Journal Article

L2 anxiety and the foreign language reading anxiety scale: Listening to the evidence

Sparks, Richard L., Luebbers, Julie, Patton, Jon

2018

Overview

Second language (L2) educators have proposed a unique anxiety for general L2 learning and an anxiety specific to L2 reading. Since the early 1990s, the L2 anxiety concept has been challenged on theoretical and empirical grounds. In this investigation, U.S. high school L2 learners were administered the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and measures of first language (L1) skills, L1 phonological memory and working memory, L1 print exposure, L1 reading attitudes, L1 metacognitive ability, L2 aptitude, and L2 achievement, then were followed through 2 to 3 years of Spanish. Results showed that the FLRAS explained significant unique variance in most L1 skills and L2 aptitude. Hierarchical regressions showed that the FLRAS explained growth in L2 achievement from first‐ to second‐ to third‐year Spanish. Findings suggest that the FLRAS is likely to measure individual differences in or self‐perceptions of students’ language learning skills rather than a specific anxiety for L2 learning. Implications for the teaching of L2s to U.S. students are discussed. The Challenge Language anxiety is thought to help or hinder U.S. students’ learning in L2 courses. But does it? This article presents results showing that language anxiety on an L2 reading anxiety scale is more likely to represent individual differences in students’ language skills.

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell,American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
• Subject: Academic achievement / Anxiety / Aptitudes / Classrooms / Cognitive ability / College Students / Communication (Thought Transfer) / Educational psychology / foreign language anxiety / Foreign language learning / Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) / Foreign languages / High School Students / Individual Differences / Language / Language acquisition / Language Aptitude / Language attitudes / Language Skills / Learning / Learning Processes / Likert Scales / Measures / Measures (Individuals) / Metacognition / Native Language / Perceptions / Phonological memory / Phonology / Reading achievement / Reading Comprehension / Reading preferences / Reading Skills / Reading-writing relationship / Researchers / Second Language Instruction / Second Language Learning / Second language reading / Secondary schools / Self Concept / Short Term Memory / Skills / Spanish / Spanish as a second language learning / Student attitudes / Students / Teachers / Teaching / Teaching Methods