foreign language anxiety seemed to mirror

what the Young described as causes for many anxious students. , I found that the most dominate


codes appearing in all three levels of French categorized into “personal and interpersonal issues”

followed by “learner beliefs.”

Chapter Summary

In chapter four, I presented my findings as answers to the research questions dealing with

foreign language anxiety and speaking French in class. Overall, the biggest findings dealt with

the students’ opinions on causes of anxiety. I found the most common anxieties to be related to

personal and interpersonal issues and learner beliefs. I illustrated these classroom findings by

providing data excerpts. Also, I discussed these findings and showed their connection with the

literature, especially how they pertain to Young’s (1991) ideas on foreign language anxiety

causes presented in chapter two.

Chapter V

In chapter five, I will summarize my study on foreign language anxiety, present

recommendations for others, and discuss my plan of action for future teaching based on the

findings of this study.

Summary of Study

The purpose of my study was to examine student reluctance to speak in the target language.

In class I have noticed that students often hesitate to speak French by speaking in English. More

specifically I wanted to examine whether or not students feel anxious when using spoken French

in the classroom and what factors may lead this. Furthermore, I focused this study on foreign

language anxiety (a growing concern in the foreign language classroom) to see if this may be the

reason for student reluctance to speak French.

To research this problem in-depth, I focused on the following baseline questions: a.) How

many students are reluctant to speak French in the classroom? b.) Why are these students


reluctant to speak French in the classroom? c.) Does foreign language anxiety affect student oral

communication in the classroom? If it affects communication, how does it do this? d.) What

possible factors create anxiety for students in speaking French in the classroom?

In this study data were collected using student surveys, questionnaires, and participation

grade archives. Most of these methods generated data that was useful in answering my research

questions. To analyze questionnaires, I applied the deductive codes of learner beliefs, classroom

procedures, personal and interpersonal issues, and instructor/learner interactions. (I also found

these deductive codes useful for organizing the survey responses.) To analyze the surveys, I

tallied stem answers and produced percentages to compare with the questionnaires and

participation grades.

In comparing the data, I found the recurring themes of personal and interpersonal issues

(such as a lack of confidence in one’s skills) and learner beliefs (such as incorrect pronunciation)

to be strikingly important concerning speaking French in class. These ideas are possibly major

factors contributing to student reluctance to speak French in class. As an intervention I chose to

conduct a classroom discussion on foreign language anxiety. The purpose of this was to decrease

student anxiety’s that may exist: it was to make the students aware that feeling anxious about

speaking in a foreign language is common. Overall, the results thus far are inconclusive. I cannot

identify foreign language anxiety as the main factor of student reluctance to speak French in

class; but, based on my research, foreign language anxiety does appear to have some effect on

student communication: this idea definitely requires further study.

Recommendations

Based on this study, I would like to make a few recommendations to foreign language

teachers about dealing with foreign language anxiety in the classroom. First of all, because the


study of this anxiety is fairly new, not much is known about it effects in the high school

classroom. For this reason (and to ensure maximum learning for your students) it is important to

create an environment that does not foster foreign language anxiety.

First of all, because classroom environment is an important factor in foreign language

anxiety, it is imperative to create a classroom with a warm community atmosphere. Specifically,

students cannot make fun of others: they must respect one another. This is true of any classroom,

but it holds deeper meaning in the foreign language classroom due to the possibility of this

anxiety. The students must all understand that they are all learning a new language and will have

difficulties doing this. A foreign language classroom must support and encourage respectful

behaviors towards others to promote fairness and a sense of trust. Students must learn to accept,

not criticize, everyone’s mistakes.

Secondly, students need to know that self-expression in the target language is not always

easy. The teacher must express this idea as perfectly acceptable since learning language is so

challenging. It is the instructor’s job to communicate this along with the strategies to achieve self

expression in the target language. Foreign language teachers must discuss realistic goals with the

students. They must also guide them towards effective communication by teaching them to use

strategies such as circumlocution to overcome an unknown vocabulary word when speaking. By

teaching students skills such as this, they will gain the confidence and abilities that are necessary

to take risks when speaking in the foreign language.

