reducing learners’ language anxiety: bridging the gap between research and practice by angelica...
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Reducing Learners’ Language Anxiety: Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice
by Angelica GalanteBrock University
Copyright Galante, Angelica (2010). This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
AGENDA
Warm-up: Have you ever heard these comments?
Defining language anxiety
What research on language anxiety suggest
Talking about students’ fears: BALLI and FLCAS
Bridging the gap: activities that reduce language anxiety
levels
Oral evaluation
Case studies analysis
Conclusion
References
Warming-up
“I sweat every time I have to speak English with a native speaker”
“I hate speaking English in front of the class”
“My heart starts beating faster every time my teacher asks me a
question”
“I am ashamed of speaking English because of my accent”
“I always feel that other students are more at ease to speak than
me”
“I get upset that I just cannot verbalize what I’m thinking”
“People might think I’m stupid because I can’t express my
thoughts in English”
Research on language anxiety
Research on language anxiety (Philips, 1999; MacIntyre, 1999; Arnold & Brown, 1999; Dornyei, 2005; Woodrow, 2006) has repeatedly shown that it has a negative impact on L2 learners’ performance, especially during speaking practices.
Talking about students’ fears
Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)
designed by Elaine K. Horwitz (1987)
used to generate classroom discussion about the language
learning process
E.g.: Some people have a special ability for learning foreign
languages.
1 2 3 4 5
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)
designed by Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope (1986)
used to identify students who are mostly likely to suffer from language anxiety related to
speaking L2.
E.g.: I tremble when I know that I'm going to be called on in
language class.
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree
Strongly disagree
Conversation gambits
“Oh, really?”
“Sorry, I don’t get it.”
“Say that again, please.”
“It’s a beautiful day, eh?”
“By the way, …”
“Actually, …”
“Are you serious?”
“No kidding!”
“You know what I mean?”
helps learners carry on a more ‘natural’ conversation and help
build a sense of community in the classroom by the use of
common communicative vocabulary
Cued response
Activity: Imagine your plans for this weekend. Decide whether you’re going to do these activities. Add more of your own if you like.
Wake up early: “I’m going to wake up early on Saturday”
Have dinner out: “I’m not going to have diner out.”
Meet friends: “I’m going to meet my friends”
Watch a movie: “I’m going to watch a movie”
Add more: “I’m not going to work this weekend…”
helps learners, especially in the early stages of learning, to
alleviate the frustration that occurs when they have to focus both
on meaning and on form
Information Gap
Activity: Find out where the international students come from
and in which countries they lived and traveled in.
Student A Student B
helps learners to build a sense of community. The final product was built as a team, rather than individual answers
Name comes from
lived in traveled in
Mariette Belgium Germany
Fahrid USA
Kofi Quebec Manitoba
Name comes from
lived in
traveled in
Mariette Spain
Fahrid Morocco Algeria
Kofi Colombia
Interviews and surveys
Activity: Find someone who...
a. stayed at home Saturdayb. saw a good film last week
c. went out last nightd. didn’t sleep well last night
e. arrived on time for class today
helps learners have a great deal of practice, which lowers L2 oral anxiety
Improvising dialogues
Activity: In pairs, students receive two lines of a dialogue. They work together and come up with a possible dialogue. They are allowed some time to rehearse it before presenting it to the class.
E.g.: I never thought I’d be in a situation like this!
Who said I liked apples?
helps learners work cooperatively with peers; gives them an
opportunity to rehearse their speech; allows them to get
used to presenting in front of other students; if an element
of comedy is introduced it helps break the ice
Helping lower students’ level of anxiety during oral tests
Provide students’ with ample opportunities for oral practice in class
Use the same types of activities students have practiced in class
Test students’ in pairs or small groups
Role-plays are excellent tools for evaluating communicative
competence
Humorous role-play could be incorporated into the testing situation
Teachers need to re-evaluate the evaluation instrument itself: test
communicative competence and not only accuracy
Students’ test anxiety may be lower if they are aware that their
communicative competence will be rewarded
Case 1: Kim’s a 13 year-old from Korea studying ESL in Canada.
She rarely makes oral contributions in class as she says she prefers
to listen. She once told the teacher that she starts to panic when
she has to speak without any preparation in class.
Case 2: Luis is a 42 year-old from Colombia studying EFL in his
country. He is a successful manager in a multinational company and
wants to be able to speak English fluently with his clients. However,
Luis is very shy and feels “stupid” when he speaks in front of his
peers.
Case 3: Sonya is a 35 year-old woman who has recently
immigrated to Canada from Poland. She wants to learn English so
she can work as a nurse. She’s attending a LINC course (level 1) and
every time the teacher asks Sonya to make contributions in the
class, she starts sweating and trembling. She also says she’s afraid
of speaking English with native speakers.
Concluding…
Teachers are encouraged to be aware of students’ anxiety about
language learning to better help them manage their anxiety.
Activities that help learners cooperate and depend on their
peers foster an environment conducive to the development of
community.
Learners feel more at ease and willing to be engaged in oral
activities if there is a more relaxing environment in the class.
Maintaining the development of communicative competence is a
tool to help learners lower their level of anxiety. Provide students’
with ample opportunities for oral practice in class
Providing the opportunity for learners to face their “fears” is more
important than simply “protecting them from speaking in L2”
References
Arnold, J. & Brown, H. (1999). Introduction: A map of the terrain. In Arnold, J. (Ed.) Affect in Language Learning (pp. 1-24). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Dornyei, Z. (2005). The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125‐132.
Horwitz, E. K. (1987). Surveying student beliefs about language learning. In A. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 119–129). Englewood Cliffs, NY: Prentice Hall
MacIntyre, P. D. (1999). Language anxiety: a review of the research for language teachers. In Young, D. (Ed.) Affect in Foreign Language and Second Language Learning: A Practical Guide to Creating a Low Anxiety Classroom Atmosphere (pp. 24-45). Boston: McGraw- Hill.
Phillips, E.M. (1999). Decreasing Language Anxiety: Practical techniques for oral activities. In D.J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 124–143). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal, 37(3), 308–328.