Vietnamese EFL Students’ Anxiety in Foreign Language Classrooms: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1504.23Keywords:
foreign languages, language anxiety, language skill sessions, Vietnamese EFL studentsAbstract
This study aims to investigate the perceived levels of anxiety experienced by Vietnamese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. An assessment of anxiety levels in each skill was conducted using a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and qualitative interviews with 180 students from a Vietnamese university. The results found that most students experienced a relatively higher level of anxiety in the writing session, and following it are the speaking and listening sessions, where most of them generated pretty high levels of anxiety, with students citing fear of negative evaluations, communication apprehensions, and inadequate preparation as the primary reasons. As opposed to these three language skill sessions, a more moderate level of anxiety was induced in the reading session. The study’s findings are consistent with the established theories, such as Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, highlighting the impacts of emotional states and self-beliefs on language learning performance. With these results, the study has proposed some implications for ameliorating language methodology using approaches to reduce students’ anxiety, including consideration of task preparation time, vocabulary support, and employment of small-group work environments. As a result of this study, students’ acquisition and performance of foreign languages could be significantly enhanced by addressing foreign language anxiety in a targeted manner. It is recommended that future research should focus on longitudinal studies to track anxiety changes over time and intervention-based research to reduce skill-specific anxiety.
References
Alrabai, F. (2015). The influence of teachers’ anxiety-reducing strategies on learners’ foreign language anxiety. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 163-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2014.890203
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Bolourchi, A., & Soleimani, M. (2021). The impact of peer feedback on EFL learners’ writing performance and writing anxiety. International Journal of Research in English Education, 6(1), 1-15.
Brislin, R.W. (1980) Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In Triandis, H.C. and Berry, J. W., Eds., Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Methodology (pp. 389-444). Boston.
Chen, S., Wallace, M. P., & Correia de Oliveira, S. (2023). Foreign language listening comprehension and listening anxiety. TESL-EJ, 27(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.55593/ej.27106a9
Cheng, Y. S. (2017). Development and preliminary validation of four brief measures of L2 language-skill-specific anxiety. System, 68, 15-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.06.009
Daly, J. A., & Miller, M. D. (1975). The empirical development of an instrument to measure writing apprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 9(3), 242-249.
Dewaele, J.-M., & Li, C. (2020). Emotions in second language acquisition: A critical review and research agenda. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 343–361.
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237–274. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5
Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (Third Edition). London: Sage.
Hallinger P. & Truong T. (2016). “Above must be above, and below must be below”: enactment of relational school leadership in Vietnam. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(4), 677-690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-016-9463-4
Hamada, A., & Takaki, T. (2021). Effects of multidimensional foreign language reading anxiety on achievement in Japanese EFL classrooms. System, 98, 102–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102613
Haryanti, D. U., Rasyid, F., & Wahyuni, S. (2022). Path analysis on writing anxiety, writing attitude, and writing achievement. English Learning Innovation, 3(1), 85–99.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317
Hsieh, H.F., & Shannon, S.E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative con¬tent analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277-1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
Hwang, I., & Bae, J. (2022). Foreign language reading anxiety and reading comprehension of Korean secondary EFL students. Secondary English Education, 15(4), 35-58. https://doi.org/10.20487/kasee.15.4.202211.35
Jafarigohar, M., & Behrooznia, S. (2012). The effect of anxiety on reading comprehension among distance EFL learners. International Education Studies, 5(2), 159-174. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n2p159
Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J.-M. (2020). The predictive power of sociobiographical and linguistic variables on foreign language classroom anxiety. System, 89, 102207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102207
Khau, H. A. (2019). English majors’ anxiety in writing and speaking English classes: a case of Tra Vinh university. In Dr. Nguyen, T. X. L., Bui, T. T. Q., Huynh, C. M. H., Mai, & M. T. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th OPENTESOL International Conference 2019 Innovation and Inspiration: Building the culture of language education (443-464). Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House of Economics.