Lastly, if one suspects students with foreign language anxiety, it is necessary to intervene so

that those students can advance as much as possible in the foreign language. This study mentions

several different methods to decrease anxiety in the classroom: it is simply necessary to try one

to learn which ones are effective. From my experience with the class discussion on foreign


language anxiety, I recommend only conducting this in a small group setting, even perhaps only

with the students in higher levels of French. From what I experienced, not all students can handle

a discussion on foreign language anxiety. If addressing this situation with a large group of

students, some of the more indirect methods (group activities, etc.) will probably prove more

beneficial to decrease foreign language anxiety.

Personal Plan of Action

With this study I now realize that foreign language anxiety is an obstacle that some of my

students may face in the classroom. First of all, to help deal with this problem I will create a

classroom environment that does not allow students to intimidate one another. The most

important aspect of this will be to create a classroom with a warm community atmosphere. As

the students’ teacher, I will model respectful behaviors towards all of my students in order to

promote fairness and a sense of trust. This trust will be an integral part in allowing the students

to take risks and communicate in the target language. Hopefully in doing this, my students will

accept everyone’s mistakes rather than make fun of them. Also, to guide the students towards a

sense of belonging, I will plan activities that allow the students to talk in small groups or with

partners to help them get to know each other.

A second way to deal with the threat of this problem is by openly expressing that making

mistakes is a part of learning and using a foreign language. To do this I plan to talk the students

through discovering correct answers for themselves (a confidence builder) when they are unsure

or incorrect. Also helpful is to point out what is correct about a student’s response rather than to

say it is wrong with it. Furthermore, I will gently correct the students’ spoken errors by not

always directly saying that a specific student pronounced something incorrectly: an effective way


around this type of error correction is to have the whole class repeat the correct way to

pronounce a word.

Also, I plan to emphasize to my students realistic goals and procedures for learning and

using French. To accomplish this, I will explain to them that they will have to work hard.

Students often expect to pick up on a language very easily in a short amount of time. I will

emphasize to them that in reality, this is not the case. I will emphasize that that it takes time and

practice to speak fluently in any language. To ensure that my students gain confidence in their

French speaking abilities, I will provide them with plentiful opportunities to practice the

language. Providing practice using French will allow the students to discover for themselves that

they can become fluent in French with work and patience.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter I summarized my study on foreign language anxiety, presented

recommendations for other foreign language teachers, and discussed my plan of action for future

teaching based on the findings of this study. Overall, the main ideas in the recommendations and

plan of action deal with the importance of three main topics: creating a classroom with a warm

community atmosphere, emphasizing that self-expression in the target language is not always

easy and helping students advance as much as possible in the foreign language when this anxiety

is suspected.


References

Casado, M. A., & Dershiwisky, M. I. (2001). Foreign language anxiety of university students.

College Student Journal, 35 (4), 539-549.

Cheng, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D.L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing

and speaking components. Language Learning, 49 (3), 417-446.

Ganschow, L. & Sparks, R. (1996). Anxiety about foreign language learning among high school

women. The Modern Language Journal, 80 (2), 199-212.


Gregersen, T. & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-

anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern

Language Journal, 86 (4) 562-570.

Han, L. Y. (2003). A study of secondary three students’ language anxiety. Unpublished master’s

thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Retrieved February 16, 2006 from

http://www.arkwebshost.com/family/swiftlet/chp2.htm

Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied

Linguistics, 21, 112-126.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern

Language Journal, 70 (2), 125-132.

Levine, G. S. (2003). Student and instructor beliefs and attitudes about target language use, first

language use, and anxiety: Report of a questionnaire study. Modern Language Journal,

87 (3), 343-364.

MacIntyre, P. D. (1995). How does anxiety affect second language learning? A reply to Sparks

and Ganschow. Modern Language Journal, 79 (1), 90-99.

MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., Clément, R., & Donovan, L. A. (2002). Sex and age effects on

willingness to communicate, anxiety, perceived competence, and L2 motivation among

junior high school French immersion students. Langauge Learning, 52 (3) 537-564.

MacIntyre, P. D., Noels, K. A. & Clément, R. (1997). Biases in self-ratings of second language

proficiency: The role of language anxiety. Language Learning, 47 (2), 265-287.

Nascente, R. M. (2001). Practical ways to help anxious learners. Retrieved February 16, 2006

from http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/anxious.html


Office of Curriculum and Instruction (2004). Ohio K-12 foreign language academic content

standards. Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Education.

Ommagio-Hadley, A. (2001). On teaching a language: Principles and priorities in methodology.

