Students' voices on foreign language anxiety.
Academic Exchange Quarterly; 3/22/2004; Dosaka, Junko
Abstract
This paper discusses two anxious learners' perceptions of themselves in Japanese class:
fear of miscommunication, fear of failure, and ideal learners vs. themselves, which
often led them to feel inferior. This paper suggests the importance to consider learners
holistically.
Introduction
The Japanese language has become the fifth most commonly taught language since
1990 (Survey of Foreign Language Registrations in U.S. Institutions of Higher
Education, cited in Samimy 1994, Samimy and Tabuse 1992). However, the attrition
rate of students who take Japanese classes has become "as much as eighty percent"
(Mills, Samuels, & Sherwood, 1987, cited in Samimy 1994). Samimy maintains that
one of the reasons contributing to a high attrition rate would be the "degree of
difficulty of the Japanese language itself" (ibid: 29). According to the United States
Foreign Service Institute, Japanese is categorized in Group IV, the most difficult
languages to master. Because of its level of difficulty, the Japanese language can be
expected to trigger learners' FL anxiety (Samimy 1994: 29). Some researchers claim
that this FL anxiety hinders students' success in class (Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope
1986, MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991, 1995). MacIntyre and Gardner (1995) assert that
FL anxiety interferes with learners' short-term and long-term memories (P.93).
Although previous research considered all of the participants as one entity without
capturing individual characteristics, few studies have tuned into the students' actual
voices on FL anxiety issues. It is important to explore these issues from the learners'
perceptions of their social identity: how they view and categorize themselves and
others based on their linguistic and cultural characteristics.
Literature on Foreign Language Anxiety
In their study of FL anxiety, Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) find that students
who have FL anxiety are ubiquitous. The authors identify three contributing factors to
FL anxiety: 1) communication apprehension, which indicates when a person has
difficulty listening or speaking a FL in front of people; 2) test anxiety, which is a level
of nervousness during test-taking that causes students to answer wrongly even though
they know the correct answer; and 3) fear of negative evaluation, which is worry
about how others, peers and teachers, assess one's performance. My question concerns
where these fears originate. Horwitz et al. suggest that adult learners' FL anxiety
derives from "the disparity between the language learner's 'true-self and his/her 'more
limited self' as reflected in linguistic competence in FL class (1986: 128). McIntyre
and Gardner's (1991, 1995) research also suggests that anxiety interferes with the
learners' cognitive processing of the second language (L2). But does this
dichotomization fully explain the fear of all FL anxious students?
Literature on Social Identity Theory
Instead of dichotomization, there is a need to consider learners as a whole and situate
their social identity within how they perceive themselves. A key source of fear could
be the students' perceptions of their social identity as learners as well as those of the
target culture group. Tajfel (1974) defines social identity as how people categorize
themselves and others in "the given social context," through linguistic and behavioral
characteristics (cited in McNamara 1997: 562). McNamara further explains social
identity as not "fixed but dependent on (among many things) the particular intergroup
setting in which one finds oneself' (ibid: 564). Whether language students identify
themselves with the target culture group affects their motivation for learning. Whether
the students categorize themselves as successful learners also influences their
self-esteem, which relates to their level of confidence and FL anxiety. In this current
research/current study, I consider three issues of learners' anxiety problems relating to
their perceptions of their social identities: 1) if FL anxiety is related to social identity,
how do the anxious students view themselves and the target culture group? 2) If
anxiety is related to the learning environment, what sources in the environment make
the students anxious? 3) How is each of these factors related to FL anxiety?
Two Students
Two undergraduate students, Ji-young, a native Korean speaker, and John, a native
English speaker, were enrolled in the second-year Japanese class (1). They shared
their stories with me after I observed their drill classes. The second-year Japanese
course met five days a week for 50 minutes a day. An American professor lectured
about grammar and reading twice a week, occasionally using English. In the drill
sessions three days a week, associate instructors, using only Japanese, taught usage of
the previously introduced grammar, emphasizing communication skills. Students were
assigned to memorize core conversations from the textbook and performed them in
front of the class in most drill sessions. Students' oral performances of core
conversations and drill exercises were graded on a scale of zero to four on a daily
basis.
Ji-young's story
Ji-young and her family moved from Korea to Chicago six years ago. She was in her
sophomore year, studying accounting and Japanese. Ji-young had studied Japanese for
two semesters at a university in the U.S. She wanted to learn about Japanese culture
as well as the language because she hoped to work in Japan. Ji-young's main goal in
learning Japanese was to be able to speak fluently while earning a good grade (B or
above).
