scholarly journals Washback Effects of Board-Based Speaking Tests

LETRAS ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 199-238
Author(s):  
Henry Sevilla Morales ◽  
Lindsay Chaves Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Sampling Strategies ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Foreign Language Programs

This study analyzes the opinions of a group of three English as a Foreign Language programs, on the washback effects of board-based oral tests on the students’ language proficiency and foreign language anxiety levels, and on the professors’ instructional choices and decision making. With purposive sampling strategies and triangulation techniques, strong washback effects on learners’ foreign language anxiety levels and professors’ instructional choices, with lesser effects on learners’ proficiency levels and instructors’ decision making, were identied.

scholarly journals Factors associated with foreign language anxiety

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinxing Jin ◽  
Kees de Bot ◽  
Merel C.J. Keijzer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
The Social ◽  
Foreign Language Proficiency ◽  
Status Data

This paper reports a study that investigates and compares the effects of foreign language proficiency, social status of a learner’s family, self-esteem, and competitiveness on FL anxiety. Chinese university students (N = 146), who were learning Japanese and English, participated in this study. Social status data were collected once with the Social Status Scale. Other variables were measured twice over a two-month interval, using the Competitiveness Index, the Self-esteem Scale, the English/Japanese Classroom Anxiety Scale, and the English/Japanese Proficiency Scale. Results showed that foreign language proficiency, competitiveness, and self-esteem all significantly predicted foreign language anxiety levels. Foreign language proficiency was the best predictor, followed by self-esteem, then competitiveness. A negative relationship was revealed between these predictor variables and foreign language anxiety. Social status was not related to foreign language anxiety, either directly or indirectly.

Assessing young learners’ foreign language abilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Nikolov ◽  
Veronika Timpe-Laughlin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Foreign Language Programs ◽  
The Impact

AbstractGiven the exponential growth in the popularity of early foreign language programs, coupled with an emphasis of evidence-based instruction, assessing young learners’ (YLs) foreign language abilities has moved to center stage. This article canvasses how the field of assessing young learners of foreign languages has evolved over the past two decades. The review offers insights into how and why the field has developed, how constructs have been defined and operationalized, what language proficiency frameworks have been used, why children were assessed, what aspects of their foreign language proficiency have been assessed, who was involved in the assessment, and how the results have been used. By surveying trends in foreign language (FL) and content-based language learning programs involving children between the ages of 3 and 14, the article highlights research into assessment of and for learning, and critically discusses areas such as large-scale assessments and proficiency examinations, comparative and experimental studies, the impact of assessment, teachers’ beliefs and assessment practices, young learners’ test-taking strategies, age-appropriate tasks, alternative and technology-mediated assessment, as well as game-based assessments. The final section of the article highlights where more research is needed, thus outlining potential future directions for the field.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety and Communicative Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-207
Author(s):  
Atta M. Hamamorad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Communicative Performance ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Efl Students

The current study investigates foreign language anxiety among Kurdish EFL students and its consequences on their communicative performance. An investigative quantitative approach was used to conduct this study. A Total number of two hundred (200) EFL learners with different language proficiency levels from three different universities; University of Halabja and Sulaimani university in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and University of Kurdistan in Iran, were selected to participate in this study. For the purpose of obtaining necessary information and data, a face-to-face assessment, in small groups of 4 was conducted during students’ class time in which their communicative performance based on accuracy, fluency, vocabulary, and pronunciation was evaluated and recorded. Additionally, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire was adapted and the target population were requested to respond to the statements presented in the questionnaire. The findings of the research taken from a structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that all components of Communicative Performance were in a negative and significant correlation with anxiety.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Anxiety in Higher Education: A Practical Framework for Reducing FLA

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamad H. Alsowat
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
English Major ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed at investigating foreign language anxiety level and the factors affecting the anxiety among Saudi English major students at Taif University and exploring the impact of gender and academic level in this regard. It also examined the relationship between anxiety and language proficiency in the Saudi context. Two questionnaires, a modified version of FLCAS (Horwitz et al., 1986) and IFLAF, were administered to 373 English major students (205 male and 168 female). The results revealed that Saudi English major students had moderate level of anxiety. The highest provoking causes of students' anxiety were worrying about consequences of failing, forgetting things they knew and feeling uneasiness during language tests. The analyses of the variables related to foreign language anxiety revealed a significant negative correlation between language anxiety and language proficiency (grammar, speaking, writing, reading and GPA). Gender did not have a significant impact on foreign language anxiety in the current study. Finally, the academic level of students did not affect the level of anxiety indicating that all students, despite their academic level, suffer from the same level of anxiety. The study suggested an EFL practical Model to reduce the negative effects of anxiety. Suggestions and further research were presented.