In Teaching languages in context (3rd. ed.) (pp. 86-138). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, A., & Daley, C. E. (2000). Correlates of anxiety at three stages of

the foreign language learning process. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 19,

(4) 474-490.

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

anxiety. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20 (2), 217-239.

Rodriguez, M., & Abreu, O. (2003). The Stability of general foreign language classroom anxiety

across English and French. Modern Language Journal, 87 (3), 365-374.

Sanchez,-Herrero, S. A. & Sanchez, M. (1992). The Predictive validation of an instrument

designed to measure student anxiety in learning a foreign language. Educational &

Psychological Measurement, 52 (4), 961-966.

Von Wörde, R. W. (2003). Students’ perspectives on foreign language anxiety. Inquiry, 8 (1).

Retrieved February 16, 2006 from http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry-spring2003/i-81-

worde.html

Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language

anxiety research suggest? Modern Language Journal, 75 (4), 426-439.


Appendix A

Pilot Study Report

Purpose of Study

The purpose of my study was to examine student reluctance and anxiety in the foreign

language classroom to speak in the target language. Specifically, I examined students’ use of

spoken French in French II and French III classes. I wanted to examine whether students are

reluctant or anxious in using spoken French in the classroom and what, if any, factors might lead


this. Also, I wanted to focus on the idea of Foreign Language Anxiety affecting students’

participation in speaking in the classroom. In today’s society where communicative competence

is increasingly important in learning a language, these concepts become increasingly relevant.

After all, without adequate practice in the classroom, will foreign language students really

become fluent in their target language? This topic is important for me to examine since oral

communication is such a crucial aspect of learning a foreign language.

Problem Statement

Throughout my observations thus far of high school second and third year French classes, I

have noticed that some students are reluctant to speak in this language. The students often begin

speaking in English rather than attempting to speak in French: it seems that this occurs especially

when they are uncertain of the correctness of their responses. Also, I have often had difficulties

getting the students to volunteer spoken responses (especially at the second-year level) in French

during speaking activities at the beginning of class. Rather than automatically speaking in

English, these students should at least try to communicate in French so that they can become

comfortable using the language. These behaviors seemed strange to me since I know through my

learning experiences that communication in French is one of the best ways to become

accustomed to speaking this language.

Research Questions

With the mentioned observations in mind, I formulated the following questions to help me

examine this topic more thoroughly:

2. a. How many students are reluctant to speak French in the classroom?

b. Why are these students reluctant to speak French in the classroom?


c. Does foreign language anxiety affect student communication in the classroom? If it

affects communication, how does it do this?

d. What possible factors create anxiety for students in speaking French in the

classroom?

3. What are the effects of an anxiety-decreasing intervention on decreasing the

reluctance to speak French in the foreign language classroom?


In order to collect data that would help me study these research questions, I used various

research methods including a survey, two questionnaires, and passive observation. I collected

this information on high school students in second and third-year French at my practicum site.

These students range from the ninth grade through the twelfth grade. There were a total of 91

students that completed the survey and 60 students that responded to the first open-ended

question. There were 95 students that completed the second open-ended question. Based on their

responses to the survey and questionnaires, I picked one student from each class (five students in

all) to observe. The students completed the survey and first questionnaire on September 28

during the beginning of French class during first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh periods. During

these same periods, the students completed the second questionnaire on October 3. I observed the

chosen five students for about two weeks on October 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th during these same

times at the same location.

Through the survey and first questionnaire I tried to understand my research questions by

asking these students about how they feel when speaking French in class. I got some ideas from

questions taken from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, &

Cope, 1986) in constructing these survey questions. At the end of this survey I combined an


open-ended question that I refer to as Questionnaire # 1 (see Appendix A for the survey and

questionnaire). Through this survey and questionnaire, I tried to find specific details about what

makes (or has made) the students feel anxious or uncomfortable when speaking French in class.

After distributing the survey and questionnaire, I realized that it might also be helpful to

explore what makes the students feel comfortable speaking in French. So, to accomplish this, I

also gave the students another open-ended question (a modified version of Questionnaire # 1)

asking those students who feel comfortable speaking French in class to identify positive factors

and those who feel uncomfortable speaking French in class to identify the negative factors

leading to these feelings (see Appendix B for Questionnaire # 2). The reason behind this

modified version of Questionnaire # 1 was to find out possible factors leading to both feeling

comfortable and uncomfortable speaking French in class.