Ji-young's perception as a learner (social identity) Ji-young often told me that she was
a bad learner although she earned a grade of B at mid-term. She said she studied hard
every day; but, whenever she studied, she was scared and unhappy because "Japanese
[language] is kind of difficult." She perceived herself as inferior to all her other
classmates, believing that "everybody was doing well. They picked up grammar
patterns easily, but I was not a fast learner." Though Ji-young liked learning a foreign
language, and seemed to be intrinsically interested in learning Japanese, she felt she
still did not spend enough time studying. Although she felt like a 'member of the
group' in relation to her Japanese friends, Ji-young insisted that she belonged to the
American and Korean group. She took an observer's position when she viewed
Japanese people and culture.
Ji-young's feelings toward learning in Japanese class (learning environment) Due to
the nature of the practice section, Ji-young always had to speak Japanese in front of
others. Before an oral performance, Ji-young worried, "what if I don't do well."
During the performance she became nervous, but afterwards she felt good. She
described her problems of performing memorized core conversations as follows:
"Even though I memorized everything, when I performed, I forgot them because I
became nervous performing in front of people. When no one is there, I can do it."
Uncertainty also made Ji-young nervous and confused when she spoke in Japanese
class. She mentioned that "I don't know how to speak [the language] and whether I
speak it correctly." When she was called on in class, her face turned red and her heart
pounded.
She skipped words and forgot how to answer questions. Ji-young told me that exams
and oral performances made her nervous because of her grade concerns. She
repeatedly made such comments as "what if I forget the sentence" and "what if I don't
do well." She felt that her teachers were caring and kind, but Ji-young felt nervous in
class because other students were watching her, and her teachers were grading her
oral performances on the spot. She mentioned that "if they (teachers) didn't grade, I
probably wouldn't become nervous in speaking."
John's story
John was in his junior year at a university in the U.S., majoring in East Asian
Languages and Cultures. While he was living on the military base in Okinawa for
three years, he had taken one semester of a Japanese course offered by an American
university. Although he did not seriously learn the language in Okinawa, his living
experience there motivated him to master the language so that he could carry on a
conversation and understand others.
John' perception as a learner (social identity) He thought he could learn; however, he
believed that the harder he studied, the worse he became, which he described as a
"chain reaction." For instance, when he tried to memorize one Chinese character, he
forgot other characters. During the second semester of his Japanese class, he started
having difficulty understanding his Japanese teacher's instruction. John reflected that
the problem was the "mismatch between her level of Japanese and my proficiency
level. My energy level went down." John felt distant from Japanese people and the
culture because most of his Japanese friends left the campus. Even though he had
difficulty learning the Japanese language, John had a strong will to overcome his
learning problems. John told me that: "No matter what happens, my will power of
learning Japanese will not go down because I have a will, Samurai spirit. I believe in
yamato damashii (2), so I will not quit. I spent time in Japan. My major is East Asian
Languages and Cultures, concentrating on Japan. I have pride and fighting spirit. If I
am fighting, I can't quit."
John's feelings toward learning in Japanese class (learning environment) For John, the
most intimidating exercise in class was translating sentences out loud during the
lecture class. He recalled that "when I'm not prepared for it, and the professor
suddenly calls on me, I am scared and nervous." Despite his claim to a strong fighting
spirit, he expressed fear of possible miscommunication in Japanese: fear of
incomprehension of what the professor said. Although John thought he was
well-prepared for his oral exam (skit and questions), he still felt anxious because he
was uncertain about his teacher's questions after the skit. He believed that the harder
he studied the better he should become. However, the result was opposite of his
wishes.
Common Themes
Based on the conversations with Ji-young and John, some themes emerged. In social
identity, the emerging themes were sense of belonging and comparisons. In learning
environment, the prominent themes were fear of miscommunication and fear created
by image of failure. Ji-young identified herself with the American and Korean groups,
not with the Japanese group. John also felt distant from the Japanese group because
his Japanese friends left the campus. Neither of them had direct access to the Japanese
group. This disconnection from the target culture group could have triggered their fear
of possible miscommunication in Japanese. Ji-young expressed her concern about
other students' oral performances. "I always compare myself with other students. I
want to do [well] like them, but I can't do as well as they do." In John's case, "my
problem is a mismatch between the teacher's level of Japanese and my proficiency
level. My energy level goes down." In comparing their Japanese proficiency to other
classmates' or the teacher's level which could be incomprehensible for John, they
perceived themselves as inferior. Such hierarchical perception of others as superior
and self as inferior contributes to the lowering of their self-esteem and
self-confidence.