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
Le, X. M., & Le, T. T. (2022). Factors affecting students’ attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language in a tertiary institution of Vietnam. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 2(2), 168-185. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte.22229
Li, X. (2024). Online language learning: a relief or a curse? Examining learner anxiety and preferences for instructional modes. The Language Learning Journal, 52(5), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2024.2364671
Li, C. (2020). A control–value theory approach to boredom in English classes among university students in China. The Modern Language Journal, 104(1), 428–447.
Liu, M., & Hong, M. (2021). English language classroom anxiety and enjoyment in Chinese young learners. Sage Open, 11(4), 21582440211047550. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211047550
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01103.x
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive-broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193–213.
Ngo, N. T. H. (2015). Some insights into listening strategies of learners of English as a foreign language in Vietnam. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 28(3), 311-326. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2015.1080721
Nguyen, H. P. M., & Tran, T. H. (2023). An investigation of reading anxiety among Vietnamese English major students. In ICTE Conference Proceedings (Vol. 3, pp. 1-14). ICTE Press https://doi.org/10.54855/ictep.233
Nguyen T. Dieu, H., Nhu, N. N. T., & Minh, Q. K. (2024). English extracurriculars and anxiety levels: a quantitative examination among first-year university students. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2317501. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2317501
Nguyen, T. H., & Anh, K. H. (2022). Culture expectations in foreign language classrooms–A case in Vietnam. Heliyon, 8(8), e10033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10033
Nguyen, T. M., & Walkinshaw, I. (2018). Autonomy in teaching English in Vietnam: The influence of global and local cultures. In R. Barnard & J. Ryan (Eds.), Reflecting on Language Teacher Autonomy (pp. 159–174). Springer.
Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(3), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
Pekrun, R., & Perry, R. P. (2014). Control-value theory of achievement emotions. In International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 120-141). Routledge.
Petraki, E., & Nguyen, H. H. P. (2016). Do Asian EFL teachers use humor in the classroom? A case study of Vietnamese EFL university teachers. System, 61, 98-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.08.002
Rezaei, M., & Jafari, S. (2022). The effect of writing anxiety on EFL learners’ written performance. Journal of Second Language Writing, 55, 100832. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2012.01549.x
Saito, Y., & Samimy, K. K. (1996). Foreign language anxiety and language performance: A study of learner anxiety in beginning, intermediate, and advanced‐level college students of Japanese. Foreign language annals, 29(2), 239-249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1996.tb02330.x
Shao, K., Pekrun, R., Marsh, H. W., & Loderer, K. (2020). Control-value appraisals, achievement emotions, and foreign language performance: A latent interaction analysis. Learning and Instruction, 69, 101356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101356
Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Consulting Psychologists Press.
Teimouri, Y., Goetze, J., & Plonsky, L. (2019). Second language anxiety and achievement: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(2), 363–387. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263118000311 [Opens in a new window]
Tran, T. T. T., Baldauf Jr, R. B., & Moni, K. (2013a). Investigating the development of foreign language anxiety: an autobiographical approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(7), 709-726.
Tran, T. T. T., Baldauf Jr, R. B., & Moni, K. (2013b). Foreign language anxiety: Understanding its status and insiders’ awareness and attitudes. TESOL Quarterly, 47(2), 216-243. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.85
Truong, T. D., Hallinger, P., & Sanga, K. (2017). Confucian values and school leadership in Vietnam: Exploring the influence of culture on principal decision making. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(1), 77-100. https://doi.org/10.1177/174114321560787
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Vol. 86). Harvard university press.
Wang, Q., East, M., & Li, S. (2021). Measuring Chinese EFL learners’ motivation and anxiety when completing a video narration task: Initial steps in designing two questionnaires. System, 100, 102559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102559
Yamashita, T., & Millar, R. J. (2021). Likert Scale. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M.E. (eds). Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22009-9_559
Zhang, X. (2013). Foreign language listening anxiety and listening performance: Conceptualizations and causal relationships. System, 82, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.01.004
