How does learner anxiety or "communication apprehension" affect foreign language learning? What is your experience as a learner? Have you ever felt such anxiety? Can anxiety play a positive role in learning? What can be done to alleviate anxiety in the classroom?
I definitely see anxiety as a speed bump, or a possible barrier for foreign language learners to overcome, especially at the high school age. I see it as I am standing in front of the classroom now, that students do not want to be called out, and (probably more importantly) do not want to look stupid in front of their peers. In turn, this makes students fear speaking out loud because the chances of them making a mistake in a foreign language are very high. However, making mistakes is a natural part of learning a foreign language and becoming fluent.
Although it seems obvious to me, most students don't seem to understand that speaking is a necessary part of practicing and learning a foreign language. Now that I am teaching, it is even more evident to me that high school students not only avoid speaking, but they also do a lot to get out of answering questions. This avoidance combined with the teacher's knowledge about the importance of speaking means that students are often going to be randomly called on in class. I have noticed in my classes that I teach that the honors classes require less prompting than many of the college prep classes.
Personally, I wasn't terribly concerned about making mistakes when I was learning French in high school. Because I wasn't afraid to make mistakes, I wasn't hesitant to speak, but (if I remember correctly) there were many times that other students in my classes wouldn't speak. I know that I wasn't worried about speaking, making mistakes, and wondering what my classmates thought about me, and that was mostly accredited to my French teachers. They provided us with a very comfortable learning environment, and would not allow or encourage students to mock or make fun of others.
This is one of the best things that teachers can do constantly throughout the year. Teachers that encourage discussion and ban any discouraging remarks are providing students with a comfortable and safe learning environment.
While I never got anxious about speaking French in class, I occasionally get anxious or stressed about other topics related to school. I think that being anxious has helped me in that I prepare myself more, and (generally) succeed in the end. While I am hesitant to say that anxiety is good, I know that I try to avoid that feeling, and try to be extremely prepared. However, I am not sure how well students can get around the anxiety associated with speaking a foreign language; rather, I think that comfort comes as the students speak more.
My experience tells me that sometimes speaking anxiety comes from peers; especially at the advanced level. While students are more enthusiastic about speaking L2, they also are more self-conscious and afraid of making mistakes in front of their peers. Outside the classroom, they usually feel comfortable using L2, such as in Hora del Café (Coffee Hour) or informal social gatherings. At the beginning level, students usually do not know what to say, as their linguistic abilities are fairly limited. There are a lots of things that the teacher can do to reduce speaking anxiety, such as pair or small group work. Here is an interesting article about using asynchronous oral recordings to reduce language anxiety: http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2014/mcneil.pdf
ReplyDeleteI think that certainly is true. Students are very aware of the other students that are listening to them speak their L2, and that often makes them feel very self-conscious. I have noticed in my internship that a lot of the high schoolers (girls in particular) are very conscious of what others think and say about them. This makes a lot of students shut down and feel anxious.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that students are anxious of judgement by their peers (who are usually on equal grounds with their skills), instead of by their teacher (who knows the language and decides their fate, ie. grade in the class) I wouldn't have suspected that, but perhaps I have been lucky enough to have a very supportive group of peers throughout my years of learning! I suppose that any students who are susceptible to "peer pressure" or who feel apprehensive about the way other students view them will continue to have these same problems in the FL classroom.
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