Ji-young and John also struggled with the gap between their ideal learner image and
themselves. Ji-young reflected that "I feel I have to do well, but I can't produce perfect
sentences." John said, "the harder I study, the worse I become. The harder I try to
memorize one kanji (Chinese character), the more I forget other kanji. That's a chain
reaction to me." In reality, their beliefs sabotaged their wishes.
Learning environment--Fear of miscommunication
Ji-young and John clearly expressed their fear of possible miscommunication in
Japanese. Ji-young said, "A.Is (associate instructors) ask us suddenly and pick
someone to answer the questions. I didn't prepare myself. What should I do?" "I don't
know how to speak it or if I speak correctly or not." John also shared the same fear if
the teacher suddenly called on him when he was unprepared for sentence translation.
John expressed his fear as follows: "I have a fear of what I might not understand. I
don't feel confident when I speak in Japanese class because I might not understand
what the A.I. might say or ask." He said, "If you are in the group, [but] they are not
talking to you, that builds up fear. I don't like being left out." John viewed this
situation as alienation, which increased his fear of isolation.
John's experience with oral exams illustrated possible miscommunication. He said, "I
knew the skit without looking at the paper. Half way through the skit, I became
nervous. There was no reason to feel that. [Probably] I became aware of her (the
teacher) watching me and grading me. Next, she is going to ask some questions."
When he realized that the skit was half done, his attention started shifting from
certainty to uncertainty. This uncertainty of his teacher's questions made him nervous.
After the skit, he misunderstood the teacher's question. John thought that "the
situation was for my grade. If I didn't try to fix the situation, it would go against me. I
became nervous. Maybe because of my nervousness, I couldn't process her questions
at that speed." Both Ji-young and John showed strong concern about their grades. This
attitude seemed to compound their images as unsuccessful learners.
Learning Environment--Fear created by their image of failure
Ji-young and John seemed to be haunted by their image of failure. Both of them often
began with the words, "what if ..." or "if I don't do...." Ji-young said, "What if I don't
do well? My GPA will go down." John also expressed his concern about his grade on
the oral exam. He mentioned that "I have a fear of not doing well on the test if I don't
study hard." When Ji-young and John described their feelings about learning Japanese,
their usage of "what if" and "if ..." multiplied their fear of being unsuccessful learners.
Their self-image as an unsuccessful learner had already defeated them before their
oral performances or tests, leading them to anxiety and less successful performances.
Insights from the conversations with Ji-young and John
Based on our conversations and the themes that emerged, I realized that their concerns
about their grades were an underlying factor. Reactions to being graded seemed to
elicit fear of possible miscommunication, fear of failure, and their perceptions of ideal
learners vs. themselves. Teachers as grading authorities seemed to be one source of
FL anxiety for Ji-young and John, as was any situation involving evaluation. Then
their "what if" questions haunted them. Thus, the mutually reinforcing fear of
evaluation and image of being an unsuccessful learner interfered with their learning
process.
Both Ji-young's and John's strong motivation for achieving high grades could have
contributed to their FL anxiety. The more they wanted to excel in Japanese class, the
more their daily graded oral performances became less successful because of
nervousness, which derived from fear of negative evaluations by other classmates and
teachers. Since they categorized themselves as unsuccessful learners, their low-self
esteem also seemed to accelerate their FL anxiety. Greenberg and his colleagues'
study (1992) about terror management theory suggests that people who have high
self-esteem tend not to be anxious. One suggestion would be for the language
educators to raise anxious learners' confidence and self-esteem levels by providing
positive comments on their performances. When Ji-young and John were afraid of
oral-performance grading situations, they were aware of the friendly teachers as
authorities with "power on my grades." Their linguistic limitation relates to these
learners' perceptions of their social identity as inferior, feeling powerless. Such power
relationship and negative self-perception were obstacles to high self-esteem.
Conclusions
Ji-young and John's FL anxiety derived from their perception of their social identity as
inferior. Their grade concerns and fear of negative evaluations followed from their
self-perception in regards to their learning environment, their teachers and classmates,
and their oral performances. It is significant to consider learners as a whole, not judge
them based only on their oral performances, especially in which the course is
structured based on strong emphasis on enhancement of oral communication skills.
Their self-perception deeply relates to their self-esteem and anxiety, especially when
spontaneous communication is required.
Endnotes
(1.) These names are pseudonyms.
(2.) Japanese samurai warriors' beliefs in bravery and never give-up, while enduring
harsh trials and pursuing the goals until they could achieve.
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Junko Dosaka, Indiana University
Dosaka is a Ph. D candidate of language education, working on her dissertation about
anxious learners' social identities and teaching at a high school. She has a teaching
license in Japanese for secondary level.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Academic Exchange Quarterly
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