Foreign language anxiety of an Ecuadorian polytechnic university’s English undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Estrella
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Clear Idea ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis research aimed to identify the levels of stress students experience, the different sources that generate them and the relationship between the stress levels and the students' gender.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods design was used, focusing on the quantitative stage. The qualitative section was designed to obtain supporting information. 86 Ecuadorian undergraduate polytechnic students enrolled in an English course took part in this study. Quantitative data are obtained using the Telecollaborative Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (T-FLAS), while online interviews supply insight from students.FindingsThe present research identified four types of anxiety related to emergency remote teaching (ERT). Communication anxiety is one of them that has also been found in regular foreign language classes (Horowitz et al., 1986). However, the actual contribution is regarding the other three sources of ERT-related anxiety: Online interaction anxiety, ERT anxiety and technology anxiety. Also, it was identified that girls experience higher anixety levels than men do.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study is the T-FLAS, a tool that has not been widely used. However, as Fondo and Jacobetty (2020) reported, other papers have made use of this novel tool. Another limitation to this research is the number of participants; although it is not very small, it might not be considered large enough for generalization purposes. Also, this study was limited by its scope, which only looked at the relationship between the students' genders and anxiety levels.Practical implicationsFirst, this researcher recommends that language departments use the survey at the beginning of each semester. That way, there will be a clear idea of the sources of anxiety students are experiencing, and measures can be taken to lower those anxiety-causing factors. Also, this study shows students experiencing a high level of anxiety when they are required to interact with their peers using a foreign language. Thus, supplying practice through guided discussions and role-plays should allow learners to reduce their anxiety levels and perform better during these kinds of exchanges in the short term.Social implicationsAnother issue reported by this study is the feelings of uneasiness when turning cameras on to do an exercise or taking quizzes and exams, as learners feel like their classmates and teachers are invading their homes. It is recommended that the Student Welfare Department of the educational institutions deal with this and other issues. They can design intervention, relaxation and yoga programs for students who are feeling anxious to help them lower those feeling and allow them to have better interactions in class during these times of remote learning.Originality/valueThis paper's originality lies in the fact that it looks at anxiety from the point of view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the move it had to be made to the digital realm. It identifies three factors that are new and related 100% to emergency remote teaching–learning. It is also valuable as it is looking at data emerging for a South American country, as data are scarce from this continent and especially from Ecuador.

scholarly journals Investigating the Role of Foreign Language Anxiety in Explicit and Implicit L2 Knowledge

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 365
Author(s):  
Runhan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Course Grades ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
Negative Role ◽  
Self Assessments

Empirical studies have provided evidence for the negative role of foreign language anxiety in language proficiency measured via final course grades, self-assessments, objective language tests, and GPAs. However, its role in language proficiency from the perspective of explicit and implicit L2 knowledge is under-investigated. The current study therefore investigates the relationship between foreign language anxiety and explicit and implicit L2 knowledge in an English as a foreign language context. Participants were 156 university-level non-English majors. The results of the t test and multiple regression analyses showed that foreign language anxiety has a negative role in implicit L2 knowledge and also can predict it, but it was not found to have a significantly negative role in explicit L2 knowledge. The nature of the tests and knowledge may account for the results.

A Pilot Study of Correlation between Trait Anxiety and Foreign Language Anxiety in a Bilingual Classroom

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-23
Author(s):  
Julia Andryushkina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Foreign Language Proficiency

Empirical studies have shown that most of the students who start learning a second / foreign language experience a “debilitative” level of foreign language anxiety which can hinder language acquisition. The main goal of this study was to investigate the correlation between trait anxiety and foreign language anxiety. Another objective was to see whether there is any relationship between age, gender, level of the foreign language proficiency, and both types of anxiety. Fifty-one students of English as a foreign language participated in this pilot study. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory developed by Spielberger were used to collect the data. The results of the survey were statistically analyzed with the main descriptive statistics of both the general sample and various subsamples based on age, gender, and level of the foreign language proficiency. The result of the pilot study revealed no significant correlation between trait anxiety and foreign language anxiety. Besides, the results demonstrated that males and females were equally affected by both types of anxiety. According to the data, first-year students were primarily concerned about tests and negative evaluation by others; second-year students were mainly afraid to communicate in a foreign language; while anxious third-year students tended to feel less competent than their fellow students. Thus, our pilot study suggests that foreign language anxiety is not limited to psychological or linguistic contexts: it should be considered comprehensively, along with other psychological, pedagogical, linguistic, and psycholinguistic factors.

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