The third method used as a means to collect data was passive observation. Based on the

results of the survey and questionnaire, I chose one student per class who responded on the

survey as being anxious when speaking in French. I focused on this student during each class to

see how he or she communicated during spoken exercises in class. I noted specific behaviors

such as volunteering responses, speaking in English and withdrawal from activity that Young

(1991) identifies as illustrating foreign language anxiety.


The data were organized by applying codes to the questionnaires and field notes and by

deriving percentages for survey answers. The survey questions were also grouped by the codes

for further comparison. For simplicity in this pilot study, I only analyzed data from one of the

French classes, specifically, a second-year class. This analysis includes 22 surveys, 13 responses

to Questionnaire # 1, 24 responses to Questionnaire # 2, and 1 observed student.


To analyze the questionnaires and organize the survey questions, the following deductive

codes were used based on Young’s (1991) description of some of the sources of language

learning anxiety. These sources of anxiety can be summarized as follows:

Personal and Interpersonal issues: This source of anxiety is most often seen through low

self-esteem and classroom competitiveness, such as when students compare themselves

with others in the classroom or with a non-realistic image of how they should perform.

These issues also relate to believing that language skills are weak and worrying about

what others think.

Learner beliefs- This source of language learning anxiety deals with the different “…

practices learners believe are important for successful language learning” (Young, 1991,

p. 428). Young states that pronunciation is one of the most popular of these student

beliefs for learning a language. Other examples of these practices include “…vocabulary,

classroom conjugation, communication, the memorization of grammar…” (p. 428) as

well as other beliefs.

Instructor-learner interactions: This potential cause of language learning anxiety can be

summarized as “the manner in which a teacher corrects a student’s use of the target

language. It also includes a student’s concerns about responding incorrectly in front of

classmates and simply “…looking or sounding dumb” (Young, 1991, p. 429).

Classroom procedures: This cause of anxiety deals with “…having to speak in the target

language in front of a group” (Young, 1991, p. 429). It also includes activities such as

performing skits, oral quizzes, or being called on to answer a question. In this category, I

also included the idea of classroom atmosphere.


To analyze the observation data, I looked for themes in my field notes based on the

deductive codes of some of Young’s (1991) “…manifestations of foreign language anxiety” (p.

430) that include activities such as “…avoiding eye contact, joking…avoiding activities in class

…acting indifferent … and avoiding having to speak in the foreign language in class” (p. 430).

Results of Analysis

In order to examine my baseline questions (parts a, b, and c) I applied some of the data from

the survey. First of all, how many students are reluctant to speak in French? I found that more

students do not feel that they participate in class by speaking in French while most students are

unsure; in fact, only about 13 percent of students feel that they participate by speaking in French

more often the in English. The undecided and disagree statements are very close in percentages,

so this shows that a huge majority of students do not speak French more than English (see figure

1). Also, does anxiety affect communication in the foreign language classroom? I found that half

of the students do not feel nervous to give responses in French while a little over a third (36

percent) does feel nervous. It appears that anxiety does affect communication, at least to some

extent, in the foreign language classroom.

Figure 1: These two pie charts illustrate the percentages of student responses to questions 1

and 2 of the survey (see Appendix A).


I also found that most students (59 percent) from this class are not nervous about classmates

judging their ability to speak in the language. Interestingly, though, is that about half of the

students (54.5 percent) would rather use English if they feel they will make mistakes in French

(see figure 2). So, why are these students reluctant to speak French? Based on these results, I find

it surprising that the students would try to avoid using French (in order to avoid making

mistakes) since they do not feel that classmates would judge their abilities to speak in the

language. So, this idea also leads to the question of what factors might create anxiety for these

students in speaking French? It appears that since these students would rather use English to

avoid mistakes in French, the act of making spoken mistakes would be a factor. These results

bring about some other interesting questions such as: Is this reluctance to speak French due to a

self-esteem issue? Why would the students fear making mistakes so much if they are not worried

that classmates would judge their abilities?

Figure 2: These graphs represent the percentages of student responses to questions 3 and 4

of the survey (see Appendix A).


Other patterns derived from the survey were also interesting. I found that most students (63

percent) do not seem bothered by being corrected when speaking. Also, student attitudes show

that half the students volunteer responses in French (see figure 3). These results illustrate that the

students probably at least feel adequate in speaking French given their attitudes towards teacher

corrections and volunteering answers. So, given these results, these classroom procedures are

probably not a major cause of reluctance to speak French in this classroom; neither of these

variables seems to intimidate most students, though some are negatively affected. In a French

classroom, these results are important to consider since learning a foreign language requires

individual participation (such as volunteering).

Figure 3: These two graphs illustrate the percentages of student responses to statements 5

and 6 of the student survey (see Appendix A).


Based on the codes applied to the questionnaires, many interesting patterns surfaced about

the possible factors leading to (or preventing) anxiety in speaking French in the classroom. As

far as Personal and Interpersonal issues illustrate, the main concern in this category from those

students uncomfortable speaking French was a belief of weak language and understanding skills.

Many of the students felt they were weak in the subject’s content, such as in the case of not

knowing the material. For the students who were comfortable speaking French, the majority of

their answers illustrated confidence in speaking French. Based on Learner beliefs, the students

who felt uncomfortable speaking French illustrated a repeated concern about not knowing

vocabulary and pronunciation while a pattern in the responses of those students that felt

comfortable was a positive attitude towards learning from making spoken mistakes. They

seemed to accept mistakes as a part of the learning process.

Also interesting are the results from the Instructor-learner interactions and Classroom

procedures codes. In the Instructor-learner interactions category, a repeated concern for the

students feeling uncomfortable speaking in French consisted of the ideas of looking stupid in

front of the class and answering questions incorrectly. For those students feeling comfortable, a

pattern was the idea of having effective teachers and teaching. In the Classroom procedures

category, concern for those students who felt uncomfortable speaking in French dealt with issues


such as being the only volunteer or having others looking directly at the speaker. For those

feeling comfortable, a positive and relaxed atmosphere was a recurring theme.

Table 1: The following table illustrates student responses to the questionnaires that are

organized in the codes of Personal and Interpersonal issues, Learner beliefs, Instructor-learner

interactions, and Classroom procedures.

Uncomfortable instances speaking French in class

Comfortable instances speaking French in class

Personal/Interpersonal Issues

“I just feel that I do it completely wrong & I feel that I’m not saying the right things to answer the question. I only feel good when I write something down.”

“I feel fine speaking in French because I’m good at speaking French.”

Learner beliefs

“I have felt uncomfortable speaking French in class because I feel like I cannot pronounce some of the words.”

“I feel comfortable speaking in French class because I don’t care if I need to be corrected & it will help me be a better French student.”

Instructor/Learner interactions

“I don’t want my teachers or friends to think that I’m stupid or have really bad pronunciation.”

“I feel comfortable speaking French because it is well explained by the teachers.”

Classroom procedures“It’s a little uncomfortable because no one else will raise their hand and you don’t want to be the only volunteer.”

“I have a positive feeling on this because the class seems very relaxed. I never have felt pressured in this class.”

In general, the factors that appear to influence foreign language speaking in this specific

classroom were pronunciation, confidence, the idea of “stupidity” exposed to the class, and the

idea of showing weakness in front of the class (see above table 1). Based on these patterns,

implications from the questionnaire responses show that overall, among the four codes applied to

the responses, Personal and Interpersonal issues and Instructor-learner interactions held the most

numerous responses. Focusing on these seemingly dominating factors creating anxiety or


reluctance to speak French in the classroom are the ideas of confidence (or a lack of) in French

language skills, a fear of the teacher (or fellow students) thinking the speaker is stupid, a fear of

teacher corrections, and the fear of responding incorrectly.

From the observation field notes of the single student analyzed, I found behavioral patterns

such as not participating in spoken activities and speaking in English. For example, on October

3rd, the student did not contribute to a class discussion and on October 5th the student did not

repeat vocabulary when the whole class was expected to do this. Also, the student often joked

around and reverted to English when working with a partner. For instance, on October 7th the

student spoke English when working with a partner on an oral comprehension exercise. On

October 12th the student also spoke in English during a review game.

These behaviors were expected because of the student’s responses on the survey. For

example, the student agreed with questions dealing with feeling nervous when asked to give a

response in French, speaking in English if mistakes are expected in French, and not volunteering

answers due to not being good at speaking French. Also, the student disagreed with speaking

more in French than in English. Given these answers, this student’s behaviors seem to be

consistent with the survey responses. This student’s behaviors exemplify how anxiety might

affect student communication in the foreign language classroom.

Concluding Statement

The purpose of my study was to examine student anxiety and reluctance to speak in the

target language in the foreign language classroom. In the study data were collected using a

survey, two questionnaires, and passive observation. Each of these methods generated data

useful in answering my baseline questions. To analyze the field notes and questionnaires, I

applied the deductive codes of learner beliefs, classroom procedures, personal and interpersonal


issues, and instructor/learner interactions. To analyze the surveys, I tallied stem answers and

produced percentages.

In comparing these data, I found the recurring themes of confidence and anxieties dealing

with speaking in front of a group to be strikingly important. These ideas are possibly major

factors contributing to student reluctance to speak French in class. Perhaps an intervention that

boosts confidence in this area would help ease student anxiety and increase spoken French in

class. My concern for the future is to identify an intervention that will accomplish these goals so

that I can examine the classroom results. In doing this, I would like to also explore other factors

of student reluctance to speak in the target language, specifically ones that exist outside of

anxiety. Since the short time that I began to examine this issue, I cannot identify Foreign

Language Anxiety as the main factor of student reluctance to speak French in class, but, based on

my research, it does appear to have some effect on student communication: this idea definitely

requires further study.

References

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M.B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern

Language Journal, 70, (2), 125-132.

Young, D.J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety

research suggest?. Modern Language Journal, 75, (4), 426-439.

Appendix B

Pilot Study Survey/Questionnaire # 1


Student Survey: Speaking in French Class

Answer the following questions by circling the answer (Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided,

Disagree, Strongly Disagree) that best describes you in French class:

1. I often feel nervous when called on to give a response in French.

SA A U D SD

2. I participate by speaking in French more often than in English.

SA A U D SD

3. I feel nervous speaking in French because I worry that my classmates will judge my ability to

speak.

SA A U D SD

4. I would rather speak in English if I feel I will make mistakes in French.

SA A U D SD

5. I feel discouraged or inadequate at speaking in French when I am corrected.

SA A U D SD

6. I often do not volunteer responses because I feel I am not good at speaking French.

SA A U D SD

Briefly explain the question if it applies to you:

If you ever feel (or have felt) anxious or uncomfortable speaking French in class, explain

what factors contribute(d) to this feeling.

Appendix C

Pilot Study Questionnaire #2


If you ever feel (or have felt) anxious or uncomfortable speaking French in class, explain what factors contribute(d) to this feeling. If this does not apply to you and you feel comfortable speaking French in class, explain what possible factors contribute to this positive feeling.______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Appendix D

Baseline Survey/Questionnaire


Answer the following questions by circling the corresponding answer that best describes you in French class: Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

1. I often feel nervous when called on to give a response using French.

SA A U D SD

2. During spoken activities, I participate by speaking French more often than English.

SA A U D SD

3. I often feel nervous speaking French in class because I worry that others will judge my ability

to speak the language.

SA A U D SD

4. I would rather speak English in class if I feel I will make mistakes using French.

SA A U D SD

5. I feel discouraged or inadequate using spoken French when the teacher corrects my grammar

and/or pronunciation.

SA A U D SD

6. I often do not volunteer responses because I am not good at speaking French.

SA A U D SD

7. During class activities I would speak French more in a small group setting as opposed to in a

large group setting.

SA A U D SD

If you normally feel anxious or uncomfortable speaking French in class, explain what factors might contribute to this feeling. If you normally feel comfortable speaking French in class, explain what possible factors contribute to this positive feeling of using the language.

Appendix E

Post-Intervention Survey/Questionnaire


After discussing foreign language anxiety as a class, answer the following questions by circling the corresponding answer that best describes you in French class: Strongly Agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

1. I often feel nervous when called on to give a response using French.

SA A U D SD

2. During spoken activities, I participate by speaking French more often than English.

SA A U D SD

3. I often feel nervous speaking French in class because I worry that others will judge my ability

to speak the language.

SA A U D SD

4. I would rather speak English in class if I feel I will make mistakes using French.

SA A U D SD

5. I feel discouraged or inadequate using spoken French when the teacher corrects my grammar

and/or pronunciation.

SA A U D SD

6. I often do not volunteer responses because I am not good at speaking French.

SA A U D SD

7. During class activities I would speak French more in a small group setting as opposed to in a

large group setting.

SA A U D SD

After discussing foreign language anxiety as a class, have your views or feelings about speaking French in class or learning a foreign language changed? What about your views about foreign language anxiety in general? Explain.

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